lebron

Shocking loss, so many players out of sorts. Let’s repay them in the league, it’s the one we’ve all been wanting all along. Get angry and take it out of Brighton after the break.

Best possible outcome this, I think.

Not sure I like the inclusion of Endo, he put in a monumental effort on Sunday, and I don’t really think he needs the “rhythm”. Darwin is a bit different, as he could use the shooting practice. Hopefully we keep them out/score first, run up a 2 goal lead and let the bench take it from there. The 5 subs makes it a bit more feasible to change players early, I guess we will see 55-60 mins from Endo, Nunez, Salah and 70-75 from Gomez and Robertson

I can see where Code is coming from with the psychology stuff, but accumulated fatigue is a much bigger thing in my opinion, especially for a high energy team like Arsenal. There's only so many times you can go to the well and have the players performing over their limit, much like we experienced in the season where we won 2 cups but ultimately fell short in our hunt for the league and CL. Arsenal have barely changed up their team and as others have noted, didn't trust their bench last night when the chips were down. I know they are a good team, but they rely heavily on Saka and Martinelli's pace down the wings, as well as playing extremely physically (Saliba, Gabriel, Rice) and exploiting the refs' leniency on set pieces. I don't think they'll crumble as such, but their PL run-in (esp the next few games) look really tough, and having CL obligations smack in the middle will have them finish a distant 3rd in my opinion. To give them credit (and avoid egg on my face), I'm no longer 100 pct sure I want them to win at City in the league, more like 99 pct. I don't think they are able to do so, so the point is probably moot anyway. I think the percentages for the league given the respective clubs run-in should be City 45, Liverpool 40 and Arsenal 15 pct chance of winning it

Incredibly proud of the players, the manager and coaching staff, and of course the supporters! Less said about Oliver and his PGMOL VAR-abusing colleagues the better. Not sure what to feel right now. Would have taken a point before the game (most others thought differently). I still think we have a great chance, as both City and Arsenal have just as bad a remaining schedule as us. I actually think we can win all our remaining games given the effort these players seem willing to put in. Will have to read the thread back later to see what others think.

There’s absolutely no point to it is there? When you can’t use it to correct the type of mistake Oliver did today, it ONLY takes AWAY from the game, adds nothing positive to it. Some clubs in Norway (our version of it is a Lidl-type - predictably at least as bad as everywhere else) have started to fight back. The members at Rosenborg BK (Norway’s biggest club) and Strømsgodset have both gotten board resolutions to start working actively to remove it from the league. Hopefully other clubs here follow suit, and we can get rid of it . Wishful thinking perhaps, but hopefully Klopp leaves with a few barrels aimed at both the PGMOL and the decision-makers thinking VAR was a good idea.

I know hyperbole comes easily when emotions are running high, but I think Macca will turn out to be our best midfielder since Alonso (I’m not counting Gerrard’s latter years). What a difference it makes having a player that can control the tempo of the game, and receive passes in tight spaces. Being great at set pieces helps too (can’t believe we didn’t let him take some of our corners today, Robbo’s attempts were atrocious).

He’s been absolutely phenomenal. Playing to his best level in every game. There might still be games where we’ll need to set up an even more attacking midfield (Sczobo, Macca, Jones), but what a signing he has been! Probably up there with our best value-for-money deals we have ever done.

Worked his ass off today. In these games he needs to take a bit better care of the ball, but he could easily had a goal and an assist because of his efforts.

I don’t think Haaland is anywhere near as good as people are trying to build him up to be. Virgil is the only one I know of though that really exposes him as a one-trick pony. I had my doubts if Virgil would ever reach the heights he did prior to his injury, as nearly no-one comes back at more than 90 pct from that sort of. trauma. He looked way off it initially, neither looking comfortable physically nor mentally. Even at 90 pct he would still be the clear best defender in the world, but it actually seems he’s close to 100 pct now. It’s a magnificent watch, and I’d gladly make him the club’s biggest earner tomorrow if it meant he would stay with us for the next 5 years. He’s just ridiculously good.

That distribution is so, so crucial to how they play though, and it makes it virtually impossible to get the ball off them once they decide to keep it. They’re practically playing 11 vs 9 (as most sides don’t like to go man for man at the back), and most of their players are extremely comfortable on the ball. It’s a pretty good set-up, and unfortunately most teams are now panicking because of the grock up front, meaning their other players are having even more time and space if they decide to not attack.

I think our set-up has changed so much that those great early onslaughts isn’t really in our armory anymore. We don’t have the pressing machines up top that we used to, and our forwards aren’t really capable of the same type of blitz-style attacking that Mane-Firmino-Salah used to from 2017-2020. Winning the ball back from City is also a whole different kettle of fish than the opponents we’ve faced recently (where we have basically been given dozens of goals) If we go out 100 mph I’m actually afraid it won’t end well. Double-edged sword, but I fear we won’t be able to exploit our crowd to the extent we used to. I DO think we can beat City, but I think we’ll need to do it a different way. There will be plenty of occasions where we can hurt them in transition, and in periods of the game we should be able to establish some pressure on them. They are much more careful with the ball than us though, and if we miss our early chances as well as squander the ball on our way out, there’s a fair chance we will be thoroughly punished. De Bruyne is the big difference-maker for me. If we can get at him and get tight to him, they really aren’t THAT threatening. Give him time and space, and it’ll be a long afternoon for VVD and whoever partners him, running duels with Haaland isn’t something we should be exposing our CBs to too many times on Sunday. I’m normally more optimistic than most, but I’ll actually take a draw in this one. I think they will beat Arsenal, and I actually think we are capable of winning out. The rest of the league is lightyears away from the top 3, and with us regaining a full squad, I think we will overpower most sides over 90 minutes. Both City and Arsenal will have tough CL games over the next couple of months, more so than our EL adventures, so I reckon our chances are better at keeping up with them in the league than in a H2H on Sunday.

Yeah, I'm normally one to not stress over contract stuff, but I hope Virgil is at the top of the list when sorting out our players with new deals. He's the only one that's still irreplaceable (and I like/love all of Gomez, Konate and Quansah). The difference in communication and organisation was palpable when he entered the pitch tonight, and the Sparta players that had seemed lively up to then just seemed to give up when he entered the pitch. I can't really see him wanting to leave us yet, unless he feels "disrespected" when we start sorting out the contract stuff. He's pretty much in the ideal situation when it comes to status amongst the players, club and supporters. I don't really get the vibe that he's seeking new adventures either. I think it will come down to money (as it nearly always does), and that he's back to being the top earner (or close to it) for him to feel that he's the main man at the club (which he will be now that Klopp leaves) until Alonso (hopefully) comes in. Seems a bit childish perhaps, but never underestimate how much sportsmen compare themselves to their peers in terms of earnings/deals they get at their clubs. I think there's a general understanding in the football community that the wages at City and PSG are unattainable for the other clubs, but they want to be top of the tree internally at least.

Biggest thing for me is that he seems to have improved a lot on the 1v1s. Allison is a distant no 1 in the world at that, with all the other goalies miles behind. Kelleher was just about the middle of the pack, and when attackers were racing through on goal with him earlier, I didn't have much hope that he would be able to stop them. He let in a few of them over the last couple of seasons that I would have expected Allison to save. Now, he's both improved his technique (making himself bigger) and his reaction to those situations. He's much more comfortable moving towards the attacker, where he scares the attacker rather than the other way around. I reckon he has done quite a bit of work both technically and mentally to sort this out, as it's such a significant improvement from the games he was slaughtered for early in the season. As long as there is money available and both are willing to continue in the situation they are in at the moment, I would do anything to keep both keepers for as long as possible. As others have said, Allison is sufficiently injured for Kelleher to have enough games to keep him happy. Sack off Adrian in the summer and let one of the young keepers take the role of Adrian.

Slightly rocky performance, fantastic result! Mac Allister bossing the game, as well as creating and coolly converting the pen. Darwin with one good and one great, Torres-like finish! Give the starters a few more minutes and start subbing them off at the 55 min mark.

What this signing will do more than anything is put to bed all chances of us signing top-class established players close to/over 30. I’m OK with that. Many people aren’t.

So, so proud of all the players and staff, and of course, the supporters! Up the cup- and league-winning Reds!!

How great is it to be a LFC supporter? Judging from Klopp´s comments there will be a LOT of changes for Wednesday. I would say all of Endo, Diaz, Gravenberch (of course), van Dijk and Konate will all be given a rest. Possibly Elliott and Gakpo too. I imagine something like: ———————-Kelleher———————- Bradley—-Quansah—-Gomez—-Tsimikas ——————-MacAllister——————— ————Clark—————-McConnell—- —-Gordon———-Danns———-Gakpo (no idea what our other options are here) Hopefully Southampton are looking ahead to a key league game away against Birmingham (they need to win to keep up with Leeds in the chase for promotion). I would really like us to win on Wednesday, but we need to be careful with our few remaining attack-minded players.

That Gala side is no great shakes. Molde FK rattled them properly in the group stages. Some big names, but far from a cohesive unit. Wouldn’t mind us sending a fairly young side to Prague, and turning them over in the return leg when the City game is out of the way.

That Gala side is no great shakes. Molde FK rattled them properly in the group stages. Some big names, but far from a cohesive unit. Wouldn’t mind us sending a fairly young side to Prague, and turning them over in the return leg when the City game is out of the way.

That Gala side is no great shakes. Molde FK rattled them properly in the group stages. Some big names, but far from a cohesive unit. Wouldn’t mind us sending a fairly young side to Prague, and turning them over in the return leg when the City game is out of the way.

Or maybe you were just a bit lazy and too disinterested to do the hard work of researching?

I wonder how much that LC two-legged semi final (and the final) will end up costing us. While our competitors have saved energy and had a proper winter break, we played two relatively hard fought games against Fulham. As sweet as the thought of a Wembley final win (and a potential treble/quadruple) is, I'm starting to think that the cons are soon outweighing the pros when it comes to the LC as a competition. Not long ago we had a fully fit squad and a great bench to choose from, now we are back to bare bones (at least for a couple of weeks). Let's hope we can win on Saturday, I reckon that's our 2nd/3rd hardest fixture remaining in terms of coming away with 3 pts (City and Spurs being 1 and 2).

That’s an outrageous take, if you look at the blatant diving from Havertz on both yellows. Gabriel, Saliba and White got away with much more aggression. Taylor wasn’t the reason we lost, but a contributing factor to them gaining momentum.

Way behind on this one, as it’s (luckily) been a crazy couple of days at work. Somewhat therapeutic but also frustrating to re-live what was a real stinker of a performance. My main takeaways from the game (and the pod) 1. Van Dijk had a horrorshow. All 3 goals are mainly on him. Can’t believe Allison gets the blame for the 2nd. That is 90 pct on Virgil, 10 pct on Martinelli/Taylor. Van Dijk needs to be stronger, of course, when he isn’t (and doesn’t resort to a dive to provoke a FK), he blocks Allison from getting to the ball. More on the ref later btw. The first goal, Virgil absolutely can’t leave his space in the middle if he is not 100 per cent sure he’s going to get to the ball before Ødegaard. Our press was too easily bypassed in the build-up (like numerous times on Sunday), but that attack will at most end up in a half-chance if Virgil doesn’t get caught in midfield. The 3rd goal I see some people on the match thread are suggesting our coaches are teaching our defenders to defend like Virgil does. That may have held some water if there were other Arsenal players in the box. There were none. Trossard was on his own. I think Van Dijk just doesn’t take enough pride in his defending in that instance, and gambles on Allison sparing his blushes (like he mostly does). Allison sets himself a bit too early, but the late deflection from Virgils late and lazy block just about makes him helpless. Add those 3 goals to a passive display of defending in general and I think you have a pretty good answer to why we lost. Van Dijk has been back to almost peak this season, and he has built up more than enough credit to have a day off. We need him back at his best sharpish though. I think Konate and Van Dijk are a better CB duo than Arsenal’s pair, but in these games I’d like to see a bit more aggression and shithousery from them (especially if the referee allows the same actions from both sides….). 2. Our press wasn’t working. At all. Both Diaz and Jota worked hard, and Curtis, Mac Allister and Gomez had the rest of the central/left side locked up. At times, it seemed like we wanted them to be able to play through on our right, that’s how bad of a job Gakpo/Gravenberch did. Trent didn’t cover himself in glory either, of course. 3. We couldn’t get the ball to stick up front (or in behind) I would just about agree on starting Nunez, despite the injury concerns. As aggressive and high up the pitch as they were pressing, we needed something to worry them in behind. The ball didn’t stick when Darwin came on either, and he had minimal effect on our success in behind too, so it might not have worked anyway. Gabriel and Saliba is a pretty good duo, but the hope is that they wouldn’t have had such an easy day. Having a referee that allowed their back 4/5 to play 1970s style physical football probably didn’t help our cause… 4. Says a lot about how badly we’ve been shafted over the last couple of years when people (Jules on the pod?) thought the refereeing performance wasn’t a talking point. I get that most of us are angry/disappointed at the team (and individuals), as we’re used to us winning and playing well. While I agree that our play (and lack of it) was the main talking point, I can’t believe the easy ride Taylor is getting. Every time an Arsenal player hits the deck and screams, a free kick is given, while our players are near assaulted without consequence. The “death by a thousand cuts” aspect just can’t be overlooked in games like these, and Taylor is more than happy to oblige in terms of helping the home team. Both Diaz and Gakpo were denied blatant FKs numerous times in the 1st half, leading to us surrendering position in dangerous areas, giving Arsenal (and the crowd) momentum. When we were on top in the 2nd half, similar/milder offences by us were gleefully given. The worst one being the 1st yellow for Konate. It’s incomprehensible that that is given as a FK, never mind a yellow to Konate. If anything, it’s a foul by Havertz. He runs/backs into Konate, grabs his shirt, and when he realises he’s being outmuscled flails his arms, screams and falls to the floor. The crowd senses that this could be an opportunity (given that Havertz seems to be one-on-one with Ibou), and when Havertz falls to the floor Taylor more than happily obliges the crowd and the Arsenal players. The 2nd yellow is the same. It’s barely a free kick, 1 out of a 100 will give it as a yellow, and I guarantee you that you willI never see anyone again giving that as a 2nd yellow. I was actually a bit annoyed at Jules for saying Konate put his arm/hand in Havertz face. He didn’t!I Look at the contempt he shows when he waves for Diaz and Nunez to get up from their wrestling from behind for comparison to Havertz, Jorginho and their blatant dives. I actually think he gives a foul if Diaz does the same to Saliba as Martinelli did to Virgil for the 2nd goal, even if Saliba stays on his feet. I’m not 100 per cent if Van Dijk gets a free if he dives there judging by Taylors other actions. Martinelli clearly barges into him from behind. On Taylor. I was at Anfield (for the first time in a decade) for the Newcastle game, and as pleasing as that game and performance was, I nearly blew a fuse because of Taylor. The contrast to how he reffed the home team in that game and this one reeks of him hating us. Sorry. I’m not so sure there’s a corruption angle to this, but there is no way he isn’t biased against us. Having 54000 rabid supporters screaming “You Manc bastard” from the top of their lungs probably isn’t helping our long term relations, but at the game it is impossible not to react to that sort of incompetence/bias. How the hell are you supposed to take the league seriously when more than 50 pct of our games are done by referees from the city of our most hated rivals (and in later years our only other rival)? I know it sounds a bit small-time, but the club should seriously start pushing their mouthpieces in the media to question this phenomenon, to rid us from getting all these Manc baldies reffing our games. How do you think the footballing public in Spain would react to Barcelona residents reffing most of Real Madrids games? I can’t fathom why this isn’t seen as a BIG issue. There is such an obvious conflict of interest. I just can’t believe that an organisation with the turnover and exposure of the PL can’t see that this is a bit dubious. I find it incredibly off-putting, and I’m pretty sure this (along with City’s cheating) are among the main reasons that Klopp has been burnt out. The sense of injustice must be through the roof. This is without even acknowledging the refereeing trips to Abu Dhabi. Sorry about the rant. Got worked up again by writing this. Hopefully we will be THAT good for the rest of the season that those PGMOL wankers won’t deny Klopp and his players another title. Thanks for a good.listen, again!