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It seems strange to say after we twice failed to hold onto a lead, but that was definitely a point gained rather than two lost. We were fortunate to still be in the game at half time and that first half showing was really concerning. I’d have snatched your hand off for a point at half time and again when it went to 2-2 late on. By the end I just wanted the whistle to go. That wasn’t how I anticipated this game going at all which is why this was probably more jarring to me than it will have been to others. Before the game most of the lads were predicting a draw. Not me. This was a big game at Anfield, against the team that have been our biggest rivals in recent years. A team with a horrific record at Anfield (last season doesn’t count). I was confident, probably bordering on cocky. So that first half was a chastening experience. It started well enough though. The opening 15 minutes were good and then it just went downhill fast. City started to get on top and we couldn’t redress the balance. The longer the half went the worse we got. It was really unsettling. I don’t remember the last time anyone was able to do that to us. City just strangled the life out of us and we couldn’t do anything about it. Not a nice feeling and not something we're used to these days. It wasn’t just the danger they posed us, it was the way they completely snuffed out any potential threat we might have offered. The main reason I’m always confident when we face City is that despite how good they with the ball, they’re often wide open to counter attacks and that is tailor made for us. Yet I can’t remember even one counter that we had in this game. It’s partly us playing shit, but it also has to be something City are doing to prevent it. Their full backs barely seemed to cross the halfway line, so that’s part of it. They’ve learned lessons from past defeats and now we’re going to have to come up with another way of hurting them, because all we had here was Mo sticking his Superman cape on. Without him we had nothing. We couldn’t lay a glove on City in that first half, while they carried real menace throughout. Alisson made at least two big saves and City wasted other chances with really wayward finishing (De Bruyne missed a header and Grealish hit the corner flag with one chance). We were all over the place and because of how they were passing through us we just lost all cohesion and confidence when we had the ball. Klopp was screaming “BE BRAVE” at one point and he emphasised this afterwards too. “We forgot to play football” I think his exact words were. Or certainly something to that effect. I was wanting the half time whistle to blow from around 25-30 minutes as I didn’t think we would survive the half without conceding at least once. Somehow we did, and that was a huge victory for us all things considered. I was really stressed out at half time though. We’d been repeatedly punched in the face and weren’t able to fight back. I didn’t know what the problem was as those kind of deep dive tactical solutions are way above my pay grade, but I knew Milner had to come off. Beyond that the only thing I could think was that something needed to change tactically because we looked inept all over the park. The ball wasn’t sticking with the front players, the midfield couldn’t get any kind of foothold in the game, Robbo and Milner couldn’t get forward and for some reason we kept trying to hit long balls in behind Kyle Walker, the fastest player in the entire fucking league. Sadio is quick but he had no chance of beating Walker for pace. It was a fucking shambles. Just terrible, and I didn’t know why. My best guess was that because City were playing Grealish as virtually an extra midfield player, they just had too many bodies in there for us and they were able to pass their way through to then release Foden in behind. All of their attacks came down that side and Milner was having a torrid time. I don’t even think it was anything he was doing wrong either. He kept getting exposed because City were able to keep playing the ball in behind him for Foden to chase. What’s Milner meant to do there? I’d have brought Gomez on firstly because Milner was on a booking, and secondly because if our right back was going to be chasing backwards after Foden all afternoon then at least Gomez can outrun him. Milner had been lucky not to concede a pen when he clipped Foden as he ran into the box. Foden jumped up immediately and tried to play on, but that was clearly a foul. The only question was whether it was maybe just outside the box, but it’s definitely a foul. Paul Tierney gave nothing, which staggered me to be honest. VAR wasn’t interested either, which was even more surprising. VAR probably ducked out of it because he couldn’t tell if it was inside or not so he just let Tierney deal with it. Milner was having to resort to fouling quite a bit and after he had picked up an inevitable yellow card, subbing him at half time was a no brainer. We’ve seen Klopp do that with other players, specifically Neco Williams, and while Milner is a different kettle of fish as he’s so vastly experienced, in this instance I don’t care. He had to be brought off because City were so obviously targeting him and he was one foul away from a red card. Or at least that’s what we thought. Klopp left him on, foolishly in my view, and although Milner started the second half well he was incredibly lucky not to pick up a second yellow for leaving a leg out for Bernardo to fall over. I feel certain that the referee must have given the free-kick against Henderson so what happened after that was irrelevant. That’s the only thing that saved Milner, but the replays suggest that Hendo didn’t make any contact. Yes, Bernardo is already on the way down but Milner has recklessly stuck his leg out and even if Bernardo wasn’t already falling that would have been enough to bring the City player down anyway. It defo should have been a second yellow but we got away with it purely because it looked like Hendo had committed the foul when he actually hadn’t. If Milner had been sent off that would have 100% been on Klopp though, and he knew it because as soon as that happened he turned to Gomez and told him he was going on. Better late than never I guess. Guardiola lost his fucking mind at that decision. I’m fine with him kicking off and being pissed off about it, but the way he dragged it out and the fucking carrying on out of him was pathetic. That wasn’t a manager angry about a decision, that was just a weird little cunt putting on a show. Fake as fuck that was, all the arm waving, dancing, taking off the coat and bouncing around like a twat. God I hate him. What was funny was when it initially happened and he started screaming for a second yellow card, Pep Ljinders flew out of his seat and went to run at him. Klopp had to grab him and shepherd him back in his seat. It was like when Fred or Shaggy would grab Scrappy Do and hold him while he’s kicking and screaming and giving it the “let me at ‘em, let me at ‘em”. Unusually, Klopp stayed really calm and didn’t get involved with Guardiola at all. He was probably thanking his lucky stars he’d gotten away with his fuck up of leaving Milner out there. Gomez was soon on (immediately after it went 2-1), but that’s not an idea solution either as he’s just not good at right back, especially going forward. The one thing I did think he’d do was shut down that side defensively, but that never really happened either. It was 1-1 when the Milner thing happened. We’d started the second half much more positively and managed our first shot on goal when Jota turned well and fired goal wards forcing Ederson to make a save. That got the crowd back into it because it went seriously fucking flat when City were just bossing us. While it’s usually the crowd and players feeding off eachother, sometimes the players really need a helping hand from the crowd and I didn’t think they got it in that first half. I just think most of us were stunned by what we were seeing. We were shite and City should have been up by two or three goals. The crowd needed to see signs of life from the team and we got that after the break. We weren’t on top exactly, but it was an even contest now. We took the lead with a stunning goal. Honestly, that was so fucking good and it’s not being talked about enough because all the attention is on our second goal. The second goal is amazing, but so was the first. That assist by Mo is every bit as good as the goal he scored. He comes back into his own half to collect a hopeful ball chipped down the line by Matip who was being put under pressure and needed to get rid. Mo’s awareness and touch were superb, he popped it off to Hendo and then set off back up the field. Hendo gives it to Fab who knocks it around the corner first time to Mo. He then goes past Rodri as though he’s not there, drives at the defence before playing a perfectly weighted through ball to Sadio who finished it superbly. Just a great fucking goal that, and the kind of thing Mo’s clearly made a conscious effort to improve on this year. In the past he’d have used Mané as a decoy and cut in for a shot himself. Not this year, he’s been creative as fuck, playing team-mates in for chances every week as well as still getting goals himself. He’s gone up a level this year, no question about it. City were soon level though. Really good goal from their perspective but shit from ours. Alisson’s positioning is probably his biggest strength, but he got it badly wrong here and was way too far over, allowing Foden a big gap to go for across goal. The strike was so accurate Ali might not have been able to save it anyway, but his positioning gave him no chance. The bigger problem I had with it was Curtis not fouling Jesus in the build up. He actually did everything he could to not foul him, which was a bit naive and hopefully something he’ll learn from. You can commit a foul there and probably avoid a booking, but even if you get a yellow it’s worth it. Curtis couldn’t really make any attacking impression but he did record an assist with the ball that Mo turned into goal number two. That’s why the assist stat is so over-rated. Curtis gets one for a pass into a player who is marked by three opponents, miles from goal. Mo’s skill, control and balance in that situation was as close to Messi as you’re going to get. Messi is the only other player on the planet who could have scored from there in that fashion. Just a sensational goal. I didn’t think the game was over at 2-1 but what I was thinking was that we might be able to ride the wave of emotion from the crowd to get another one quickly which would have killed the game. I think the players had been sensing that too, because it was a bit weird seeing some of them calling for more noise after both goals. Sadio and Virgil were trying to ramp up the noise after the opening goal, and then Mo was doing it when he scored. I was a bit disappointed in the atmosphere if I’m honest. It was good, but it wasn’t special. And we probably needed special, which is why the players were trying to whip it up a bit. When we didn’t immediately get a third I knew it was going to be a long final 10 minutes or so. I didn’t think we’d keep City out because they were finding too many gaps in the final third. We just weren’t compact at all. Sterling had come on through the middle for the invisible Grealish (are we sure it wasn’t Jamie Tartt up there? One for any Ted Lasso fans there) and immediately made City look much more threatening. It wasn’t a surprise when they equalised again although I was half expecting it to be disallowed as I thought De Bruyne’s shot deflected off Sterling, who was offside in front of goal. There was also a possibility Foden had been off with the initial pass. We’re all standing around waiting for an announcement of a VAR check, and the next thing the ref is blowing his whistle to restart the game. That really popped the balloon as Anfield was flat as fuck for a couple of minutes after that. We nearly won it when Ederson flapped at a cross and Fab found himself all alone with an open goal, but as he took his shot Rodri appeared from nowhere to make a great block. Fab could have scored if he’d taken it first time on his left foot, but I can’t judge him too harshly there as he’s a defensive midfielder, not an elite finisher. City could have won it too when Jesus got free in the box but smashed his shot into the back of Robbo. I just wanted the ref to blow the whistle as it felt like if any more time had been added City would have scored. This just wasn’t how I expected it to go at all and by full time I was mostly relieved, partly disappointed and a little bit worried. The only reason I had been so confident prior to this game was because of Anfield and how we’ve blown them away here in the past. After this, that’s gone I’m afraid. I won’t be this confident again when we play them because City look like they’re over that now. They weren’t scared this time. The edge we had over them in games like this isn’t really there now as they’ve come to terms with it. They were prepared for it and even when we looked like we had them on the ropes when we scored and the crowd were at their loudest, City weren’t fazed at all. They didn’t wobble like they have done in the past, they just gritted their teeth and went and forced an equaliser. We probably contributed to that by not being at our rampant, high pressing best, but City didn’t panic. That’s my biggest take away from the game and it’s not a pleasant one. We’ve mostly had our own way with City at Anfield but that no longer applies. We may still beat them, but it’s not going to be because they wilted in the atmosphere. And without that advantage it’s going to be a lot harder beating them now. So this was a chastening experience for me personally because I really expected us to win and have been quite bullish about it. I wouldn’t have guaranteed a win as I wasn’t THAT sure (and sometimes you can play incredibly well and still not win) but the one scenario I definitely didn’t envisage was us being totally outplayed like we were in the first half so that was tough to watch and was a bit of a reality check for me. Not specifically because of how good City were (and they were really good) but because we looked so lost. That’s not something I ever associate with this team. Klopp’s team always have a plan, they’re well drilled, mentally strong and can usually deal with most situations they come up against. This was the opposite, we were crying out for half time just so Klopp could get hold of them and sort this shit out, because they couldn’t do it themselves on the pitch. That worries me a little, because you’ve got Van Dijk, Milner and Hendo all out there and between them they couldn’t sort out just what the fuck was going wrong. Klopp more or less said afterwards the problem was the defence dropping off which forced the midfield back and allowed City room to play. Is that not where you’d expect Virgil and Hendo to be getting a grip of it and sorting that shit out? Coming a week after the shitshow at Brentford this isn’t a good sign. I’m not going to over-react to it because the second half showed what we can do even against a really good side, but it’s hard not to be at least a little bit shaken by how timid and disorganised we quickly became as soon as City started to play a bit. We’ve got some things that need figuring out and we’ll be better when Trent is back. It’s easy to say he’d have struggled as much as Milner did in that first half and I agree with that for the most part, but the main difference would have been the quality we get from Trent in possession. That might have helped us offer more of a threat than we did. I don’t want to focus too much on that though because Milner was put in a horrible spot by City’s tactical approach and our inability to react to it. The midfield were pretty poor all day, even in the second half when we were much improved I still thought Fabinho and Henderson were way off what we normally see from them. You know who’s usually boss in these situations? Big Game Gini. His calming influence was badly missed and I’ll argue that point all day. Curtis wasn’t able to influence the game much at all but he didn’t do much wrong either. He was certainly not as culpable as the other two when it came to letting City players just run away from them but there were some moments when I just wanted to him to bring someone down (the first goal for example). We didn’t do anywhere near enough of that. Fab was on a booking so couldn’t, but Hendo and Curtis allowed Silva to run past them unimpeded far too often. They should have been booting that non-clapping little bastard six feet into the air. Robbo seemed to be the only one who really wanted to be getting stuck in and leaving his mark on people. He was really good I thought and but for Mo I’d have given him the star man. But it has to be Mo doesn’t it? It wasn’t that he was brilliant from start to finish, but he’s produced a fantastic bit of play to create one goal and then he’s scored one of the best goals we’ve ever seen in a big game at Anfield. It’s all well and good doing things like that against Watford or Fulham, but this is the highest stage he’s delivering on it. Just sensational. So all in all, very mixed feelings about this game and about our start to the season in general. We’re unbeaten, which is great. We’re flying high in our CL group and we’re within touching distance of top spot in the league, so lots to be pleased with. The flip side to that is we’ve faced City and Chelsea at home and haven’t beaten either, which is a concern because that now means we really can’t afford to lose either of the away games or we’re putting ourselves behind the 8 ball. Defensively we’ve been shit these past couple of games but it isn’t specifically the back four. It’s the organisation and shape of the entire team. That’s definitely fixable though. The top end of the pitch on paper is functioning great and I read that after nine games this season we had equalled our best ever start to a season. Yet other than Mo can we be truly happy with what we’ve seen from the others? I’m happy enough with Jota because I think he’s playing to his level. He’s not going to look the silkiest and his link up play isn’t ever going to be Dalglish-like. I think he’s much better coming from wide than through the middle, but wherever he plays he’s always a goal threat. Sadio though. I dunno, his goal return so far is good but does he look like the old Sadio? Maybe he does and I’ve developed a rose tinted view of what he was. He’s always been a bit erratic and would have games when nothing would be going right but then he’d just do something boss. That’s kind of what he’s doing now, so maybe I’m judging him a little harshly. I just seem to remember a spell when it felt like he was our number one forward. There was a legitimate “Sadio or Mo?” discussion at one point and for a little while I’d have come down on the side of Mané, but now there’s just absolutely no argument. That’s partly because Mo has raised his game even further, but it’s mostly because Sadio hasn’t. Then there’s Bobby. Fucking hell, he was SHITE when he came on. Seriously shite. Worryingly shite. He couldn’t do a thing right. He was either giving it away or holding onto it forever and not looking like he had any idea where to go with it. The only mitigating circumstances here is that it must be really fucking hard to come into a game being played at such breathtaking pace, but then Sterling didn’t have any trouble immediately making an impact so it’s not really an excuse. He has to be better than that. I still believe we’ll win the title but I’ve gone from being “sure” of it to just being “confident”. And I don’t know if this international break has come at a good time or a bad time. Probably a bad time for Klopp, but personally I can do with a weekend off after the stress they’ve inflicted on us the last two weeks. Team: Alisson; Milner (Gomez), Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Jones; Salah, Jota (Firmino), Mané: