Liverpool 1 Man City 0 (Dec 31 2016)

[tlw content]

 

 

 

Report by

Dave Usher at Anfield

 

 

 

That wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I was confident we’d win (I’ve been looking forward to this fixture for months because I was so sure we’d turn them over), but if you’d given me a list of ten possible results to choose from, 1-0 would have been bottom of the list. What made it even more surprising was that our goal came so early and there was no further scoring.

 

I mean come on, if someone told you after Wijnaldum’s thumping header just eight minutes in, that this is how the game will end, would you have believed it? We’re just not a “score one and shut up shop” kind of team as we always look for more goals (occasionally to our detriment) and it’s rare that City don’t score. Yet this was not one of those “how did that end up only 1-0?” type of games where there were chances at both ends. Neither keeper had to make a save of any note, yet it was far from being a dull game. At least I didn’t think so.

 

I was on the edge of my seat for most of it, with my arse cheeks clenched for virtually the entire second half. Maybe it’s down to what was at stake rather than how good the football was, but I thought it was a pulsating game and I was absolutely buzzing afterwards. This was a great win, less enjoyable than if we’d battered them but in some ways this was better because we did something that we’re not supposed to be able to do.

 

It showed a different side to our team. They dogged this one out without ever really hitting their stride going forward, but defensively they were as close to flawless as you’ll see. The only time we looked in any danger was when we gave the ball away needlessly and put ourselves in difficult situations, and even then it never resulted in Mignolet having to do anything because the defence took care of it.

 

The back four were absolutely top drawer, although Milner had a slightly ropey start and a couple of bad passes early on could have been costly. From one of those Klavan had to bring down Aguero and he was booked for it. That meant having to play virtually the entire game on a knife edge, which makes his performance even more impressive. He’s boss though, just a proper old pro who knows what he’s doing.

 

City spent well something like £80m on Stones and Otamendi (and another £40 on that Mangala jabroni who they’ve had to loan out) and we picked up this cat for £4m. As exciting as it is when you spend big money on a player, there’s nothing quite like an under the radar bargain is there? Klavan for peanuts and Matip for free? God bless you, Kloppo.

 

Both Klavan and Lovren were dominant and Aguero wasn’t allowed a sniff. I saw something on Twitter saying Aguero never touched the ball once in our penalty area, which is credit not just to the two centre backs, but also those in front of them who completely shut down the supply line to him. Who’d have imagined Aguero could have been such a non factor in the game? And De Bruyne and Silva too for that matter.

 

Sterling doing fuck all was less surprising. Usually I worry about us taking the piss out of opposing players in case it comes back to bite us in the arse, but the “one greedy bastard” chant didn’t concern me at all, as this little prick wasn’t going to do anything. The cross he ballooned into the Kop summed him up. There was a glorious irony about him directly coming up against Milner, because we effectively swapped Sterling for him and pocketed £49m.

 

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every time I think about that, not just from the football and financial side of it, but in terms of character. Milner is a throwback, proper old school and someone fans can relate to. Sterling is the typical modern footballer. A spoilt, entitled, rich little tit. Seeing Milner completely nullify him was fucking ace.

 

We were by far the better team in the first half but we didn’t test the keeper enough considering some of the promising situations we created. The goal was a thing of beauty though. Firmino played an exquisite ball with the outside of his foot into space for Lallana on the left who advanced down the line and swung in a great cross with his left foot into the danger area. What happened after that was glorious. I love those type of headers, when a player has a run at it, arches his back and just goes “BOOOOFFF, PICK THAT ONE OUT!!”. Love it.

 

I’m made up for Wijnaldum as he’s been really unlucky not to score more goals this season. He seems to have chances every other game but they’ve just not been going in. His record at his previous clubs suggests that he’s got goals in him and although his role in the team is less attacking than it was at Newcastle, he still spends plenty of time in the opposition box and he could easily bag another half a dozen goals this year with a bit of luck.

 

He’s a really good player but not everything he does is eye catching. He does a lot of the dirty work that allows others to shine and although he’s a completely different type of player, he’s arguably this team’s Ronnie Whelan. I saw a comparison made with Nigel Spackman, which probably seems a bit unflattering to Wijnaldum when Spackman’s entire career is taken into account, but I assume it was in reference to the unsung role “Spackers” played in one of our greatest ever attacking sides. Just watch the famous 5-1 win over Forest as an example of it.

 

The point is, nobody outside of our fanbase will be talking about Wijnaldum as the likes of Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino, Mané etc will get all the headlines, but the Dutchman has been an important cog in the machine so it was nice for him to grab a bit of glory for himself. As an aside, he’s actually my mum’s favourite player, having filled the vacancy that has been available since Rickie Lambert’s departure. She loves Wijnaldum almost as much as she hates Lallana.

 

I’ve seen it suggested that he had a little bit more licence to get forward due to Klopp’s somewhat surprising team selection, bringing in Emre Can for big Div and moving Lallana into the front three. I’m not sure it made that much difference to Wijnaldum though as even when he’s playing with Lallana he still gets forward regularly.

 

I didn’t expect that starting line up but I just assumed Klopp was looking to get as close to what he had at the Etihad last season when we murdered them with his famed high press. The front three that day was Coutinho and Lallana playing either side of Firmino. Obviously there was no Coutinho this time, but Mané isn’t a bad replacement.

 

Klopp’s selection worked out well because we won the game, but there’s also an added bonus to it which probably didn’t factor into his thinking but should certainly work out well for us. By playing Firmino centre forward, Klopp can now start Sturridge and Origi against Sunderland on Monday. We’re going to need fresh legs, especially in attack because Sunderland are probably going to break all records for the amount of players camped in their own box for 90 minutes.

 

 

 

We had chances to give ourselves a bit of breathing room but it all just seemed to get a bit frantic and the players lacked composure at crucial moments. City were there to be done on the break and we had countless opportunities to do it, especially in the second half, but too often the pass was played too late or too early, or just hit straight to a City player. We just need a cool head or two in there but the manic nature of the game and the occasion seemed to impact everybody, as City were just as bad. I mean how many times did De Bruyne (who is probably one of the top three players in the league) just hit hopeful balls straight through to Mignolet?

 

The most frustrating chance we fluffed was just before half time when Lallana and Can harried Toure out of possession and found themselves with a two on one with Stones. Can took a touch too many that delayed his pass a split second too long, meaning Lallana had run offside. That is the main difference between Can and the likes of Wijnaldum and Henderson. He does a lot of things well but he’s just that bit slower in everything he does.

 

It deserved a goal because when you watch it again, it highlights just how good Lallana is at implementing Klopp’s pressing game. He’s nowhere near Toure initially, but he knew the ball was going to him and he was sprinting towards the big midfielder even before the ball was played. By the time Toure received it, Lallana was all over him and Can also closed in to win it. Exactly how Klopp drew it up, and it should have led to a goal.

 

At half time I felt confident that we’d add a couple more goals in the second half as City would have to come out and commit men forward, and we were attacking the Kop. As it turns out, neither happened. We didn’t add more goals but City didn’t exactly go gung ho either did they?

 

They improved markedly from their dismal first half showing, and for a five minute spell I actually saw David Silva doing his thing before he vanished like a puff a smoke back to whatever hidey hole he was in for the first half. Aguero seemed to spend most of the game with Lovren strapped to his back, there was no daylight between them at all and it was a frustrating day for the Argentine.

 

The only thing standing between Aguero and another meltdown was the lack of a curly wig and the name “Luiz” on the back of either of our defenders. Something to think about for next time we face them maybe?

 

The only moment of danger I can remember was when Silva worked space on the edge of the box and sent a shot inches wide. He wanted a corner kick, and having seen the replay he was right as Klavan got a crucial touch to send it wide. Not that City had any real right to feel aggrieved by the officials, as the entire second half was just decision after decision going their way.

 

It was a fucking joke. That ref is useless, but the Main Stand linesman was just as bad. They were doing everything they could to get City back into the game and I’m just relieved there were no penalty shouts because it felt like Pawson was itching for them to equalise. Maybe I was caught up in the moment, but that’s how it felt at the time. It can often look different on TV and maybe I’m doing the ref a disservice. Everyone inside the ground was spitting feathers about him though.

 

In the end it didn’t matter as we held on comfortably. The last few minutes were incident free as Origi did a great job of getting it in the corners and wasting time. One bit of play from him was brilliant, when Lallana knocked a ball down the line and Origi had to make up about 15 yards on Otamendi to get there. He did it, outmuscled the defender, won a free kick and Otamendi was booked. The must have wasted at least a minute with one thing and another. Just what we needed.

 

The only negative was an injury to Henderson. Initially I thought he was just being a clever, cynical bastard. City were having a good spell and I said to my arl fella a few minutes before that someone needs to go down injured and just stop the flow of the game so we can regroup. Next thing Hendo is down and I’m thinking “good lad, proper captain behaviour that”. Then he’s being replaced by Origi. Just have to hope it’s not serious, but at least we’ve got some games coming up where we can afford to lose him.

 

Chelsea continually winning is irritating as fuck but I’m still fairly relaxed about it because they will come back down to earth eventually. They’ve done well but they’re not exactly the Arsenal invincibles. This run will come to an end eventually and they’ll drop plenty of points between now and May. The important thing is we stay with them while they’re on this run, and as Klopp said afterwards, imagine how frustrating it is to win 13 on the bounce and still have someone on your coat tails.

 

We just have to do our thing and let nature take it’s course where Chelsea are concerned. We’ve had it tough recently, constantly having to play after everybody else and therefore having more pressure on us. It changes now. Ok, it’s not ideal having such a quick turnaround before playing Sunderland, and it’s not fair that Chelsea have so much more rest before they play again, but it’s not important now because we took maximum points from our last three games.

 

Ok, we’re playing on less than 48 hours rest, but Sunderland are virtually in the same boat only they’ve got a shitload of players out injured and they’re a terrible team. Chelsea travel to Spurs next, and although Spurs will have had less rest than Chelsea, look at this way. Would you rather be playing Sunderland or Spurs next?

 

The fixtures have worked massively to Chelsea’s favour but as long as we beat Sunderland none of that matters. I said a couple of weeks ago that if we could emerge from the holiday fixtures with the six point gap not having been extended, we’d have done well. So far that’s the case, but there’s a real chance for us to eat into it a bit now if we can win on Monday and then hopefully Spurs can take something from them on Wednesday night.

 

There’s no point worrying about Chelsea though, we can’t control what they do so we need to just keep on winning and see where it takes us. We know we can score goals and blow teams away, but this win over City showed that we can be organised, resilient and hard to break down too when everyone puts their mind to it.

 

I can’t pick a star man because how can you choose between any of the back four and Wijnaldum, when all five were absolutely brilliant? This might have been our worst attacking performance of the season so far, but it was definitely the most enjoyable win for me.

 

Team: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Milner; Henderson (Origi), Can, Wijnaldum; Mané (Lucas), Firmino, Lallana:

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[Byrnie]

It wasn't Can who delayed the pass to Lallana, Dave. It was Firmino.

[Kevin D]

I reckon Dave was pissed when he wrote that.

[scudger99]

You're not wrong about the ref.  That was a fucking joke of a performance, and my only real reservation in the second half was that we would ship a goal due the cunt in black's utter ineptness.  Thankfully we held firm and gave him nothing to fuck up, and gave Mignolet nothing to fuck up either.  That header is one of my favourite goals of the year/season, absolute text book header.

[Tj hooker]

Spot on Dave Me & my lad said the same about Otamendi & stones absolute shite compared to our more astute buys .

Klopp really did a number on Guardiola keep it up Lads

[Paco]

14 goals in 11 games is now 15 in 12 between Klopp and guardiola.

 

city and liverpool games probably average about 4 but this was clearly Klopp v Pep.

[Paul]

Yep. Firmino arsed that pass Dave.

[aws]

Dave's mum hates Lallana, Dave hates Can.

[Boon Kiat Thio]

Firmino made the delayed pass Dave

[Baresi]

The centenary linesman, missed three blatant over the line for throw-ins. He was as inept as pawson.

 

It was also 5-0 against forest, when spackman played. The 5-1 was when Owen got 4 in '98

[m0e]

That Forest game was 5-0, Dave.

[shouter]

The worst linesman and referee performance I've seen all season. Your right Dave, he was well itching to get them back in the game.

[DaveT]

Wouldn't worry too much about spurs not being fresh against Chelsea. Watford are so bad, there ought to be a steward's enquiry - they've either come direct from their NYE party, or they've bet on Spurs breaking some scoring records.

[Nunavut Patrick]

Dave, I didn't see the match but the text updates said it was Firminio who dallied on the ball too long.

[Grinch]

Wonder if it was Firmino that played the pass

[Tony Moanero]

Load of old bollocks

[Kevin D]

Yep. Firmino arsed that pass Dave.

Paul slumming it in FF?

 

Do you think we just had 'em, Klopp's tactics had Guariola a bit shook, given the amount of times Klopp has taken him to the cleaners?

[KMD7]

Wonder if it was Firmino that played the pass

Dave U can go in the summer for that

[Bad Red Bull]

Dave, don't think anyone has pointed this mistake out in your article but it was Firmino who delayed the pass to Lallana

[Kloppite]

Dave?

[RedAdmiral]

I loved Klopps comment about how frustrating it must be for Chelsea that were still only 6 points behind after the run they've been on! If you think it about it, it's actually fuckin amazing that were only a couple of dodgy Chelsea results to reigning them in. We've coped much better without coutinho than I was expecting, which bodes very well for the second half of the season.

[diamondjoe]

Dave?

[Tatty Lashes]

Enjoyed Milner having a right go at the main stand linesman when he waited an age to flag Sterling offside in the first half. Clearly shouted at him "why are you making me fucking run?"

[dave u]

Really concerned how I could watch that incident live and then three or four times this morning and at no point realise it wasn't Firmino. I'm losing what marbles I have left.

 

Unless this is some elaborate ruse you're all in on to make me think I'm going mad.

[Mark M]

Great report Dave. Agree on Can delaying that pass always seems to take too long on the ball.