Leaderboard

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.... 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. Soon after it was 2-0 as PSG’s left back inexplicably tripped Wijnaldum in the box. Big Games James stepped up and buried the pen, and PSG were facing the prospect of being blown away. Then they were handed an undeserved lifeline just on half time. The goal shouldn’t have stood as Cavani was a yard offside when the cross came in and he attempted an overhead kick, thereby influencing the play as it put our defenders off. The ball hit Robbo on the shin and fell to Meunier, who finished it well to be fair. I wasn’t unduly concerned about that goal but I did think it might liven PSG up a bit. It didn’t. The second half was one way traffic. This game was so easy we should have been up by four or five as they couldn’t live with us at all. It was only easy because of how hard the players worked though. The pace and intensity we play at was just too much for PSG. It’s one of the strangest games I’ve ever seen really. In the second half it looked like PSG thought it was a testimonial. There were gaps everywhere, our players had acres of space to play in and at times it was so easy I think that had a negative impact on how we played. Normally I’d expect us to score six against a team who played like that. A couple of times we had four agains three attacks and just ended up picking the wrong option through being spoiled for choice. I just don’t know what PSG were doing, it was weird. Three up front and then everyone else expected to just try and stop our attacks. But for the brilliance of Thiago Silva this would have been a rout. He was top drawer I thought. As were our lads at the back too, although they were not as overworked as Silva. Big Virg was just strolling around with all the time in the world, pinging passes out to Trent on the right wing who seemed to have twenty yards of space to operate in at all times. It was mad, as I say, I just don’t know what PSG were doing. I thought they were a fucking disgrace actually, but then all of a sudden it’s 2-2 and Draxler is in the box with a great chance to win it. How did we get there? It’s not like we played badly, in fact we were outstanding all over the park. But we didn’t kill them off. Even teams who lack of talent can hurt you if you don’t step on their throat, so when they have as many dangerous forwards as PSG you just can’t let them back up off the canvas. That was the mistake we made, we got sloppy because it was too easy. I fully expected us to win but I thought they'd have put up more of a fight than they did. I don't think they're as great as some make them out to be but obviously they're dangerous as they have some world class talent. I think they've have been hyped up a bit too much just because they’ve got Neymar and Mbappe. Logically though, there was absolutely no reason to think they were going to come to Anfield and beat us. There’s no reason to think they’ll beat us in Paris either. It could happen, of course it could, but I just don’t see them as being as good as us. I expect them to play a lot better than this though. Talk about individuals all you like, but it takes more than that to be a great team. We’ve got great individuals too, but the collective exceeds all of that. We’re a team. We play as a team, whether that’s attacking or defending. That’s the difference between us and PSG. For example, Mo was mostly shite in this game but he still worked his little nuts off because that's the very least that's expected of everyone in our team. Neymar on the other hand, is only interested when the ball is at his feet. Mbappe isn't much better either. He looked sharp but he was very well shackled for the most part and he made no attempt whatsoever to stop Robbo marauding forward. As for Cavani? He’s all hype. Always has been, always will be. Even if he scores a hat-trick in the return game he’s still a massive fucking phoney. Whenever the question is raised about who has the best front three the answer is always going to be us because our front three doesn’t have that big skeletor looking fraud in it. At least he puts in a shift though, which is more than the other two lazy bastards can say. Ultimately we didn’t win this because of our much vaunted front three though. Ok, technically we did because one third of it came off the bench and scored the winner. My point is that whereas last season our forwards were running riot in this competition, this win was more about the team’s performance as a whole. Bobby wasn’t even on the pitch for most of the game, while we would probably have been better off if Mo had been sat beside him on the bench too. He just doesn’t look happy in himself right now and isn’t playing with the same freedom and joy we’re used to. It’s all looking a bit too forced at times. He could really have done with that disallowed goal being allowed to stand, because he really struggled after it. He was lucky to stay on as long as he did and when he was subbed it was very much a case of shutting the stable door when the horse was already halfway down the street. You can’t give the ball away that cheaply even to an average Premier League side, so doing it when Neymar and Mbappe are waiting to pounce is only ever going to end in trouble. Still, we were a bit unlucky there as Van Dijk did well to challenge Neymar, but the loose ball fell perfectly for Mbappe to score. Klopp wasted no time in hooking Mo after that. He might want to sit him down and have a chat with him, find out what’s on his mind as something just isn’t quite right with him so far this year. I’m not worried yet, but I’ll feel a lot better when he’s looking like himself again. Tell you what though, Mbappe’s celebration pissed me off. Cocky little twat. You can do that in front of the Kop when you’re playing for us next year, but until then pack that shit in. Presumably that’s what Klopp said to him at full time anyway. Being pegged back to 2-2 was a massive kick in the balls but suddenly PSG realised they might actually steal the game. Draxler’s arrival gave them a spark, although that was offset by the introduction of Choupa-Mouting. How mad is that? He went from Stoke to PSG after a season in which he didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary. Must have one hell of an agent that lad. Probably the same agent who got Tommy Gravesen a move to Real Madrid. You’ve got to hand it to this team of ours though, they’ve got great spirit and a never say die attitude. To be able to pick themselves up and go and grab the winner says a lot about them. Shaqiri made a positive contribution off the bench and must be close to getting a start now. I like his enthusiasm, it’s infectious. He was involved in the winner as he won and then took the corner that ultimately led to the goal. For a second though it looked like we were going to be in real trouble as Firmino headed it straight to Mbappe who was instantly looking to counter attack. Milner put a stop to that though and before you knew it, the ball was back at Bobby’s feet and he bamboozled a couple of defenders before drilling one into the bottom corner. Cue trademark funny celebration. And of course, cue Sadio the celebration chameleon mimicking it. The win was fully deserved and keeps our 100% start intact. It also lays down an early marker in the group. Napoli away will be difficult but I’d still expect us to win. That almost goes without saying though, as there are no games I go into these days thinking we won’t win. Star man is Milner again, but I thought Wijnaldum and Robertson ran him very, very close, and Hendo was superb too. That’s why we were so dominant. Players like those who will just outwork and outfight the opposition, as well as being able to match them for ability. Everyone performed well except Mo, but he gets a pass because he never let it affect his defensive responsibilities. Sturridge deserves a mention too as it can’t be easy coming in from the cold and being asked to fill Bobby’s boots against such high quality opposition. Coming in and playing against Huddersfield is one thing, but PSG in the Champions League is difficult when you’ve hardly played so all things considered he did very well. Should have scored another couple of goals though. He missed an easy header from a glorious Trent cross and there was also a poor touch that led to him fouling the keeper and causing Mo’s ‘goal’ to be chalked off. That was probably the right decision but it shouldn’t have taken that long for the ref to make it, and just what the fuck is that official behind the goal doing? Nothing, that;s what. As usual. Said it before and I’ll say it again, they’re a complete waste of time those fuckers, they never give any decisions even when they’re right on top of it, like this one. Those misses by Sturridge could have been costly on another day but it’s hard to be too critical of him when he’s hardly played. It’s difficult for Klopp but he has to find a way to get Sturridge and Shaqiri involved more to keep them sharp. I think the key to it is for the team to be able to get that all important third goal that kills teams off. That’s been the biggest problem we’ve had so far this season. Get the third goal and things become so much easier on a number of levels. Hopefully when Mo regains his mojo we’ll start to do that again. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Milner; Salah (Shaqiri), Sturridge (Firmino), Mané:

1. How boss are last minute winners at Anfield in Europe? Bobby The One-Eyed Pirate plundering the winner too. Is right. 2. That would have been a total rip off if we’d come away with fewer than all the points because we dominated them. They just could not cope with our aggression or intensity. Whether it was Cavani absolutely shitting himself in a fifty fifty with Hendo, Neymar getting smashed by Milner early on or every player in a Red shirt covering every blade of grass - twice! - it was clear they just couldn’t get near us. 3. The midfield was sensational once more. James Milner. Again. What a player. He’s just ridiculously good. And Gini once more clever in his movement and use of the ball. However, let’s give the skipper some because Henderson was brilliant. If you’re one of these internet gobshites who constantly slags the lad and you did so tonight after that performance then I can’t help you, sorry. You’re too stupid to support Liverpool. That was a master class in dominating an opponent tonight and Hendo was at its heart. 4. The pace of our back line was important tonight as we mostly kept their threat tamed. What struck me more than the speed in our defence though was their exponential progress. It’s borderline weird how good we are at the back right now. When are these lads going to stop getting better? In theory it must happen at some point, but I can’t see when because they just go from strength to strength. 5. Seeing Sturridge back and scoring a big goal was both a surprise and a pleasure. Clearly he’s no Bobby, but I heard a few people around me surprised at his quick feet, clever movement and ball retention. I’m not sure who they were watching a few seasons back when he was ripping the league a new one, but at least he’s getting the credit now. I’m not holding my breath for sustained fitness, but that doesn’t detract from my joy at seeing him score because he’s boss. Long may his fitness be retained. 6. Negatives? Mo’s sloppy passing, some poor luck with decisions and, er, that’s it. 7. Nice to see Fabinho get his debut. Was it the full minute in the end? Shaqiri looked very hungry when he came on and I'm convinced all three will be vital squad members this season. 8. Their players? Neymar was poor relative to his reputation and Mbappé was well shackled by Robbo. I thought Thiago Silva looked sublime though. One moment in the first half showed incredible reading of the game and lightening pace as he tracked Mané’s diagonal run to snuff out his threat. He’s a real footballer, him. 9. I was going to praise their fans for their constant noise because no matter what the setback, they kept bouncing. But then I realised right at the end of the first half as The Kop quietened enough for me to actually hear them that they had a drummer with them! All that money and their fans just want to be Stoke. *Shakes head* 10. I said it after the Spurs game and I’ll say it again now, we have got a really serious team on our hands now. They are hungry, aggressive, fast, skilful and obdurate and in my view there are no limits to what they can achieve under this manager. Six wins from six and the promise of much more to come. Come on you Reds!!! Paul Natton

1. Five wins from five to start a season is hugely impressive no matter which way you cut it. This was a huge win; no doubt. 2. We pretty much dominated Tottenham from start to finish, looking very much in control. However, I have to admit to feeling pretty frustrated throughout - albeit tempered by moments of real admiration for some of our players and what they are capable of doing. Then, after the game, I started reflecting on point one above and putting things into their proper context. Yes the forwards are still not fully on song and some of their decision-making is infuriating. However, even allowing for the late goal concession and penalty bullet dodged, this was a really one-sided game away from home against a side that has finished higher than us for much of the last decade. It really was a great win! 3. As the match ended I said to the lads in the TLW WhatsApp group that I thought some of the attacking players would be in for a bollocking from Klopp once they got into the dressing room. However, I quickly revised that view when I heard what he had to say, never mind when I then reflected on the work the front three had put in because they did all the things they're expected to under Klopp except take every chance - and that can never be an expectation. I think what I've been guilty of is expecting the absolute roller-coaster attacking football we produced for much of last season and when you see multiple chances - and good ones at that - go begging as they did today, it seems like a massive let down. However, it's not actually the goals that are the hallmark of what we're about under Klopp. They're just a very significant by-product. What we're really about is that controlled aggression and constant movement and pressing. And in that sense - as Klopp himself made clear - we were brilliant. 4. I think we actually need to fully recalibrate how we think of this team, because there is now a significant body of evidence that demonstrates we're a really focused, intelligent and dominant side in all areas of the game, rather than the unpredictable footballing dynamite that's just as likely to explode at the back as up front from game to game. I'm not just talking about the outdated "crap at the back" narrative here, mind; that one was volleyed out of the stadium pretty much from the moment Virgil arrived. It's more about our ability to control the game throughout, even when in moments where we're under pressure from top class opposition. For me, I think it stems from the point Klopp himself has been making from the day he walked into the place, in fairness: it takes time for his style of football to become embedded and it's actually considerably more demanding and complex than most people seem to give it credit for. There's got to be a reason why he holds most new players back and why it takes almost everyone (Mo and Virgil excepted) months to understand what he wants. Obviously this can be seen in the oft-cited examples of Robbo, Ox and now Fabinho. However, look at Gini too. The player so many Reds were singularly underwhelmed by now looks imperious in that Number 6 position. I absolutely love his strength on the ball: he doesn't ever seem to lose it when challenged. But he matches that with a highly underrated technique and ability to distribute it at the right time to the right player, too. I liked Gini pretty much from the off at Liverpool. However, to be fair to his critics, the attributes which I admired were pretty underwhelmingly employed for his first year or so. No longer though. He's a crucial member of the team who has risen to the challenge provided by the extra competition for places and he seems to get better by the week, these days. He finally broke that away goal hoodoo today - and it was a cracker, by the way; superb header - but that's not why I'm praising him. It's his all-round intelligence and ability to deliver Klopp's tactics at the highest level that now stand out and hopefully more people will give him the props he's due. 5. Speaking of overdue credit, how is it that James Milner isn't routinely described as one of the best players in English football? I mean, he is absolutely sensational! The perfect blend of intelligence, character, physicality and - yes - class. Why is it that his technique is so under appreciated? I mean, he's pretty much two-footed, has a deadly eye for a pass and can comfortably accept almost any ball even when under the most intense pressure. This was all on show when he played left back, was emphasised even more when he set a new Champions League assists record last season and is still staring us in the face this campaign as everyone seems to miss the fact that Klopp appears to be building his whole system around Milner's ability to be about five players in one during the same match. He was awesome today, once again, and I simply cannot understand why every Red in the land isn't screaming from the rooftops about his brilliance. Maybe it's the age thing and there's an expectation that there'll be a sudden and rapid decline, so his is not the basket to put your favourite player eggs into. Whatever it's about, two things are certain: he's a truly great player and if we're going to win big this season, we will need him to be available for the full campaign. 6. And while I'm warming to my great players theme, Virgil van Dijk... I think that ellipsis says it all, even though I could go on and on and on about his class, composure, intelligence and leadership here, exemplifying each trait at length. However, I'll pick one moment from today's game that absolutely took my breath away. It was about ten minutes into the second half when he just materialised as he always does to win a ball in the air. It wasn't his aerial ability, physical dominance of his opponent or preternatural reading of the game that struck me though, as I pretty much take those qualities for granted now. No, it was that he laid the ball off with a precise header to his right, onto the toe of Trent who was breaking forward into space and collected it in his stride to take us on to a dangerous counterattack. Here's the thing: it wasn't a fluke. I think Virgil might be the only centre half I have ever seen who can consistently defend and attack at the highest level in one single interaction with the ball! He is ridiculously good. You know how it seems sacrilegious to rate contemporary Liverpool players at, or even near, the top of our pantheon of greats? How it's club lore that trophy-less footballers are automatically inferior to their medal-laden forebears? Well I'm not having it. Van Dijk is the best player I've seen for Liverpool at centre half. And yes I did see all the 80s-and-beyond greats and therefore fully understand what I'm saying. Quite simply he is an unbelievable footballer. 7. So what else did I notice today? Robbo was Robbo - again. Joe G had a couple of wobbles and yet emerged unscathed, which bodes very well for his continued development in light of his inexperience in the position. Allison was fine. Bobby's eye injury looked horrible and will worry me if I let it as he's so important to us. However, I'm not letting anything take the shine off this brilliant start to the season today. So I'll worry about Bobby when the club says something to worry about. 8. I'm excited and feel fully justified in being so. However, I think this level of excitement will pale into insignificance if we can get through this next run of games undefeated, which is very much a possibility. You look at how we're playing and it's really hard to see how teams are going to beat us. We can't be ripped open on the break as we have too much pace. We can't be fluked by a parked bus counter attacking side keeping us blunted because even this half-cocked attack is still outscoring almost everyone else in the league and will hit its stride sooner or later. We can't be out-fought because - d'uh - aggression is our thing. And we can't be done on set pieces because that door was slammed shut when Virgil arrived and now Allison looks like he's padlocked it. No, we're looking like a really serious title contending team right now and I think this challenge we're embarking upon will be proven to be the real deal. 9. So PSG on Tuesday with Neymar and Mbappe. That'll be a test... for them. I hope they're ready because they're coming to Anfield and we're Liverpool. Shit just got real. Come on you Reds!!! Paul Natton

Five wins from five topped off by completely bossing Spurs at Wembley, and you know what I was mostly feeling at full time? Irritation. Mad isn’t it? Especially as I’d have snatched your hand off for any type of win beforehand. Given the way it played out though it was hard not to be annoyed. Obviously with the dust now settled on it I’m delighted with the win and really impressed with the performance, but I’m not gonna lie, I’m still a little pissed off that not only did we let Spurs escape what should have been a defeat for the ages, somehow we ended up hanging on and might have even blown the win if Michael Oliver had spotted Sadio clipping Son’s heel as he shaped to shoot. As pleasing as it is to see the lads go to Spurs and dominate that like, it’s outrageous that they somehow came so close to blowing it. Spurs couldn’t even lay a glove on us, while their goal led a charmed life. The forward line in last year’s form would have given Spurs the most humiliating afternoon of their lives. Their form this year is nothing like it was, but more so as a collective than as individuals. They're not playing badly, they just aren't always playing for eachother. Some of the decision making, particularly in the second half, had Klopp pulling his hair out on the touchline. Tell you what though, there’s going to be carnage when the forwards do get on the same page again because the rest of the team are getting it done in a big way. This was a fantastic team performance and the forwards did play their part, despite their lack of ruthlessness. Their finishing and decision making undoubtedly left a lot to be desired, but the work rate and pressing as a unit had Spurs all over the place. We made a good team look very, very ordinary. Right from the start we were on the front foot and it looked as though we’d taken the lead inside the first minute when Milner’s cross found its way into the far corner. Firmino had gone for it and might have gotten a slight touch. He was well onside. Mané also went for it and it looked like he also got a touch. He was definitely offside. Whether he touched it or not doesn’t really matter in this case. He went for the ball when in a clearly offside position and it distracted the keeper. No complaints and it was a good sign that we were right at it. There were other chances too. Mo went clean through but shot straight at Vorm. Not like him that but it’s kind of how things have been going so far this season. Last year that was a goal, without question. He’s not playing badly but he’s just not quite there yet. We’re talking fractions though. Maybe he's thinking too much abut scoring and needs to play, do the right things and just let nature take its course. In this team the chances will come, there's no need to try and force anything. On the opposite flank Mané was lively and was finding space in the gap left by Trippier. Spurs didn’t have any answer to it, they kept pushing the full backs forward and we kept winning the ball and getting it to Salah and Mané in the space. Klopp's gameplan was working perfectly right until the final act of sticking the ball in the onion bag, but there's nothing a manager can do about that. Mané had a couple of driving runs into the box but his end product just wasn’t there. He was carrying the biggest threat but Firmino was the pick of the front three as it was his pressing and link play that was making everything come together. He was running all over the place and dragging defenders into areas they didn’t want to be. We just needed a goal and when eventually it arrived it came from the most unlikely of sources. Wijnaldum doesn’t get many and he doesn’t usually get any away from home. Only one before this (Roma away last year), and funnily enough that was a header from a corner that wasn’t cleared too. This was a really under-rated goal as it was a much more difficult chance than it looked. He was moving backwards, he had to jump and he had to generate all the power himself. To be able to drop it just under the bar the way he did was impressive. He isn’t known for his heading ability but I’ve heard him talking up that side of his game a few times and he's sneaky good in that area. On first view I wasn’t even appealing for a goal as I thought Vorm had saved it, but the replay showed it was miles over the line. Thank God for hawkeye as I wouldn’t have trusted the ref or lino to get that right. A 1-0 lead at the break was the least we deserved on the balance of play. The second half was more of the same. Spurs unsuccessfully trying to play through midfield and looking wide open every time we won the ball back. The scoreline was close but the game really wasn’t. It always felt like we were in command and when Bobby tapped in to make it 2-0 I thought we’d go on to fucking hammer them. And we should have. It was remarkable how many great situations we blew. We kept picking them off in midfield and then flying at them, but the killer third goal just wouldn’t come. It was really sloppy but it’s easy to focus on that and ignore the fantastic work the front three did off the ball that made this performance possible. They aren’t firing on all cylinders yet but they’re still a nightmare to play against, and they’ve done enough for us to win every game. At least one of them has scored in every game so far. Yet apparently Mané was getting abuse on his social media accounts for passing to Keita instead of Mo. Probably Egyptian fans rather than Reds, but whoever it is needs to fuck off. The one when he played it to Naby was a questionable decision but he had so much time and so many options it was easy to over complicate it. He should have played Mo in but when that window closed he did the right thing by then rolling it to Keita. The problem was the shit finish from Naby rather than anything Sadio did. Still, knobheads are reading stuff into it that isn’t there. Some people actually think Sadio is running through and thinking "oh there's Mo in space. Fuck that guy, I'm not passing to him". Unbelievable. There’s no problem between Salah and Mané, so stop trying to fucking create one, you fucking virgins. Later Mané would blast one over the bar when he had someone (Keita again?) in a great position to his left. Klopp was pissed about that. He was also annoyed by Salah going it alone when he should have rolled it to Sturridge. What happened there was Mo had produced a great turn and had left a couple of players for dead, and he was obviously thinking ‘goal of the season coming up here’. It would have been too, if three Spurs players hadn’t converged on him and completely shut the door. Has to pass it there, and I expect Klopp might be having some words with some of his players about getting their heads up and making better decisions. Specifically Mo, who just needs to chill and forget about matching last year's total. As I say, if he just plays as he should do, the goals will come anyway. It was incredibly frustrating to watch at times but if we hadn’t given away that cheap goal in stoppage time I wouldn’t have been that bothered about the profligacy up front. That’s all it takes, one scabby little fucking goal and suddenly everything changes. The crowd had given up (half of them had left) and so had their players really, then they get a lifeline from nowhere. If this game had gone on for another couple of minutes I think we might have blown it. We almost did anyway because Spurs definitely should have had a penalty. Difficult one for the ref though because in real time it looks like Son kicks his own foot and its almost impossible to see that Mané clipped him. Still, they can fuck off after the shit they pulled at Anfield last season. Oh you didn’t get your late penalty? Tough shit. The team who cried wolf. Fucking diving all over the place again they were. Eriksen, Rose, Lamela, Moura, Vertonghen, they were all at it. And what was that shit from Vertonghen on Bobby? I’m not saying he deliberately poked him in the eye but he did deliberately hit him in the face. How is his left arm even coming into play there unless he’s trying to smack him? Fucking shitbag. Michael Oliver actually gave the foul against Firmino. Sad thing is, he’s one of the better refs. Certainly top three. It's a low bar. We’re fucking boss though aren’t we? To go to Spurs and completely own them like this has to put the shits up the rest of the league. Everyone was scared of what we can do in attack, but we can defend now as well and we’ve got a proper keeper (absolutely loved his no nonsense approach to this game by the way). All those weaknesses that gave opponents a little bit of encouragement simply aren’t there anymore. Harry Kane didn’t get a kick, the big slobbering goon. Virgil just shut him down completely. Such a contrast to what happened in this fixture last season, and that as much as anything shows how far we’ve come over the past 11 months. The only Spurs player to pose any threat was Lucas Moura, although he was lucky to still be on the pitch in my opinion. There was a reckless elbow on Big Virg which went unpunished and then he had a wild lunge at Trent that thankfully didn’t connect. I had no opinion of him before this but now I see that, like most Spurs players, he’s a twat. Fuck him and his prematurely receding hairline. The Brazilian Andros Townsend. We were generally great at the back but there were still a couple of anxious moments early in the second half. Gomez had sailed through the first half without having to break sweat but he had a sticky little spell not long after the break. It started when he was caught in possession and needed Van Dijk to bail him out by getting back to dispossess Moura. A couple of minutes later Moura skinned him out wide and then raced into the box before hitting the post. Joe was wobbling there but he bounced back well, typified by the fucking thumping tackle he put in on Moura by the touchline. Great that, loved it. Until their stoppage time flurry, Spurs didn’t really threaten us at all other than that. Son coming on worried me as he might actually be their most dangerous player on the sly. Kane is obviously their main man, while Eriksen and Alli get their share of headlines, but I’d rather face any of them than Son. He’s one of those players who you always have to worry about. They brought Lamela on too, but he’s fucking shite. Pisses me off that it was him who got their goal because he’s a massive fraud him. Stealing a living that boy band looking cunt. The goal apart, and the subsequent moment of panic that almost led to a penalty immediately after, the defence were solid as fuck again. As were the midfield. I’ve said it a few times but Gini is quality in that holding role. As a number eight I can take or leave him to be honest, but every game he’s played in the deeper role he’s been absolute class. Every game. Think about it. He’s been a candidate for man of the match in every single game he’s played as a six. Keita is operating at a level way below what he will eventually become. He’s feeling his way in and not really doing anything explosive. He was neat and tidy but he can definitely do more and he should have put that chance away. The problem is every chance he's had so far seems to have been on his left foot. Might be worth switching him and Milner over? Still, when Milner is playing like this it doesn’t really matter who else is in midfield. Hell, we could stick Joe Cole in there and still get away with it as Milner is playing at such a high level. He’s just phenomenal. He runs more than anyone else, tackles more than anyone else, puts in more crosses and passes than anyone else, and he’s the most intelligent player on the pitch. He might be the least heralded 'great player' we’ve ever had. Because make no mistake, the Milner we’ve seen over the last 12 months is a genuinely great player. He was monstrous against Spurs. The best player on the pitch by some distance. Our midfield at the moment is Milner plus two. He’s the main man in that midfield now and the others are competing to play alongside him. I fucking love James Milner. Klopp’s changes were interesting. Initially he was bringing on Henderson for Keita, which was an obvious call really. Then Bobby got that finger in the eye and it became obvious he was in trouble and couldn’t continue. Klopp had murder with the fourth official as he tried to change the substitution and keep Keita on. He got his way in the end but I thought he should have stuck with the original sub and then brought Shaqiri or Sturridge on for Firmino. There seemed to be some confusion over what to do and Naby was pushed forward into the front three for a bit. It felt as though we lost a little bit of organisation and concentration with that reshuffle but even so we still created the better chances. That’s probably why Klopp then brought on Sturridge rather than Shaqiri. We were getting so many chances to pick them off and finish the game but they were being squandered in a variety of ways. In the end Klopp obviously thought ‘fuck this’ and put Sturridge on. Normally he wouldn’t do that because there’s such a noticeable drop off in the intensity of our play without the ball when Sturridge is up there. It’s painful to watch his lack of mobility these days but he comes alive around the box and I could see the logic in getting him on. It didn’t really work though. All he managed to do was win a few cheap free-kicks to help take the sting out of the game and in hindsight Shaqiri would have been a better option. Really looking forward to Shaqiri getting a start and showing us what he can do. If Bobby can’t play against PSG then I really hope it’s Shaq that gets the nod. So overall, a great three points and Spurs will know they were fortunate not to get hammered. We owed them a spanking after what happened last season but it will just have to wait until they come to Anfield. It’s very Liverpool to somehow not be top even after winning all five games. It’s very un-Liverpool that the thing that has let us down is goalscoring. We’ve only conceded twice but we aren’t scoring at the rate you’d expect. That will surely come though, and the biggest threat to our perfect start is the volume of fixtures we’ve got coming up. We just need to get through this period as unscathed as possible and then see where we are at the end of it. So far we’ve only really used 12 players but that will have to change and we’ll see how strong the squad actually is. I don’t think there’ll be too many changes for PSG or Southampton but after that Klopp is going to have to make the best use of his bench players as possible. Let’s hope they’re up to the job, because we know the first eleven is as good as anything in Europe. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Matip), Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner, Keita (Sturridge); Salah, Firmino (Henderson), Mané: