I often find writing match reports can be somewhat cathartic after setbacks. Usually those are when we’ve lost games though or put in a terrible performance. This is different. I don’t want to be writing this at all as I just feel really flat today. It’s a weird situation as I couldn’t be happier or more positive about our team and where we are at, but it’s really fucking galling that it isn’t enough to be winning titles because of things that are beyond our control.
Three years ago we picked up 97 points and didn’t win it. This year it’s 92. It should be enough but it isn’t because of a fucking abomination sports washing project up the road. It’s galling and as cheated as I feel for myself as a fan, I feel even worse for Klopp and his players. They’ve put everything into this season and what they’ve done is truly incredible. To be able to still top the ninety point mark while going all the way in every other competition is unheard of. They deserve to be Champions but modern football is just so fucking corrupt it’s harder than ever to win anything if you’re playing by the rules. Cheats usually prosper, and without us fighting the good fight City would have five titles on the bounce and probably another FA Cup to add to their tainted collection.
I’ll bounce back in a day or two, especially with a Champions League Final to look ahead to, but I’m just pretty gutted today and struggling to motivate myself to do anything really. I didn’t think I would be. In fact I said going into this game that I’d made my peace with missing out on the title and that this game was going to be a celebration of what the lads have given us already, as well as a rousing send off for next week. It didn’t really turn out like that though, mainly because I broke the golden rule I have lived my life by for decades - never rely on Aston Villa.
In my defence, even when they led 1-0 I didn’t get my hopes up. I fully expected them to go on and lose the game. My only focus was on us. I badly wanted to win our game to at least make City have to win their game to beat us. I also wanted the win to keep up our incredible home record over recent years. Last year doesn’t count as there were no fans. Anfield with fans is a fortress and we’ve just completed a fourth successive unbeaten season at home (as I said, last year doesn’t count).
So that was my focus, nothing else. But then Villa went 2-0 and everything changed. Now all of the stars seemed to be aligning. Coutinho even got the goal. So, more fool me, I started to believe. The Gerrard factor, Coutinho scoring, it was going to happen. Fucking hell. We just needed to find a goal ourselves as we were drawing 1-1 and facing the nightmare scenario of losing the title on goal difference. At least that didn’t happen, so that’s something I guess.
Not that it makes me feel any less shitty. Today is a tough day and I’m sure most of you feel as low as I do. There are all sorts of emotions flying around and I’ve been trying to isolate them to see which is the most prevalent. One thing I know is that I’m not disappointed, I’m mostly just pissed off. Not with our lads mind. I couldn’t be prouder of what our team has done this season. Even if the title had found its way here I couldn’t be any more proud of them. So much so that I’m not even going to reference THAT game which I’ve been banging on about for months as the one that would cost us the title. I no longer see it that way.
Yes, we absolutely should never have dropped points that night, but look at all the games we’ve won since when you could argue we shouldn’t have. By that I don’t mean ‘shouldn’t’ as in didn’t deserve to. I mean shouldn’t have been able to because we were playing twice a week every week for months and on occasion had to make five, six, seven changes. We still kept on winning.
So no, I’m not going to pick holes in it with “if only we hadn’t done this or if only we’d been able to do that.” Fuck that. 92 points while going all the way in every single cup competition we played in is incredible. Unprecedented. I have no regrets from our perspective.
So why I am pissed off? It’s the injustice of it all really. The cruelty of it. We’re up against Ben Johnson FC only if/when they eventually get found guilty their honours won’t be handed to those who deserved them (which isn’t just us, it’s United as well). They’ve gotten away with the cheating irrespective of what future punishments may or (more likely) may not be handed down. They’ve been getting away with it for years and the media - a few noble souls fighting the good fight in the written press and on social media excluded - don’t give a fuck about it.
So there’s that. An opponent doesn’t play by the same rules as everyone else but there is no recourse to their actions and hardly anyone seems to care. It’s a societal problem. Rich cunts can do what they like and the bootlicking fucking peasants just bow their heads in deference and accept whatever shit is dumped on their heads. Whether it’s energy companies making big profits yet still fucking trebling our fucking bills, members of the Royal family noncing, the Met turning a blind eye to Downing Street parties or the Premier League allowing clubs to just completely disregard the rules, the bottom line is the rich do what they like and there is never any recourse for their actions. Money talks.
Not just at the top of the league either. Even at the bottom Everton have got away with fucking murder and Burnley are down because of it. The injustice and corruption in the Premier League is fucking rife. And it will only get worse now that they’ve let the fucking Saudis in despite the majority of clubs being against it. Money talks you see. That’s also why we’ve got a World Cup in mid-season in fucking Qatar. I’m getting sidetracked here though so back on topic.
I’m also pissed off because I think back to a referee from Salford missing the most obvious handball of the season and a VAR official from Greater Manchester looking at it and going “nah it’s alright our kid, no handball. Come on Citeh, mad fer it”. Don’t dare try and tell me that’s just one of those things because there was nothing more blatantly corrupt this season than that decision. It was even worse than when the same pair of mancs stiffed us at Tottenham.
So yeah, I’m pissed off. Disgusted too. At Aston fucking Villa and at myself for briefly allowing myself to believe they might do something worthwhile for once in their pitiful fucking existence. Ok, they did win a European Cup back in the day, but since then they’ve been a joke. I lost count of the number of times they gifted points to Ferguson’s United when they had the chance to stop them winning titles. That’s where my “never rely on Aston Villa” mantra originated.
I expected them to do nothing against City and ultimately I was right. For a while though they were making me look like a twat and I couldn’t have been happier. As I sat there desperately wanting us to get that decisive goal against Wolves I had my Villa apology all worked out in my head. What I’d write in this report and what I’d say on the pod. I was even going to sing that God awful “Yippy aye ay” chant of theirs. And then they went the full Aston Villa. Three goals in five fucking minutes??? Spineless, bottling fucking cunts. Three goals in five minutes? Seriously? You fucking cowardly shitbags.
What does that say about Stevie by the way? I know loads of Reds won’t want to blame him for that and in fairness he wasn’t on the pitch. Maybe I’m lashing out because of the hurt I’m feeling but to me it speaks volumes of him as a manager that his team can not only wilt like that, but not have the game management savvy to break up the game, fuck shit up and generally just take the wind out of City’s sails for a bit. No balls and no game management. Fuck off Villa you absolute shit cunts.
I should never have allowed myself to contemplate the possibility that they’d get something against City but with a 2-0 lead and the clock ticking it’s impossible not to dream. The worst thing about these situations is the fucking false alarms that go around the ground. They usually start in the far corner of the Anny Road. The same thing happened three years ago when some soft cunt started cheering that Brighton had gone 2-0 up. This time it was a massive cheer that Villa had equalised to make it 3-3.
Anfield was rocking like fuck briefly. Pretty sure we were still 1-1 at that point but we scored soon after and the players probably thought Villa were still level because their celebrations were much more intense than most of the crowd’s. Word had filtered around that it had been a false alarm but there’s no way the players would have picked up on it by that point. I expect they will have soon after with the somewhat muted reaction of the crowd and the defiant chanting.
They’ll certainly have known that Villa’s lead had been wiped out by the cheers from the away end, although initially I didn’t really know what was going on because the goals came in such a short space of time I didn’t know if they’d scored one, two or three. Then word went around it was 3-2. I felt sick. So near and yet so far. It’s shit being in this situation where you’re needing another result to go your way but because you’re in the stadium you don’t really know what’s going on. Whoever started that cheer for the fake Villa equaliser needs to never set foot in Anfield again though.
Klopp said he didn’t understand why Wolves were cheering City’s goals. I reckon he knows full well but was feigning ignorance to make a point. They will say it’s because “shit on the Villa” but they cheered City’s goals against Brighton too remember, so it’s not that. I’m not taking it personally though. They weren’t cheering City’s goals for any other reason than they think they’re the fucking banter kings. Midlands clubs are notorious for that shit.
If they’d been playing at the Etihad they’d have carried on the same way, rooting against City and taunting them if it had gone our way. And if we’d won the title I’m fairly certain that the away end would have been full at the end and they’d be applauding our players. They just live for the ‘bantz’. That’s why they were singing God Save the Queen. This is why I basically hate everyone. Palace are the only set of fans I can remember this season not being knob heads and just supporting their own team. There may have been one or two others but none spring to mind.
Nevertheless, in the situation we were in I’d say Wolves would be right up there with the worst possible fans we could encounter. Obviously Everton would be the worst (you only have to see Richarlison’s shamelessly embarrassing tweet aimed at us after they’d been dicked 5-1 at Arsenal), then you have Wolves, Villa and Newcastle. The worst kind of “banter merchants”.
Wolves were also one of the worst possible opponents we could face too. By worst I mean difficult. They’re tough to play against and that’s why I held out hope they might do something against City last week. They didn’t, but it isn’t a particularly bad reflection on them as City will beat most opponents. Wolves at least offer some hope of maybe doing something. That also made them tricky opposition for us too of course, particularly with tired legs and the stress of the occasion.
They defended stubbornly and they were really dangerous on the break. It didn’t help that we gifted them a goal so early though. Awful misjudgement from Konate but it was well executed by Jiminez and Neto. He’s a little tit that Neto. I’ll never forget him giving it the big ‘un to the Main Stand a few years after scoring a goal that was then ruled out for offside. He did similar this time, giving it the beans to the crowd. I’m fine with players doing that if they’ve been on the receiving end of stick or there’s long standing beef there. Neto isn’t Wayne Rooney though, so why the fuck is he celebrating like him?
Jiminez gave us a lot of problems. He won his first three or four headers and it took us a while to fully get to grips with him. Wolves set up with their back five, solid midfield three and Jimenez leading the line on his own. Neto didn’t play alongside him, he was virtually stood on the left touchline and rarely strayed from there. When he went off injured, Hwang came on did the same thing. When Wolves were able to break, they looked for that long ball towards the left corner flag each time. With Trent usually upfield attacking it was often left to Joel to act as an auxiliary right back. We never looked comfortable defensively all day, but it wasn’t specifically down to the defenders themselves.
We were just a bit too frantic. Dendoncker shot wide after a swift break from Hwang down the left, and Hwang himself went clean through and looked certain to score, but then I remembered that he was up against Alisson and - no word of a lie - I didn’t think for a minute he was going to finish that. Sure enough, Alisson saved it. I think we had drawn level by that point but I’m not sure. My head was all over the place with the stress of it all. So I might be wrong but I think that chance was to make it 2-1 rather than 2-0.
Our goal was beautiful. An absolute work of art, which unsurprisingly had Thiago doing most of the brushwork. Konate rolled a ball into him and without even looking he just flicked a ball through the defenders legs to spring Mané in on goal. The finish from Sadio was quality but that touch from Thiago… fucking hell. What a player.
We’d created other chances. Matip headed wide from a Diaz cross and he also headed into the ground instead of bursting the net. Diaz was denied by the keeper and then flashed a ball right across the goalmouth that eluded everyone. He was causing havoc and was clearly our most dangerous player, but Thiago was the best player on the pitch. Until he picked up a freak injury just on half time. Devastating, not just for this game but more so for next week. We can only hope he recovers but it feels unlikely at this stage.
Wolves were hit by injury too as their keeper went off, replaced by John Ruddy. Klopp should have sent his players out for the second half wearing Suarez masks just to traumatise Ruddy further. Maybe we’d have spared ourselves the 20 odd minutes of stress we had looking for that elusive goal.
The second half didn’t really start too well as it was clear we didn’t have our best stuff. Wolves were resolute and full of gamesmanship. Every time one of them made a block they’d stay down and require the physio. Some may have been genuine, but not all of them. There’s a part of me that resents that because they had nothing to play for. By that I don’t mean they should roll over, I’d expect 100% effort and for them to try to win the game, but time wasting and gamesmanship seems a little over the top. But then I’m complaining that Villa didn’t do it at City so I can’t have it both ways.
Mostly I don’t have a problem with anything Wolves did but I can see why a lot of Reds won’t have been happy with the antics of Coady. Regular readers will know I’ve never liked him so welcome to the club, glad to have you on board.
With Villa still holding on and then actually doubling their lead (cheers Phil, the rest of them can fuck off but you get a free pass from me) our need for a winning goal grew more and more pressing and the tension level intensified. Sadio had the ball in the net and Anfield erupted. I jumped up to celebrate but I’m in line with that and wasn’t sure if he was offside. The linesman didn’t flag which raised hope, but I watched him listening intently on his earpiece and when he then raised the flag I knew VAR had told him and that it wouldn’t stand. Shame as it was a great finish by Mané and clever pass by Jota. I’ve since seen a replay and I’m surprised the linesman himself didn’t give it as it was quite clear really.
Salah replaced Jota and brought renewed hope with him. As always, chances came to him but he wasn’t clinical with the first couple. He drifted a shot over the bar when he probably should have tried to take a touch or maybe cut it back. He’d only just come on though and it came at him quickly. Soon after he was racing clear through the centre though and should have scored. It does my head in how he nearly always cuts inside onto his left foot even if it means running into traffic. Those defenders were out of the game if he’d gone right, but he brought them back into play by insisting on cutting back in. He didn’t even get a shot away. Really disappointing.
Bobby was then sent on for the ineffective Keita as Klopp played his final card. Keita hadn’t been bad but he wasn’t good either. Bobby was fucking dreadful though, at least initially. He kept giving the ball away when we needed the opposite. We need to build some momentum to force the goal but he kept giving it to Wolves. It was infuriating but it was a manic, frantically paced game and Bobby’s style is always going to make it difficult to just step into that and immediately hit the ground running. When he got up to speed he was actually good, but those first five minutes or so were grim.
I remember looking at the clock with around 20 minutes left and thinking we needed to score soon because I didn’t want to get to the last five minutes still needing the goal. It shows you just how cabbaged my head was that until just now when I checked, I thought our goals came at around 73 and 80 minutes. I’ve just seen that it was 84 and 89 and honestly, I’m staggered by that. I had no idea it was so late. I lost all track of time though as the stress and emotion of the occasion was just too much.
Mo’s goal owed everything to Matip. He won the first header which was cleared off the line. The ball looped up into the air and he won the second header too, nodding it down for Mo to convert from close range. Wolves didn’t seem especially interested in trying to force an equaliser and we wrapped up the win when Robbo took advantage of some lovely play by Bobby to smash one in at the Kop end.
So we did our bit but there was no good news filtering through from the Etihad and that was that. Gutting.
But we’ve won two cups already and there’s the prospect of a third. The biggest one of all. So the mood at Anfield wasn’t one of despondency. It was appreciation and defiance. Hardly anyone left the stadium at full time as fans waited to pay tribute to the team and say farewell to the legend of Origi.
I was left fairly non-plussed and even underwhelmed by it all if I’m being brutally honest. I probably say this every year, but this thing just isn’t the same since they allowed wives and kids on the field. It gets worse every year though and there were hundreds of people on that pitch at the end. It was almost impossible to pick out the players and I spent a good five minutes looking for Klopp. Eventually I spotted him but should it really be that hard?
I love how Klopp makes everyone feel they are a part of the team and so by that logic it’s only natural he’d want them on the pitch, but if we’re going to have the analysts, sports science team, academy lads etc on the field then should the wives, girlfriends, kids, cousins, brothers, mates, aunties etc all be out there too?
I dunno, I guess you can’t put the genie back in the bottle but these things are a farce now. It was impossible to pay proper tribute to the lads and Klopp because the whole thing was so stretched out. Hendo had virtually completed his lap as Konate had barely even reached the Kop. We had two cups out there and I wanted to see the whole team in front of the Kop with the trophies, with Klopp whipping everyone up into a frenzy that would end in that massive roar as we send them off to Paris. We got none of that, it was shite and instead of coming out of the stadium all fired up for next week I just trudged away, fed up and annoyed.
There’s no point me dwelling on any of that because it’s here to stay. Every year there are more people on that pitch and it just isn’t the fun event that it used to be. I really don’t even want to bother staying for it in the future but I will do because it’s the least we owe Klopp and the players. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that the whole thing was proper shit though.
So anyway, another season done and dusted with just the Champions League Final to go now. We’re limping to the finish line a bit. Not in terms of results as those have been great. The performances haven’t been bad either, but you can see the heavy load is starting to catch up with us now and players are succumbing to injuries. We lost Fabinho, then Mo and Virg had muscle tweaks that needed rest and now it’s Thiago. I’ve not even given any serious thought to the final yet but I know I’m not as cocksure as I was.
Fatigue and the injuries to key midfielders have shaken my confidence somewhat but I’m sure in a day or two when I’m over this weekend’s events I’ll be more bullish about it and the excitement will kick back in.
Star man is Diaz, with Sadio and Robbo both running him close.
Onto Paris then and another chance to make history. See you on the other side.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Henderson, Keita (Firmino), Thiago (Milner); Jota (Salah), Mané, Diaz:
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