Topic: PL: Liverpool 3 vs Bus Wankers 1 5 ‘ Fabinho 13’ Mo, Mane 50' 78’ B Silva

[Timbo's Goals]

Go on then Yorky, I’ll complete the set.

Main Stand, almost the identical view of the footage. My very first game (just before starting school). Talk about spoiled.

Like everyone else who’s seen both, yes it’s the same goal, uncanny. Ok, maybe just pure nostalgia that says Heighway’s lung-busting run (vaguely recall he started out of the blocks unsighted from the touchline/penalty area which explains why he looks too knackered to celebrate) has the slight edge given the one-touch no-look audacity. And yes, ok, maybe Terry Mac seemed to suspend unnaturally in the air, the magnetic attraction pulling the ball onto his curly mop. But my god, the Trent/Robbo/Mo version will be talked about for another 40 years. If anything, the move seems calmer, swifter, more measured, practiced even. But likewise ruthlessly executed, ripping them apart.

And much more important psychologically to morale than the 7th against an already-humiliated Spurs, as it put City’s notions of a recovery to bed, a lethal EM shock to that plastic pale blue plasma-pumping medical device masquerading as a heart. The third was simply inevitable.

It reminded me of that incredible Dirk Kuyt goal.....

 

Ha ha. Nice to see you Rossi lad.

The Terry mac game was the only one I ever took my [South Walian] father-in-law to. He had not the faintest interest in footy so didn't have a clue. He asked me if it was always like this and even as much as I love to embellish things I had to admit that the Johnno/Stevie Heighway/Terry mac goal from the gods was one the likes of which we'd never ever witness again.

Guess, after sunday, it seems I was wrong

 

[Son of Spion]

The only thing I find quite hilarious is that there are many out there who are making Gomez out to be the bad guy. The state of fandom these days.

Victim blaming is a craze that's been sweeping the nation for quite some time now. Personal responsibility are seen as dirty words, perpetrators are excused and their victims blamed instead. It's a symptom of a perverse and messed up society.

[Son of Spion]

We beat those arrogant and obnoxious pricks fair and square. They couldn’t cope with our attacks.
They have a vile set of fans who think they are entitled to write abusive, childish comments. Their manager made a fool of himself and as for Sterling trying to take on TAA, Gomez and VVD.......well that was hilarious.

A club that needs to learn some class but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Thing is, class cannot be taught or bought. You have it, or you don't.

Abu Dhabi FC, its apologist fans, Sterling, Cardiola etc have none.

[cashmere pringle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j-zCBIOzl8

because everyone keeps mentioning it.

[keyop]

I had an all-day budget meeting today and lost the will to live, so I decided to write an ode to poor little Sterling…

There once was a boy called Raheem,
And playing for us was his dream.
But then it went shitty,
He fucked off to City,
To play for an oil-funded team.

If only he’d stayed with the best,
And kept that old bird on his chest.
He’d be working with Klopp,
With the cream of the crop,
For the best team throughout the North West.

When Brendan told him to be ‘steady’
He clearly just wasn’t quite ready.
But several years later,
The spoilt little traitor,
Just looks like he still needs his teddy.

As Klopp’s revolution grows stronger,
And as Pep loses passion and hunger
There is no coming back,
And as they start to crack,
He just wishes he’d stayed with us longer.

With Liverpool looking more able,
And whilst City are looking unstable,
There’s 6 months to go,
And he’s fighting with Joe,
And they’re 9 points behind in the table.

At Anfield he’s now a disaster,
Despite all the tricks that he mastered.
He may earn more cash,
And he loves being flash,
But there’s still only one greedy bastard…

[the_red_pill]

Thanks Yorky, just a fleeting input but Madrid-aside, it had to be something special (ok, plus a flight delay) for me to break my 5 year exile.

Yep, who’d have thought we’d be here back in dark ages? Seeing Trent & Mo actually “bombing down the wing like the Carlos Alberto of old” compared to the unmentionable pair of agricultural cloggers that were infamously described as such, is beyond our wildest dreams right?
Haha don’t blink Roy, I’m off into the shadowy forest once again. Like a chip-stealing Bill Murray once whispered...”they’ll never believe you” 

Fuck me! Look who's back! I forgot such a person even existed!

Welcome back mate! We need all the quality posters we can have. G*d knows with the likes of me still around, we absolutely do!

[Ghost Town]

I had an all-day budget meeting today and lost the will to live, so I decided to write an ode to poor little Sterling…

There once was a boy called Raheem,
And playing for us was his dream.
But then it went shitty,
He fucked off to City,
To play for an oil-funded team.

If only he’d stayed with the best,
And kept that old bird on his chest.
He’d be working with Klopp,
With the cream of the crop,
For the best team throughout the North West.

When Brendan told him to be ‘steady’
He clearly just wasn’t quite ready.
But several years later,
The spoilt little traitor,
Just looks like he still needs his teddy.

As Klopp’s revolution grows stronger,
And as Pep loses passion and hunger
There is no coming back,
And as they start to crack,
He just wishes he’d stayed with us longer.

With Liverpool looking more able,
And whilst City are looking unstable,
There’s 6 months to go,
And he’s fighting with Joe,
And they’re 9 points behind in the table.

At Anfield he’s now a disaster,
Despite all the tricks that he mastered.
He may earn more cash,
And he loves being flash,
But there’s still only one greedy bastard…

So young Sterling was off in a trice
As soon as Man City matched his price
Unlucky Raheem
You ditched the best team
And you don't get a chance like that TWICE!!!!!!

That's why young Raheem gets so salty
And cries as he scoffs his lamb balti
It prays on his mind
That his side's nine points behind
And his manager's become Basil Fawlty

[Yorkykopite]

He has amazing vision as a nipper but was just a tiny slip of a lad.

Maybe that's what let him down Roy. I remember seeing clips (probably posted by you!) and thinking "he's a bit special". But his physique was nothing. A bit like Pacheco here (who I liked).

You compared his destiny to Woodburn. But I think Woodburn still has time. He's badly injured right now, but I saw him live playing for Oxford about a month ago. He was superb.

[royhendo]

Hope you stick around Rossi mate.

And I hope you're right about Woodburn sir!

[mikeb58]

Just watched the Inside Anfield 'unseen footage' of the match on YouTube, love watching their footage of our games, the Barca 4-0 (as expected!) is particularly memorable, brings tears to your eyes!

[DangerScouse]

It reminded me of that incredible Dirk Kuyt goal.....

 

  Jurgen would have loved Dirk.

[Gaz123456]

Marker well and truly put down. This is  an immense team with extraordinary mental ability and belief. Thank you so much Jurgen Klopp, our club is back where they belong.

[Yosser0_0]

For the first goal Mourinho pointed out the change in position for De Bruyne, normally he would be supporting the other two CM's but he was pushed further forward in that 10 kind of role. He said that space and time which Fabinho had, wouldn't normally be there.

Don't forget for the second goal, Neville also cried out offside as well

Neil Mellor's post match analysis on LFC TV was excellent, he showed Fabinho supporting the attack but not going to the edge of the box, he leaves himself a 10 yard space to either pick up the second ball or stop a counter attack because he is standing that much deeper. Also because he's in that space he can take an extra touch to set up the shot and what a strike it was. He also highlighted some of the outstanding play by Gini and put up his stats for the match, he only lost the ball 4 times and was rated 1st, this in comparison to De Bruyne who lost the ball an astonishing 23 times! De Bruyne looks a bit unfit to me and slightly overweight, but then who I am to talk.
 

I've watched the full 90 minutes of this match three times now and listened to some of the analysis and watching the repeats has given me a completely different perspective on how the game played out. Watching it live, it felt like City were so dangerous and could score at any time but in reality the chances that they created or fell to them were much lower quality than the Liverpool chances. Liverpool could have been 4 or 5 up if Firmino, Salah, Gini had made more of the good chances. I can only remember the Aguero shot than Alisson had to save in the first half. I'm nervous about them holding this high line when defending a set piece but I trust them to get it right and they usually do, they did get one wrong but it seems to leave the attacker very little time to adjust and get the ball direction right because they are running in at such pace. I noticed in open play when City attacked, the Liverpool back four were defending very narrow, pretty much between the posts. So it meant even for that Aguero 'tap-in' he was attacking the ball blind because Virgil was in the path which was probably enough, great ball in tough. Even for their goal Silva has had to whip it back from a position outside the posts and it took a great shot just inside the near post to beat Alisson.

City's game plan was to press Liverpool high and they put them under immense pressure at the start of the game, you can see why teams often buckle and City score within the first few minutes. Liverpool played deeper than usual and the game plan seemed to be play on the counter attack or set up a counter press. We saw a few times Gini or Fabinhio in midfield with their back to goal being quickly hunted and pressed by two or three City players and the natural instinct is just play the ball facing your goal to a team mate. They didn't, they resisted the press and turned with the ball and dribbled away to set up a counter attack, it takes strength and skill - I don't think City can cope with this tactic, I think Gini set up a goal in the second leg of the Champions League tie like this.

City also seemed to be targetting our fullbacks with the high press, normally for City this results in them gaining possession from the full back or the full back has to launch it and a deeper City player then gets the possession. Watching it live, I thought we had unusually resorted to launching it, but actually I think that might have been part of the plan because the ball wasn't sent to a random area, it was sent to an area where we had some or all of our front three in place - setting up a counter press.

With hindsight it was a tactical masterclass executed expertly by the players, its a great template for how to beat City but you also need great players to implement the plans.       

[kavah]

^ thanks for that, worthy of a round table, what channel is Neil Mellor on? - cheers

[Mighty_Red]

^ thanks for that, worthy of a round table, what channel is Neil Mellor on? - cheers

Great shout, think we need a round table thread to fill the void of no games for 2 weeks. Great analysis Yosser, proves our midfielders are better on the ball then they are given credit sometimes

[jillcwhomever]

^ thanks for that, worthy of a round table, what channel is Neil Mellor on? - cheers

The show is on LFCTV.

[RobbieRedman]

Great post Yosser

Mellor was on LFCTV this evening with the analysis @kavah

[exilescouse]

I'd say you'd argue with your reflection given the chance.

I'd say i call people out on false accusations of 'isms' so lets agree to differ.

[1892tillforever]

Great shout, think we need a round table thread to fill the void of no games for 2 weeks. Great analysis Yosser, proves our midfielders are better on the ball then they are given credit sometimes

I think (hope) that most people see how good Gini is when in possession under pressure. Although I do remember watching a game in a pub last season and I heard a Liverpool fan say that "they didn't know what he offers the team.' 

[jckliew]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j-zCBIOzl8

because everyone keeps mentioning it.

Very similar goals.

a) Ball from right wing to the left wing.
b_Cross from left wing to the centre/far end
c) Headed goal from forward

[jckliew]

Having watched the match again, we were exposed from KDB free kicks a few times with their forwards running in between our defence and getting to the ball first. Strange they did not score!

The defence was just watching! 

[M(oaning) B(ecomes) E(mbarrassing)]

Here's a list of all the teams Liverpool FC are scared of.


































End. 

[Crosby Nick]

Having watched the match again, we were exposed from KDB free kicks a few times with their forwards running in between our defence and getting to the ball first. Strange they did not score!

The defence was just watching! 

Always tight but I think they were offside a couple of times but the flag stayed down. Because they missed nothing came of it. Obviously a couple of times they got it spot on like the Sterling header. More often than not we get our line right though.

[redk84]

snip     

Great post

I also loved how we defended against their trademark attack.
The one where they get to the byline and cut it back....we knew they would do that and very quicky reacted to block the pass everytime

I think only once in the 2nd half Sterling managed to get through clear on goal but the angle was narrow and Alisson was on him in a flash and he couldn't do much with the ball.

[harleydanger]

Having watched the match again, we were exposed from KDB free kicks a few times with their forwards running in between our defence and getting to the ball first. Strange they did not score!

The defence was just watching! 

Yeah, Virgil got lucky a few times.

[Ocean Red]

If we could not of hated sterling anymore. Gomez who is mild mannered wanted to shake hands and Sterling says to him still the big man and got him in a headlock and got his face scratched, that is called assault. Would he ever of tried that with someone like Van Dijk, like fuck would he, would of got knocked out. Little fucking pussy. And a bully. The mask has slipped again to show what he really is. I would of knocked the fucker out and said fuck england, dont join up with the squad to be treated like this. Southgate should of kicked sterling out of the squad. Not listened to anyone and fucked him off.

[ThePoolMan]

So young Sterling was off in a trice
As soon as Man City matched his price
Unlucky Raheem
You ditched the best team
And you don't get a chance like that TWICE!!!!!!

That's why young Raheem gets so salty
And cries as he scoffs his lamb balti
It prays on his mind
That his side's nine points behind
And his manager's become Basil Fawlty

Both you and keyop are clearly poetically gifted! LOL

[ThePoolMan]

Neil Mellor's post match analysis on LFC TV was excellent, he showed Fabinho supporting the attack but not going to the edge of the box, he leaves himself a 10 yard space to either pick up the second ball or stop a counter attack because he is standing that much deeper. Also because he's in that space he can take an extra touch to set up the shot and what a strike it was. He also highlighted some of the outstanding play by Gini and put up his stats for the match, he only lost the ball 4 times and was rated 1st in comparison to De Bruyne who lost the ball an astonishing 23 times! De Bruyne looks a a bit unfit to me and slightly overweight, but then who I am to talk.
 

I've watched the full 90 minutes of this match three times now and listened to some of the analysis and watching the repeats has given me a completely different perspective on how the game played out. Watching it live, it felt like City were so dangerous and could score at any time but in reality the chances that they created or fell to them were much lower quality than the Liverpool chances. Liverpool could have been 4 or 5 up if Firmino, Salah, Gini had made more of the good chances. I can only remember the Augero shot than Alisson had to save in the first half. I'm nervous about them holding this high line when defending a set piece but I trust them to get it right and they usually do, they did get one wrong but it seems to leave the attacker very little time to adjust and get the direction right because they are running in at such pace. I noticed in open play when City attacked the Liverpool back four were defending very narrow, pretty much between the posts so it meant even for that Augero 'tap-in' he was attacking the ball blind because Virgil was in the path which was probably enough, great ball in. Even for their goal Silva has had to whip it back from a position outside the posts and it took a great shot just inside the near post to beat Alisson.

City's game plan was to press Liverpool high and they put them under immense pressure at the start of the game, you can see why teams often buckle and City score within the first few minutes. Liverpool played deeper than usual and the game plan seemed to be play on the counter attack or set up a counter press. We saw a few times Gini or Fabinhio in midfield with their back to goal being quickly hunted and pressed by two or three City players and the natural instinct is just play the ball facing your goal to a team mate. They didn't, they resisted the press and turned with the ball and dribbled away to set up a counter attack, it takes strength and skill - I don't City can cope with this tactic, I think Gini set up a goal in the second leg of the Champions League tie like this.

City also seemed to be targetting our fullbacks with the high press, normally for City this results in them gaining possession from the full back or the full back has to launch it and a deeper City player then gets the possession. Watching it live, I thought we had unusually resorted to launching it, but actually I think that might have been part of the plan because the ball wasn't set to a random area, it was send to an area where we had some or all of our front three in place - setting up a counter press.

With hindsight it was a tactical masterclass executed expertly by the players, its a great template for how to beat City but you also need great players to implement the plans.       

Yes, I think by pressing so much they left huge gaps behind them and when faced with the passing ability of many of our players especially Alexander Arnold and the pace and how fast our team breaks, that was fatal for them.

[Sharado]

Yes, I think by pressing so much they left huge gaps behind them and when faced with the passing ability of many of our players especially Alexander Arnold and the pace and how fast our team breaks, that was fatal for them.

It was obvious from about the 3rd minute. They kind of hemmed us in early doors and my mate I was watching with was getting nervous about their good start. I said at the time if they're committing this much forward they'll be playing a high line at the back, and we'll get space back there. 15 or so minutes later we're 2-0 up. You'd think Pep might have learned by now. Ah well.

[Red Beret]

Here's a list of all the teams Liverpool FC are scared of.


































End.

Who is this End FC and why are we scared of them?

[Crosby Nick]

Who is this End FC and why are we scared of them?

He accidentally deleted Preston North.

[Roger Federer]

Yes, I think by pressing so much they left huge gaps behind them and when faced with the passing ability of many of our players especially Alexander Arnold and the pace and how fast our team breaks, that was fatal for them.

You can see it on our second goal. When Alexander-Arnold takes his first touch on to the left foot, Bernardo Silva is getting forward to press I assume Van Dijk as he anticipates that the ball will go back to our central defenders/Alisson. But of course Alexander-Arnold sees this, and plays the ball perfectly behind him into Robertson's path, with Silva now miles behind the ball.

[ThePoolMan]

You can see it on our second goal. When Alexander-Arnold takes his first touch on to the left foot, Bernardo Silva is getting forward to press I assume Van Dijk as he anticipates that the ball will go back to our central defenders/Alisson. But of course Alexander-Arnold sees this, and plays the ball perfectly behind him into Robertson's path, with Silva now miles behind the ball.

Who would have thought we would have Gerrard Mk II in the form of our RB rather than another midfielder? Have not seen passing range like Gerrard's in Liverpool colours other than with Alexander Arnold.

Here is an interesting analysis of the match...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q-kXiB68pI

[Yosser0_0]

He accidentally deleted Preston North.

I thought it may have been 'South'.

[Schmarn]

I've been giving the Sterling incident a lot of thought. While part of me acknowledges on a binary level that his mental breakdown may help us in the title challenge and I entirely agree he was at fault, I'd prefer players to get on and respect each other whether that be within the England camp or more generally. I also respect Sterling for what he has done in taking a stand on racism. He has taken a lot of flak in the right wing press for his flash lifestyle which has had clear racial undertones. That doesn't give him carte blanche to be a scrote as he has been on this occasion but equally I don't want this to be an excuse for him to be vilified endlessly. He has apologised and if Joe is prepared to forgive him then I think we can move on.

I have no issue with our fans singing "one greedy b@stard" which is frankly run of the mill banter which ought to be water off a duck's back. But equally I don't think we need to hate the guy. In truth he left us at a time when we were letting our best players go and it wasn't entirely unreasonable for him to leave to win trophies (and get paid a lot more). I wasn't happy that he left as he was a great player and we can see he has improved into an even better one.

I prefer to look at this episode more positively. Joe showed his maturity and restraint in not reacting as many a footballer would. He also advocated for Sterling to stay in the camp. It also appears that Hendo acted as the mediator showing once again his fantastic leadership qualities and digging Southgate and England out of a huge hole. I'm proud of both of them.

Of course dullard City fans don't see it that way and (ironically) are acting like victims once again, but who cares what they think. The rest of the world sees it for what it is.

And we're 9 points clear.

[ThePoolMan]

I've been giving the Sterling incident a lot of thought. While part of me acknowledges on a binary level that his mental breakdown may help us in the title challenge and I entirely agree he was at fault, I'd prefer players to get on and respect each other whether that be within the England camp or more generally. I also respect Sterling for what he has done in taking a stand on racism. He has taken a lot of flak in the right wing press for his flash lifestyle which has had clear racial undertones. That doesn't give him carte blanche to be a scrote as he has been on this occasion but equally I don't want this to be an excuse for him to be vilified endlessly. He has apologised and if Joe is prepared to forgive him then I think we can move on.

I have no issue with our fans singing "one greedy b@stard" which is frankly run of the mill banter which ought to be water off a duck's back. But equally I don't think we need to hate the guy. In truth he left us at a time when we were letting our best players go and it wasn't entirely unreasonable for him to leave to win trophies (and get paid a lot more). I wasn't happy that he left as he was a great player and we can see he has improved into an even better one.

I prefer to look at this episode more positively. Joe showed his maturity and restraint in not reacting as many a footballer would. He also advocated for Sterling to stay in the camp. It also appears that Hendo acted as the mediator showing once again his fantastic leadership qualities and digging Southgate and England out of a huge hole. I'm proud of both of them.

Of course dullard City fans don't see it that way and (ironically) are acting like victims once again, but who cares what they think. The rest of the world sees it for what it is.

And we're 9 points clear.

He left at a time when under Rodgers, we had just been competing for the title. This was not exactly the dire time when we were managed by Hodgson which was when Torres left for Chelsea. And going to a rival in the same league was always going to be a bad idea if you still want the goodwill of the fans who had previously supported you. Unlike him, Mascherano and Alonso and Suarez left for teams in other leagues. And the way he got his agent to agitate for a move was also particularly unpalateable.

[stockdam]

City fans “always the victims”.

It is clear that Stirling created the problem with Gomez. Joe has acted like a mature man whereas Stirling has been a prick. Actually I don’t expect anything else from that club who don’t have any class.

[jillcwhomever]

City fans “always the victims”.

It is clear that Stirling created the problem with Gomez. Joe has acted like a mature man whereas Stirling has been a prick. Actually I don’t expect anything else from that club who don’t have any class.

According to a piece in the Athletic the club has made it known its not happy with the way Gomez has been left in the limelight and have made their feelings known. Initially it seemed Southgate wanted to keep the story quiet, the question that needs to be asked is who leaked it to the press and what did they have to gain from it? One of the players maybe talking to an agent or family member?

[scutty]

Friendly reminder we beat City 3-1 and are 8 points clear.

Enjoy 

[12C]

Having watched the match again, we were exposed from KDB free kicks a few times with their forwards running in between our defence and getting to the ball first. Strange they did not score!

The defence was just watching!

Erm. How many of those “chances” were offside?
Sky and BT are developing a sneaky habit of making it look like our defence is ropey by calling situations where our offside trap works, “oooh a chance there!” And not mentioning that the forward was off.
BT did it in the recent ECL games, and sky are doing the same.
It fits the narrative that they have scripted that we aren’t as solid defensively, that we are somehow vulnerable to set pieces (shite zonal marking?) and our high line is very risky.
The other side of the coin is Neville cryarsing that players are deffo offside until the dozy get sees the replay and then the “he was just onside” comment follows.