GOD, I don’t half feel sorry for Gibbons, although I’m sure he’s had a great time.
Hard watching that.
Anyway, the ratings…
Loris Karius: 6
Good, strong hand on a long range effort in the first half that had ‘upset’ written all over it, bending, swerving and dipping with ALL of the venom.
Flapped at a few bits and pieces but always made contact.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 8
All the young lads get a bonus point, why? Because they’re my ratings.
Anyway, tough opening quarter of an hour but grew into it and made an absolute beast of a goal-saving tackle.
Is right, young Trent.
Joe Gomez: 7
Had a handful to deal with and wasn’t offered much protection either, factor in a ridiculous early yellow card, a performance and experience that will only stand him in good stead at centre-half.
Lucas Leiva: 7
Always puts it all in, always has a moment that’ll scare you to death.
Last time Lucas got on the scoresheet the world was a much better place, maybe it’s a sign?
Alberto Moreno: 6
Easy to be a scapegoat, tried to take responsibility and was relatively disciplined.
Don’t know if it was luck or design for the penno but if it was the latter it was very clever play.
Kevin Stewart: 5
Loses out on the youth bonus point cause he’s the same age as Emre Can.
Maybe it’s on the manager but he was never going to consistently compete with a fella about a foot taller than him.
Ovie Ejaria: 6
Neither him or Stewart looked particularly good tonight but to be fair most of the ball was over the lad’s head and the pitch wasn’t the greatest either.
Philippe Coutinho: 5
If ever there was a case of playing within yourself with an eye on the weekend this was it, and I’m absolutely fine with it.
Ben Woodburn: 7
Doesn’t lack confidence, that’s for sure. Never ducked it, nothing much came off but always willing to try and make something happen.
Has a certain poise about him and reminds me a bit of a certain Spaniard.
Divock Origi: 5
Looks absolutely shorn at the moment, probably explains the extra coaching sessions he’s having, but looked less likely to score that penalty than Chad in the League Cup Final.
Had his best spell after the miss but not enough. Poor.
Daniel Sturridge: 5
Nothing into feet and nothing to work with, nor was he involved enough off his own steam.
SHOULD have had a penalty too, and looked to be getting a little bit of joy as Plymouth tired but will have wanted to do more.
SUBS
Harry Wilson: 7
Near gegenpressed a goal with his first touch.
Sheyi Ojo: 7
Looked very dangerous when he came on, can’t not have been noted.
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Did you clock Divvy’s eyes has he had the ball on the pen spot? No confidence at all, eyes down at the ground, shifting up nervous glances to that bottom left corner. I think we all knew where that kick was going.
Did you clock Divvy’s eyes as he had the ball on the pen spot? No confidence at all, eyes down at the ground, shifting up nervous glances to that bottom left corner. I think we all knew where that kick was going.
Really pleased with Ben Woodburn’s trying hard to create and make things happen. For such a young boy, he was trying hard coming inside to get the ball and link up or create chances for more senior pros ahead of him. (Ok, Origi is still a kid though).
Trent and Ojo stood out too, in my opinion.
Bright future for these boys.
As soon as Origi stepped up to take the penalty I had this nagging feeling he wasn’t going to score. Maybe it was how he’d been playing or his body language, I don’t know, but he had such a different vibe to Millie when he takes penalties (the ball’s as good as in the net when he puts it on the spot).
It’s quite hard to judge what you should expect of players in games like these because on the pitch there’s such a variation in standard and experience when all 22 players are taken into account. I came away feeling the older players should’ve done better and the younger players held their own.
It was worth it all, though, just to see Lucas score. It felt similar to the last time I saw Haley’s comet.
Haley’s Comet :))) brought a big smile to me.
I was then listening to Liverpool on BBC Radio and occasional Beatles songs on cassette tapes.
Karius won’t be forcing his way past Migs anytime soon, eh?
Made up for all the young ones. A good day at the office, especially for TA-A. But an extra smile for Gomez, who must be thrilled to be back in the mix.
“Last time Lucas got on the scoresheet the world was a much better place.”
Depends on how you feel about the Hodgson era.
Agree with the ratings overall, but thought it was a bit of a daft performance from Sturridge didn’t seem to have any interest in making it happen for himself (not always a bad thing, but when you’re one of the senior pros, you should).
Thought Plymouth tried well enough to have a go after going down, and Karius will be counting his stars after that Jarvis hit off the post; shame he’s already 25, looked their liveliest player.
I was away for work and so only caught the last 35 mins but i thought Joe Gomez was pure class for that period. He seemed strong at the back and he looked unbelievably calm and composed in possession. He played numerous balls out perfectly to feet, he had that one were he skinned the guy in the touch line which started the lovely move with the Wilson/woodburn (couldn’t tell them apart!) step over and he also, with 5 mins to play, calmly put the ball out for a throw so we. Hold regroup when in a tight situation. I was hugely impressed. Funny, he reminds me of Joel Matip.
The end bit should read “so we could regroup when in a tight situation”.
The Woodburn/Torres comparison is spot on. I made same comparison in the first match at Anfield. Not saying he’ll go on to he at that level. But there’s something about his poise on the ball, the way he carries it and the way he squares up an opponent that is very reminiscent of El Niño. Good shout.
Trent isn’t half bad is he! Bloody hell. And I thought Wilson showed glimpses of real quality in his decision making, touch and assertiveness. Good lads these.
Woodburn reminds you of Josemi too?
Thought the lads did great.. Who knows how many, if any, will be in the first team in a few years but there is certainly strength and ability there. As for Origi. I start to think that he’s not good enough, doesn’t bring enough and is unlikely to terrify a defence. But then he’s only a kid too. What’s the prospect of him turning into a great striker? And sturridge. I’ve stuck up for him alot but is he really the striker we need? What else is available? How do they compare?