DON’T know where to start, don’t know what to say.
A result like that hurts — and so it should. On the fourth Emre Can was punching the turf in frustration. And so he should. Many of the travelling support had long since left and headed for home. And you can’t really blame them either.
After a positive enough start in which Liverpool were causing City problems, particular through Mo Salah, whose decision-making and end product repeatedly let him down, The Reds handed them a goal on a plate. It was far too easy to open The Reds up. A theme for the match with the ball hitting the net seven times. Fortunately, the worst word even if it’s the right word, only five counted.
The game hinged on the sending off — from a match Liverpool were having a say in, to a game that was all but over. In the ground, from the vertigo-inducing third tier, it looked like Sadio Mane made an honest attempt for the ball. A man on a mission to nick it and score rather than a ticking bomb hell bent on injuring an opponent. By now you’ll know better. Dozens of angles, many more replays. So you tell me.
Whatever, it was done. And at 10 v 11, Liverpool rolled over. The second was an action replay of a disallowed effort minutes before. The Reds all over the show defensively, City sensing blood. A young right back will have days like these. A third-choice centre back likewise. The first-choice lads didn’t do much better. The questions about the transfer window remain. No better defenders out there, or hanging on for Virgil van Dijk in January? Already it looks like time to roll out the prayer mat and speak to the big man about making it the latter.
The rest? Back to knowing what else there is to say. Salah’s substitution was a strange one given he had caused so many problems. He was an outlet. His pace disguises a poorly-hit pass (and there were plenty of those). To see him hooked suggested a white flag. Many fans thought 2-0 down with 10 men away versus the favourites to win the league was too much to ask. It appeared players and staff decided the same.
It’s easy to say we should just write this off. One of them. We move on. We focus on Sevilla. There is loads of merit and sense in that view and ultimately that’s what will happen from now on in.
But when standing in torrential rain waiting for a tram surrounded by crowing Mancs, forgive me if I wanted more. Some pride, some passion, some sorting things out so the scoreline doesn’t end so embarrassing.
And on their fans, well I’m going there. Why are they singing about Steven Gerrard seconds after kick off? How is that relevant? What is it for? It’s a tad small-time for a club that loves to tell us how big it is.
Then the “victims” song. Belted out with vigour. Over and over. Including on the final whistle after winning 5-0.
What does the song mean? What’s the purpose of it? I asked a few City fans and got blank looks. So why are you singing it? Liverpool fans were the victims at Hillsborough. It wasn’t our fault. Fact set in stone. What else is the song referring to? Never our fault? Some Liverpool fans were culpable at Heysel. Some were tried and jailed. Again, fact. I just don’t get it. We’re having a chat about 1985 and 1989 when you’re having the perfect day here and now in 2017. Ignorance or being just plain thick? I’ll leave it up to you.
All Liverpool can do now is look to Wednesday. Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez have watched their stock rise without touching a ball. Coutinho must be considered. If there are positives to take, and please, really, I know — then Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Solanke did OK. But you know, 5-0.
If you’ve got this far well done. We’ll have better days. Hopefully Wednesday is one of them. Up the fuck off City Reds.
READ: Manchester City 5 Liverpool 0: The Final Whistle
READ: Manchester City 5 Liverpool 0: Match Ratings
READ: Manchester City 5 Liverpool 0: The Ref Gave Pep The Reprieve City Needed
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The worst thing was our spineless cave in. Just as in the EUROPA cup final so we have history with Klopp.
Eh?
Well said, Robbo. The ‘victims’ chanting is sickening. With all that’s been revealed it’s dismal from the football authorities that this malevolence is tolerated. It would take one club to be sanctioned by the FA for this to start extinguishing the hate. Given their own culpability you would hope for better.
Alright Robbo, nice piece in the worst circumstances. In my book Atkinson owes you multiple pints for having swerved this one.
City fans were and always will be small time. Can’t fill that stadium for a lot of games.
We aren’t going to win major trophies with the defenders currently on our books. We can hype them up all we like and they can have good days, but none of them bar possibly Matip are consistently good enough for a title winning side. Our goalie isn’t at the level of Chelsea’s or Utd’s either so we don’t even have that organizing influence at the back.
Flawed recruitment in the summer, the norm under FSG since 2010, will have us very lucky to get 4th again.
Meant to say I was ashamed of that performance but it will happen again because we have not strengthened the team when we should have.
A lot of comment on our fans booing their keeper when he was carried off. If so we should shut up about their’s.
On there fans robbo why boo Milner?! He gave good years of service to city and decided to leave when his contract ran out to sign with us for less money and more playing time, just sums up a plastic small time club with plastic fans
Not bothered by City fans. Proles who think they’re bourgeoisie. Bunch of Soccer AM watching benders.
Justified sh**e ! We have no defence and did NOTHING to rectify this and we are now beginning to see the results. Say what you like about attack we will drop down the table rapidly as the year goes on.
Fuck off you idiot
Liverpool started well and the opening 20 mins favoured them. Salah had the better of Otamendhi as he would most defenders, and it was surprising that City did not put a second man on him when Lpool pressed.
First goal for City cut Lpool in two right through the middle.
As for the sending off of Mane. He is not a dirty player. He genuinely thought he was first to the ball. Sadly for him, his foot was so high he caught Ederson in the face. Ederson was not stooping when going for the ball.
Clear red card.
What resulted was capitulation by Lpool. City got 5 but should have got 7 or 8. Man of the match Jesus was taken off after 53 mins.
Mignolet was not at fault.
City today were a different class.
And Don’t give me any of this knee jerk bollocks. Until Klopp kicks his stubbourness and buys a CB we will continue to see results and performances like these. It will hold us back all season. If he refuses to buy a CB then he needs to bring in a defensive coach. We were a shambles when he took over and we are still a shambles nothing has changed in the slightest. Its just so horribly predictable..
Sick of hearing it was hard to improve our cb stocks when all they needed to do was turn off the fax machine on deadline day
Thanks for writing this review Gareth despite the loss and that stupid immature stuff by the City fans.
For me the positives were:
– Mane still looks a better threat than Firmino or Salah
– Mane gets to play in the CL
– Coutinho will play eventually and bring some much needed creativity
– Mignolet didn’t really bring his comedy act this time and I don’t blame him for the goals, some of them were just class
– We have Sevilla to take this loss out on
– We still have time to sort this out in the EPL
Negatives:
– the sending off was tough but happens. So it’s how we react that matters – for the reds it seemed not to matter
– Both teams had players returning from the break – so what’s our excuse?
– Yes we were shell-shocked, but WTF was that?! We caved in instead of limiting the damage – anyone else who thinks we can outscore and have a fantastic trio of attackers, to watch the game again, especially the first half before Mane’s sending off
– We can’t take freekicks from outside the D. It’s too close for some of our players. Only Willian, and other players from other teams can score these when needed.
– Mane was reckless and did leave some studs on the goalkeeper – no use crying about it
– Go down 10 men and 0-1, and Klopp has no defensive plan; Gives me the impression that he doesn’t think long term, as goals against can come back to haunt us later in the season
– Klopp, when needed most, seems to make subs that continue to be baffling
– Lack of defensive buys during the last transfer window is highlighted
– Salah repeated his form against Real Madrid when he played for Roma. He runs fast though
– Henderson is no use as a captain nor even as a player; Ferguson was right about him sadly
– Gini does a disappearing genie act back into his lamp – should throw the lamp in the mersey
– We will never find and buy players like Sane – with 10 men down or not he can pick out the net when he feels like it
– Wondering what Klavan offers us
– Felt bad for the Ox – took a beating leaving, two weeks later took another beating coming in and probably just seeing the Arsenal thumping of Mighty Bournemouth
– Feel really bad for the traveling fans, and having to listen to that bullshit stuff from the city fans
Never change a winning a side, maybe some believing there own press after Arsenal….Klopp still not learning and still not sorting out defensive frailities. Irrespective of not getting your target (Apparent from June) work with what you have and teach the art of defending – he was a bloody centre half himself so surely he has some idea of what it takes…..
Shut up pal, 10 men away against city nigh on impossible
Beaut, nobody was expecting the win, neither the total surrender. Dickhead
2 of their goals came via a staight ball between the 2 CB’s to Aguero.
So easy and so embarrassing that, 10 men or no 10 men.
Yep. 10 or 11 men doesn’t change anything. It was so easy for them. We have a soft belly, and rollover far to easy to expose it.
Every time I see Jon Moss on the sheet, I think, well, there’ll be some cocked up game swinging call today, anf glibly tell myself, maybe it will benefit us this time. So, thought Fernandinho could have been buzzed for a foul on the first, maybe that’s it today. Nope Moss shows us all why he will never be a select official. We shouldn’t have given up 5, WTF went through my head 1000 times when I saw Klavan on the sheet, but that s/o rightly deflated everyone. Not only that, we see the true knock-on effect of that type of piss poor officiating late in the match when Hendo chased the ball into Claudio Bravo’s area, pounds to cake, if Moss hadn’t shit the hed earlier on the game he sticks his foot out, and maybe wins it. We see that tackle almost weekly across grounds against field players, most of the time it’s a yellow, maybe just a foul. Ederson comes out and puts his head down, Mané does what every player song the dawn of time does, tries to win the ball. I’m sorry, but when a keeper co as out like that, he’s a field player, not a defenseless piece of porcelain serving dish who’s jumped in the air, officials need to start treating them like any other player on the field. I’m glad Ederson isn’t as seriously hurt as it originally looked, but people het injured, but that’s not what criteria for making the decision to send him off. F*** it though, we have CL on Wednesday, Mané doesn’t need to be wasted at Burnley or Leicester anyhow.
The “Steven Gerrard” chant is outdated, and very boring now. I was embarrassed when I heard us singing it. Got to say though that Ederson was on the ground for a long time without even moving and when carried off. Not knowing how seriously injured he was your fans didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory booing him as if he was to blame for the sending off, hence the chant “It’s never your fault”
There is no excuse for our fans booing Ederson.
Fucking embarrassing.
Talk about a game of fine margins. (Yes, a cliche but only because it’s so true.) If the City goalkeeper hesitated for even a split second, Mane’s through and scores. If Mane touches the ball before the keeper, the keeper gets sent off not Mane. Very different game either way.
I reckon if Mane levels the game there, we win 3-1 with Otamendi sent off ten minutes into the second half for a second yellow on Salah.
Keep the faith.
Is right Dale spot on. What’s with our fans leaving early? You can’t get away tickets for love nor money stay to the bitter end you part time tossers.
Just watched Freiburg play with 10 men for an hour against Borussia Dortmund. They got a 0-0 draw. Dortmund were S econd top scorers last season behind only Bayern Munich. So it can be done – damage limitation. Defend properly and have an out-ball. Liverpool didn’t defend and subbed their out-ball player when Salah came off.
That said, we were the better team for first 20 mins. Shows we are capable, but then it all unravelled.
As for the City supporters, they almost the same as all the other supporters of English teams. Next Saturday Burnley fans will sing “sign on, sign on” – fucking employment hot-spot that is Burnley! They’ll sing “where’s your famous atmosphere” – again, fucking Burnley. They’ll do the Gerrard song, the “you nicked our stereo” and the tiresome “we support our local team”. That’s what English fans do – a humourless 1980s repertoire dressed up as bantz. What is different is the chants about victims, murderers etc. That sets City aside and firmly in the same camp as their Sun-reading mates from Old Trafford. Thought it was a Man U thing – looks like it’s a Greater Manchester one…
A defense that is built on presssing isn’t going to do well down to 10 men. Chelsea and United may have been able to sit in and at least limit the damage but the way we are set up, losing the ability to press our opponent (especially when they are as good on the ball as city) completely neuters on of our key strengths. One that gave us such a good record against the top 6 last season.
Saw a great stat today from Dan Kennett
In top 6 games over the last 7 years where one side was down to 10 men for at least 30 minutes…what do you think the aggregate score is?
40 to 6! The side with 11 has scored a goal every 20 minutes against the side with 10.
Interesting stat. Probably means that you really need to know how to sit in and play 10 behind the ball to be effective. Also, despite what people have said, if Klopp just surrendered at 2-0 he would have copped it from all sides saying we should have tried to get something out of the game.
Another one on their fans – I really don’t get the booing of Milner, a player who helped them win 2 league titles
I get the Gerrard chant – think City (maybe Chelsea) are the only fans who have the right to sing it. City did win the league after ‘the slip’, so they benefited most from it. Makes no sense if Burnley sing it for example. On the Victims chant – for some reason the chant which was coined by United fans has stuck and is now just sang by all. Bit like ‘sign on’ – think I heard that on Saturday. Liverpool and Manchester are so similar in terms of cities, I don’t know why people would sing this?