Manchester City 2 Liverpool 1 (Jan 3 2019)

I wanted to wait and let the dust settle a little before writing this, as much like my boy Dejan Lovren, this game had me all over the place.

My head says we’re in great shape, with a four point lead having only lost once all season, and even that defeat was in a game of such tiny margins where we went toe to toe with the defending Champions and lost mainly due to not getting the rub of the green.

There’s so much to feel great about, I know that, and it won’t be long before I feel that way again. It's just that this one hurts. Right now I’m still gutted and pissed off. Not pissed off at Klopp or any of the players (not even Lovren, which probably puts me in a minority), just pissed off that we lost to THEM and generally irked about certain things that contributed to it.

I was confident going into the game but that was as much to do with how vulnerable City had looked of late than it was about how we have been playing. We’ve looked like we’re easing back into the blistering form of last spring, while City have been shipping goals and losing games. Why wouldn’t we feel confident?

The problem for us, as it turned out, is that City were desperate. They couldn’t afford to lose the game and there’s also the personal aspect to it; they’re utterly obsessed with us these days. From Guardiola to their press officer to their sad as fuck shitty fans, they're utterly, completely, consumed with us.

It started with us ending their unbeaten run and then knocking them out of the Champions League, and it's only gotten worse since we emerged as the biggest threat to their crown.

As a result of all that, we ran into a buzz saw. I’ve never seen City that fired up and frenetic before. Even their fans were into it for a change.

All things considered, it was a hell of an effort by our lads to make the game as close as they did, especially as I don’t think we played particularly well. We were too sloppy in possession for a start. We gave the ball away cheaply so many times and you just can’t do that against a side as good as City.

In a way that can almost be viewed as a positive. Had we been at our best we’d probably have won, even with City as hyped up as they were. Basically the game turned on a few key moments that didn’t go our way. On another day they go in our favour and we win. They didn't though, and we lost.

I kind of knew it wasn’t going to be our night after that crazy incident when Mané hit the post and the rebound somehow didn’t end up going in. It sounds stupid I know, as really there’s no logical reason why that should have any impact on the outcome of what happened afterwards, but when something like that goes against a team, how often do they overcome it?

It was fucking unbelievable. Firstly, what a stunning move. The front three sliced right through City and Sadio was really unlucky that his shot didn’t go in off the post. Secondly, when Stones shit himself and lashed the ball into his own keeper's ugly fucking face, how did that ball not cross the line? 

Actually it did in my view. I’ve said several times before that the ‘whole of the ball crossing the whole of the line’ is a bullshit rule. As soon as more than half of the ball has crossed the line, that should be a goal. You can’t tell me that when virtually the entire ball has crossed the line that isn’t a goal. It’s a shit rule and should be changed, and not just because of this incident as I’ve always said it. 

That being said, the rules are the rules and it wasn’t a goal for the sake of 11 poxy fucking millimetres. How unlucky though? Almost as unlucky as the second clearance from Stones somehow not hitting Salah and going in. He mis-hit that clearance and kicked it into the ground, which is the only reason it somehow squirmed under Mo’s foot. Spawny cunts.

There was so much bad luck crammed into those couple of seconds it was hard to shake the feeling that we were in trouble. And if that wasn’t enough reason to feel that it wasn’t our night, we then saw Manchester’s own Anthony Taylor intervene on City’s behalf by somehow not sending Vincent Kompany off.

Here’s the thing. Not only was that tackle a red card, it was TWO FUCKING RED CARDS. The challenge itself was two footed and off the ground. It was out of control, which nowadays is a sending off. 

And guess what else? No-one really seems to be mentioning this, but he was the last man and Mo would have been clean through. It’s the clearest red card offense I’ve seen all fucking season and that baldy manc cunt should be struck off for failing to do his duty.

In the immediate aftermath of the game I was annoyed by it but I didn’t believe that Taylor was the reason we lost. There were other factors. Some poor individual performances from our lads and a general collective sloppiness. City were the better side and deserved to win.

Now, almost 24 hours later, I feel a little differently. City were the better side and on the overall balance of play just about deserved the win, but I find it hard not to see Taylor as the reason we lost because if he’d done his job the outcome of that game would have been hugely different. Going down to ten men in a game like this is fatal. Look what happened to us when Mané was sent off there last season.

So yeah, I’m fucking steaming about this the more I think about it. Taylor bottled it because there is absolutely no way he can look at that and not think it’s a red card. Absolute bottle job of the highest order. Did he do it because he’s from Manchester? I wouldn’t go that far, but frankly it’s outrageous that he’s even in that position. How can you let someone from Manchester referee a game between a team from Manchester and one from Liverpool given the historic rivalry between the cities? It’s fucking insane and I’ll never know how this shit is allowed.

Mike Dean isn’t allowed anywhere near Liverpool or Everton games even though he’s from the Wirral. What’s the difference? I don’t get it. And don’t give me this “he supports Altrincham” fucking bollocks either. Virtually anyone from a major city that follows a non-league team also has a ‘big club’ they support. Go to Marine and virtually everyone there will be a Liverpool or Everton fan too.

Bottom line is Anthony Taylor, from Manchester, fucked up massively to the benefit of a team from Manchester. Dress it up however you like, but thems the facts.

I don’t care if it seems like cryarsing, and I know there’ll be those of you reading this who will say we should look to our performance and what we did wrong and worry about that, rather than blaming the referee. I get that, but this was a game that was so tight, so close to call, and so fucking difficult for both sides that a decision like that would make all the difference.

I even said to a few mates prior to the game that the only thing I was worried about was the fucking ref. Not Aguero. Not Silva. Not Guardiola. Not De Bruyne. Not Sane. Well ok, maybe a little about Sane as I think he’s their best player, but mostly Anthony fucking Taylor. And so it proved. Fucking twat. Jurgen should kick up such a stink and make sure he’s never allowed any games involving City or United ever again. 

We really needed him to do his job because I thought we were struggling in that first half. We had some dangerous moments in attack but they were mostly fleeting. Too often we were giving the ball straight back to City. That’s when we could even get hold of thing in the first place.

I didn’t like how we started the game. In the opening couple of minutes we were passing it around at the back and taking unnecessary chances. Yes, that’s how we play, but sometimes the situation really calls for something else. I don’t want to see Lovren and Alisson playing one twos while a frothing at the mouth Aguero is waiting to pounce. In the opening twenty minutes just get them turned around and play the game in their half, not ours, until it settles down a bit. 

We love it when teams try to play it around in their own half in those games when we’re flying around like wasps at a picnic, so of course City were loving it too. They wanted to do to us what we have done to them, and I felt as though we helped them do it at times.

Much has been made of Klopp getting his team selection wrong, specifically with his midfield. I don’t see it myself. That midfield trio has had success in big games, especially when what is required from them is to play at a hundred miles an hour and win the ball to start quick counters. 

It didn’t work though, partly because of how well City passed the ball and partly because it looked to me like Milner was a tiny bit off in his match sharpness. Understandable as he’s missed quite a few sessions over the last couple of weeks. He was fit to play, and against virtually anyone else then 95% would have been fine. But it’s a desperate, fired up Man City and we needed everyone operating at 100%.

We didn’t get that. Milner was a little off due to fitness, and Lovren was way off because…. I don’t know, probably because he was due one having performed so well for the most part since his last horror show at Wembley against Spurs. 

He was nowhere near as bad in this game, but he was bad. I’m one of his biggest supporters and I’m certainly not going to jump on the “see, he’s fucking shit” bandwagon. This performance doesn’t make me think we need to get rid of him, but it does make me wish that Gomez had been fit.

I don’t blame Lovren for the goal but I do think he should have done better. It was mostly about the quality of Aguero, but Lovren needs to be tighter to him and not let him turn like that. Perhaps the problem was that seconds earlier Aguero had threw himself to the turf looking for a penalty. The defence pushed out and left him lying on the floor, so Lovren kind of lost him. Aguero jumped back up, got himself onside and Dejan wasn’t tight enough to him when he picked up the ball and lashed it in before Alisson could react.

Aguero does my fucking head in you know. The fact he scores in this fixture every year pisses me off, but it’s also that he’s even playing for City that bothers me. I feel like he’s wasted his career by playing for them. I don’t care that he’s won a couple of titles, he’s won them playing for fucking Manchester City.

A great player like that, spending the majority of his best years playing for that club, just seems like a waste to me. He’s been well paid though so presumably he’s happy. Maybe one day further down the line, long after he’s retired, and he's sat around with Messi, Mascherano and Di Maria, he’ll have an epiphany and blurt out “what the fuck?? I spent most of my career playing for that shitty little club? What was I thinking?”

Back to Lovren though. Even prior to that goal I thought he looked unsettled. He’d been booked for hacking down Aguero after Salah had given the ball away cheaply and put us under pressure. I didn’t think he needed to make that challenge as Virgil was right there alongside him and it was a long way from goal. 

You don’t want to have to play such a long time on a yellow card against forwards as dangerous as City’s. I don’t think the yellow card was the reason for some of his erratic play though, I just think he was too amped up, which can happen with him from time to time.

When City got in front they could smell blood in the water and we were right under the cosh for a while and desperately needing the half time whistle. I was relieved to get in at 1-0 as I knew Jurgen would sort them out and we could regroup.

We did. Sort of. It wasn’t really until Fabinho came on that we eventually settled into any kind of a rhythm though. Maybe he should have started, but I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have picked him. The pace of the game will have been nothing like anything he’s experienced before, and as well as he’s done recently he does seem to have a sloppy pass in him. 

I didn’t blame Klopp for going with the tried and trusted, players who have experience of beating City and know what it takes. We looked much better when Fabinho was in there though. Still, I was struggling to see where a goal was going to come from, but then there it was, 1-1, and what a fucking goal it was. Brilliant football. Trent’s ball to Robbo was glorious, Robbo’s knock back for Bobby even more so. Dreamland.

It was anyone’s game now, as the advantage City had was gone as was the momentum. Maybe their heads would go down and we could capitalise? If we’d scored again then I think they’d have folded. We were now forcing the issue and we had them on the back foot, but from one of our attacks that broke down they sprung a counter attack and we were undone.

Sterling found space and drove through the middle before rolling it left to Sane. I knew he was going to score before he’d even got his shot away. He’s ridiculously good and we’ve done a phenomenal job of ensuring he’s not really been much of a factor in previous games. As I said, he’s probably their best player (other than a fully fit De Bruyne).

It was a real kick in the balls. We’d overcome all that first half adversity to get ourselves level, and then just like that we were behind again. Could we come back again? On another day yeah, but this was just not meant to be. We had a few moments, a couple of scrambles where the ball didn’t break in our favour and Ederson made a terrific save to deny Salah.

At the other end City were dangerous on the break and we needed Alisson to prevent Aguero scoring again after Lovren cheaply gave away possession. It’s been lost somewhat in the discussion about everything else that happened and the implications of what the result means, but that was fucking incredible goalkeeping.

I don’t know how he managed to save that, it was remarkable. Aguero went round him but Alisson kept his feet moving as he went down and he was able to smother the shot. As I say, incredible.

I don’t like how the final few minutes unfolded at all though and once again I’m pointing the finger squarely at Manchester’s own Anthony Taylor. With around five minutes to go City started making substitutions to waste time and break up play. That’s fine, part of the game, everyone does it and it’s smart. 

No problem with that, but I have a big fucking problem with Baldiola throwing a massive hissy fit and causing such a scene with the fourth official that play had to be stopped again because of it. Not only did it waste time, but it completely interrupted the flow of the game again. It’s hard to build pressure when the game is stop start stop start, and my question is why did Taylor feel the need to go over and talk to him if he wasn’t sending him to the stands? All he did was help City out there, the cunt.

I saw Keith Hackett saying on Twitter that when a fourth official calls the referee over to deal with a manager, he has to then send him off. Makes sense. If he’s not sending him off, he shouldn’t stop the game. So that pissed me off.

Taylor then booked Ederson for time wasting, but he didn’t add the time on. Seriously, this is basic stuff. City had a goal kick and Ederson took around 45 seconds to get the ball back into play. We also had two occasions when the crowd wouldn’t give the ball back to Trent to take a throw in. All told it wasted at least a minute and a half, probably closer to two, but it didn’t get added on.

I’m not saying we’d have scored in that time, but it would have been nice to at least have the opportunity wouldn’t it?

What also pissed me off was right at the end when Lovren played a stupid straight ball into the box that gave Van Dijk no chance of doing anything. That ball has to go wide first, which gives us a more favourable angle to launch the ball at big Virgil. Lovren’s composure always goes in these situations. Remember his 40 yard shot against Villa in the FA Cup semi a few years ago?

It was just a big kick in the balls and it’s going to take a while for me to shake this one off. Of course a few weeks ago I’d have snapped your hands off to be four points clear after this fixture. I’m grateful for the position we’re in.

The result hasn’t shaken my belief or trust in the team one jot either. I’m not thinking that we’re going to choke and start losing games just because we were beaten by City. We’re made of sterner stuff than that these days and the game was decided by such tiny details there's no reason to lose confidence.

They're the best team we'll have to play and we don't play them again, so they're now relying on other teams to take points off us because they are powerless to do so.

The fact remains though that a seven point gap is now four, and City have got their tails up again and will believe they can make up that gap. I’m not worried about Spurs, I never was worried about Spurs because if anybody is to overhaul us I feel as though they’ll have to win virtually every game. Tottenham can’t do that. 

City might though. They won something like 18 of 19 to start last season, so we know it’s possible, especially if we give them even the slightest bit of encouragement. We can’t let four points become two or even one. That would increase the pressure on us massively and give everyone the jitters.

We need to go on another winning run immediately and show them we aren’t going to let them back in. You look at the games we have coming up and there’s no reason we can’t reel off five on the spin before we have to go to Old Trafford. If we do that, who knows, maybe City will slip up somewhere and we’ll have a bit of a cushion again.

I’m less confident of us winning it now after this result, but it’s purely about the numbers and nothing to do with how we're playing. A ten point lead and for me it would have virtually been in the bag already. A seven point lead  would have been tough for City to claw back, but four points really isn’t much. 

What is bothering me the most though is that losing to them sticks in the throat because I seriously fucking hate them. I hate Guardiola. I hate the financial doping and how the authorities have done NOTHING about it. I hate their shitty fans and it’s reached the point where I even fucking hate the Gallagher brothers now just because of who they support. Fuck Little and Large too, the pricks.

Even players who’ve never really bothered me in the past are now bringing out the fume in me. Fuck Vincent Kompany and his fake nice guy act. He’s a cunt. A dirty, bulb headed injury prone cunt. Calling Mo “a pussy” after he hit him with that potential leg breaker. I hope Mo remembers that, because I fucking will.

Fuck Bernardo Silva too. Little snide cunt. Where did that come from? He’s normally a nice little playmaking ball player who doesn’t get involved in anything. In this game he was like a Portuguese Joey Barton. Absolute cunt, wish someone would have fucking planted him.

I could go on and on about City but this isn’t making me feel any better. Sometimes it does. Sometimes having a rant is cathartic. This isn’t though, it’s just making me more and more angry. If we lose the league to these cunts again I might well just pack this whole thing in for good as I don't think I could get over it.

Don’t make me have to get a proper job, Reds. Put this one behind us and let’s keep spanking everyone and bring home number 19.

Star man is Robbo. What a man.

Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum (Sturridge), Milner (Fabinho); Salah, Firmino, Mané (Shaqiri):