Liverpool came into the weekend with a lot to prove. It's early in the season, but their inconsistency over two league games has already worried the fans. A team like Tottenham was just the kind of test Liverpool needed to pass.
The day didn't start well at all. Although Liverpool never came close to conceding, they played about as poorly as you could without allowing a goal. The first quarter hour was absolutely dreadful.
The Reds were allowing too many holes for Spurs to strike through. Their touch was terrible. It seemed as though every touch off the foot or judged bounce went completely awry.
Fortunately, Liverpool did not let in the goal early as they did against Burnley and that was the difference early on. It allowed the team to calm down, get their feet under them and make their own impact on the game.
As the first half progressed, it became more of Liverpool's game. They would take the lead from a James Milner penalty kick that came after Firmino got by Erik Lamela and forced him to clip the heel. While Milner's choice to take the kick was surprising, he made no doubt with the strike.
Liverpool were a bit hard done by the half by the end of it. They could easily have had between two and four goals. Michel Vorm was the only reason the Reds didn't have a crooked number on the scoreboard. Vorm made a kick save that would have made any hockey goaltender proud on Coutinho and also several sliding tackles on Mane`.
The second half began with much of the same. Spurs would have the occasional romp forward, but it was much more of Liverpool in possession. However, Burnley showed that possession means little for the end result, so the Reds needed an insurance goal.
A new defender almost came up with just that. Joel Matip barely missed a header from a corner in the 53rd minute. The flick just went over the bar. Liverpool should have had a goal awarded just minutes after that as well.
The Reds had some fantastic build up play. The ball was played through to Adam Lallana, who proceeded to send it across the six yard area where it was smashed in by Mane`. The flag was up and fans were left to wonder how Mane` could have been offside since he was behind the ball. As it turned out, the assistant had labeled Lallana off, but even that was questionable as it was his boot at most.
The problem after those lost chances was Spurs began to build up their own attack. They nearly scored twice on successive corner kicks. Only top reaction saves by Simon Mignolet kept the ball out of the net on those instances, but Tottenham had begun to plant their flag.
Spurs were eventually rewarded for their efforts too. In the 72nd minute, Milner quizzically took a step forward as the ball went over his head. His man managed to get a cross off that was flicked over to the left side. Danny Rose was all alone on the back side and found enough space to hit it between Mignolet and the converging Mane` to level up the game.
Liverpool recovered a bit toward the end of the game. In fact, they should have done much more with an opportunity in stoppage time. Unfortunately an extremely slow pass to Firmino thwarted what should have been a clear break and Lallana could only force a corner once in the box.
In the end, a draw was probably a fair result given the back and forth nature of the contest as a whole. Liverpool needed a win to really boost themselves, but a point is a point. Liverpool still have some defensive deficiencies and that's unlikely to change. They looked solid going forward and just need a bit more gelling with the new faces.
Now it's a week off to prepare for the defending champions and to open up their refurbished home stand. Liverpool had better use that time to get a few things in order. Leicester has not looked great to start the year, but the Reds don't want to be the team they find form against.
Random Thoughts:
- I like Alberto Moreno and I like James Milner. Neither are the answer at left back right now though so Jurgen Klopp had better be strongly considering pursuing a left back. The window is closed now, but given what we've seen from those two players, signing DeAndre Yedlin would have been a step up. You can't keep having that position cost you as the season progresses.
- I think Christian Pulisic has the chance to be a good player. However, despite that assertion, I don't think Liverpool is the spot for him right now. If he's not going to play regularly, then he may as well stay at Dortmund. If he can show his quality right away at Liverpool (assuming he even comes, since it's all rumor), then alright. Yet, it just seems there are too many players ahead of him in the pecking order for him to find a regular spot and he's at the age where he needs to be playing all the time.
- What is it with Liverpool having to have a hot tempered center back? Lovren has always been a bit frustrating, but he has definitely taken up Skrtel's role of yelling about every call and looking like anything that doesn't go his way will blow his top off.
Walk On
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Liverpool Return To Winning Ways Knocking Off Burton Albion
Welcome back Liverpool fans. I've been away for the beginning of the season. I was out of the country for a wedding in Canada.
In the meantime, the team managed to come up with a huge 4-3 win over Arsenal. They then dropped a terrible 2-0 decision to Burnley after that. While these games were on the road, making them more difficult, it has been an incredibly up and down start to the new season.
Combine that with the rather dull showing while the Reds were in St. Louis and it has become a bit of a worry. While the game in my hometown could be easily chalked up to a combination of being a preseason affair and a terribly humid day, it doesn't explain why the team continues to be so inconsistent.
That said, they did what they needed to do to advance in the EFL Cup. On a side note, why in blue blazes did they change the name? Has the competition fallen so low on the totem pole that they could not find a replacement sponsor when Capital One dropped off?
It's a minor thing, but even though the name Capital One Cup was less than palatable, EFL Cup just seems so plain. I digress.
The game itself against Burton Albion was exactly what you would want from such a fixture. The Reds got things off to a great start. Sadio Mane did a little foot dangle before the cross that saw Divock Origi tap it in.
Firmino scored off a header in the 22nd minute, Liverpool got an own goal in the 61st and then Daniel Sturridge scored a brace at the end of the match. It was a fine performance by just about everyone involved and a good jumping off point to prepare for Tottenham on the weekend.
Everything must be kept in perspective as Burton is a Championship side. Barring another monumental failure by Liverpool, this was always going to be the result. So, a 5-0 win in this kind of match is not going to mean that the Reds are off and running when it comes to the league.
Nevertheless, it was a good showing. The players you want to step up and lead did and it was the kind of performance you want to see from Liverpool in these sorts of games where they outmatch their opponent as opposed to what happened last weekend.
Also on the positive side was Mane. When he was signed, it was mainly a shoulder shrug for most people. There were not any problems with the addition, but it wasn't someone people generally pointed to as being the missing piece.
So far, he's been the man the team can ill afford to lose the most. He played against Arsenal and Burton and the Reds won and played with flare and style. He was missing against Burnley and the team lacked that attacking spark.
He was man of the match in this EFL fixture and deservedly so. Though he did not get on the score sheet for all of them, he had a hand in almost every goal. He was still sprinting after challenges at the very end of the game.
Mane isn't one of those guys that's going to command tens of millions or hundreds of millions in the transfer market, but he fits in with this squad perfectly. He's exactly the type of player that Jurgen Klopp wants to mold his entire team after. Getting the current crop to play that way may still take some time.
Again, it was a good win but nothing to jump for joy about in the grand scheme. Just entertaining football to view and take it for what it was.
The weekend will be a better barometer of what kind of season we may be in for. For now, let's be happy with a win and be happy for a few days until the Reds invade London.
Random Thoughts:
- Much of this article was random thoughts, but let's get into a few more. Apparently there is talk of loaning out Sakho. I am not in favor of this at all. He's not a great defender, but still has a leg up on the current group of central defenders. He just needs to get his off field issues in order.
- Springboarding off that, there were fans who were honestly questioning whether Klopp belongs at Anfield because of the Sakho loan talk. Question his tactics or his transfer policies, but to say he doesn't belong is just ridiculous. He's shown quite well in his brief time. Also, this insane idea that every decision or loss means the manager is terrible and must be fired is just sickening. I understand that the game is extremely short lived in terms of who is in charge or playing on the field and change occurs all the time, but there is still something to be said for consistency.
- Nothing major happened in this game, but what happened to Moreno? He was never going to win defender of the year, but he's been just north of dreadful in his league games so far. He's got speed and skill. However, maybe it just isn't there upstairs.
- While I'm very impressed with Mane, it also scares me. Anytime a team is so reliant on one or two players to produce, it is worrying. Sturridge is a ticking time bomb when it comes to injury and if Mane is that important to the squad, they can't afford to lose him either. It would just be nice to feel like we could consistently rely on some of the other guys instead of just the odd performance here or there.
Walk On
In the meantime, the team managed to come up with a huge 4-3 win over Arsenal. They then dropped a terrible 2-0 decision to Burnley after that. While these games were on the road, making them more difficult, it has been an incredibly up and down start to the new season.
Combine that with the rather dull showing while the Reds were in St. Louis and it has become a bit of a worry. While the game in my hometown could be easily chalked up to a combination of being a preseason affair and a terribly humid day, it doesn't explain why the team continues to be so inconsistent.
That said, they did what they needed to do to advance in the EFL Cup. On a side note, why in blue blazes did they change the name? Has the competition fallen so low on the totem pole that they could not find a replacement sponsor when Capital One dropped off?
It's a minor thing, but even though the name Capital One Cup was less than palatable, EFL Cup just seems so plain. I digress.
The game itself against Burton Albion was exactly what you would want from such a fixture. The Reds got things off to a great start. Sadio Mane did a little foot dangle before the cross that saw Divock Origi tap it in.
Firmino scored off a header in the 22nd minute, Liverpool got an own goal in the 61st and then Daniel Sturridge scored a brace at the end of the match. It was a fine performance by just about everyone involved and a good jumping off point to prepare for Tottenham on the weekend.
Everything must be kept in perspective as Burton is a Championship side. Barring another monumental failure by Liverpool, this was always going to be the result. So, a 5-0 win in this kind of match is not going to mean that the Reds are off and running when it comes to the league.
Nevertheless, it was a good showing. The players you want to step up and lead did and it was the kind of performance you want to see from Liverpool in these sorts of games where they outmatch their opponent as opposed to what happened last weekend.
Also on the positive side was Mane. When he was signed, it was mainly a shoulder shrug for most people. There were not any problems with the addition, but it wasn't someone people generally pointed to as being the missing piece.
So far, he's been the man the team can ill afford to lose the most. He played against Arsenal and Burton and the Reds won and played with flare and style. He was missing against Burnley and the team lacked that attacking spark.
He was man of the match in this EFL fixture and deservedly so. Though he did not get on the score sheet for all of them, he had a hand in almost every goal. He was still sprinting after challenges at the very end of the game.
Mane isn't one of those guys that's going to command tens of millions or hundreds of millions in the transfer market, but he fits in with this squad perfectly. He's exactly the type of player that Jurgen Klopp wants to mold his entire team after. Getting the current crop to play that way may still take some time.
Again, it was a good win but nothing to jump for joy about in the grand scheme. Just entertaining football to view and take it for what it was.
The weekend will be a better barometer of what kind of season we may be in for. For now, let's be happy with a win and be happy for a few days until the Reds invade London.
Random Thoughts:
- Much of this article was random thoughts, but let's get into a few more. Apparently there is talk of loaning out Sakho. I am not in favor of this at all. He's not a great defender, but still has a leg up on the current group of central defenders. He just needs to get his off field issues in order.
- Springboarding off that, there were fans who were honestly questioning whether Klopp belongs at Anfield because of the Sakho loan talk. Question his tactics or his transfer policies, but to say he doesn't belong is just ridiculous. He's shown quite well in his brief time. Also, this insane idea that every decision or loss means the manager is terrible and must be fired is just sickening. I understand that the game is extremely short lived in terms of who is in charge or playing on the field and change occurs all the time, but there is still something to be said for consistency.
- Nothing major happened in this game, but what happened to Moreno? He was never going to win defender of the year, but he's been just north of dreadful in his league games so far. He's got speed and skill. However, maybe it just isn't there upstairs.
- While I'm very impressed with Mane, it also scares me. Anytime a team is so reliant on one or two players to produce, it is worrying. Sturridge is a ticking time bomb when it comes to injury and if Mane is that important to the squad, they can't afford to lose him either. It would just be nice to feel like we could consistently rely on some of the other guys instead of just the odd performance here or there.
Walk On
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