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    There’s a danger for us fans of taking this kind of thing for granted. It wasn’t an important game as we were already through, but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. How many English teams have gone to the San Siro and beaten AC Milan? For us it’s not that big a deal because of all the other accomplishments we’ve had, but for 95% of other English clubs it would be their greatest night in their history.
     
    The fact we did it with only three of our usual starting line up on the field is pretty remarkable. Ok, Milan didn’t look like any great shakes but they are top of Serie A and they needed to win this game. We didn’t need to win it yet our lads looked much more up for this than they did. That’s not because Milan weren’t motivated, it’s just that they couldn’t cope.
     
    We were too strong, too fast, too intense, too relentless for them. They couldn’t play because they weren’t allowed to. Any time one of their players had the ball he was immediately swarmed by yellow shirts and they had no answer to it. The only time they even put us under pressure was in the final five minutes, by which time we had long since taken off Sadio, Mo and even Divock and we had a forward line of Neco, Ox and Taki.
     
    It wasn’t a game I was particularly up for and if we’d have lost I wouldn’t have been particularly bothered, at least in relation to how I’d normally feel about a defeat. And yet within a few minutes of the game kicking off I was well into it because I loved what I was seeing. It was just like watching the first team, even though hardly any of them were even out there.
     
    By the end I was absolutely buzzing. This was fucking great. We went to the San Siro with a side containing Tyler Morton, Neco Williams and Nat Phillips and we played AC Milan off the park. The scoreline makes the game seem closer than it was as it was actually really comfortable and Milan barely laid a glove on us.
     
    I don’t think you can overstate how big an accomplishment this was. Imagine going to the best team in Italy with a team of mostly back ups and kids and comfortably dealing with the game and winning 2-1. Not enough will be made of it, understandably because we were already through and there was nothing riding on the game. In a way though that makes it even more impressive. I'm still buzzing about this performance now, the morning after. 
     
    Milan had everything to play for here but we didn’t. And yet look which group of players showed the greater appetite and desire for the game. It was our lads, even though we’d qualified for the knock out stages ages ago. That speaks volumes for the professionalism and desire in the squad.
     
    All that said, we did have Alisson, Sadio and Mo in the line up and that proved decisive. While everyone played their part in the result and performance, we wouldn’t have been able to do what we did without them. Ok, maybe Kelleher could have made the one v one save Alisson made late on, or maybe not.
     
    The point I’m making really is that we can make a load of changes but the one area where that isn’t possible is in the front three, especially with Bobby currently sidelined. In an ideal world I’m sure Klopp would have preferred to leave Sadio and Mo at home but it wasn’t an option.
     
    Elliott and Jones could have been options but they were unavailable, so we didn’t have anybody else who we could have played, unless you’re throwing in Max Woltman or one of the other kids, which wouldn’t be fair to them really as it’s too soon for them. 
     
    So while there was an obvious element of risk in playing those two stars up top, especially given what happened to Jota last season, I understood it this time and don’t think Klopp had too much choice. If Kaide Gordon had been available maybe Mo or Sadio would have been rested, but I’m sure the plan was always for them to only play an hour or so.
     
    Thankfully we had the lead which meant we could sub them and didn’t have to chase the game. Mo and Sadio played key roles in both of our goals too, which is what I’m saying about how it’s easier to rotate the team when you still have that threat at the top end of the pitch.
     
    Mo’s goal looked easy but it wasn’t. More often than not a forward will put that over the bar. It came at him quickly and he didn’t have the biggest gap to aim for. The way he controlled the finish so effortless wasn’t even a surprise though. He’s just on another level currently.
     
    Credit to Ox as well though as it was his purposeful, direct run and shot that led to the chance. He was lively all night. He had more of an impact in the first half than the second but there’s a sharpness about him now that he’s played a run of games and been involved. 
     
    With all the games we have coming up there are going to be times when Hendo and Thiago will be rested and it’s great that we’ve got Ox back in good shape and making contributions. Same with Divock up top. Another goal for him. A winner in the San Siro no less. He’s got some collection of decisive goals hasn’t he?
     
    Lovely finish it was too, which ought to surprise absolutely nobody as putting the ball in the net is what he does best. Sadio did well to rob the defender and force the save from the keeper, but Origi still had a bit to do there with the header.
     
    We had other chances too. Not necessarily clear cut ones but we carried a threat all night. Milan didn’t. The goal they scored was a proper shit one from our perspective. It wasn’t a good corner but Taki failed to deal with it, a surprised Alisson was caught on his heels and Tomori poked in from close range.
     
    Really disappointing goal to give away that. Minamino has one job there. Don’t let the ball get past you. It’s really not difficult but he abandoned his post (literally) and then couldn’t adjust his body to cut out the cross. 
     
    Up until the latter stages of the game Milan created nothing. Phillips and Konate were just completely dominant, while the full backs were dogged and tenacious too in stopping crosses coming in. And how good was that defensive line all night by the way? We kept catching them offside and when they showed the replays our back four were always in a perfectly straight line.
     
    Amazing how well drilled they were considering they’ve never officially played together before. Looks like a lot of work has been done on the training pitch though. Konate was superb. He was the best player on the park but Phillips was pretty much flawless too. 
     
    Zlatan did nothing but then that’s because I was watching. He’s never done anything of note any time I’ve watched the cunt. His record speaks for itself and he’s had a great career. Just never when I’ve been watching, because whenever I’ve watched him he’s done absolutely fuck all, hence the popular expression I’ll often use “a steaming pile of Zlatan”.
     
    I’m so made up for Nat though because we wouldn’t even be here without what he did last season. It was only fitting that he got his reward with a start in a glamour fixture like this. Nobody has deserved it more and it’s great that he rose to the occasion and put in a performance like that. Capped of course by the turn in his own box that sent two Milan defenders for the Echo. Glorious.
     
    The San Siro is synonymous with great centre backs. Baresi, Rijkaard, Costacurta, Maldini, Nesta, Desailly, Stam, Bonucci…. Now those lucky Milan fans will be able to add the name Nat Phillips to the list when they’re regaling their children and grandchildren about the greats they’ve seen.
     
    We had good performances all over the park though. Tyler Morton. Fucking hell. He just makes it look so easy. He gets the ball, he gives the ball to a team-mate. That team-mate might be five yards to the side of him or forty yards downfield in a tight window along the touchline. Doesn’t matter, the ball is arriving where it needs to be. He was brilliant again.
     
    Neco Williams too. He’s more experienced than Morton of course, but he’s still a kid and he’s looking to establish himself again after a dip in which he came in for unfair criticism from virgins on social media. He’s been very good this season whenever he’s been called upon and this was a top performance from him. Really good at both ends of the pitch.
     
    Kostas played well too, albeit his crossing was nowhere near the usual level we’ve become accustomed to. Everything else was class though.
     
    Klopp will also have been delighted to get Keita and Gomez back out on the pitch too. We need all the players we can get over the next month as the squad will be tested to the limit by all these games we have. 
     
    It was also nice to see Woltman and Connor Bradley get on for a few seconds at the end. Whatever happens in their careers from this point on, they’ll always be able to say they played at the San Siro in the Champions League. It must have been surreal for Woltman and Morton, as they’re best mates who’ve been going the game together since they were little kids. Now they’re both on the San Siro pitch for a win against AC Milan. Crazy.
     
    Six wins from six has never been done by an English club before. It’s not a huge deal, especially if you don’t go on to win the competition, but it’s yet another record that’s been set by this group of players. The records are tumbling every week it seems. Whether it’s individual records (Mo is breaking a couple every time he sets foot on the pitch recently) or collective ones, this team is doing things that haven’t been done before.
     
    We’re in a great run of form now and the West Ham defeat seems to have made everyone refocus and raise their level. Thankfully we can put Europe to bed for a while now and focus on the league. We’ve got so many games coming up that any one of them could be a potential banana skin as fatigue plays a part.
     
    It’s the same for everyone though and both City and Chelsea are just as likely to slip up as we are during this hectic period. Who knows how things will play out between now and when Sadio and Mo depart for AFCON, but when you’ve got squad players coming in and playing like this it does make you feel very confident about what will happen if and when Klopp does need to make changes.
     
    Next up is Villa and Stevie Gerrard. I feel like that will be a tough game as Villa are a good side on their day and Gerrard will obviously have them right up for this one. I’m completely disregarding what happened last season when we got hammered at their place and needed a stoppage time winner from Trent to beat them at Anfield. 
     
    Those games count for nothing as fans weren’t there. That has no bearing at all on what will happen this time, although there is definitely something to be said for football being played without Villa fans present. I just wish they weren’t going to be allowed in on Saturday as listening to those unfunny banter merchant cunts for 90 minutes is one of the lowlights of every season. Pricks.
     
    Come on Reds, smash these fuckers.
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Williams (Bradley), Phillips, Konate, Tsimikas; Morton, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino (Woltman); Salah (Gomez), Origi (Fabinho), Mané (Keita):
     
     
     
     
  • Six wins from six as a heavily rotated Liverpool line up went to the iconic home of the Italian league leaders and won comfortably.
     
    Your host Chris Smith is joined by Ian Brown and TLW Editor Dave Usher to chew the fat over a surprisingly enjoyable night in which Salah bagged his 20th of the season, Divock scored again and Big Nat and Konate treated the home crowd to the kind of defensive masterclass not seen at the San Siro since the days of Maldini and Baresi.
     
     
  • Divock Origi put the icing on the cake of a wonderful few days on a personal level by scoring his second winning goal in as many games against AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday evening.
     
    The 2-1 victory saw Liverpool become the first English club to claim the perfect six wins from as many games in the group stage.
     
    Mo Salah added more validity to the claim that he is the best player in the world at this point of time  getting on the scoresheet for the 20th time in 21 appearances for the 2021/22 season.
     
    In doing so the Egyptian became the first Liverpool player since Ian Rush to score 20 goals in five successive seasons, also breaking the club record for most goals in the group stage of a European competition with seven.
     
    But it was Origi who deservedly got his fair share of acclaim winning the UEFA Player of the Match award and speaking after the win (per the Official site) was delighted with the overall performance.
     

     
    “ It was a beautiful night. We enjoyed it.
     
    " I think as a team we played very well. We all wanted to play our best game, playing in San Siro – a beautiful stadium, a historical stadium – against a very strong team. That’s what we live for.
     
    Origi became an iconic figure forever more by those associated with the club for his goal in the 2019 Champions League final which clinched Number six.
     
    It was the last goal he had scored in the competition until Tuesday evening, but while many would understand frustration for lack of opportunities, Origi seemingly has a calm and serene attitude and you just sense he is enjoying being part of a successful team.
     
    “ I would say I tried to play my game as much as possible and enjoy [it],”
     
    “Being on the pitch, for me is an honour, it’s a joy. It’s something I love so much.
     
    “Being able to express yourself on the highest level in the Champions League is what you work so hard for. Today, being able to score and help the team, it’s a very nice feeling.”
     
    This current squad of Liverpool players have proven over the years that they are not satisfied by personal accolades or winning streaks until they claim the ultimate prize.
     
    Origi echoed that sentiment.
     

     
    In football it’s all about: again and again giving everything. The results come by doing the right things at the right time in the right moment. (and) being in the moment.
     
    “Of course, for the outside world there’s a lot of speculation but for us it’s having training from tomorrow – recovery – then training again and again and again. 
     
    “At the end of the season we’ll see how we end – but obviously we want to end in the highest way possible.”
     
     
     
  • 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:
     
     
     
  • Monday Nov 29:
     
    Some mad videos of shithousing doing the rounds over the last couple of days. I love all that, they’re great fun and the one of the Brazilian lad throwing himself to the floor after being touched on the back by the ref was great. I’m completely on board with all that. This one though....
     
     
     
     
    Fucking hell, that’s just so bad. Doing that to your own team-mate is completely unacceptable, even if you hate him. It’s not about the lad he got sent off, it’s about leaving the rest of the team a man down and then that player also probably facing a further suspension. That goalkeeper is a massive cunt and I’d have sacked him on the spot if I was his manager.
     
    The only other footballer on the planet I could envisage doing something like that is Richarlison. 
     
    Meanwhile, how funny was that Carragher / Keane argument yesterday! Carragher was right and Keane was talking nonsense, but not too many pundits would have taken him on over it and that was just great TV. Keane was wound up even before that, he had a face like thunder when he was talking about what Carrick said post-match and that segment was absolute gold.
     
    Keane is great. He’s not there to be calm, collected and making salient, incisive points on tactics. He’s an entertainer and he entertained. So did Carra. And just as funny as those two was how cool Hasselbaink was sat in the middle of them. Sensational stuff. Shit, I even laughed at Neville’s video in reply to it.
     
    So Messi won the Balon d’Or again. The problem with this award is it should be awarded at the end of each season, because this just looks stupid really because Messi has done fuck all since going to PSG and then you have Mo on fire for us. So this looks ridiculous, but Messi’s numbers for the year are actually really impressive and he led Argentina to the Copa America title.
     
    There’s a decent argument that he deserved it based on the criteria they use that they got this right, but it just doesn’t feel right does it? Poor Lewandowski. He got screwed over last year and he had a strong case this time too. 
     
    You know what the mad thing is though? The importance that this thing is given when it was decided by coaches and national team captains who are not impartial, and random journalists from around the world who most of us have probably never heard of? Now it’s back to just journalists voting again, but for all we know it could be the French and German equivalent of Garth Crooks and Paul Merson voting on this. 
     
    Tuesday Nov 30:
     
    Ray Kennedy passes away aged 70. He was before my time but he’s one of those players I always wished I’d got to see in his prime as everyone raved about him and he was Paisley’s favourite player, which is just about the highest recommendation anyone could have. He’s battled Parkinson’s for as long as I can remember and a result of that we never really saw him in the public eye. Just a real shame, but he left quite the legacy as he’s a legendary figure at two of the biggest clubs in the country.
     
    In other news today we’ve appointed Taffarel to the coaching staff. He’ll work with Achteburg and Robinson but it seems a bit odd to have three goalkeeper coaches. Obviously he’s got a strong relationship with Alisson so that’s why he’s here, but we have another Brazilian keeper too. No idea if he’s any good or not like.
     
    This is such a footy manager move though. Every game I ever played I did this. I’d end up with a coaching staff full of all mad names like Baggio, Moller, Costacurta, Branco, McCoist… shit, the last time I played it I had Darius Vassell, David Bentley and that crab Gareth Barry on my staff!
     
    Wednesday Dec 1:
     
    Everton 1 L 4 Yep, just how it was meant to go. A lot of the old clichés about footy don’t really apply in the modern game. “The magic of the cup” is an obvious one but “form book goes out of the window” is one that is clearly bollocks. Sure, sometimes the shitter team will win but that isn’t because it’s a derby. It’s just football. West Ham beat us, Brentford and Brighton drew with us. 
     
    If by some miracle Everton had avoided defeat tonight it would have been a miracle. The form book would have had to not only go out of the window, it would have needed to be doused in petrol, set on fire, and the ashes scattered in the fiery pit or Mordor. Everton’s only hope was if we completely forgot how to play football. And we didn’t do that. They’re lucky it was only four.
     
    I think the whole ‘form doesn’t matter in derbies’ thing doesn’t apply any more because the games can’t be as physical as they used to be (last season notwithstanding) and that takes away any chance Everton have of being competitive. If its a football match and not a scrap, they can’t compete. It’s that simple really. 
     
    Klopp’s comments afterwards pretty much said the same thing without being as blunt as that. You can translate what he said as “Liverpool are magic Everton are tragic”.
     
    Thursday Dec 2:
     
    I don’t think anywhere near enough has been made of some of the antics of the Everton fans last night. The TV coverage didn’t show exactly what happened when that fan ran on the pitch and was ejected, but he went after Alisson. They showed the replay of Alisson accidentally kicking the lucozade bottle into the stands and that was clearly the reason that knobhead went onto the pitch.
     
    There’s also a video of one of them (maybe even two actually) throwing a punch at Mo when he ran into the hoardings. There’s a steward right there and he does fuck all. It’s outrageous, it’s scummy, it’s embarrassing…. it’s Everton. 
     
    On a serious note though, I don’t know how nothing is being made of this. You can clearly see the cunt try to punch Mo. There’s no doubt about what he’s doing and he’ll be easy to identify as there’ll have been cameras on him. There’s cameras on everyone in stadiums these days.
     
    There’s no condoning that regardless of who the player is, but when it’s Mo it’s even more outrageous. What has Mo ever done to incur the wrath of Evertonians other than just being a great footballer? The funny thing is that this was only ever going to end badly for them. You take a swing at the world’s best footballer when your team isn’t good enough to keep him in check and he’s going to make you look stupid. 
     
    That incident is the literal definition of “you come at the king you best not miss”. Mo’s the King, they came at, they did miss and look what happened. Stupid angry cunts.
     
    Some of the videos I’ve seen have been absolute gold though. The best one is the Red who was in their end and pretended to be one of them at the end. Booing, shouting “time to go lad” and then asking “Where’s the Arteta money Bill?” Absolute gold.
     
    There’s also one of two angry, tearful Blues who left early (after the second goal) and for some reason recorded a massive rant about the players not giving a fuck because they go home to their “million pound mansions and their fit wives”. It’s great.
     
    There’s loads of this stuff going around now. This is the worst mental state Evertonians have ever been in because it’s a combination of us becoming great again and them getting their hopes up when Moshiri came in only for things to get worse than they’ve ever been. If they didn’t have Calvert-Lewin to come back in I’d say they might even get relegated, but he’ll make the difference as he’ll get 15 goals which should keep them lower-mid table..
     
    Friday Dec 3:
     
    Klopp talks a bit more about Taffarel’s role and then announces that John Achteburg has signed a new deal. I loved that because the “LFC Fam” had their tiny little cocks out thinking Taffarel was replacing Achteburg, only to now have to deal with the realisation that Tafferal is working for Big John. 
     
    Klopp was also effusive in his praise of Big Nat. Saying of all the players he’s coached, Nat has probably had the biggest leap in his development. He talks about him now like he’s a genuinely top class centre half, which he might actually be you know. I think even those of us who love him and think he’s boss are probably still a little prejudiced against him because of the level he was at a year ago. By that I mean in the back of our minds we kind of think “he can’t be as good as I think he is because a year ago he was a Championship level player”.
     
    The thing is though, some players (especially centre backs) develop more slowly than others. And Phillips has a couple of things that a lot of other players don’t have. Firstly, he’s clever as fuck. He’s a real deep thinker and as a result of that he knows what he can and can’t do and you never see him doing risky shit. Secondly, he trains every day with some of the best players in the world, being coached by some of the best coaches in the world. 
     
    With all of these things combined, he’s been able to take a massive leap and he could go to most teams now and be first choice. At least I think he could. The counter point to that is how good will he be when he’s not playing with our lads and for Klopp? We’ll find out soon enough as he’s almost certainly going to leave in January. I hope he gets a run out at Anfield in front of a full house before that happens though.
     
    Some good comments by Klopp about Jota too. Talking about how the first time he saw him play he thought “that’s someone who could play for me” because he was relentless. He said that the relative lack of goals at Wolves didn’t bother him because the way Wolves play meant the wingers had to work harder than anybody in the league, which impacts what they do in attack.
     
    You know what that made me think of? Jared Bowen and why we were interested in him. I like him, I think he’s a good player, but I didn’t want us to sign him as he hardly ever seems to score. Makes you think though, maybe he doesn’t score because he works so hard defensively he doesn’t get the opportunities. 
     
    Not saying I want us to sign him, just making a general point really that one of the things our recruitment team look at go beyond what many of us see. We get a lot more right than wrong, and Jota is the perfect example of how well we’ve done, as he wasn’t even first choice for Wolves in his final season.
     
    There’s a lot to be said for the sexy signing and I’m not going to turn my nose up if Mbappe shows up next summer (I know, I know, I’m just sayin’) but the Mané, Salah and especially Jota type signings are really satisfying aren’t they?
     
     
    ….and that was the week that was.
  • DiVOCK!!! He's at it again. When the Reds win trophies there's usually a pivotal Origi contribution or two in there so this bodes well for our chances this year.
     
    TLW Editor Dave Usher is joined by Julian Richards and Dan Thomas to reflect on a dramatic afternoon at Molineux as Liverpool were on the brink of dropping two points due to some dreadful finishing, until the man, the myth the legend popped up in the 95th minute, right on cue. What a guy.
     
     

  • The history of Liverpool spans over a hundred years, through three centuries. Having been founded in 1892, Liverpool has been going strong, and is considered one of the greatest teams of all time.
     
    Today, Liverpool is still in the top ranks of football, with great players like Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk, and Trent Alexander Arnold. As of November 29, 2021, Liverpool is ranked 3rd in the Premier League, having recently beaten Arsenal, Southampton, and Porto. 
     
    Being one of the most popular, and highly ranked Football teams of all time, Liverpool is a fan favorite team among bettors. Football is the biggest sport to bet on, both offline and online, and among football fans and bettors, Liverpool is considered one of the most reliable options to place a bet on. The popularity of betting on Football, and sports in general, has led to the creation of multiple online betting sites which now permeate the internet. New UK betting sites at Helpbet can be found daily.
     
    However, most football fans don’t dabble in gambling or betting, and just prefer to enjoy the game with their friends or family. For long-time Liverpool fans, we are going to celebrate one of Football’s greatest teams, by doing a retrospective on some of their best matches, and most famous victories. 
     
    Liverpool V Everton, April 1999
     
    A game for the history books, between Liverpool and long-time rival team Everton. The game started out with Everton scoring the lead in the first minute, making it seem as if the game had been decided before it even began. But it soon became clear to the fans of both teams, that it would not be that simple, when Robbie Fowler equalized the score from a penalty shot. Fowler followed up his equalizer with another score, and Patrik Berger took the game to the next level with a third goal, scored from range.
     
    The real star of the show though, to many was Steven Gerrard, who successfully defended, what should have been a goal-bound shot. The game ended with a score of 3:2, and is still considered by many fans to be one of Liverpool’s “we were there” moments. 
     
    Liverpool V Newcastle United, April 1996
     
    In 2003, the 10 Season Awards held a vote by both the public and a panel of experts. The results unanimously voted Liverpool’s 1996 match against Newcastle United as the “Match of the Decade”. The match was also listed as the absolute best live broadcast match on Sky Sports’ 20th anniversary list. For all intents and purposes, this is one of the greatest matches in football history. 
     
    The score was even when Collymore tore the net with a left-foot strike. The strike was followed by the screams and shouts of tens of thousands of Liverpool fans in the stadium, and many more at home, raising the roof and singing Liverpool’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone. The match ended on a score of 4:3, and has gone down in history as one of the greatest football matches ever played. 
  • Jurgen Klopp says that the improvement in Nat Phillips is one of the greatest he has seen in a player under his management.
     
    In a 2020/21 season where good news stories were few and far between for the Reds, the former Bolton Wanderers junior stood out like a beacon with his competitive nature and ability to rise to any challenge that the manager put in his direction.
     
    Never in the wildest dreams of Klopp would he have thought the 24 year-old would become his most important central defender, but that is exactly what occurred with the amount of first choice talent on the sidelines for a extended period.
     
    And while supporters were not permitted in the stadiums during the Covid-impacted season, the reputation of Phillips grew to a cult like status  among the fanbase.
     
    Speaking ahead of the Premier League clash with Wolves this afternoon, Klopp gave the defender a worthy complement as the Echo reported.
     

     
    “People often ask me which player made the biggest improvements under my leadership, and I say Robert Lewandowski.
     
    "That’s probably right, but not far off that is Nat Phillips, just in a completely different department.
     
    "I remember when I saw Nat Phillips first. I spoke to him after the game and he’s one of the smartest players I ever worked with. I told him: 'You know you are not the easiest on the eye, eh?’
     
    “His development is absolutely insane. You saw it last year, you would have said: ‘Nat Phillips, oh my God, he plays in the last line?’ People love him because of his heading but with his feet he is unbelievable.
     
    "He’s a late starter, but his development is unbelievable. I would sign him for any club except Liverpool because we have him."
     
    With the first choice pairing of Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip  now back on deck and Ibrahima Konate signed from RB Leipzig, it means that the playing status of Phillips is currently in limbo.
     
    In the summer window, Phillips was linked to the likes of Brighton, Burnley, Newcastle and West Ham as his reputation grew and would have been an asset for any of those clubs.
     
    And while he would have gone with Liverpool’s blessing as a form of appreciation or his fine efforts in helping the club clinch a top four spot, there was a sense of apprehension over how the injured trio of Van Dijk, Matip and Joe Gomez would return to full time action.
     
    And if there were any setbacks, then Klopp knew who he could call up. 
     
    To this point, Phillips has played a total of 46 first team minutes this season and Klopp knows that clubs will come knocking again in January with a decision almost certainly having to be made again.
     
    “He is not playing. Life is sometimes not fair and I can’t blame him.
     
    "We cannot keep him forever, that’s clear. We needed him, just to be safe, for that half-year.
     
    "We will see what happens in the window because he’s a great guy.
     
    Let’s keep our fingers crossed big Nat gets a start against AC Milan as it is the perfect acknowledgement for his efforts last season.
     
     
     
     
  • The biggest game of the weekend came on Sunday so I’ll start with that and then circle back to Saturday’s games afterwards.
     
    I didn’t give United much of a chance of getting anything at Chelsea so that draw was a welcome surprise. I’m not sure they deserved it but I don’t care. How they play is not my concern but if they can pick up any kind of result that helps us then great. It would have been better if they’d managed to hold onto their lead and hadn’t conceded a stupid fucking penalty, but they took two points off Chelsea so that’ll do.
     
    They were under pressure for most of the game but coped fairly well. Not having Maguire and Shaw back there doing their Chuckle Brothers act obviously helped but unfortunately for them, Wan Bassaka was still there shitting all over the lawn. He’s terrible him. He was actually better at Palace than he is now. The biggest myth in football is that he's such a great defender. Just because he loves a slidey and is difficult to dribble past on the outside does not make him a great defender.
     
    Being dogshit going forward always boosts a full back's defensive reputation though as everyone assumes if you can't attack then you must be boss at defending or why else would you be in the team? Wan-Bissaka can't attack or defend. He attacks like Tony Hibbert and defends like Luke Shaw.
     
    United held out until half time and then took the lead early in the second half when Jorginho made a mess of dealing with a high ball when he was last man, and Sancho ran clear to score. The mental thing about that goal was the part Rashford played in it. He was up there in support of Sancho and should have been the recipient of a square ball and tap in. 
     
    You could see Sancho wanted to roll it to him as he looked across a couple of times. The problem was Rashford was offside the entire way from halfway to the edge of the box. He never got himself behind the ball at any point, the soft twat. That’s the worst piece of off the ball forward play I’ve seen since that Richarlison fucktard earlier in the season.
     
    Sancho was savvy enough to realise and didn’t give him the ball. Instead he kept his cool and scored himself. What was Rashford thinking though? Probably worrying about hungry kids again instead of ‘concentrating on his footy’ like twitter keeps telling him to.
     
    A United win would have been great for us as we’d have closed the gap to Chelsea to just a single point. The useless pricks couldn’t hold on though and Wan Bissaka recklessly swung out a leg and caught Thiago Silva. Predictably, Jorginho converted the pen.
     
    The big talking point was Carrick leaving out Ronaldo. It’s amazing that this was such a story. I thought Carragher had it right. He’s a 36 year old striker who doesn’t do anything to help a team defensively. He isn’t going to play every single game and an away match against the league leaders where you’re likely to be under the cosh seems like a logical game to leave him out. It was going to be all hands to the pump against Chelsea so Carrick (or Rangnick) left him on the bench with the intention of maybe bringing him on to counter attack late on. But because of the ‘name’ it’s a story. How dare you leave Ronaldo out!
     
    Roy Keane was incredulous about it and got into a shouting match with Carra afterwards. I buzz off Keane, he’s hilarious, but he was talking bollocks here and was contradicting himself. Usually he talks sense but he lost all perspective because he just wanted to hammer Carrick about anything and everything. He had a proper cob on after seeing Carrick’s post match interview and at one point Haselbaink and Carra were looking at each other and giggling like school kids as Keane let rip. 
     
    He defo has no time for Carrick. I thought they were former team-mates but it turns out they aren’t. Carrick actually replaced Keane at Old Trafford and even took his shirt number. Hard as it seems to imagine, could it be that Keane is still bearing a grudge after all these years? Nah, surely not. He doesn’t seem the type.
     
    Elsewhere, Stevie got his second win on the bounce as Villa boss which raised hopes he might do us a favour in midweek against City. Didn’t happen. I’ll get to that in a bit though.
     
    They won at Selhurst Park though, a result I didn’t expect if I’m honest. I thought Palace would do them but their achilles heel did for them again. They just can’t defend set-pieces. Targett fired Villa ahead after Palace didn’t deal with a routine corner. Nothing special about it, just a cross in that they didn’t head away and Targett arrived at the back post for a goal.
     
    Villa were briefly reduced to ten men when Douglas Luis saw red for a lunge on Kouyate. VAR told the ref to have another look, he did and changed his mind. I’ve never seen this ref before and he was pretty hopeless. 
     
    McGinn curled in Villa’s second from the edge of the box late on and although Guess pulled one back in stoppage time, there was no time left for them to try to force an equaliser. 
     
    Vieira said “It was disappointing because we didn’t play as well as…..” zzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, nodded off there.
     
    It’s not too often I want Arsenal to win but I was glad they did this weekend as they were playing Newcastle. They did win but they didn’t exactly impress and for a while Newcastle were definitely in this game. Shelvey hit the bar and also stung the palms of Ramsdale when it was still goalless.
     
    Arsenal should have taken the lead when Saka produced a bit of magic on the left and crossed for Smith Rowe. His header was saved but the ball dropped to Aubamayeng two yards out and he sliced wide, the fucking fraud.
     
    Saka was comfortably the best player on the pitch and he put Arsenal ahead in the second half with a tidy finish. Wilson thought he should have had a penalty soon after when he tangled with Tavares in the box. The ref got that right I reckon, shoulder to shoulder, nothing in it.
     
    Martinelli came off the bench to wrap it up with a good volley. Not sure why he doesn’t play more as he usually looks like he can do something, which is more than his captain does, the useless cunt.
     
    Saka is already too good for Arsenal. You can see what’s going to happen there. He’ll stay there another year or maybe two while he develops and then when he’s ready to take the next step and hold down a place at a genuinely contender he’ll move on. 
     
    You know who else will move on soon? Graham Potter. You know how highly I rate him as I say it all the time. His team are as well coached as any in the league. He knows what he’s doing this fella, but Brighton fans seem to be getting a little ahead of themselves. They booed their team off after a 0-0 draw with Leeds in which they played really well but just couldn’t score.
     
    Their finishing was shite but they were also a bit unlucky at times and they hit the post on three occasions. There was nothing wrong with the performance though and Potter wasn’t happy at the crowd reaction. My boy Tariq Lamptey is back for injury and starting games again now. And he looks great again. He caused havoc down that flank and created countless chances for the forwards, but they kept missing them. Maupay in particular had an absolute Jon Walters.
     
    Norwich are showing signs of life under Dean Smith. They followed up last week’s second win of the season with a decent point at home to Wolves. They should have won as they were the better side and had the lion’s share of the chances, but Wolves had the best one when Krul needed to make a double save to get Grant Hanley out of jail. Watching Hanley try to play out from the back is like watching an elephant try to play snooker.
     
    Back to Sunday now and Leicester got back to winning ways with a thumping of Ranieri’s Watford. Loveable arl Claudio was given the warm welcome you’d expect but his team got off to a terrible start when their centre half ducked under a long ball without looking to see if there was anyone behind him. There was. Maddison. Who took full advantage. 
     
    Josh King levelled from the spot after the lively Dennis was brought down. Vardy made it 2-1 when he latched onto a Maddison ball and lobbed the keeper. Then he headed in at the near post from a Maddison corner and it was 3-1. 
     
    Not sure what Vardy’s celebrations were exactly but I like to think he was making a buzzing noise. Y’know, like a hornet? 
     
    Dennis pulled one back for Leicester but at that point you couldn’t see anything as a blizzard was coming down. The yellow ball doesn’t stand out well in the snow at all. I miss the old orange tango balls from back in the day. Footy in the snow with an orange ball was fucking boss, I loved that when I was a kid.
     
    Did you know Dennis is in the top five for both goals and assists so far this season? For all the hype about Sarr, he's the one that's been carrying the load for them.
     
    Lookman tapped in at the back post to wrap it up for Leicester and the Watford keeper had to make a great save to deny Vardy his hat-trick.
     
    Brendan went the full Brendan in his post match interview. He was asked about the crowd reaction to their recent bad run and he said:
     
    “I think the pandemic has got people a wee bit anxious and that anxiety in life is coming across in football. You look at the Brighton fans yesterday, even though Graham has done a fabulous job there”.
     
    The implication being “And obviously I’ve done a great job here too”. It was classic Brendan.
     
    Do you reckon he has a point about the pandemic though? I think he might have. People have been acting weird as fuck and football isn’t going to be immune to that. Was it the pandemic that made Brighton fans boo? Something to think about I suppose. If that is the case then Evertonians must have been hit harder by Covid than anyone.
     
    Maddison’s post match interview did my head in. He’s such a fucking cock, I can’t stand him.
     
    City beat West Ham 2-1 so I forwarded through the highlights as I have no interest in watching them fucking dickheads. Don’t know who scored, don’t care either. Fuck them the cheating cunts.
     
    I did watch quite a bit of Everton’s loss at Brentford. And I watched that live rather than on the highlights. I wanted a look at the Blues before we played them, just to confirm what I already thought; that they are absolute dogshit. And I’m happy to report that they did indeed confirm it.
     
    Brentford dominated the first half and led through a typically composed pen from my boy Ivan Toney. I actually had an argument with my Dad about that penalty afterwards. He was adamant that wasn’t a pen because the Brentford lad put his head down. He didn’t dispute that Townsend kicked him in the head, but apparently that’s ok if the player lowers his head and puts it in harm’s way. 
     
    Surely that’s only relevant when it comes to red cards? I wouldn’t send someone off if they accidentally kick an opponent who lowers his head, but how is this any different to if the Brentford lad had nicked the ball with his and been kicked? You’ll have to ask my dad, because he insisted it wasn’t the same thing and that this wasn’t a foul. 
     
    Any suspicion I had that he was going soft on Everton was quickly dispelled at half time in the derby though when he declared that Klopp should tell the ref we aren’t coming out for the second half because he wasn’t doing enough about how dirty Everton were. Honestly, I never know what mad take he’s going to come out with next, but at least it’s entertaining.
     
    Not like the second half of that Brentford / Everton game, which was dire. Brentford settled for what they had and Everton didn’t have it in them to do anything about it. Wretched performance from them and it just convinced me even more that we’d twat them in the derby, which of course we did. I figured something out watching this though. Rondon is Rafa’s illegitimate son. There’s a resemblance there and it makes perfect sense when you think about it. 
     
    Norwich followed it up their encouraging draw with Wolves by securing another point, away to Newcastle. Given that they played against 10 men for 80 minutes this wasn’t so great a result, but at least they avoided defeat which kept Newcastle winless and bottom of the table. It ain’t happenin’.
     
    Onto the midweek games now. Watford had a really good go at home to Chelsea but came up just short. Tuchel made a load of changes but the side still looked really strong, with internationals all over the park. 
     
    Mount gave them the lead on the half hour against the run of play. Lovely move to be fair. Great football. For some reason Chelsea fans were singing “Feed the scousers”. While they’re playing Watford. Weirdos.
     
    My boy Dennis (yeah he’s my boy now) equalised with a well taken goal and then put one on a plate for Sissoko who completely missed his kick. Cleverley then went clean through but fell over as Mendy came out to meet him. Useless manc twat.
     
    Ziyech won it for Chelsea with a smart finish after another sweeping move. That goal reminded me of us. Alonso and Mount playing the roles of Robbo and Sadio, with Ziyech arriving late like Hendo. Ziyech should have made it 3-1 soon after but headed right at the keeper. Tuchel said afterwards they were lucky, didn’t deserve to win and it’s the worst they’ve played since he’s been there. But they won, which is frustrating as fuck.
     
    Watford will stay up because they score goals, which means they’ll win enough games. They’ll lose loads as well, and some of them will be cricket scores. But when you’ve got goals in you like they have with King, Sarr and Dennis, then you can win games which gives you a chance. That’s why Norwich and Newcastle look like they’re fucked. They don’t score enough.
     
    They met on Tuesday night in a huge game for both teams. A draw was no good to either but that’s what happened. Ciaran Clark was sent off after just 10 minutes but Norwich didn’t take advantage of it and were way too cautious.
     
    The ten men of Newcastle took the lead through a Wilson penalty but couldn’t hold on as my former boy Pukki scored a cracking equaliser with a left foot volley. Great finish that. 
     
    That’s a bad result for Newcastle but under the circumstances it’s a battling point and their players deserve credit for it. Instead they got booed off by the “loyalest footballers the world has ever had”.
     
    The other Tuesday night game was Leeds v Palace. Rodrigo missed a sitter for Leeds and Benteke headed wide from a few yards with the goal gaping. 
     
    Leeds won it late with a Raphinha penalty after Guehi was penalised for handball. I didn’t think that was a pen because the arm was in a natural position for a player jumping like that. His arm is out to protect himself from contact. The player he’s challenging missed it and it hits his arm, but that could go either way. 
     
    I’d be happy to see Leeds go down but I’m not unhappy to see them put more distance between themselves and Newcastle. Could do with Burnley and Watford picking up some points, because if they did then Everton would be right in the thick of it. Imagine Rafa getting them relegated. I’d build the statue of him outside Anfield myself if that happened.
     
    Not a good few days for Palace though and Vieira said afterwards “We are v…..” zzzzzzzz. Sorry, nodded off again.
     
    Southampton drew at home to Leicester. Bednarek poked them into an early lead but Evans lashed in an equaliser. Adams restored the Saints’ lead with a close range header but Maddison continued his recent good form with a cracking goal to make it 2-2. The prick.
     
    Barnes thought he’d won it when he raced clear but McCarthy made a brilliant stop to deny him and then Vardy blazed another chance over the bar late on.
     
    West Ham drew at home to Brighton and Moyes admitted afterwards it was a fair result because Brighton played well, but that his side should have won because they had a good goal ruled out. For once I agree with him. This is typical Brighton though isn’t it? They outplay most teams but don’t win as often as their performances merit.
     
    They fell behind to a Soucek header from a corner. West Ham have become the new Burnley. It feels like nearly all of their goals come from set-pieces. They do play some decent stuff too and the Burnley comparison is a little harsh. Speaking of harsh, West Ham had a goal disallowed (from a corner, obviously) and no-one is really sure why. The suggestion was Antonio touched the ball on its way in and he was offside, but it doesn’t look like he touched it at all, and if he did it made no difference to the path of the ball.
     
    Maupay had been the villain at the weekend with his shit finishing, but he scored a fucking belting equaliser with an overhead kick. Outstanding. He taunted his own fans with his celebration too. Running to them with his ears cupped. He said afterwards “after Saturday I was the worst striker in the world and today everyone is cheering for me. But that’s football”.
     
    Not sure if I’ve admitted this before, but it’s something I’ve been thinking for a while and didn’t really want to say. Declan Rice is really fucking good. I used to think he was all unjustified hype, but he isn’t. He’s really fucking good.
     
    Burnley didn’t play at the weekend as their game with Spurs was called off because of snow. They were back in action at Wolves in midweek. It finished 0-0 and I’m saying nothing as we play Wolves this weekend.
     
    City won at Villa Park and many Villa fans booed Grealish, which seemed to surprise a lot of people. If you’d asked me if I thought they’d boo him I would have said no, but that doesn’t mean I was surprised. Villa fans acting like bad biffs will never, ever surprise me.
     
    I don’t know why they booed him though. It doesn’t really make much sense as it’s not like they seemed to resent him moving on last summer. They got £100m for him which most would agree was at least £30m more than he was worth, arguably even more. He stayed there longer than he needed to because it was ‘his’ club and he showed as much loyalty as any club is entitled to expect really. 
     
    He signed  contract with a ridiculously high buyout clause, meaning Villa would be looked after if he left but also suggesting he wasn’t that interested in a move as he could never have imagined anybody would actually pay that kind of money for him. When City did decide to pay it, he had a decision to make and he made it. 
     
    At the time there seemed to be very little animosity from Villa fans, but lo and behold, he comes back there with his new club and they’re booing him and signing “Villa til I die” when he came on as a sub. They’re such fucking knobheads.
     
    I’m almost glad they lost. If City weren’t one of our rivals for the title I’d have probably been happy at this result. But we needed Villa to help us out and, in typical Villa fashion, they failed. These cunts never win when you need them to. For decades they made a habit of capitulating to Ferguson’s United. Never rely on Villa for anything. 
     
    Finally, Thursday night’s games. Spurs beat Brentford 2-0 and I’m definitely thinking I jumped the gun on Brentford. I did this a couple of years ago with someone else too. Norwich I think. I watched their first few games and decided they’d stay up comfortably, but it turned out they were pretty shite. I’m getting those vibes from Brentford now.
     
    They were pretty shit against Everton at the weekend, it’s just Everton were worse. They’ve not been good for a while and teams may have figured them out now. I hope not, as I’d like them to do well. They’ll probably finish above Norwich and Newcastle but that third spot is wide open.
     
    Last and very much least, two pathetic former giants of the game that have fallen on hard times. United v Arsenal is like when you get two washed up retired fighters coming back for another crack at reliving their former glories but no-one really cares as they just aren’t relevant anymore. Kind of fitting then that Ronaldo settled the game and De Gea grabbed all the headlines. Both of them have seen better days, although you’ve got to hand it to Ronaldo as he’s still incredible at what he does, which is score goals and then preen like fuck.
     
    Arsenal are exactly what they’ve been for years. People get fooled any time they have a reasonable run of results when the fixture list throws up a bunch of easy games, but they are what they are. Pathetic.
     
    They also have a habit of doing some seriously unsporting shit. That opening goal for example. I have mixed feelings on that though. I don’t actually think Arsenal did anything wrong and although there’s an argument to be had that they should have let United score straight afterwards, I don’t think I buy that.
     
    If Arsenal hadn’t screwed Watford over with similar shit a couple of weeks back I’d have exonerated them completely here, as why should they stop playing because a United player had stood on De Gea’s foot? It’s only iffy because they’ve done shit like this before so fuck Arsenal.
     
    There’s nothing wrong with them scoring the goal as I’m not even sure Smith Rowe knew De Gea was down. Only two seconds passed between De Gea  going down and Smith Rowe scoring. The ref didn’t stop the game so there’s nothing wrong with the goal and VAR couldn’t do anything about it. So the only choice for Arsenal was whether to then allow United an equaliser or not. They chose not. If they’d allowed it you just know that Ronaldo would have made sure he was the one to score, the self centred twat.
     
    My biggest take away from that whole episode was that De Gea is a fucking joke. I don’t care how much pain he may or may not have been in, you don’t stay down on the ground like that when you’re a goalkeeper. You just don’t do it. You never, ever, leave your goal unprotected. It isn’t even a schoolboy error as schoolboys know better.
     
    If games start getting stopped for that then you’ll just see the shithousery cranked up massively and keepers will play dead any time there’s danger. De Gea wasn’t that badly injured and he went down because he thought the ref would stop the game or that Arsenal would put the ball out. Instead, he conceded a goal and for all the understandable suspicion about Arsenal’s conduct I think the over-riding thing here is “fuck Man United and their shithousing”. 
        
    Arsenal are weak as piss though and it was no surprise they blew the lead. Fernandes equaliser and Ronaldo made it 2-1 with the 800th goal of his career. Some going that. Pele got over a thousand but half of them were friendlies and training sessions they reckon. There’s no diminishing what Ronaldo has done. I’d laugh at anyone who says he’s the best player of all time, but if you want to call him the best goalscorer I’d have a tougher time knocking that down.
     
    Odegaard equalised for Arsenal before undoing his good work by giving away a needless penalty. Amazing that it needed VAR to give that as Atkinson was looking right at it and somehow didn’t think it was a foul. Ronaldo did the big dramatic, eyes closed, puff out the cheeks routine and then hit the pen right down the middle. Ramsdale had dived out of the way and that was goal number 801 and a win for United in what turned out to be Carrick’s last game. 
     
    He quit straight after, despite Rangnick claiming he tried to talk him into staying. If he decided to go as soon as Solskjaer did and he just stayed on to help the club, then fair play to him. No idea if that’s the case or not but if I were Carrick that’d defo be the line I’d take just to stick it to Roy Keane who was ripping him for not going when Solskjaer did. 
     
    I’d say “I felt like I should leave with Ole but I didn’t want to leave my club in the lurch so I stayed for as long as was needed”. Even if it’s not true it would make Keane look like an arlarse so I’d defo do it.
  • That's 18 straight games scoring two goals or more now for the Reds as Everton went the way of Manchester United and were humiliated in front of their own fans by Kloppo's boys.
     
    Chris Smith is joined by Julian Richards and TLW Editor Dave Usher to bask in the glory of another incredibly satisfying win. Hendo's magnificence, Salah's ruthlessness, Jota's resemblance to a Liverpool goalscoring legend of the past, and of course Rafa Benitez are among some of the topics covered. You really don't want to miss this one.  
     
     
     
  • It’s nice when a game goes pretty much as expected and how it should do. I said it when we played Arsenal, that was a game where we should be twatting them because they’re just perfectly set up for us to exploit. And exploit we did. This one was a little different in that it had nothing to do with their style of play being a good match up for us, it was just a case of us being miles better than them. They shouldn’t be able to live with us, and it turns out they couldn’t.
     
    The only way we were not going to win this game, and win it handsomely, would be if we went out there and basically threw up all down ourselves. Everton have nothing that we should be worried about. They’re a lower/mid table team, without their main goal threat, they’re in terrible form and their fans fucking hate them. Everything was pointing to a big away win for us and that’s what happened.
     
    That doesn’t make it any less enjoyable though. This was fucking boss. It was an absolute beatdown and even though the game appeared to be in the balance for a time when it was 2-1, realistically it was never really in doubt given the huge gulf in class between the two sides.
     
    The home crowd were furious, obviously. They always are. The life of an Everton presents two options. Misery or anger. Sometimes the two cross over, but generally Blues fall into one category or the other. It must be the most miserable of existences. In terms of this game though I don’t know what they were wanting from their team. They were booed off, the atmosphere was toxic and Rafa will bear a lot of the brunt of it.
     
    Here’s the thing, and this isn’t a defence of Benitez in any way. I haven’t done that since some time around late 2008. This is simply a fact. Everton are not a good football team, irrespective of who the manager is. Liverpool on the other hand, are probably the best team in the world when firing on all cylinders, which we are pretty close to doing at the moment.
     
    United lost 5-0 at home to us. Arsenal and Southampton were swept aside 4-0. Watford, who beat Everton 4-1 the other week, conceded five to us a week prior to that. So I would ask Evertonians, what exactly did you expect here? You can’t live with us. We’re in a completely different league currently and if this game was played ten times, this probably wouldn’t even be the biggest beating you’d take. That’s not bravado, or gloating, or any of that. It’s just a fact.
     
    Look at how we started this game. We had two gilt edged chances in the first two minutes. The opening 20 minutes of this game we were imperious and much better sides than Everton wouldn’t have been able to cope with it. You could see that our lads had a score to settle after the two derby games last season and there was just no way Everton were going to be able to withstand that. 
     
    The Blues can get angry with Rafa and their players all they like, but it’s stupid. It’s like putting Ronnie Corbett in the ring with Mike Tyson and then berating him when he gets battered. This was a mismatch, pure and simple.
     
    We went into this game with our best eleven players (you can argue the toss over Bobby and Jota if you like, but I don’t think that’s even really a debate now with how dangerous Jota is) and our best eleven players are scary as fuck. You hear all the time from opposing players and managers just how hard it is to play against us, so a team with Michael Keane as the defensive lynchpin and Saloman Rondon leading the line is always going to be in trouble.
     
    From the opening seconds our lads were right at it. We forced a corner immediately and Matip should have scored. Poor header that, but he is very much hit and miss in those situations. A minute later Mo should have scored when for some reason he went with his left foot rather his head from a Robbo cross. In fairness he was probably expecting Pickford to being doing something mad, such as flying through the air with his boot raised like Bruce Lee.
     
    The Blues were rattled right from the start of the game. It’s almost like they knew they’d angered the beast last season and now was the moment they were getting what was coming to them. Coleman and Pickford had a big bust up within seconds, which showed how on edge they were.
     
    Imagine how Evertonians must have been feeling. Two minutes, two absolutely glorious chances for us. They knew they were in for a long night. A blue in Adrianna’s school group chat posted that he’d switched it off after that second chance. Smart kid, he knew what was coming and wasn’t going to upset himself by watching it. Same with some of the fans who’d actually paid for tickets, although they waited longer than two minutes before bailing on their team. Many of them left when the second goal went in though, one of them clearly making a “wall pushers” gesture to the away end as he left.
     
    It was like the Alamo back there for the Blues and Pickford had to make a really smart save to get down low and turn away a close range Mo shot after another cross by Robbo, who was running riot down that left wing.
     
    The goal had to come eventually and it was no surprise it originated down that left side again. Hendo played a ball up to Sadio who did well to head it to himself before playing in Robbo. His cutback was definitely meant for Sadio but it ended up falling perfectly to the onrushing Hendo, 28 yards out on his left foot. Be honest, who fancied him to put that away? Not me. On his right foot, yeah I’d have said there was a decent chance he’d convert. I didn’t see that finish coming though. Stunning. Absolutely perfect strike, started it a foot outside the post and curled it back inside to give Pickford no chance.
     
    The goal provoked a bit of a response from Everton who tried to push forward a bit and strike back. Big mistake, as that just gave us more room to pick them apart. One of their ‘attacks’ broke down and before you knew it Hendo was sending Salah racing clear past the hapless Lucas “better than Robertson ye no lad” Digne. Everyone knew what Mo wanted to do, including Pickford, but he did it anyway.
     
    It doesn’t take much for me to blame Pickford for anything, but I don’t think he could have done much there. If he’d moved a step or two over to cover that corner, he’d have left a massive gap at his near post and Mo could have just rolled it in there. This goal was brilliance from Salah, it was not an error from Pickford.
     
    2-0 though and it looked like it was going to be a landslide. A scoreline for the ages. Then the game kind of got a bit scrappy. They were throwing in a few tackles and Thiago was repeatedly being pulled up for phantom free kicks that slowed our momentum. It was mad how often their players resorted to diving though wasn’t it? I expected heavy challenges, but I wasn’t expecting diving like that from anyone other than that Richarlison cunt. Amazingly, he didn’t do it at all while his team-mates were throwing themselves all over the gaff.
     
    Paul Tierney deserves a lot of credit for how he handled it. He booked Townsend for a dive and then he did the same thing to Gray. It’s really difficult for refs as they only get one look at these incidents and it’s quite a big call to essentially just call a player a cheat when there’s always the possibility that there was contact that you didn’t see. He was dead right on both of those though.
     
    He would later miss perhaps the most blatant dive of them all when Gordon went flying through the air after zero contact from anybody. Tierney awarded a free-kick for that but I can’t criticise him for that as I’m not sure there’s a referee on the planet that would have booked a third home player for diving in the same game. He was always going to give one of them because apart from anything else, he must have thought “there’s no way they’re still diving after I’ve booked two of the cunts. It must have been a foul”.
     
    That free-kick indirectly led to our third goal but I’ll get to that shortly. In between our second and third goals it didn’t go too well. I think the problem was we didn’t score a quick third goal. At 2-0 and with chances being created at will, Everton were on the verge of being knocked out completely. The crowd were fearing the mother of all beatings, as were the players. But the third goal didn’t come straight away and slowly but surely Everton’s players gained a bit of hope. Not so much hope that they’d get anything from the game, but that maybe they’d weathered the worst of the storm.
     
    Allan was booked for a foul on Jota, who was furious and was demanding a red card. I didn’t think it was that bad. A yellow was fine, but Jota was needling them all night. He’s got that little bit of snark in him and I love that. Tempers were getting a bit frayed at that point though and I was fairly sure there would be a red card for someone. They had more players in the book than we did, but Thiago was a concern for me.
     
    He was booked for ‘persistent fouling’ but there was nothing in anything he was penalised for. One free-kick against him was laughable as he was just stood still, having his shirt pulled by Townsend, who then went down and was given the decision. That contributed to the yellow card so that pissed me off, mainly because it put Thiago at risk. We know he likes to stick his foot in at times when he probably shouldn’t and that was the only chance Everton had of getting anything from the game.
     
    As it got scrappy and we stopped playing our high intensity football, the game became more even. They had the ball as much as we did, and while they didn’t look particularly dangerous they were at least carrying some threat now and spent a bit of time in our half. And then they scored. It was a good goal too from their perspective. Not so good from ours.
     
    I thought Trent was too slow getting over to cover behind Matip and that left a big gape for Gray to run into. He got a bit lucky with the finish as it went through Alisson’s legs, but I thought he was the only Everton player that looked even remotely dangerous. He’s only been there five minutes but he looks too good for them. He should be looking to move on to a more competitive team, like West Ham or Villa.
     
    It was proper annoying that we found ourselves only 2-1 up though considering the huge gulf in class. I wouldn’t say I was worried, but I was frustrated and in the back of my mind there was a concern that they might nick another and if it got to 2-2 then who knows.
     
    The more likely scenario was we’d go in at half time and Klopp would tell them to raise the intensity and show them where the space was to attack, and make sure they got a grip of Gray who was the only one capable of hurting us. And that’s what happened.
     
    The game was kind of in the balance for a while though as it was only 2-1, even though it was clear that we were vastly superior to them. When they were awarded that free-kick for the Gordon dive, that could have been a pivotal moment for them. I thought Digne would have taken it but instead it was Townsend. He liked it too, but Virgil was in the wall and he jumped, meaning that’s a really difficult task getting the ball over him and back down onto the target. He couldn’t do it, Virgil got his head on it and it went behind for a corner from which we scored.
     
    I say this all the time but I genuinely think we must have scored more goals from opposition corners than they have. The funny thing is we actually bring everybody back to defend them, which might lull the opponent into a false sense of security. Usually we clear the first ball in but the second ball will often fall to one of their players outside the box. They then have the choice to knock it back in, or play safe and go backwards.
     
    In this case, Doucoure played it back to Coleman on halfway but it was an awkward ball to control and he had Salah bearing down on him. He should have just knocked it forward, but the risk there is when you do that it will probably be headed clear by us and then we’ll have four or five players screaming forward at 100mph on the break.
     
    So Coleman tried to control it, made a mess of it and was robbed by Mo. He still had a lot to do but he carried it forward, stayed ahead of Coleman and then rolled it wide of Pickford into the far corner. The finish reminded me of Owen against Arsenal in Cardiff. Didn’t need power, just directed it where it needed to go.
     
    And that was game over. The pyro came on the pitch from the away end as our lads celebrated in the red smoke. Everton weren’t coming back from that, it was now just a case of how hard we wanted to push for more goals. We didn’t push that hard, but I don’t think we settled for what we had either. The lads wanted to humiliate the Blues after the shit that went down last season.
     
    No-one wanted it more than Virg, although I didn’t like it when he pulled rank on a free-kick at 2-1 and took the ball off Trent. He’s maybe taken one free-kick for us in four years, but because he was desperate to put one past Pickford he let that get the better of him. If we were two or three goals up then I don’t care if he wants to take a shot from inside his own half. Go for it. At 2-1 now I didn’t like it, especially as Trent scored with the last free-kick he took.
     
    It’s a minor quibble though and I obviously understand where Virgil’s head was at there. I just didn’t think that was the time for that. 
     
    Klopp brought Thiago off and sent Milner on. Smart move, and Milner was fucking boss I thought. So was Thiago, but that yellow card made it an obvious substitution to make. The fourth goal was probably my favourite of the night. The touch from Jota was sublime. The finish was great too, although Pickford left a big gap and did his best to make himself look small.
     
    So much of what Jota does reminds me of Fowler. I’m not putting him at Robbie’s level as he isn’t the kind of football genius that Fowler was. But loads of his goals have got that look of Fowler about them, this one included.
     
    Ox came on for Hendo and Taki got a late run out for Jota. Not gonna lie, I’m disappointed we didn’t send Divock on just to rub their noses in it even more. He’s Everton’s bogeyman and I wanted to see him out there, especially as he might have wrapped it up with yet another goal against them.
     
    The away end had a great time. Some of them will have been at Old Trafford too. They’ll remember those two games for the rest of their lives as there’s nothing quite like being able to take the piss out of your big rivals. Everton aren’t exactly rivals in a football sense anymore and haven’t been for some time. They’re rivals geographically now. That’s it. 
     
    And now they’ve got Rafa as their manager which just makes it even funnier taking the piss. The “Rafa’s at the wheel” chant was funny as fuck. The La Bamba song got an airing too. Partly I’m sure out of affection for Rafa but mostly to rub Evertonian noses in it. 
     
    Some of the videos from full time are hilarious. The booing, the abuse of Kenwright and Brands, and all the while you can hear the “Merry Christmas Everton” song belting out from the away end. Just glorious.
     
    I think the best video I saw was a red who was sat in with their fans, undercover, and at the end he was joining in with the booing and shouting “time to go lad”. At one point you could even hear him shout “where’s the Arteta money, Bill?” Just fucking sensational stuff. Well played that lad.
     
    So the score is somewhat settled after last season although I still feel an absolute honking at Anfield is required to fully make them pay. I expect that to happen too, but that’s a long way off and there’s a lot of football to be played before then.
     
    We’re in a great run of form now and look like we’re in the groove. Everyone is playing well and picking a star man wasn’t that easy. I mean, I knew who I was giving it to but there were others in the conversation too. Mo was brilliant and scored twice, Jota was lively through out, Robbo is back to his best again. Trent was class, Matip was imperious, Fabinho was Fabinho. But Henderson was the best player on the pitch. What a fucking performance from him.
     
    Next up it’s Wolves. I’ll start to think about that probably about 10 minutes before kick off. Until then I’ll just bask in the glow of this one. What a team these lads are. 
     
     
    Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Thiago (Milner); Salah, Jota (Minamino), Mané:
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