« on: September 18, 2018, 06:35:51 pm »
Liverpool FC Vs Paris St Germain
Anfield
8PM
Tuesday 18th September 2018
Live on BT Sport
It has been almost four months since the Champions League Final. Four months of anger, disappointment and regret. If you're like me, you're still wondering how the game might have turned out if Ramos had not dislocated the shoulder of our top striker and given our keeper concussion. And if you're even more like me, you're also wondering how far you could get a boot up his arse in a single good swing.
But the past has passed and the present is, well, present and so instead of entertaining fantasies where Spain's iconic defender is forced to recreate several scenes cut from theatrical releases of the Saw movies, we turn to the new campaign with renewed determination. Channel the rage. Focus on the pitch.
Because last season's final appearance was painful, of course it was, but it was also something to celebrate in itself. Nobody expected us to be there. Nobody gave us a chance. Nobody thought we'd be in the semi finals, let alone stepping out onto the pitch to battle Real Madrid for the title. Last season was about building, about transition, we put in orders for the players we needed, but it took months for them to ship, with one turning up just after Christmas and the other only coming in the summer.
But this, this is Klopp's Liverpool. Every part of this team is now made up of players he has brought, or that he has decided are good enough. So this, here, this is year one. Last season was year zero. We weren't meant to be challenging last season. And now. Now we are.
Now don't get me wrong, there is still plenty to do, some of these players are still strangers to one another. There are still multiple viable interpretations of our midfield three that have yet to see the light of day. This will take time. Just like last season, we didn't really see how good we could be until half way through the year. So maybe, maybe last year's final was a blessing in disguise. An extra bit of motivation. A point to prove. A score to settle. A reason to go out there and show the world what Liverpool FC is all about.
And although it can be painful to look back, it would be foolish to deny that there are advantages to having been to the final last year. With Zidane and Ronaldo's double departure, that game marked the end of an era in modern European football. While Real are still clearly a threat, it is unlikely that they will again prove to be so successful in this competition in what is bound to be a transitional season. The team we faced was the last expression of the Ronaldo Real, and whatever follows, the challenge they posed was in many ways the toughest we could have asked for. And it took them a world class goal and two fluke errors from a concussed goalkeeper to get them over the line. This Liverpool team in many ways stood toe to toe with Real. They were the better side on the night, but there was never a sense that they were simply a different class to us. Prior to last season, this Klopp side's exposure to Europe's top table was extremely limited. Now, they know exactly how good they will need to be to go one step further. The bar has been set, and set high, but we at least now know what we are aiming for.
It has been suggested that we should be focussed on the league this season. (And if you haven't seen Klopp's response to this yet, I urge you to track it down.) But that is not the Liverpool way. We have games of football to play, and we have arguably the most talented squad this club has ever seen to play them. In recent years, we've been accused of being a one-man team, or we've been a good side with a few stars and a few weak spots. In terms of consistent quality, however, it looks from here as though we are finally getting to the point where we have quality all over the pitch, and quality in reserve as well.
By the time this Champions League season is over, we will all be "out of Europe" in a painful and disturbing sense. (And God knows what the implications will be for travel to the away legs of the later stages.) This club needs to Remain at the heart of the continental football scene.
Let's have it.
Battle of the Germans
PSG manager Thomas Tuchel was Klopp's successor at Dortmund and was in the dugout for the famous Europa League quarter-final in 2016, where his side had what looked like a certain victory stolen away from them in one of the greatest comebacks of all time, with goals from Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho ultimately deciding the tie 5-4 in the Reds' favour.
Klopp, meanwhile, led Dortmund against PSG in the Group Stage in 2010, with neither match producing a win.
The opposition.
Paris St Germain were founded in 1970 with the merger of Paris FC (itself formed in 1969) and Stade Saint-Germain (which had been around since 1904), moving to the iconic Park des Princes just four years later. As the major football team in the French capital, their success was surprisingly sporadic. While star-studded teams collected the French title in 1986 and 1994, their only continental success came in the now-defunct Cup Winners Cup in 1996 (see below).
PSG's first domestic title came in 1986, as Liverpool were winning their sixteenth.
That first league title came largely thanks to a 26 game unbeaten streak, and was masterminded by future France and Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier.
The Reds' most successful manager of the century to date in terms of trophies, Houllier first joined Liverpool as joint-manager with Roy Evans, in a unique experiment that was ultimately doomed to failure. Once given sole charge of the team, Ged lost no time in importing a raft of European talent, changing forever the dynamic of the club. Names like Hyypia and Hamman, along with more opportunities for the talents of Patrick Berger, saw Liverpool returning to Europe as a more diverse and modern looking team.
It was not until the arrival of Qatari investment vehicle Oryx in 2011 that "Le Geant Endormi" really began to take advantage of its position as a defacto superclub based in the heart of a football-mad nation. How times have changed. The current PSG line-up reads like the sort of team a lazy twelve year old might put together in a game of FIFA.
Brazilian hotshot Neymar, French prodigy Kylian M'Bappe (do wop), legendary Italian superkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, and host of other household names like Silva, Di Maria, Diarra, Draxler, Marquinos, Cavani, Verratti, Meunier and Alves. They are not so much a team as the result of a raid on the panini sticker album's top 100.
These Gallic Galacticos have won five domestic league titles this decade (taking their total to seven) but for all the FFP-warping amounts of cash spent on the project, their impact in Europe has been disappointing. Although they are regulars in the knock-out stages, they have never reached the semi finals.
The ultimate PSG in Europe moment came in the 2016-17 Champions League quarter final, when Les Rouge-et-Bleu were unable to hang on to a slender four goal advantage against Barcelona.
They are lethal in the Groups Stages, however, and with the sheer firepower available up front it will be a serious task to prevent them from scoring at Anfield.
We all know about the players, but what about the system?
Tuchel was in many ways a natural successor to Klopp at Dortmund. He is known for adapting his team shape and line-up to suit the opposition, but it is clear that his preference is for a 4-3-3 system using short, diagonal passing. (He notoriously changed the shape of the training pitch at Dortmund to a diamond to facilitate this.)
He likes his team to press the opposition in the opposition half. Despite the emergence of M'Bappe (do wop), this is still very much a side built around Neymar. The £200m Brazilian can be deployed either on the left of the front three, or dropping into a false nine role. Assuming Klopp lines up as we have seen recently, this could mean that either Gomez or Trent (or possibly both) will have the daunting task of keeping him quiet, leaving Virgil to nullify the threat of M'Bappe (do wop).
Although Liverpool's much maligned defence of last season emerged from the Group Stage having conceded six goals in six games (five of them scored by Seville) the arrival of VVD and Alisson, the maturing of Trent and the return of Gomez really change the whole picture at the back for the Reds. This will be a different challenge to anything they have faced so far, and it will be fascinating to see how they cope with it. In some ways, it is good to have this first clash at Anfield, which should give the lads some idea of the task at hand when they visit Paris.
The other end of the pitch is a different story altogether. With Buffon suspended, Mane, Firmino and Salah will be looking to pick up where they left off.
Head to Head
Liverpool and PSG have only met once in UEFA competition, in the semi final of the 1997 Cup Winners Cup. The Reds had qualified in bitter circumstances, having failed to beat a seriously below-par Manchester United in the 96 FA Cup Final, a match better remembered for the awful suits than anything that happened on the pitch. And it was a similar lack of character that would betray the Reds on their first match against PSG.
The Liverpool manager, Roy Evans, was scathing. "We were poor. We never looked like defending anything. We need to do a bit of soul searching individually because no one did themselves any credit. Nothing functioned tonight. We played the game so slowly, we didn't defend, and we didn't attack. It lacked passion and it lacked pride.'
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-liverpool-lack-passion-and-pride-in-paris-flop-1266527.html
Ultimately, this cost Liverpool not just the tie, but the chance to complete the set of UEFA's trinity of titles. With the CWC abolished and merged into the UEFA Cup (later rebranded the Europa League) the Reds would never have another chance. PSG went on to win the trophy, and it remains their only continental level prize. This is one of the few things PSG have in common with Everton, who also lifted the now-scrapped silverware in 1985.
One more of those good reasons to get the win this time.
Fitness wise, Liverpool have no new developments, although Roberto Firmino may be a query after a bizarre incident with Jan Vertonghen where the Belgian's finger found its way to the back of Firmino's eye socket and gave his brain a quick scratch. In real time, it looked completely accidental, and no doubt the Spurs defender is now repeatedly washing his hands and going "Uhhrrr" every time he recalls the feeling of squishy eyeball. He may never be the same again, but hopefully there is better news for Bob.
Adam Lallana is not likely to be involved as of last reports I've seen.
PSG meanwhile, were able to rest Neymar and forced to rest M'Bappe, for their 4-0 win over 90s pop combo Saint Etienne on Friday night. While keeper Buffon is suspended, this is going to be a very nearly full strength PSG team for this opening game of their CL campaign.
Selection
The back four and front three we would expect to remain unchanged. Klopp may feel it is time to give someone like Moreno a game at full back, but it would be a surprise if Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson and Alexander Arnold were not selected. Pending Firmino's availability, we certainly expect business as usual at the top of the team. If Bob is not ready, then Daniel Sturridge should start.
The questions come in midfield. Fabinho has the most experience of playing against PSG, and it may be a good opportunity to get him involved by starting him at the base of midfield. James Milner seems almost undroppable at the moment, and has been the most consistent performer in the Liverpool midfield so far this season. Shaqiri, I suspect, may be tried out in the Lallana role at some point, though maybe not here, while Keita is showing glimpses of the quality many are convinced will continue to reveal itself over the coming months. Jordan Henderson will expect to play in such a key fixture, while Gini Wijnaldum is playing well and finally celebrated his first away goal in the league. Paring three from that list is a difficult task, even with Lallana unavailable. What's your choice?
Time to teach the French the meaning of "Allez, Allez, Allez!"
« Last Edit: September 18, 2018, 10:51:29 pm by Tepid T₂O »
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