A DRAW was probably a fair result. Tottenham were impressive, the best team to come to Anfield this year by a fair stretch. Yet, despite some careless passing, we actually found it easier to create chances against them than many other teams this year.
Because they moved it so well from back to front we were slightly hesitant to press and pockets of space emerged for Spurs that they could have made more of. But several times we did win it high up, and it was then we looked our most dangerous. Jürgen will know what needs to be done to ensure we outplay them next time.
Simon Mignolet: 5
Annoyingly hesitant all day. Let one go through his hands, too. Nothing he could do about the goal though.
Nathaniel Clyne: 7.5
Thought he was terrific, showing the full range of his game. First half in particular he attacked with purpose, while in the second he had to show his defensive side. Two good right backs on display today.
Alberto Moreno: 7
A few Albie moments but was a great outlet for us, and linked up well with Coutinho.
Dejan Lovren: 9
He probably needs to be tighter for the goal, which is a real shame as he didn’t deserve to be punished for one error when his partner made 50. Read the game brilliantly and was confident and decisive.
Mamadou Sakho: 4
You could probably get a decent highlights reel out of his performance today. But my my what you’d leave out. Passed to them a lot, failed to clear a few and lost a 50/50 with himself. You can see why managers aren’t sure about him.
Emre Can: 5
Back to ‘bad Emre’ after a good month. Someone will no doubt hit me with his pass completion rate, but it’s irrelevant when the ones he gives away are casual passes to dangerous opponents in terrible positions.
Jordan Henderson: 6
Struggled to get going but much better second half. Got caught a couple of times with men behind him. Seemed a bit unsure of his position at times. But two or three great passes.
James Milner: 5
Every now and again a game just looks too quick for him. Surprised he lasted as long as he did.
Adam Lallana: 7
Our best presser, winning it high up and setting us off on more than one occasion. Really unlucky not to score first half.
Philippe Coutinho: 8
Looked a little tired in the legs but always sharp in the mind. Takes the goal brilliantly and is at the centre of most things good. Lucky to have him.
Daniel Sturridge: 6
If he’s not going to press or score he might fall out with the manager. But then he does that for the goal.
SUBS
Divock Origi: 6
Skins a man wide right. Sets up Coutinho well on another occasion. Good to see him shooting.
Joe Allen: 6
Enjoying ‘final third Joe’. Loves a second ball.
Jordon Ibe: N/A
Pretty much agree though for me Hendo was at least a 7. I feel he gets back and makes defensive plays that other midfielders just don’t. Bailed Can out on one occasion and busted a gut to get back after yet another one of our useless corners near the end. Just whip it in to the near post and get someone to flick it on.
Couldn’t understand why we were trying to play it out from the back when it was just what they wanted.
Would normally have been unhappy the draw but pleased to have helped Leicester. I can live with them winning the league, but not Spurs.
Told my lad Lovren was a ten and he gives him a nine. If he had a bike I’d let his tyres down.
Really really want to love Sahko the player as much as I love the man. I’ve spent two years telling people they’re wrong about him but I’ve run out steam defending him this season, his ability to start an attack isn’t enough to make up for for just how shakey he is at his bread and butter. I Can’t look past a Lovren and Matip partnership next season which will mean almost certainly Sahko leaves.
Thought the 5 for Mig was harsh. Definitely hesitant on a couple when he had too make s decision but at least a 6 for me given the good saves.
I struggle with Clyne going forward. I think Walker is better. Clyne better defender though.
Lovern absolutely immense, felt for him on that one crucial mistake.
I’m done with Sakho, that was embarrassing and I now feel stupid for sticking up for him when media etc questioned him early in his LFC career.
I think Albie will be better with someone more solid next to him.
I think 6 for hendo is very harsh. I thought he was immense. Great captains performance. 8 for me.
Agree on the others… I love milners effort but I don’t want him starting more than 10 league games next season. Just not good enough on the ball too often. And don’t start me on his corners… Woeful… All season… Drives me mad. Can’t wait for Goetze .
Totally agree on your comment on Studg.
But a great game. Loved it. Only a shame we weren’t up there fighting for it with them.
Coutinho steps in the foot-falls of titans. They the curious result of the Italians lacking imagination and passion. Of stardust caught 8 and a half million times. Concentrated into the tiny frame of the ire of reason; he should not be that good. Can not be that good.
Oh Coutinho please tell you me, what does it feel like to win a header? The lads a giant. 10 feet tall with the physique of a 14 year old girl. His feet make the ball feel codependant, his contract contains a therapist on retainer because it’s not safe for the ball to slip away. Legend. We haven’t had a Legend in a while but the sly laddie. He gave us the best dive since Suarez flopped at Moyes’ feet. The best response too.
Coutinho wears the shirt.
He sees double. Each eye it’s own sensor to examine two possibilities simultaneously. Watch him tracking Yaya (an ironic name from Mister Me First) with his right eye while locking onto the rocketing Firmino, runners through the middle, the build up to Can’s backheel and the most glorious goal I’ve seen in my dreams.
He reminds of Torres, they both produce the same optical illusion in their boots when they appear to glide.
Coutinho is fire though. That’s what matters the most I say, when you run hot and cold. He’s our lump of coal. Merely increase pressure and watch the diamond expose itself.
He shoots with alacrity and authority he runs with his eyes and ears as much as his legs and he’s utterly soulless when he plunges the knife. Ask de Gea. Ask him where he realized he was cooked.
Woeful defending merely allows the audacious a stage to try the impossible and show the world what happens when a heart beats faster behind the roar of a crowd in thst glorious split second before the debut of his newest trick.
I said it yesterday because I believed it. Coutinho is a giant. He’s bloody huge. He wants a banner and a flag with his bloody gawking grin great big plastered all over it.
Good. We need more players who want to be Gods.
Just don’t call him little anymore. His game is atoo big for that title now.
Today was definitely a day for both those who defend Sturridge to the hilt and those who are uncertain about him post-injuries.
He doesn’t press, isn’t occupying defenders enough, seems to have lost more than a yard of pace, and misses a sitter that we would’ve slaughtered Benteke for. But yeah, he was great for the goal, and when he and Coutinho link up like that, the class is obvious.
Still have more than a sneaking suspicion he won’t be here next season, which doesn’t at all mean I want him gone.
Sometimes I have these fantasies of compiling clips of Emre Can doing completely boneheaded things, but then I feel really guilty about having the thought. It is not even so much Can, the player, as it is the people who insist that he has been incredible this season.
Spent the day telling people that there is no way that Milner should start over Allen, so what’s one more time. There is no way that Milner should start over Allen.
Was really surprised that we didn’t get more balls beyond their incredibly high line. Credit to Spurs for keeping us off balance. thought it was going to be a cracker, and so it proved.
Harsh on Migs.
Sakho & Moreno drive me up the wall. Moreno in the Echo in the week talking about being a defender first & an attacker second, then produces that performance in the first half. Mignolet deserves more than a 5, two great saves.
It’s fine to slate Moreno but before you do ask yourself which side of the pitch gave then the most joy. For someone who wasn’t defending and was being protected primarily by Coutinho he sure gave up a lot of…oh wait, Moreno defended like a man possessed sometimes, absolutely fearless and made a massively important block when Chadli let fly near the end mate.
Come on, give Mignolet some credit for three excellent saves! As you say, he couldnt do anything about the goal. He did his job very well, and should at least have 6 – like Sturridge, who had one good pass.
Fuck off, where are you gettin a 7 from for Moreno????? Bad these ratings sometimes
Thought we were alright. I’m sleeping fine.
Well said.
Yeah I’m with you mate. Struggled to see anyone out there who should walk off less than a 6, if you want to concentrate solely on numbers. Even Sakho’s crazy first half had us walking in at half time with a clean sheet intact. Despite his mad errors he managed a couple of good recoveries and improved massively second half.
No, good show all round for me, proud we held the form team of the league to just the one goal and miffed we didn’t score a second. Content.
Thought Henderson did well all day. Did Captain’s work. (although his shot was ill-advised — those went in during 13/14, but he hasn’t been playing like that for a while….That might have been Lovren’s best day as a Red. For anyone following on Twitter during the match — the stick Milner was getting just smacked of awful and undeserved. He was fine. Was it Milner is really that awful or could it be that Tottenham are playing that good? It’s not like he had an own goal? They incepted so many of our passes in the middle it was like they had magnets in their boots.
Sakho “lost a 50/50 with himself”.
Brilliant. Sad, but brilliant.
Sakho is probably a phenomonal break dancer with how effortlessly he goes to the ground.
It’s fine to not like Mignolet, but try not to be fucking stupid about it.
Poor Gibbo getting slayed for giving Migs a 6! The keeper in the first half who called for the ball then strolled towards it as harry kane was flying towards it and nearly scored!?! I was gonna say you rated him too high… But fear the backlash after reading the comments!! As always gibbo – my favourite read on the net
This is why I feel more people should adopt my model of not trying to make any sense. Certainly any criticism found within my comments would be pretty well veiled.
All opinion but I also thought Moreno was terrible again. Surprised Hendersons score wasn’t higher. thought it was his best game in a long time and gave me hope he can get back to last years form.
Lovren would have to be no more than an eight for getting caught out for the goal,Mignolet a six,Can was dire again,thinks he’s far better than he actually is.Henderson did as well as his limited ability allows.Still it was a good game and a fair result,but a good job that Kane had a poor first half and couldn’t take advantage of Sakhos slips.
Sakho is world class post United and then done after this weekend. Lovren is the man noe but he was subbed at half time last time out. The fickle modern day football fan at his best.
At the end of the day Sakho is good but flawed, just like every cb in the league. John stones is a less good version of him and will be sold for 40m. We’ve bigger issues that need attention than replacing Sakho. Or Moreno for that matter who was very good yesterday.
Think you’re very harsh on our midfield three. Thought it was a high quality enjoyable game, ruined / enhanced by the optical illusion that is Sakho. The footballing discourse simply can’t explain the man.
Liked the Emre Can rating, mate.
We watch football. We know what we see. Do we need a million stats to try and make us see things differently? No.
Can aside, we’ve been poor on set pieces since Suarez left and even longer on corners. We don’t need the stats to back that up. It’s clear as day. It doesn’t matter how many shots Mignolet saves, he’s not good enough. I just have a feeling there are people on Twitter who instead of going to games are pouring over historic spreadsheets to try and change a narrative. We’ve got eyes. We go to Anfield. We know what we see. That’s all we need.
Haha the beat generation is making a comeback. Speaking of set pieces, have we ever over the past 10 years defended them properly? Rafa used to get slaughtered for using zonal marking on corners. It’s like our flu or something, comes around every season for awhile and makes us crap our collective pants for a few months. Or perhaps herpes. It just keeps coming back to haunt us.
To crash that train of thought: what STD is most representative of our LBs since Riise?
It’s clear to all (I think it was Tomkins who initially enlightened us to it) that Klopp see’s our side as too small in height. I put it down to Rodgers trying to create a new Barca but it’s been an issue longer than that. My point is, to defend a corner put into the box you need either a) big lads or b) centre halves who can head a ball and preferably both. I don’t think Skrtel can head a ball and I’m not convinced Agger could either. Obviously, a keeper who hasn’t come for a corner in all his time at LFC only perpetuates that. I believe we’ve improved on corners since Sakho has come in and Lovren will always throw his head at it too.
With Matip we’ll improve further. Funnily enough, most of our successes at corners recently came from Skrtel with about 5 goals in the season he scored 7, but then he had Sturridge and Suarez distracting defenders. Before that was Torres but he’s 6’1 and can certainly head a ball well. Carroll got a couple too on the rare occasions he was fit. Our midfield are not gonna score from corners.
So, to summarise. We defend and attack corners badly because we’ve had no height. Klopp will address that. I expect to see us score more from corners next season and defend them better.
I’d compare having Migs in goal to ED. And apparently contagious impotence as well.
Feel like this has been and could continue to be in Lallana’s match rating every week: “Really unlucky not to score first half.”
At some point it’s got to be more than being unlucky. He is an awful awful finisher
Think I have to bump Coutinho to 9. He put the team on his back again. He was at the center of every attack, scored the goal, put Lallana in twice and won a ball and immediately played a brilliant ball on Sturridge’s head that an in form Sturridge scores.
As great as Lovren was a 9 is a stretch when it was him man who scored the goal. 7.5 or 8 for him. 5 for Lallana.
The rest is pretty spot on. Maybe a 6 for Migs. He made a couple decent saves but agree way too decisive. Nice to see Lovren get on him.
Moreno still can’t tackle. When he’s chasing back, it’s a left foot lunge, regardless of the angle that he’s coming from. When it’s a 50/50 or needs a standing tackle, his method is to close his eyes and with a wild swipe, boot it dead hard with no clue about where it may go or no care to try and retain control of the ball post tackle. Hence the regular fouls or missed tackles! And somehow, for that he’s first choice LB at Liverpool FC.
He’s disgustingly one footed, absolutely braindead positionally and when he does get forward, his crosses have no craft or guile to them, just hit and hope. Proper shite!
Not quiet sure where Moreno deserved a 7 to be honest. Looked pretty dreadful to me…
God, I must have put my rose-tinted specs on by mistake. For all his faults, Migs is a first class stopper as he demonstrates again and again. So he nearly turned the ball over in the area with the ball at his feet. Get over it. How about his shot stopping. Get behind it. Certainly at least a 6. Moreno: Thought he had his best defensive game yet – maybe Klopp’s getting through to him at last. Sakho, oh dear, nuff said. Henderson: Very pleased for him though his critics still can’t let go. Can did my head in. LFC: loved the attitude. Same again on Thurs. please.