Welcome back. It's been a few games between articles due to my yearly trek down south to cover the NAIA National Championship. In that time Liverpool pulled off a couple simple wins.
They defeated Sunderland over the weekend 2-0. Then, it was a cool finish by the same scoreline over Leeds in the league cup. In that last one featured a fine score by 17 year old Ben Woodburn, who many are claiming could be the next big thing.
Probably best to pump the brakes on that one since it was just one goal against a team that has floundered near the bottom of the Championship in recent times. Still, always good to see new talent.
Speaking of new talent, the Reds were forced to put some new faces in the starting XI due to some injury woes. Lucas was playing at center back for the until Joel Matip. Lucas generally does a fine job, but is always worrying since he's truly a midfielder.
Also getting a start was Divock Origi. Coutinho was unable to make the start, but with Daniel Sturridge also being less than 100%, the Belgian got the nod.
Initially, the Cherries looked quite good. They didn't have a ton of possession, but they were defending well and the press was throwing the Reds - clad in greenish, yellow highlighter kits - off kilter.
It seemed like the day would not go well based on Liverpool's first chance. Origi was served a cross from the near side and was wide open on the back post. Somehow, he managed to miss it with a slight slip in the 11th minute and it stayed level. That wouldn't be the case for too much longer though.
In the 20th minute Sadio Mane took a beautifully flighted ball, from the left touchline, in the box. The goalkeeper, Artur Boruc, left himself in no man's land and Mane just tucked it past and Bournemouth could just watch it roll in.
If Bournemouth were disappointed by the first, they were exasperated by the second. Boruc had just made the mistake by not coming out far enough and then made an even bigger one. In the 23rd minute, the ball was popped over the top, to the right, for Divok Origi.
The goalkeeper came out of the penalty area for some inexplicable reason. Origi just touched it past him and then finished it off with a bad angle goal that just tucked inside the far post.
In typical Liverpool fashion, they couldn't make it easy on themselves. After holding the lead through the halftime break, the Reds gave up an early penalty to the Cherries in the 56th minute.
They converted and then it appeared to be game on. Fortunately for Liverpool fans, it also woke up their team.
In the 64th minute, Mane cut through defenders on the right side of the box. He served up Emre Can at the top of the 18 and he ripped a right footed curler past the keeper to restore the two goal lead.
Flipping back to the negative side, Mane appeared to pick up an injury. Fortunately, Adam Lallana was fit enough to be a sub, otherwise the Reds may have had to turn to one of the kids they had on the bench.
Liverpool were denied a goal to increase their lead with around 18 minutes left. Goal line technology said it missed scoring by a whisker. That decision became crucial since Ryan Fraser tucked one in in the 75th minute.
The Reds gave it away at the top of the attacking 18 and that set the wheels in motion. The train came off the track right after. A cheap free kick was given away, Fraser crossed it from the right and Lewis Cook smashed it home to even up the game at three apiece.
Lorus Karius looked shaky throughout the game, but came up big. In the 82nd minute he made a game saving stop as Benik Afobe was in alone near the spot.
Despite the face Bournemouth looked the better side for the last ten minutes, Liverpool still almost took it. Origi had a wonderful spin volley in added time, but got just too far underneath it.
In the end, it was a deserved defeat. A whistler of a shot could not be caught cleanly by Karius. Though he blocked the second chance, Ake cleaned up the mess and put Bournemouth up 4-3 with only a minute or so left in stoppage time.
It was a rather sickening result. To find yourself up 2-0 and then 3-1 and not only not win, but lose is ridiculous. Jurgen Klopp is a fantastic manager, but as much as he gets his team to believe and push forward, he has not found a way to fix their defensive woes.
So many have said the back line is why Liverpool will not win the league. With results like this one, those doubts are well founded.
Full credit goes to Bournemouth as they never gave up. Down two goals twice to one of the giants, they kept at it. Nevertheless, Liverpool have to find a way to see this one out no matter the circumstance and they did not get the job done.
Random Thoughts:
- Karius proved me right in this game. I don't know that Simon Mignolet would have fared any better, but Karius is not an improvement in the slightest in my eyes.
Walk On
Showing posts with label AFC Bournemouth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AFC Bournemouth. Show all posts
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Liverpool Youngsters Impress Against Bournemouth
Normally the league is the focal point for both players and fans. This week's league game was almost a bit of a hangover. The Reds poured so much energy and emotion into their comeback win in the Europa League over Borussia Dortmund that AFC Bournemouth was almost an afterthought.
Liverpool made all the changes they could really. Roberto Firmino, who was a surprise starter on Thursday anyway, was the only holdover. Daniel Sturridge, Lucas, Joe Allen and Kolo Toure were the only first team players to begin the game as well as Firmino. It was a very different look but things got off to a decent start.
Both teams ping ponged up and down the field. Sturridge almost made Bournemouth pay in the second minute. The defender's backpass was deflected and ended up right with Sturridge who got a powerful shot off but right at the keeper.
Liverpool's next good chance wouldn't come until the 25th minute. Sheyi Ojo showed some brilliance on the wing and wiggled his way into the box, past two defenders but his shot was met with a third defender's face. Connor Randall's followup then blasted a fourth defender in the gut.
Then the Reds struck paydirt in the 41st minute. Ojo began the play by taking it in the middle of the park. He then slid a good ball left to Jordan Ibe. Ibe did his best Raheem Sterling impression but instead of giving it away he made a good pass to Sturridge. The striker tried a nifty backheel shot which was smartly saved by the keeper but Firmino was Mr. Clean with hair by mopping up.
It wouldn't take nearly as long for the next one to come. Ibe took a free kick in the third minute of stoppage time and served it perfectly for Sturridge who headed it past the goalkeeper from about 10 yards out.
The game settled down for much of the second half and the scoreline remained the same for a long period. Bournemouth kept fighting though, showing why they deserved to stay up and are all but assured of staying in the Premier League for a second season. They picked up the pace and kept challenging goal when the clock was in the 60's. So much was their push that Danny Ward was forced to make a top notch save to keep the 0 on the board in the 68th minute.
Ward made another save later on, stopping a header with a lunging stop to his left and then Sturridge almost made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute. The English striker absolutely blasted one but it struck the bar and came out.
Unfortunately the Liverpool backline couldn't see out the scoreline. In the 93rd minute, Lucas got outpowered to the ball and then Joshua King manged to take it off the chest and rip it home from about 17 yards. Bournemouth almost found the equalizer about 30 seconds later, but Ward and the Reds were fortunate to see the header sail over the bar.
The final whistle came soon thereafter and Liverpool capped off a fine week. They got three wins in 8 days. If they could have kept the scoreline 2-0, they would have jumped up to 7th in the league, but remain in 8th due to goal differential.
In typical Liverpool fashion they turned a very dull second half into something exciting. Unfortunately for us fans, or those with heart conditions, Liverpool were almost on the wrong side of it this time. All the shuffling of lineups and players can be somewhat of an excuse but the defending still leaves much to be desired in big moments.
Nevertheless, it was a good performance from an incredibly young and inexperienced side. It was exactly the type of match to try this experimental lineup and it paid dividends even though the big boys were still the ones to do the scoring. Liverpool can now go into the Merseyside Derby fresh and full of confidence.
Random Thoughts
- I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but how far has Martin Skrtel fallen that Lucas gets the start at centerback? Lucas has done a good job filling in at that position, but unless he never truly recovered from his injury it seems odd that Skrtel can't even get time in a B side.
- Far be it from me to be the fashion police, but Danny Ward no....no. That is not a hair style. He could wake up, go straight to the pitch from his bed and I don't think his hair would look that bad.
- These games are exactly why I am not a scout. I've been impressed by Ibe in the past and now see great potential in someone like Ojo. However there is a reason they haven't seen many first team minutes and my eye for talent is probably tainted by a few flashy moves in matches when I don't get to see all the training.
- I'm almost a little scared entering the Derby simply because Liverpool have shown a propensity for letdowns in this season. They've played well for too many games in a row to be fully comfortable, but should still win unless there's a collapse.
Walk On
Liverpool made all the changes they could really. Roberto Firmino, who was a surprise starter on Thursday anyway, was the only holdover. Daniel Sturridge, Lucas, Joe Allen and Kolo Toure were the only first team players to begin the game as well as Firmino. It was a very different look but things got off to a decent start.
Both teams ping ponged up and down the field. Sturridge almost made Bournemouth pay in the second minute. The defender's backpass was deflected and ended up right with Sturridge who got a powerful shot off but right at the keeper.
Liverpool's next good chance wouldn't come until the 25th minute. Sheyi Ojo showed some brilliance on the wing and wiggled his way into the box, past two defenders but his shot was met with a third defender's face. Connor Randall's followup then blasted a fourth defender in the gut.
Then the Reds struck paydirt in the 41st minute. Ojo began the play by taking it in the middle of the park. He then slid a good ball left to Jordan Ibe. Ibe did his best Raheem Sterling impression but instead of giving it away he made a good pass to Sturridge. The striker tried a nifty backheel shot which was smartly saved by the keeper but Firmino was Mr. Clean with hair by mopping up.
It wouldn't take nearly as long for the next one to come. Ibe took a free kick in the third minute of stoppage time and served it perfectly for Sturridge who headed it past the goalkeeper from about 10 yards out.
The game settled down for much of the second half and the scoreline remained the same for a long period. Bournemouth kept fighting though, showing why they deserved to stay up and are all but assured of staying in the Premier League for a second season. They picked up the pace and kept challenging goal when the clock was in the 60's. So much was their push that Danny Ward was forced to make a top notch save to keep the 0 on the board in the 68th minute.
Ward made another save later on, stopping a header with a lunging stop to his left and then Sturridge almost made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute. The English striker absolutely blasted one but it struck the bar and came out.
Unfortunately the Liverpool backline couldn't see out the scoreline. In the 93rd minute, Lucas got outpowered to the ball and then Joshua King manged to take it off the chest and rip it home from about 17 yards. Bournemouth almost found the equalizer about 30 seconds later, but Ward and the Reds were fortunate to see the header sail over the bar.
The final whistle came soon thereafter and Liverpool capped off a fine week. They got three wins in 8 days. If they could have kept the scoreline 2-0, they would have jumped up to 7th in the league, but remain in 8th due to goal differential.
In typical Liverpool fashion they turned a very dull second half into something exciting. Unfortunately for us fans, or those with heart conditions, Liverpool were almost on the wrong side of it this time. All the shuffling of lineups and players can be somewhat of an excuse but the defending still leaves much to be desired in big moments.
Nevertheless, it was a good performance from an incredibly young and inexperienced side. It was exactly the type of match to try this experimental lineup and it paid dividends even though the big boys were still the ones to do the scoring. Liverpool can now go into the Merseyside Derby fresh and full of confidence.
Random Thoughts
- I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but how far has Martin Skrtel fallen that Lucas gets the start at centerback? Lucas has done a good job filling in at that position, but unless he never truly recovered from his injury it seems odd that Skrtel can't even get time in a B side.
- Far be it from me to be the fashion police, but Danny Ward no....no. That is not a hair style. He could wake up, go straight to the pitch from his bed and I don't think his hair would look that bad.
- These games are exactly why I am not a scout. I've been impressed by Ibe in the past and now see great potential in someone like Ojo. However there is a reason they haven't seen many first team minutes and my eye for talent is probably tainted by a few flashy moves in matches when I don't get to see all the training.
- I'm almost a little scared entering the Derby simply because Liverpool have shown a propensity for letdowns in this season. They've played well for too many games in a row to be fully comfortable, but should still win unless there's a collapse.
Walk On
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