Most teams would have struggled to get a result here. Salzburg threw everything at us in the first half and caused plenty of problems. The crowd were up for it, their players were full of confidence and flying forward from all angles, and this had the potential to go badly wrong. For most teams. We’re not most teams though.
We’re the Champions of Europe for a reason. The maturity and professionalism of this performance was so impressive. The lads took everything Salzburg threw at them and eventually just overpowered them in the second half. In truth, despite how well they played, it could have been over by half time with better finishing, but then they could probably argue the same.
Both teams went toe to toe in the opening 45 minutes, but after the break it became clear that we’d taken their best shots and they weren’t hitting as hard anymore. That’s when we just took control of the game and finished them off.
At no point would I say I ever felt worried, but there was mild concern purely because we were just squandering so many chances. Before the game the only way I could see it going wrong for us would be if the front three had one of those occasional collective misfires we’ve seen them have away in Europe.
The missed chances suggested it might be ‘one of those nights’ for them (especially Mo) but at the same time it was encouraging just how many chances we were creating.
It was a great team performance and it needed to be. The work rate and ball recovery was phenomenal, especially in the second half, and the counter attacking was sensational. The finishing was hideous though. Thankfully we created so many chances that it was almost inevitable that we’d take a couple of them.
We should have taken the lead when Lovren’s well flighted ball over the top sent Mo clear. His first touch was good but his shot was straight at the keeper. Sadio curled one wide from 25 yards and was then denied by the keeper after a good run.
Salah then missed in embarrassing fashion when for some reason he tried to squeeze it in at the near post instead of taking the easier option by going the other side. He’s done that before, I think it might have been at Goodison.
That was an especially annoying miss because the move that created it was a work of art. The way the ball was manipulated around to the spare man was sensational. Henderson’s role was key and then it was taken on by Keita, who did brilliantly to draw all the defenders to him before slipping it to Mo. Just an awful miss.
Keita and Salah combined again in first half stoppage time, this time it was Mo rolling in Naby and it was Keita failing to take the chance. He tried to go with the outside of his right foot but the keeper was on him really quickly and made the block.
The chances had been at both ends though. Salzburg gave as good as they got. Alisson needed to make a double save to deny Hwang and Minamino after they combined brilliantly. He also had to foil Haaland after he got away from Lovren and fired in a low shot.
They’d been especially lively in the opening minutes and Virgil needed to be at his best to keep them in line. A few times they looked like they might get in behind him but he just has that extra gear he can go to. Hwang actually tried to outmuscle him at one point, which predictably didn’t end well for the striker. 10/10 for his ambition though.
The second half began in the same fashion. A sweeping length of the field attack ended with Firmino releasing Salah. The keeper came flying out and Mo just need to touch it around him and he’d have an open goal. His touch wasn’t good enough and the keeper made a good save.
Haaland shot into the side netting after being found by a sweeping, Trent-style crossfield ball.
The momentum had clearly shifted though and their attacks were becoming less frequent. We were well on top but needed the goal to knock the stuffing out of them. We got two in the space of 100 seconds. Game over.
The first goal was great. Trent’s sweeping ball to Robbo, Robbo quickly moving it on to Sadio, Sadio skinning the defender and then crossing for Naby to head home. The keeper was hugely at fault as he went charging out for a ball he was never going to reach.
He did it again for the second too, although more often than not he’d have gotten away with that one. I still can’t believe Mo finished that. Even if he was right footed that was a difficult chance, but given that his right foot is usually only for standing on, it’s remarkable that he was able to find the net from that angle. It was nuts. He missed so many sitters but he puts THAT one away?
Soon after he was back to missing. He did superb to run through and showed great strength and skill to hold off the last defender, but then he shot straight at the keeper. Could have cut it back to an unmarked Naby but I don’t blame him for shooting there, he just needs to find the corner and not hit it so central.
We were just sending him running clear all the time though now, and we should have scored again when Mo unselfishly fed Sadio in the box, but he too shot too close to the keeper.
All the missed chances are what most people will remember from this game but the truth is that Salah was brilliant all night apart from the wayward finishing. His link up play, movement and relentless running was just too much for Salzburg, they couldn’t cope. He was probably two converted chances away from one of the great individual European displays.
The second goal was the decisive moment in the game as it basically ended whatever resistance Salzburg had left.
We could and should have added to it, as the last 15 minutes was basically us just stopping their attacks and immediately slicing through them on the break. Chance after chance went begging, but it didn’t matter because the outcome had already been settled.
They gave it their best shot but we just wore them down. The mentality of this team is second to none, and their fitness levels are right up there too. It’s going to take a complete fluke for someone to knock us out of this competition, as nobody is going to outplay us over two legs. Only bad luck or bad officiating can stop this team.
It’s a massive relief to have come through this and secured our spot in the knock outs. It’s a shame that it’s Napoli who will be joining us and not Salzburg, but the Europa League is a much more interesting place now. Ordinarily I have zero interest in it and couldn’t tell you the last time I sat through a full Europa League game that we weren’t playing in. I will now though.
I’ll look out for Salzburg’s games because they’re guaranteed entertainment. Klopp absolutely loves them, he was gushing in his praise afterwards and you could see by the moment he shared with their coach afterwards just how impressed he was. It’s easy to see why, as they’re almost like a Liverpool tribute band. Or if you like, Liverpool before we signed Virg and learned how to defend properly.
Defensively they’re almost as wide open to counter attacks and vulnerable to pace as Man City are. Going forward though, they’re an absolute delight. Very easy on the eye. The movement and ability to find space and get the ball to those team-mates in space is great. No wonder they’ve scored so many goals.
All the talk beforehand was about the prolific Haaland. I wouldn’t say I’m convinced yet that the hype is justified, but he does look useful. He didn’t score but his movement is good and he was always a threat. Needs a lesson in humility though, and perhaps this was it.
He just seems like a bit of knobhead. He’d brashly predicted a 3-1 win him scoring all the goals, something that won’t have been lost on our lads (pretty sure Robbo was having a not so subtle dig at him afterwards). Confidence is fine, but you’re a teenager playing in Austria and you’re talking about scoring a hat-trick against Virgil Van Dijk and the European Champions? Not too smart.
He pouted his way through this game, constantly pulling faces and gurning like a fucking goon. I don’t like his face. He looks weird. He’s got no eyebrows and a shit haircut. When Mo scored, Haaland demanded a water bottle from the bench just so he could throw it on the floor in temper. He’s a Leeds fan but if you cut him open he’s got Manchester United stamped through him like a stick of rock.
Minamino though. I love him, he’s boss. What a delightful little player he is. Hwang is good too, but Minamino is the one I want to tune in to watch again. Maybe he’ll end up joining Sadio and Naby over here? We don’t need him as we’ve got such a strong squad, but if a vacancy were to come up in the future then I’d be surprised if he wasn’t on any potential list of candidates.
Star man is a toss up between Keita and Henderson, but I’ll go with Naby because he scored. They were both top drawer though, as was Van Dijk.
Watford next and I think we’ll see a number of changes for that one. It’s a shame, because with this kind of performance our best eleven might put ten past them. Changes are necessary though, we saw that with Lovren.
Why the fuck was he starting anyway? He went off with cramp in his hamstring three days before and has a proven track record of being unable to play twice a week. Some players can handle it, others can’t, and Lovren has always had problems when the games come thick and fast.
I was shocked he started this one. I was not shocked he couldn’t finish it. Next time it might be someone else who we don’t have a ready made replacement for. Klopp is usually right on top of stuff like this, so selecting Lovren over Gomez genuinely surprised me.
Trent is one booking away from missing Leicester on Boxing Day, so maybe he’ll sit out on Saturday, and I’d be surprised if at least one of the front three wasn’t left on the bench. Maybe we’ll get the front three that destroyed Barca and Everton? I’d like to see Ox in midfield too, at the expense of Keita who probably needs to be used sparingly given his habit of picking up little injuries.
The great thing is that whoever comes in can be trusted to do a job and it’s a lot easier to rotate with a big lead than it is when you’re playing catch up and have zero margin for error.
We find out who we get in the knock out stages on Monday. I either want the worst team possible or I’ll take Real Madrid. It doesn’t really matter though because there isn’t a team in Europe that we should be worried about. They should all be worried about us, and I expect they are.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Keita (Origi); Salah, Firmino (Milner), Mané:
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