Jump to content
  • Sign up for free and receive a month's subscription

    You are viewing this page as a guest. That means you are either a member who has not logged in, or you have not yet registered with us. Signing up for an account only takes a minute and it means you will no longer see this annoying box! It will also allow you to get involved with our friendly(ish!) community and take part in the discussions on our forums. And because we're feeling generous, if you sign up for a free account we will give you a month's free trial access to our subscriber only content with no obligation to commit. Register an account and then send a private message to @dave u and he'll hook you up with a subscription.

Liverpool 3 PSG 2 (Sep 18 2018)


tlw content
 Share

Recommended Posts

dave_usher.jpg
 
Report by
Dave Usher
 

Just another standard Anfield European night. The more things like this happen, the less anyone will want to come here and face us. It’s not just that we beat PSG, it’s how we beat them. We completely dominated them and then even when it looked like we’d somehow let it slip, we still managed to get it done. Things like that will only fuel the whole “Fortress Anfield” narrative.

 

There’s not a team in the world I wouldn’t fancy us to beat at Anfield, particularly under the lights. PSG have talent but they never have to play against anyone like us so it was always going to be tough for them. People forget that I think. Much of the talk is what a big test it was going to be for us. No, the big test was for them. We were in the final last year, this isn’t our first rodeo. The fuck have they done? Yeah they reach the last 16 or last eight most years, but so did Arsenal. They could never beat anyone decent either.

 

We face a much tougher level of competition week in week out, and that makes a big difference. Our players will run and run and run and won’t complain about it because they believe in their manager and what he expects from them. They know his methods work and they’ve bought into them. PSG have it too easy in Ligue 1, they don’t need to work. 

 

They’re like me in junior school when I got by on my big brain. I didn’t need to study or revise because, all modesty aside, I was just cleverer than everyone else. Then I got to seniors and everyone passed me by because I was so lazy and couldn’t be arsed doing any schoolwork, and my big brain alone wasn’t enough anymore. There were kids nowhere near as clever as me coming away with A’s and B’s, while I was failing everything and proving to be a massive disappointment to my parents. 

 

You know what I got for GCSE English? An E!! I write for a living and I’ve got an E for my English GCSE. Not because I couldn’t do it, but because, like Neymar and tracking back, I just couldn’t be arsed. So yeah, the moral of that story is that Ligue 1 is junior school, the CL is seniors, and myself and Neymar are lazy bastards. 

 

Neymar and Mbappe should be embarrassed when they watch the replay of this game. They made Sturridge look like Dirk Kuyt. Fair play to ‘Studge’, he did his bit defensively. He mightn’t be the most energetic looking of players but at least he attempted to put himself in the right positions to close down space, and when one of the wide players went central he moved over to cover. 

 

There's just such an intensity about our play on nights like this, and Milner set the tone for it with an early challenge on Neymar that got everyone going. It was probably the best moment of the night other than Bobby's goal. Neymar skipped away from Trent and was doing a stepover and then BAM!!! He's on his arse. That fancy dan shit isn't going to fly with Milner, he's from Yorkshire.

 

It reminded me of this....

 

psgreport1.gif

 

Those PSG lads just reeked of ‘big time’ and you could see some of the dirty looks they were getting from their beleaguered team-mates. Poor Rabiot has probably had his career shortened by a year or two after the amount of running he was forced to do in this one. There was one incident near the end when he had to run 60 yards chasing Gini down the right wing. He stuck to his task to be fair to him, and then at the end of it he looks upfield and sees Neymar just fucking stood there. He looked like he was fuming, but you would be wouldn’t you?

 

This is one hell of a team we’ve got right now, but we’ve got to start killing teams off when we’ve got them on the ropes. It’s been a problem ever since we rolled over West Ham on opening day. Since then, every game has been much closer than it ought to have been in the closing stages. We almost drew with Spurs at the weekend. That would have been a staggering miscarriage of justice, but this might have been even worse. We could have lost it before we eventually won it. I mean how the fuck does that happen? 

 

Going 2-0 up should have led to a Roma style hammering. The opening goal was great. Brilliant cross by Trent that was just missed by Mané. Then an even better ball by Robbo that wasn’t missed by Sturridge. Cue wriggly arms celebration, inevitably mimicked by Sadio, the celebration chameleon.

 

This is only a teaser, click here to view the full report

 

Please note that Match Reports are only available to website subscribers. Subscriptions cost just £2 a month (you need to register first) and can be purchased here. 

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • dave u pinned this topic

Fucking foul my arse.

 

Nah not having it. Goal. Sturridge has to go for the ball; he does AND gets it. Yes the replays look like he followed in on the keeper, but they made it look far worse than it was. He got the fucking ball. Mo gets the touch. Goal. 

 

If that goal had been scored by Harry Kane in last season's Anfield debacle, he'd have been awarded two. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, rb14 said:

Fucking foul my arse.

 

Nah not having it. Goal. Sturridge has to go for the ball; he does AND gets it. Yes the replays look like he followed in on the keeper, but they made it look far worse than it was. He got the fucking ball. Mo gets the touch. Goal. 

 

If that goal had been scored by Harry Kane in last season's Anfield debacle, he'd have been awarded two. 

Agreed. Keeper played for that 100%. Not a foul, imo

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spot on that report. Thought we were a bit hesitant in front of goal for much of the game allowing the opp's defence to swarm on us in the box (much like we were in the first 20 minutes against Real in the final). Do we get stage fright against these vaunted 'big sides' when we find ourselves carving them open? We shouldn't, we're clearly a side.  

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers for the report Dave. The confidence and belief from a win like that is infectious. At this level, what separates teams isn't just tactics, technique or fitness, it's the mental strength that nothing can stop us. That we can beat anybody. That belief is earned through wins like last night and my word haven't we been earning it over the past season. 

On another note you've nailed my school and uni years with this:

They’re like me in junior school when I got by on my big brain. I didn’t need to study or revise because, all modesty aside, I was just cleverer than everyone else. Then I got to seniors and everyone passed me by because I was so lazy and couldn’t be arsed doing any schoolwork, and my big brain alone wasn’t enough anymore. There were kids nowhere near as clever as me coming away with A’s and B’s, while I was failing everything and proving to be a massive disappointment to my parents. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nailed it again Dave. I was confident right up until the moment I saw the team sheet with that particular midfield combination and Studge up front. My fears were of no avail and I was ecstatic to be proved wrong. I've only been watching the 50 odd years. What the fuck do I know? Love it. Onward and upwards Redmen!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't wait to see Ramos come up a midfield that consists of Henderson, Milner and Keita at different moments of the match all hellbent on leaving a mark or two on him.

 

That's assuming they even qualify after losing to ten men Juve. I hope the cunt cried again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • dave u unpinned this topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...