Topic: PL: Liverpool 1 vs 0 Fulham Salah 39’

[rushyman]

So what does all the places get in Europe then amd how far down until you get no Europe ?

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

I don't think we've done ourselves many favours with the way we've agreed to reschedule the Fulham and Chelsea games in hand (Chelsea right after City away, Fulham right after a Wednesday-Sunday). We could have staggered them better.

You keep saying this but when the hell were the alternatives? We were still in the CL when these discussions took place. We had no other options.

Just a really weird thing to dig the club out on.

[cdav]

A pretty dull 1-0, what we could have done for another couple of those this season

[decosabute]

I just got into my favourite pub in Spain to see the last 5 minutes…….was it as tight as it looked? We seemed to be making lots of mistakes.

To be honest, we played fairly well until about 70 minutes. At that point we definitely deserved to be ahead and possibly by two of three.

The last 20 were pretty poor though - our shape and defending was actually alright, but we simply couldn't hold on to the ball and infuriatingly kept giving it straight back to Fulham over and over again, inviting pressure.

Trent was very good tonight until he tired near the end. He and Diaz's moments of quality were the big pluses. Darwin and his lack of brains (I know he won the pen and fair play to him for the effort there, but that also came from him losing it stupidly) was the biggest negative. He just doesn't use the ball intelligently enough and doesn't seem to be on the same wavelength as his teammates right now.

[thaddeus]

There's obviously more to football than running but we don't half look slow at the moment.  Not just the usual suspects either, Salah didn't get a sniff out of Robinson all game and 34-year old Willian was constantly out-running the chasing players.

Still, a win's a win and we've got a bit of momentum.  The last four games are all ones we are more than capable of winning and ending with nine in a row would be some achievement.

[MonsLibpool]

These results may seem small but they mean much. Sure we're not getting top 4, but by putting and keeping the pressure on it means more minutes in Bruno, Casemiro, Varane, Martinez and specially Rashford's legs.

Same with some Newcastle players.

More unnecessary games means more chance of soft muscle tissue injuries for next season plus the mental tiredness. God knows we experienced both this season, thus giving those perma- midtable clubs a one-off free run to top 4.

It's good to finish on a positive note. We can take this momentum into next season.

[Yorkykopite]

I love a well defended 1-0. That wasn’t a comfortable win, but a deserved one overall. But it was a bit of a curate’s egg - good in parts.

Just have to say that given his poor run of form earlier in the year, that was a performance from Trent that deserves all the superlatives you can muster; MoM by a very, very large margin. Our two centrebacks were very good too, as was the recently much-maligned Fabinho, and the ever impressive Allison. Diaz is short of match sharpness, but he’s a real threat and will be a handful when up to speed.

Less impressive, if we’re honest, were Mo Salah - who gave the ball away for fun, and who’s decision making was consistently poor, Hendo, who gave it his all, but just wasn’t at the races, more particularly for an hour, and Darwin, who’s performance lent substance to his naysayers. Gakpo was impressive in his cameo, as was young Harvey; I thought we showed again that we are recapturing some decent form.

That's how I saw it too.

I guess you'd have to say a contender for MoM was Alisson for those two top class saves. I thought Jones was very good again too.

I liked the first half. Thought we were back to our fluent best. But for some reason we began to surrender the initiative around the 55 minute mark. Mo went from being a world-beater to a squander-bug. And as soon as we went to an orthodox back 4 the old problems came back a bit too.

Henderson is shot I think. He wasn't desperately bad  but now his extraordinary energy has gone he has so little to fall back on. There's quite a contrast between him and the rest of the team. He rarely does anything surprising (which is a crime if you're playing for the best teams) and, slightly more worrying, he's often caught short when a teammate does do something surprising. Trent, for example, is a mystery to him. The number of times he was on his heels when Trent sent an unusual pass to him was embarrassing. He so rarely capitalises on the openings we engineer. It means the forward momentum goes out of our play.

Hendo's days are surely numbered at Liverpool. The good news, however, is that the potential for improvement next season is obvious.

[Son of Spion]

We're not going to make top 4 and it would be madness getting into the mickey mouse UEFA who gives a crap cup your playing Thursday and then Sunday. You've been shit all season lads so ffs stop winning. Lets come out of European places re-boot for next season(3 new midfielders) and go for top the title next season. With no Europe wed have a bloody good chance of getting top 4 minimum next season.

I want us in the UEFA Cup and I want us to win it. I want Jürgen to complete the set. My first ever final was the UEFA Cup Final in the 70s and I've loved that trophy ever since. It's not Big Ears, and I know they've done their best to ruin the competition since those days, but I want to see us lifting it and bringing it back to the city.

[Yorkykopite]

I want us in the UEFA Cup and instant us to win it. I want Jürgen to complete the set. My first ever final was the UEFA Cup Final in the 70s and I've loved that trophy ever since. It's not Big Ears, and I know they've done their best to ruin the competition since those days, but I want to see us lifting it and bringing it back to the city.

And, arguably, the greatest 6 minutes this club has every played in Europe is not Istanbul. It's the UEFA Final, first leg at Anfield in '76.

[RedKenWah]

I actually enjoyed the game, mainly because I had a stable stream which was in Spanish and as such it was a joy to just watch the match and not get annoyed with some no mark ex footballer pretending he’s a tactical genius or has a particular agenda. I enjoyed it more after Mo scored and the commentator started singing which was pleasant. 

As for the game, I think overall we did alright but I would say it was very much a case of some of the players looking absolutely knackered but the lack of options for those areas meant we couldn’t do much. Main ones were Hendo, Curtis Jones, and Fab. I’m not saying they were rubbish, as they weren’t and in particular Curtis Jones has been something of a revelation recently and he carried it on tonight, but I wonder how much gas he has in his legs.
Hendo likewise very good as was Fab. Also special mention to Diaz, utterly sensational tonight and has brought back that something which just helps, intensity, pressing and a threat. Nunez was similar tonight as well.

All in all though a good night for us.

[Dave McCoy]

I think we're just seeing the limits of what can be done by moving the pieces around but still generally having the same pieces. We're just not going to hit some consistently high form of a play style that we're used to even if we do have individual good games or now grind out a streak here. Just wish the realization that more legs were needed was made way, way sooner. Oh well.

Overall we were better and deserve the 3 points. Onto the next one.

[A Red Abroad]

Post match presser... Jürgen seems happy.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/9V2EoXD0-UY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/9V2EoXD0-UY</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V2EoXD0-UY

[John C]

Lovely win Reds.
Did Trent get MotM? He was superb as well as Jones.

[Gifted Right Foot]

Alisson is a majestic beast.

[MNAA]

I want us in the UEFA Cup and I want us to win it. I want Jürgen to complete the set. My first ever final was the UEFA Cup Final in the 70s and I've loved that trophy ever since. It's not Big Ears, and I know they've done their best to ruin the competition since those days, but I want to see us lifting it and bringing it back to the city.

Older fans will always have a soft spot for the UEFA Cup. The wins over Borrusia Monchengladbach and FC Bruges were precursors our dominance in Europe. I don’t mind at all going for it next season. May allow us some games to bed in some of our young talents too. It would have been if they had retained it as the UEFA Cup. Europa League just feels inferior

[MNAA]

And 1-0 win against Fulham at the business end of the season is just fine. The goal is to win all the remaining fixtures and then see where it lands us at the end of the season. We may have left it a little too late but you never know. More importantly is to regain our belief and confidence to set us nicely next season

[FlashingBlade]

Older fans will always have a soft spot for the UEFA Cup. The wins over Borrusia Monchengladbach and FC Bruges were precursors our dominance in Europe. I don’t mind at all going for it next season. May allow us some games to bed in some of our young talents too. It would have been if they had retained it as the UEFA Cup. Europa League just feels inferior

Back in the day there was a view UEFA cup harder to win than European..cos riskier teams..more games....hard part about European Cup was qualifying....either way...UEFA had greater status than now

Edit
..and final in Dublin as close as we'd get to playing in Liverpool

[Robinred]

Anyone else think Palhinha could do Fab's job for us?

I thought that of the two, Fab was the more impressive by a distance.

[rushyman]

Silva saying our pen wasn't a pen 😂😂😂😂😂😂

This is ridiculous now. He's clattered him

[vicar]

Terrible game and a really strange performance. No tempo at all and some of the worst passing in the final third I have seen us perform. The irony was when we moved it quicker in tight spaces they couldn't get near us, but it usually finished with an awful final ball.
Mo in particular couldn't find a red shirt. We had some really great openings and the pass straight to a fulham player.  Curtis misplaced a few passes too, although was pretty solid.  Nunez looks a player short on confidence. Needs a goal to settle him and stop thinking too much.

I thought Fabinho played well, kept the ball in some tight spaces and Trent looks really impressive when on the ball. Henderson worked hard without being too effective. But generally it was all too slow.

Strange game but 3 points thanks to Allison. Move on to Brentford.

[Raid]

Good 1-0. The sort of result we've needed more of this season.

Lets win the last set of games and see where we are. I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at the Europa League. Gives us two stabs at playing Champions League football in 2024/25, and provides another opportunity for another LFC European rollercoaster ride.

[vicar]

Silva saying our pen wasn't a pen 😂😂😂😂😂😂

This is ridiculous now. He's clattered him

Pathetic, Nunez was quicker than him, got to the ball in front of him and he kicked where the ball had previously been straight through into his legs. It was right in front of me!

[classycarra]

Henderson is shot I think. He wasn't desperately bad  but now his extraordinary energy has gone he has so little to fall back on. There's quite a contrast between him and the rest of the team. He rarely does anything surprising (which is a crime if you're playing for the best teams) and, slightly more worrying, he's often caught short when a teammate does do something surprising. Trent, for example, is a mystery to him. The number of times he was on his heels when Trent sent an unusual pass to him was embarrassing. He so rarely capitalises on the openings we engineer. It means the forward momentum goes out of our play.

This is harshly worded, but full of truth sadly

Over the season Trent has often been on the receiving end of pelters from Hendo but to my eye a lot of them have been exactly what you've put into words there (which makes sense of some incomplete things I hadn't put together). He does often seem on his heels when someone like Trent or Thiago does something exceptional.

The part that irks most though is when there's almost been a frustrated distrust of Trent's innate and creative talent at times, leading to criticism rather than a 'wow, that was  great sorry I didn't read it'. Ultimately though, I think it's he's probably just frustrated at the way time has caught up to him and means no ill will when he berates others for his mistakes - it's clear that Hendo has been more angry than usual on the pitch this year.

[classycarra]

Pathetic, Nunez was quicker than him, got to the ball in front of him and he kicked where the ball had previously been straight through into his legs. It was right in front of me!

it was a big dive though! I ripped into Wellbeck for what he did when Robertson touched his foot slightly (and somehow got the pen) - this wasn't hugely different, except their guy dangled a leg much further really stupidly and if Nunez didn't dive there probably would have been natural contact. I'm not saying it wasn't a pen, just that he wasn't clattered

[the_red_pill]

We're looking back to winning ways. 2nd Half was a bit meh, but we saw them off.
4th is out of our reach I'm afraid, but at least there is no real pressure for 5th and we can ride out the season and become comfortable in our system and roles.
Was Diaz really that good? I felt he was still dull as hell and seemed off the pace in the first.

[Historical Fool]

fuck it lads, our squad needs refreshing as we’re looking a bit old, and hasn’t Ox been gone for ages?

[RayPhilAlan]

Over to… someone !

Love the way the RAWK commentary handover was made in a pretty similar way to numerous final passes we made in the match!

So that's 4 wins in a row, all by a single goal - 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. I guess that against Brentford we're due for a 5-4?

[rushyman]

Pathetic, Nunez was quicker than him, got to the ball in front of him and he kicked where the ball had previously been straight through into his legs. It was right in front of me!

Silva is out of his mind

Kicks off non stop

[Mighty_Red]

Good to get the win. Fulham are upset over the pen but it was a stupid one to give away from their perspective. He dangled a leg and Darwin went into it rather theatrically, same thing Kane et al every other week.

Darwin is going to have to work harder on his game intelligence (not easy of course), needs to make the right runs, and make the better decisions. That said our final ball (or lack a good one) was the only reason we didn't walk this by 3 or 4.

Can't give away possession so cheaply like that though, invited too much unnecessary pressure.

Dunno why we wouldn't want to be in the Europa, we need minutes for our squad (especially the youngsters) and we still want the money and prestige of another final and trophy. Keep winning and see if Utd slip up.

[Too early for flapjacks?]

5 wins in a row. Haven't done that in a while.

[Avens]

Weirdly, a pretty dull 1-0 win is exactly what the doctor ordered. Quite nice to have a game that we win that would just be a late footnote on MotD or the podcasts.

fuck it lads, our squad needs refreshing as we’re looking a bit old, and hasn’t Ox been gone for ages?

What's the joke here? I know you post this after every win but I'm yet to see anyone actually react to it, so I'm just wondering what the aim is?

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Not the best game

3 points though

And a referee that did his fucking job and just refereed a fucking game of fucking football.

[jckliew]

Ali our saviour! Again and again

[NarutoReds]

Didn't follow their games much, but aa... Newcastle general gameplay and tactical execution are really that good, this season?

Better than us? Looks impossible but I do hope we could dick them to fourth.

United are like aa... Almost guaranteed for the Champions League place as it stands right now.

But anyone who watched the Sevilla game could see how "weak" United are in European stage ACTUALLY. They made United looked like their pets.

Just do our job and let's see, I am confident we could still get the top 4.

[Rosario]

Weird how we get one of the better ref performances we’ve had after the game on the weekend and the follow up interview, thought it might sway things the other way personally.

Anyway good to see a bit of uptick in form and results to finish off the season. Hopefully we win out and one or both of the Mancs and Saudi feel the pressure and implode.

[na fir dearg]

Pressing is much better these days but I wish we could just kill the game off near the end instead of constantly giving the ball back to them

Diaz is so exciting to watch

[JRed]

Was Marco Silva calling the referee’s integrity into question with his comments regarding how embarrassing the penalty being given was?
I expect he will be charged like Jürgen was.

[liverbloke]

we never attacked any officials

any officials never attacked us

klopp came through it without injury

(for once) we scored a controversial pen - but aren't they all controversial nowadays?

an ok-ish game that went quickly downhill in the final third

but 1-0 and another 3 points - i'll take that 

[RyanBabel19]

Was Marco Silva calling the referee’s integrity into question with his comments regarding how embarrassing the penalty being given was?
I expect he will be charged like Jürgen was.

If not then Cairney was because he's accused the ref of telling a Fulham player in the second half 'It wasn't a penalty'

[vicar]

it was a big dive though! I ripped into Wellbeck for what he did when Robertson touched his foot slightly (and somehow got the pen) - this wasn't hugely different, except their guy dangled a leg much further really stupidly and if Nunez didn't dive there probably would have been natural contact. I'm not saying it wasn't a pen, just that he wasn't clattered

I really dont see it as anything like the Welbeck one. in that case, firstly Robertson played the ball, secondly welbeck was caught on the foot then stood down on both feet before collapsing a few seconds later (unless I dont remember it properly?) Nunez was in full flow and he kicks right across him, clumsy but has to be a pen.