Cometh the hour, cometh the man. He’s back. The superhero retired the cape for 18 months or so but he’s back on the job now. What a man. It’s crazy when you look at the decisive moments he’s been responsible for.
There’s a huge differential between talent and impact in Divock’s case. How has a bit part player like him produced so many iconic moments? Probably only Alan Kennedy surpasses him in the 'talent / hero' lopsided balance. ‘Barney’ was a good left back but - European Cup winning goals apart - in a team full of stars he was probably the most low profile and easily replaced. Divock is way down the list of best players in the current squad but few can compare when it comes to key, decisive moments where we needed a hero and he stepped forward.
I’d be willing to bet this won’t be the last time this season he does something massive either. He’s just got that knack. It went missing for a while but you could see every time he has played this season that he had that spark back. Time will tell just how significant this contribution turns out to be, but if we win the league then we will all 100% look back on this as one of the key moments. Hopefully this game will be this season’s “Villa”.
We all look back on that late win at Villa Park as one of, if not the most decisive moments of the title winning season. This wasn’t quite as dramatic as we were drawing rather than losing, and scored one late goal as opposed to two, but it still feels fucking massive.
We started the week four points behind Chelsea and one behind City. We’ve ended it still one behind City, but we made up five points on Chelsea in the space of three games. That feels pretty significant, especially as it looked like we were going to fail to take full advantage of their loss at West Ham. On that note, our defeat in that fixture doesn’t seem quite as bad now.
It looked like we were going to be left frustrated by Wolves but if we had dropped points I can honestly say I wouldn’t have been kicking off or complaining about the performance. Sure, I’d be going fucking mad about the sitters we missed, but performance wise I thought we did everything that could be reasonably expected.
The lads dominated the game from start to finish, they completely restricted any threat Wolves may have had on the break and they created enough clear chances to win a couple of games, let alone one. You can’t legislate for some of the misses we had though. Usually they cost you. This time it didn’t because we’ve got Origi.
And Salah. For all the glory Div will rightly have bestowed on him, let’s not forget just how fucking sensational that bit of play from Mo was to create it for him. Virgil’s pass deserves a mention too, but that goal was all Salah really. Incredible skill. The first touch to knock the ball perfectly into the space. The little second touch to delay a split second until the gap was there to play the pass. And then the cutback to Divock. Three world class touches.
Divock still had work to do though, but finishing is what he does. It’s his thing, he’s fucking boss at it. And he’s also utterly nerveless, which helps. This is why he can produce goals in such big moments, because he’s so laid back and calm it’s just like finishing chances in a training session for him. His laid back attitude probably hurts him in some ways. He never seems like he’s bothered if he plays or not, but then that easy going nature helps him do what he does.
What a moment that was. Last minute winners are always great but this one felt even more special. Not sure why, we’re only just into December and there’s so much football still to be played. I think it meant more because it was so deserved. I’d have felt hard done by if we hadn’t won this game because the performance merited all three points.
I also knew if we didn’t win we’d have to listen to a load of fucking bollocks about how well Wolves defended and how they deserved a point. And crucially, I knew that the main source of that bollocks would be Conor fucking Coady, who’d have seeked out every camera within a ten mile radius as well as booked himself a slot on MOTD2 and MNF to talk us all through his match saving block. Except he wouldn’t talk about that, he’d downplay it and tell us how great the whole team played because that’s part of his schtick. “I’m sound me, proper good lad ye know”
I heard Barry Glendenning say on the radio on Sunday “I don’t think there is anybody who could dislike Conor Coady is there?”. I nearly crashed the fucking car, shouting “Yeah there is, I fucking hate him!”.
There isn’t any specific reason why. He just does my head in. He rubs me up the wrong way with how fucking cocky he is, while simultaneously trying to come across as being a boss lad and that. He’s too full of himself, always has been even when he was at the Academy. My mum hates him too, she has done for years. “He’s a cocky little thing him” she always says. And he is, she’s right. This isn’t an irrational thing like her hatred of Lallana, I completely get where she’s coming from on this (like the disdain she has for Son too).
But we were heading for that doomsday scenario where Coady’s “heroics” were going to deny us the win. There was nothing heroic about what he did though in truth. He got back onto the goal line as any defender would have done, and then Jota inexplicably just smashed it into his bollocks instead of rolling it into the corner.
Jota won’t be able to explain what happened there but I know. His brain will have been telling him to be composed and roll it in the corner, but the little devil in him took over and was like “there’s that cunt Coady. Remember him? Smash it right into his bollocks lad. Go on, you know you want to”. And he did.
I’m fine with it in theory, but wait until we’re a couple in front next time, eh Diogo?
He missed a great chance in the first half too when he headed wide from a brilliant Trent cross. He had another header cleared off the line and we probably should have known then it wasn’t going to be his day. It was his birthday too, against his old club. Everything seemed set up for him to shine but nothing went right for him.
He was booed as well, which was a shitty thing to do really as there was no animosity when he left there and there’s no reason for them to be booing him at all. In fairness, when he was subbed there was booing but there was loads of people applauding too and I’m fairly sure on my dodgy stream I heard a chant of “Diogo” so I’m not going to judge Wolves fans too harshly. After all, Michael Owen has been booed at Anfield. It wasn’t all Liverpool fans doing that, and it wasn’t all Wolves fans booing Jota either.
Anyway, it had taken us about 20 minutes to get going, which Klopp put down to us just needing to figure out what Wolves were doing and where the space was to attack them. After that quiet opening period I thought we played really well. We got in behind them down the side loads but the cutbacks didn’t always find a red shirt.
Trent volleyed over after a lovely diagonal by Thiago got him in behind. I don’t actually think he was even trying to shoot, although that’s how it looked. I reckon he was trying to square it for Jota and Mané in the middle but just miscued it.
We had a really close call when the marauding Robbo ran onto a Jota pass and crossed low. Sadio couldn’t quite get a touch but it looked as though Mo had a tap in. He was challenged and the ball squirmed away from him.
I think Klopp wanted a penalty for that as they showed him going mad at the fourth official just after it. None of the replays I saw were conclusive but Mo didn’t appeal for anything so I assume Saiss must have got a touch on the ball to take it away from him. If he did, that’s some great defending from him.
The only moments of danger for Wolves were from offside situations that wouldn’t have counted anyway. The first time Alisson even had anything to do was in first half stoppage time when he had to come out and intercept a cross that was headed towards Traore.
They offered nothing in attack because we didn't let them do what they wanted to do, which was sit in and then counter attack. Hwang was anonymous and the only time I noticed Jiminez was when he was acting the cunt. Like when he apparently got injured but rolled himself back onto the pitch to try to make us put the ball out. There was fuck all wrong with him but even if there was, he chose to come back onto the pitch so fuck him.
The other Wolves forward, Adama Traore, didn’t do anything either. No doubt plenty of you are now saying “that’s because he’s shit”. Well, if he was shit Klopp wouldn’t have clearly worked so hard on ways to nullify him. It was obvious that our lads had a plan for him as any time our attack broke down and Wolves looked to counter, either Thiago or Fabinho was smothering Traore and not letting him turn and run. Thiago did a great job of it on a few occasions. He couldn’t stop him, but he held him up long enough until help arrived.
And in the second half when it got more stretched and Traore was able to wriggle free a few times, we just fouled him. That’s what you have to do. Thiago, Robbo and Fabinho all took him out when it was necessary.
Traore wasn’t effective because we knew he was the danger and we snuffed him out. Other teams have been doing it too. And you can do it because Wolves don’t really offer much of a threat anywhere else. Stop Traore getting it in space and that’s half the battle against them.
If Traore was in a better team, where other players are the focus for the opposition and he was able to have more room to operate in, I still think he could be unstoppable. If Klopp got hold of him he’d be unreal. The only doubt I have about him is does he want it enough. I don’t think he does, because with all the attributes he has (he’s not just pace, contrary to popular opinion) it does seem like his head goes down too easily and he doesn’t have that fight in him. As I say though, put a player like that in Klopp’s hands and let’s see what would happen.
There’s no debate that he was shite in this one though. We wouldn’t allow him to be anything else. It’s not easy to look good against us when we’re playing like this. Especially in midfield, where I thought all three of our lads were fucking boss. Well, Hendo was good, the other two were brilliant.
Thiago was the best player on the pitch for me. Outstanding with and without the ball. He was unlucky not to score too early in the second half. A corner found its way to Mo at the back of the box and he drilled it back across goal. Thiago met it but his side footer was blocked by Jiminez. The rebound hit Thiago and went back towards goal but was saved by the keeper, and then Thiago stuck out a leg to have a third bite at it but couldn’t direct it on target.
Still, the chances were coming and I was still confident of the win at this stage. Then came the Jota miss and suddenly I wasn’t so confident anymore. Moments like that change games. Initially it looked like he’d done everything right. The keeper collided with a defender and suddenly he was clear with an empty net.
He could have taken the shot early but the angle wasn’t great and two defenders were sprinting back towards goal. Coady was already in position to block any shot that wasn’t hit very firmly, so he correctly decided to hold off on the shot and dribble towards goal.
He carried it to the edge of the six yard box, in a fairly central position, and although there were two defenders on the line they were right next to eachother on the left side of the goal. The easy option was to just roll it into the far corner where he had half the goal to aim at. He didn’t, and all of a sudden it had “one of those days written all over it”.
We kept plugging away and Klopp freshened it up by sending on Origi for Hendo. Bit of a strange one as it meant four forwards and just two in the middle of the park. I was concerned we’d get picked off on a counter attack now that we had one less player patrolling that area, and I also just didn’t like the change of shape when we were playing quite well.
We play 4-3-3 virtually all the time and players know where their team-mates are going to be in any given situation without even looking. They’re so used to it that it becomes second nature. Suddenly you only have two in there and you have four forwards, the whole dynamic changes. So I was a bit concerned about that and was therefore happy when Ox came on for Jota not too long after and we went back to our normal shape.
Both Origi and Ox looked sharp and were involved straight away after coming on. Div had a brilliant turn on the edge of the box but then slipped as he got his shot away. He also got on the end of a great cross by Trent but Saiss challenged him and deflected the ball behind for a corner.
Sadio had two great chances as well. The first when he couldn’t control a dinked pass from Mo and the keeper was able to smother it. And the second when the ball fell to him in space but his close range shot was too close to the keeper who made a great save. That was the moment I gave up. It was late on and I assumed that would be our last big chance.
I assumed wrong. We had two. The first when Mo turned brilliantly in the box but instead of his usual curler to the far corner finish, he went low at the near post and the keeper saved easily. Game over then. Fucks sake.
But then…..
Deep, deep, deep into stoppage time. Virgil strides forward with the ball, assessing his options. He sees Mo and pings a raking 40 yard ball that hits him perfectly in stride. Mo doesn’t control it, instead he surprises substitute Ki-Jana Hoever (who had just replaced the outstanding Ait-Nouri) by immediately knocking it past him. Next thing you know, Origi is blasting it through Coady’s legs into the net and all hell is breaking loose on the touchline as Klopp, his staff and the subs all went crazy.
Klopp putting Tsimikas in a headlock was the highlight of it, although there was no restraining Kostas who didn’t know what he was going to do or who he was going to do it with, he just knew he was going to go nuts. I love that lad, he’s such a character. Someone on twitter described him as “Like Moreno, only he can play football”. Nailed it there.
Star man really ought to be Thiago but who can begrudge Divock getting it? Not me. Thiago was the best player on the pitch but Origi is the star man. As I said on the podcast, I’m all in favour of whatever over the top praise is thrown at him because it’s a really difficult role he fills and it’s vital we keep him involved and motivated.
He’s hardly played this season but when he has he’s scored goals and looked lively. We need that from him, so anything that keeps his spirits up and keeps his mentally engaged should be encouraged. Shit, at this point I wouldn’t even object to a statue being built.
What a moment. What a man. The legend continues to grow.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson (Origi), Thiago; Salah (Minamino), Jota (Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mané:
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