Topic: Liverpool 1 - Man City 0 (7' Gini)

[Filler.]

Klopp on Chelsea: "Imagine how annoying it is when you go on that run and there's still one team six points behind."

Beautifully put.

Frozen Gin? Don't go easy on it, make it nice and Gini.

Ideally it comes out the bottle 'molten'... in big icy slops. If kept in there long enough it might not come out of the bottle... but give it a few, and it'll flop out. The freezer is a great home for gin. Think I'll make it a brace...

[spider-neil]

Indeed and something i said before. One set of results that go our way and we are only 3 points behind.

Had Chelsea's 87th minute winner against WBA not gone in and Henderson's thunderbasted shot gone in against West Ham, we'd be 2 points behind them.
That's how small the margin is.

[KiNki]

Just beat a very good side, just kept another clean sheet, and kept the most expensively assembled forward line to one shot. Superb Liverpool performance.

[ScouserAtHeart]

1 goal conceded in the last 4 games. Without our best defender.

[...]

1 goal conceded in the last 4 games. Without our best defender.

I wouldn't forget about Bournemouth and West Ham so quickly, but yes great form.

[UntouchableLuis]

No arguments with this season - we've been utterly committed in every game, beaten Chelsea, City, Arsenal and Everton and that's with injuries to key players as well.

Chelsea will be tough to dismantle but if we keep improving then who knows? Klopp has done a brilliant job with the money spent. 2017 is going to be fun!

[wemmick]

Thought we did well to turn the second half into a scrap once City had a bit of momentum. Loved Lallana's shoulder barge on Silva near the end. It was risky, very risky, but he did it perfectly. I'm consistently surprised at how confidently we play the physical side of the game, even when we aren't playing well in possession and look like we are losing our hold.   

[ScubaSteve]

Get in there!!!! Not the best game we've played but we soaked up the pressure when we needed to!!

[sms1986]

I wouldn't forget about Bournemouth and West Ham so quickly, but yes great form.

I honestly would, they were a blip and even Chelsea will throw away silly points at some points.

[Keita Success]

Dominated without the ball

[...]

I honestly would, they were a blip and even Chelsea will throw away silly points at some points.

They haven't for how many games now?

[Purple Red]

Get in Reds! Second half was one of the most nerve wracking halves of football I've watched from Liverpool in a long time despite City being toothless and created nothing. I was critical of how we were playing in the second half but upon reflection and listening to Klopp it was clearly a deliberate strategy to sit a bit deeper. It worked a treat. While it's never fun to watch the opposition dominate possession if they're creating nothing it's nothing to be concerned about. We should really have been out of sight anyway if you consider the poor decision making we displayed in glorious counter attack scenarios on a few occasions. Thought the centre half pairing was rock solid again - the fact that Aguero did not get one touch in our box in 90 minutes is a sensational statistic and a credit to the defence. The midfield were a credit again - calm in possession and defensively astute. Delighted for Wijnaldum. He is a lovely lad and a really positive influence on the club. Lallana put in a fearless performance once again and Henderson was solid as ever.

My only concern was Roberto Firmino who has been terrible for weeks now. He was lacklustre and careless - we could have had a 2 or 3 goal lead if he had done his job competently. I know he'll be back but he's anonymous these days and should be under pressure from Sturridge. Overall, the team is a credit to their manager. We have the best team ethic in the league - 5 wins in 7 games without Coutinho demonstrates that we don't rely on the individual but the unit. We have bounced back from terrible setbacks at Burnley and Bournemouth to really make a statement in the league. A wonderful end to a fantastic transitionary year for the club. The strides Klopp has made with the squad week by week are tremendously exciting and point to a very positive future. We've put four points between ourselves and City - Chelsea are only six points ahead and can be got at. Happy New Year Reds!

[hide5seek]

Very very very poor result.
Should've won that 2-0 to show a true mark of a quality team.





























































Just kidding, what a bloody fantastic performance. Each and every red man should feel proud tonight.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY.

[spider-neil]

I honestly would, they were a blip and even Chelsea will throw away silly points at some points.

Will they?

[sms1986]

They haven't for how many games now?

Their run has to end sometime, I think the end of January at Anfield looks like a pretty good place for it.

[sms1986]

Will they?

Probably, if they don't they don't and if they do we'll pounce and punish them for it.

[Lastrador]

This Gini lad, he sure likes to score some beautiful headers.

[Chris~]

That was a ridiculouly impressive defensive performance. Cant imagine a Pep side has been shut down like that very often.

[Black Bull Nova]

If we were to win every game till the end of the season then Chelsea could not afford to lose a game. Anfield on the 31st is massive, need to hang on to them until then. A win on that day and the psychology shifts.

Having said that top three is priority, we have others on our heels as well.

[Caligula?]

Will they?

Cracks are starting to appear though, they conceded 2 today and it could have been 3 against what must be said is a poor Stoke side. When's the last time they even conceded 2+? Against Arsenal I believe. We're getting there, and I believe it'll be against Tottenham when the bubble bursts. We just have to keep doing our job as well.

[sms1986]

If we were to win every game till the end of the season then Chelsea could not afford to lose a game. Anfield on the 31st is massive, need to hang on to them until then. A win on that day and the psychology shifts.

Having said that top three is priority, we have others on our heels as well.

I think we'll finish in the top two at the very least, although anywhere in the top four would be great and first would be fucking amazing!

[Mr_Shane]

If Chelsea win their remaining games - against all the teams in the league, they deserve to be champions.

Our next target is to get to 20 wins as quickly as possible, then see where we are. Lets start by beating Sunderland

[Fiasco]

Will they?

Of course they will. They wont win 30 odd games on the bounce. If they do it'll be one of - if not THE best - sporting achievements of all time. They are riding the crest of a wave at the moment but they'll drop points.

The key is to beat them at home in a months time. If we can maintain the current gap, or at least cut it by a couple of points, we'll get a boost heading in the final third of so of the season.

Chelsea have to play teams fighting relegation, battling for the title, chasing top 4. Teams are not going to roll over for them. If they keep up this level of form (or close to it), then they'll deserve the title. But the odds are that they'll stumble at more than one point, and we have to be close enough to pounce when they do.

[rob1966]

Been out all day with the wife and kids, bumped into my youngest sons mates Dad who is a proper bitter blue (what is it with Blue shirts and bitterness?), funny as fuck seeing his miserable face and hearing his excuses 

[McSquared]

   

Wrong thread mate... thats man utd 'corner turned'

Top win from us. Really solid performance

Happy new year

[JackWard33]

Get the fuck in. Huge performance and result for us

Happy new year reds

[Zoomers]

Can we please open the Mignolet thread? I know he didn't do much but he came out at the right time and outplayed the fuck out of Aguero that one time. Good man.

[rob1966]

Of course they will. They wont win 30 odd games on the bounce. If they do it'll be one of - if not THE best - sporting achievements of all time. They are riding the crest of a wave at the moment but they'll drop points.

The key is to beat them at home in a months time. If we can maintain the current gap, or at least cut it by a couple of points, we'll get a boost heading in the final third of so of the season.

Chelsea have to play teams fighting relegation, battling for the title, chasing top 4. Teams are not going to roll over for them. If they keep up this level of form (or close to it), then they'll deserve the title. But the odds are that they'll stumble at more than one point, and we have to be close enough to pounce when they do.

Too many bedwetters giving up far too early. Year City first won the PL from the other lot, both of them threw away big leads, 2014 we all know what happened. We're matching Chelsea game after game, they know they have to keep winning or we'll take advantage. Both of us will drop points, we just need to make sure we drop less than them

[Passmaster Molby]

Dominated without the ball

Thought it was a very Rafa-esque performance against a top side. Controlled the space and kept them at arms length whilst always looking dangerous on the counter.

Imagine having a manager who can set up a side to control the space like that, then in the next game could be totally dominant and rip a side to bits with lethal football. Klopp is the total package that's for sure.

[Redman78]

Don't like to be one of those teams that needlessly waste time at the end of a game, I know others do it and its 'game management' or some such shite but I don't like it in others and feel its not what we do

Glad for the result though

Strange gripe that, thought it was excellent game management myself

[Kekule]

Good, gritty win. Important to show we can win games in different ways. Not bad for a team some on here describe as mentally weak.

We play before the others in the next round of fixtures, our chance to put a bit of pressure on rather than react to other results.

[Nick110581]

Henderson heel is not the same one

Echo reporting it

[CheadleBlue]

Never thought I'd see a Pep team so poor on the ball, concerned?

Yes very much so.  We've been like this a lot the past season and a half.  There are games where we are brilliant (Sevilla, PSG last season. the Derby, Barcelona this year) but mostly it's been a lot of possession but lack of quality, penetrative passing when it counts.  In all honesty, I think you were well below your best today, but we still never looked like scoring.  I hope I'm wrong, but both Aguero and Silva look past their best for me. 

[CheadleBlue]

Yes very much so.  We've been like this a lot the past season and a half.  There are games where we are brilliant (Sevilla, PSG last season. the Derby, Barcelona this year) but mostly it's been a lot of possession but lack of quality, penetrative passing when it counts.  In all honesty, I think you were well below your best today, but we still never looked like scoring.  I hope I'm wrong, but both Aguero and Silva look past their best for me.

But enough of all that.  happy new year to all of u here ... you deserve more than a few tonight    

[sms1986]

Henderson heel is not the same one

Echo reporting it

Which is probably good news as if it is just a minor injury, it won't be affected by his already existing problem.

[kennedy81]

It doesn't feel like we're only halfway through the season.

That's a lot of points to fight for and everyone will drop points, even at unexpected times.
We're in a great position and if anything the pressure is on Chelsea right now. They know that one slip up and we're within striking distance with a lot of games to go. And we have the beating of anyone.

[Red Beret]

   

Wrong thread mate.  That bed's not wet.

[vallapureddy]

We've conceded one goal in four games since Migs came back in, and won all four, which is just incredible.

shhhhh don't say it loud...migs will hearr

[Durlmints]

I have to say I really liked the way the game was seen out professionally. No silly risks, just playing with sensible cool heads. It's much nicer than the classic Liverpool chaos that we've seen in previous seasons.

[Funky_Gibbons]

Yes very much so.  We've been like this a lot the past season and a half.  There are games where we are brilliant (Sevilla, PSG last season. the Derby, Barcelona this year) but mostly it's been a lot of possession but lack of quality, penetrative passing when it counts.  In all honesty, I think you were well below your best today, but we still never looked like scoring.  I hope I'm wrong, but both Aguero and Silva look past their best for me.

Those penetrative, clinical passes are hard, but it was the lack of keeping simple possession or recycling the ball that surprised me. Simple passes going out of play or straight to a Liverpool player, I've never seen that from a Pep team.