Topic: PL: Liverpool vs Manchester United

[rushyman]

That's all very well, but it hasn't been our weakened defence or midfield that has been causing us to drop points of late. It's our forwards. Need to sort themselves out sharpish, or it will be a battle for top 4 rather than the top. That's not hyperbole either. I firmly believe we can still win it, but not as things are.

It’s more the now the critique we are getting in the media and by other fans

As if this is our full team we are playing with and we haven’t got a lock picking midfielder who wins possession and turns counter into counter playing at the back (which partially answers your reply) and the worlds best CB out for the season aswell as his 2 partners

[Machae]

Jon fucking Champion and Jim Beglin weren't any better

I absolutely detest Beglin, such a depressing bellend

[alvaro]

When VVD  got injured I said we were going to massively struggle this season and got slaughtered in here. Sadly I was right.  I said that we still had a shot at mid 80s. Im afraid we wont even reach that.

I dont want to go full panic mode but I think we have to invest this transfer window to secure CL football next season. Its that grim.

[jckliew]

This run of matches just goes to show how critical and essential Alisson and Virgil were. 

[rushyman]

When VVD  got injured I said we were going to massively struggle this season and got massively slaughtered in here. Sadly I was right.  I said that we still had a shot at mid 80s. Im afraid we wont even reach that.

I dont want to go full panic mode but I think we have to invest this transfer window to secure CL football next season. Its that grim.

Let’s wait to see if you were right in 5 months before you collect your ‘ I told you so’ winnings

[Keith Lard]

Meh not such a terrible draw. Considering injuries at the back, no supporters and poor run of form I don’t think a point is terrible.

[Coolie High]

Look and talk a certain way?

Micah Richards and Jermaine Jenas are pretty opposite personalities. Can only think of one obvious thing which they share in common.

I think he's trying to say their both good looking

Cause I agree there nothing at all similar, Jenas is quite eloquent actually and boring too, Micah is the opposite.

[rushyman]

This run of matches just goes to show how critical and essential Alisson and Virgil were. 

You’re going to get the ‘but it’s the forwards’ criwd after you

You know because they were running back getting it off the keeper and scoring between themselves

Nothing to do with virgil or fab passing or the fluidity of their recycling the ball

[rushyman]

Meh not such a terrible draw. Considering injuries at the back, no supporters and poor run of form I don’t think a point is terrible.

Wasn’t at all

We were as weak as we’ve been in 3 years united as strong in longer

Couldn’t even score. More than that they were too scared to try. That was their chance to really put a statement down and prove the hype. Failed

[GIPPO77]

Exactly, having an established and dependable defence gives the midfield more confidence, thus creating more opportunities for our forwards.

[Mighty_Red]

Still wondering why Mo and Sadio are so low on energy and why we haven't tried to deal with it. Neither seem to be able to accelerate even when they have the chance to. If they are being affected by covid them then why are they getting 90mins?

Scoring against a bunch of kids didn't seem to help their confidence either so we really should be trying to protect and rest them.

What is alarming is that, similar to the last few games, we have found pockets of space on the counter in the 2nd halves but we've wasted them, choosing the wrong pass or shooting wildly.

[killer-heels]

Still wondering why Mo and Sadio are so low on energy and why we haven't tried to deal with it. Neither seem to be able to accelerate even when they have the chance to. If they are being affected by covid them then why are they getting 90mins?

Scoring against a bunch of kids didn't seem to help their confidence either so we really should be trying to protect and rest them.

What is alarming is that, similar to the last few games, we have found pockets of space on the counter in the 2nd halves but we've wasted them, choosing the wrong pass or shooting wildly.

Not sure that rest is an excuse, we got really fortunate with the schedule over Christmas and the New Year.

[lukeb1981]

The propaganda was sickening to hear all game , like Ratboy saying we were there for the taking . At no stage in that game where we there for the taking . Utd where dire it’s just a pity we couldn’t score because if they came out of the box and we stretched them we would have won handy . We need to find a way of breaking down these defending teams .

[Andy82lfc]

When VVD  got injured I said we were going to massively struggle this season and got slaughtered in here. Sadly I was right.  I said that we still had a shot at mid 80s. Im afraid we wont even reach that.

I dont want to go full panic mode but I think we have to invest this transfer window to secure CL football next season. Its that grim.

You were not right mate you were just lucky, I can say right now we will win the league with all these injuries and it may happen, won’t mean I’m right, just guesswork. Like the ‘in the knows’ before every match saying who will play, someone has to be right.

[Heritage]

Unfortunate day for Bobby. Was doing well defending from the front, for my money his positioning and instincts were as goodas ever out of possession. But he was so so poor when he needed to put his foot through the ball and on some final passes! Salah was very subdued today... Can't imagine why he wasn't running at Shaw more. I thought Thiago and Gini were excellent in possession. We badly need our CBs to return, and some competition for the forwards would be extremely welcome. It was frustrating that we couldn't seem to get the ball to Mane when he was in a central position up the pitch, he was always moving to the wing in the second half as Robbo was spending less time high up there on the left side (compared to the first half).

Maybe we need the forwards to be playing more fluid as they did 2/3 seasons ago? More wing swaps, more shifting around and little darting runs to break lines when we're camped down in the opposition third. Our trio of attackers looked a bit tired today, perhaps just frustrated with the results recently.

[newterp]

We should go back to heavy metal football at least to change it up for a bit.

[kavah]

Would like to know what the score would’ve been if we’d played the full 94mins with included injury time

And how many free kicks did they get compared to us? To me it seemed about 10 times more. The mad harry maguire dive against Salah was laughable

[Something Worse]

And how many free kicks did they get compared to us? To me it seemed about 10 times more. The mad harry maguire dive against Salah was laughable

We had 66% possession and committed 15 fouls to 6, which seems impossible if we had the ball twice as much?

[Bobinhood]

well its as simple as losing the pace at the back has necessarily made us less dynamic going forward. we played about the highest line in the history of the world and now weve given half or more of that back plus lost one half of a bombing on fullback to d support. its hurt us at the top shelf. its just that simple. We have compensated very well on the D end that Fab my god hes so good.

Still an outstanding football team though. If we had played like that against the mancs in any of our lean years we would be over the moon with the complete exposure of the frauds charlatan Bruno and Paul and besides ourselves about our inability to finish them off so deservedly. Even keels, lads. The teams just hamstrung, its not dead. I told everyone at the start of the year losing the Crowds was going to hurt us savagely, far more so than anyone else, and it was going to be hard.

Well , its hard. If we see it through it would be the teams most impressive achievement to date. Ive still got us down for a double, pick any 2 of your 3 trophy's. 

[kavah]

^ that’s a good optimistic analysis. Without the crowd the centre halves (and Fabinho in defense), and Jota, it’s hard.
And because of that the bench is not the strongest now. I get why we’re not buying but it would be hard to take if our season was to peter out because we were short a player or two over the coming months.

[kj999]

Let’s wait to see if you were right in 5 months before you collect your ‘ I told you so’ winnings

I know right. What a bell.
"Sadly i was right"
It's not even halfway yet, you quilt.

[Kopenhagen]

You could be right..I dunno how reliable they are..
The xG philosophy?

A joke of an account.

[NarutoReds]

Maybe it's tactical from Klopp. But I was hoping he benched Salah and move Shaqiri there in second half, while letting Jones roaming around box-to-box last night.

But can't say much as we don't have much info regarding Shaqiri's fitness too OR due to the yellow card (on 33rd minute that), maybe.

Also such a relief when there's no United's impending penalty, credit to our defence, they were really that good avoiding it happened by limiting the ball's presence in our box area.

And based on statistic, we are quite shit in taking advantage of our corner kicks too, 7 corners to us (3 to United) and nothing happened. Even ONE goal from it would change the fucking game. Just one, aaarrrggghh!!!!

[NarutoReds]

+ DailyMail UK: "Jordan Henderson admits Liverpool 'weren't happy' with referee Paul Tierney after he blew for half time five seconds early despite Sadio Mane being played through on goal"

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson admitted they weren't happy with referee Paul Tierney during their 0-0 draw with Manchester United.

Henderson, who played as a makeshift centre-back to cover for their injury problems, said the Liverpool players were frustrated by the slightly early half-time whistle.

"We weren't happy about that as you can imagine. Strange very strange," the England midfielder complained to Sky Sports.

"He's through on goal if he doesn't blow that. I don't know. We were frustrated at half-time, but there was plenty of time for us to score another goal but lacked quality in that last bit."

Liverpool fans were left angered by Tierney's call, as one tweeted: "I am genuinely fuming. There is no excuses here. 6 seconds left. You don’t blow until the allocated time is played."

Another member of the Reds faithful shared his disgust, tweeting: "Shocking game but Paul Tierney needs to be suspended for what he did in the first half. Blowing 6 seconds early when mane is through 1 on 1. Utter disgrace."
 
 

[Zoomers]

We've been in a shit situation with all our injuries, so hopefully we will only get better from here.

[Zoomers]

And those fuckers couldn't even score when we had zero centerbacks on the field from minute 0 to 90. Nice one Ole

[FLRed67]

Please stick to the script and blame the midfield, or the defenders. They are to blame because we can’t break down sides that set out to defend.

Bobby’s clone is doing the best he can. But it took the real Bobby a long time to get good at football, and we will need to be patient with the clone.

And we weren’t already winning, so please don’t burden Mo Salah with scoring a goal or making something happen. That’s just not fair. Kings do as they please.

Yes, we know Virgil has only been absent for 3 months, but please realize that the “Front 3” have time-share on a quantum computer, and a year ago it predicted not only Covid-19 but also that Virgil would be injured. Burdened with this knowledge, scoring goals has not been a priority these past 12 months.

But there is nothing to worry about. We will win the title, because Allison will keep making saves from point-blank range. The computer has predicted it.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

And we weren’t already winning, so please don’t burden Mo Salah with scoring a goal or making something happen. That’s just not fair. Kings do as they please.

Apart from leading the league in goals and the club this season, yeah he's not doing his bit isn't he this season

[HomesickRed]

Apart from leading the league in goals and the club this season, yeah he's not doing his bit isn't he this season

True.
Salah is saving us if anything.
Utd couldn't beat us despite having a makeshift, unfit midfield and a makeshift defence.
They didn't even want to take the game to us. Couldn't take the game to us is probably more true. Such a limited team shouldn't come close to winning the league but these are strange days.
A worry though is that their A game very nearly worked by fashioning the two best saves.
We created loads of opportunities that were wasted by poor decision making.
When Salah and Mane don't score, nobody else is stepping up to the plate.

[HardworkDedication]

Saw Hendo commented on that. It was a mad shout to blow seconds early. But imagine him blowing as the ball was rolling towards the goal

To be fair the ref started to blow the whistle before Shaqiri even received the ball to make the through ball to Mane. Watch back again and you will see that he started to blow the whistle just as Salah played the ball to Shaq. He still should have played the full 46 mins mind you but it's absolutely not true that he only started to blow once Shaq made the pass which is what I've seen a number of fans suggest.

[JRed]

If we don’t buy atleast one CB ( which it looks like we won’t) top 4 will be the best we can hope. We are playing ok defensively but taking Fabino out of midfield seriously weakens us. If we could get him back in midfield ,and get Jota back in to replace Firmino , we would still have a chance of the title. We’re obviously not out of it yet but the lack of goal threat is very worrying.

[elsewhere]

What is that Haaland talk in every topic I see here? Do we have any solid source and should I be hopeful?

[killer-heels]

What is that Haaland talk in every topic I see here? Do we have any solid source and should I be hopeful?

No.

However it’s more realistic than those nutters shouting for Mbappe. But considering we can’t even afford a centreback I reckon people are thinking allowed their video game strategy.

[dh07kop]

To be fair the ref started to blow the whistle before Shaqiri even received the ball to make the through ball to Mane. Watch back again and you will see that he started to blow the whistle just as Salah played the ball to Shaq. He still should have played the full 46 mins mind you but it's absolutely not true that he only started to blow once Shaq made the pass which is what I've seen a number of fans suggest.

So how do you feel about the offsides in the first half where he let man utd play on, only to then blow the whistle after their attack failed and we were about to play the counter attack. Bear that in mind and then think of the second half were we got the flag raised straight away and the whistle blown immediately for an offside.

[El Lobo]

If we can get our mojo back, we can stll win the remaining 20 games and finish on 94 points. It'll click at some point, Burnley this week would be a good place to start.

Not sure I share the optimism of winning 20 in a row

We can definitely go double figures in a row though, and at this point I think even 5/6 in a row builds a decent gap

[Macca201188]

So how do you feel about the offsides in the first half where he let man utd play on, only to then blow the whistle after their attack failed and we were about to play the counter attack. Bear that in mind and then think of the second half were we got the flag raised straight away and the whistle blown immediately for an offside.

The offside thing was weird. Every single United one that lino drained every last chance it might have been onside, but for us the tightest decisions by the same lino were instantly flagged.

[redk84]

was expecting a draw if not a narrow win for us so wasn't hugely surprised by the result.

Balance is off from the team having to adjust because of the CB situation but we are progressing the ball well enough to the final third, if not always at the sort of pace that would be ideal......it's just we can't seem to score.
Full on complex has set in about how to put the ball in the onion bag across the front 3 and unfortunately no Jota to come in atm to help.

Front 3 haven't ALL been off form for this long and it is costing us dearly. Usually can count on some magic from one or two of them per game but its just not happening.
We've only lost one game in this stint, and United at home isn't the worst fixture to get a draw from but we really need to get back to winning ways sharpish because City look ominous and even the draws are harming us now

Ref blew up every time one of them hit the deck and was infuriating which didnt help either

[BoRed]

To be fair the ref started to blow the whistle before Shaqiri even received the ball to make the through ball to Mane. Watch back again and you will see that he started to blow the whistle just as Salah played the ball to Shaq. He still should have played the full 46 mins mind you but it's absolutely not true that he only started to blow once Shaq made the pass which is what I've seen a number of fans suggest.

He had no business blowing the whistle regardless of where the ball was, it was supposed to be a minimum of one minute added on. And the ball was out of play at least half of that minute anyway. The three minutes added on in the second half were a joke as well, Bruno's substitution took longer than that.

Are there ball-in-play stats available anywhere for PL games?

[has gone odd]

It was a dire game, more so from utd who only found rhythm in the last 5 mins. I winced at Bobby's chances and that is that. Ali was fantastic, when needed and our defence, considering the issues, has been magnificent. Dont know what to say about our forwards, not been at the races for a while and i guess that is a worry. We get Matip and Jota or Keith back and its going to be a fun season!

[Bold Warrior]

well its as simple as losing the pace at the back has necessarily made us less dynamic going forward. we played about the highest line in the history of the world and now weve given half or more of that back plus lost one half of a bombing on fullback to d support. its hurt us at the top shelf. its just that simple. We have compensated very well on the D end that Fab my god hes so good.

Still an outstanding football team though. If we had played like that against the mancs in any of our lean years we would be over the moon with the complete exposure of the frauds charlatan Bruno and Paul and besides ourselves about our inability to finish them off so deservedly. Even keels, lads. The teams just hamstrung, its not dead. I told everyone at the start of the year losing the Crowds was going to hurt us savagely, far more so than anyone else, and it was going to be hard.

Well , its hard. If we see it through it would be the teams most impressive achievement to date. Ive still got us down for a double, pick any 2 of your 3 trophy's. 

This pretty much sums it up for me too.You cant tell on TV but id guess were defending 5 yards or so deeper and the fullbacks arent camped in the opponents half as much as they normally do,due to a cautionary stance.Im pretty sure this impacts on our press as well because theres more space for the opponents to play in,weve not seen many win backs of the ball deep in the opponents half this season as a result. Fabs doing an outstanding job there as did Hendo yesterday but losing those two in MF also takes a lot from us,so in effect its having a negative effect on all parts of our team. I remember the front three having a barren spell a couple of seasons ago as well.They bounced back and will this season,lets just hope it happens before its too late. Ah well maybe its the year for number 7 over the league.