WIN or die, the banner read before kick off. Win or die.
Liverpool, endlessly contrary, chose neither. They come away from Moscow the better side but not the winning side; they come away from Moscow a side that has failed to win but one unlikely to die in the Champions League before Christmas.
There’s a lesson here, possibly for us but by God it feels like it is a lesson for them. The lesson should be how hard it is to win football matches at times and how easy it is to die, to lose, to be and feel finished even when you are not.
I could talk endlessly about the passage of play which leads to the freekick that leads to the Moscow goal. Endlessly about chewing it in midfield, about blind alleys and crazy decision making. But the Liverpool player in question is just trying to play, doing his best with the instructions he has been given. Doing his best to win and not die.
He is wrong. He is most definitely wrong.
But he will not accept not a little death. No small deaths for Liverpool. Not accepting small deaths led to Liverpool being forced to take a medium-sized one.
I want Liverpool teams to play and play. To desire and demand. To be ambitious. To want to live up to our songs and demands. But occasionally that involves regrouping and taking a backwards step to take one 500 miles forwards and then possibly 500 more.
Everything Liverpool do should be about being the best versions of themselves and yet. And yet. At some point we need to collectively swallow being the best version of ourselves is not possible again and again, and again, and again. At some point we need to just take what we have and have another look.
Liverpool, the magnificent idealists. Liverpool, the wastrels.
The essence of the game is that Liverpool have more than enough to leave Moscow not just with all the points but with all the points and then some. Liverpool utterly outclassed their opposition this evening and demonstrated a superiority which should have led to taking the group away. But they weren’t able to do so and as such it becomes as much a matter for individuals as for their manager but the manager doesn’t escape without question.
Yet again Liverpool were anxious and pulling at their efforts, yet again The Reds were trying to force the issue. At some stage we need to wonder whether the madness is ours or theirs. I am usually more than happy to remember our role in all of this but tonight was a game played away from home and yet again Liverpool’s supposedly cooler than thou footballers found themselves anything but.
They love you Liverpool they do. Don’t always presume this is a good thing. It’s Phil Coutinho who gets everything right in front of the sticks, the man with nothing to prove after the weekend, the man who wants to impress beyond even the worldwide diaspora.
There was a rash of bad days at the office, bad days that remind you it isn’t an office but a football ground. Yet Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge and Mo Salah should all be on flights home having a variation on a think. These lads love Liverpool but they should also love the idea of the winner and it was lacking this evening. Another game Liverpool should have won disappears from the wing mirrors. The chances aren’t endless.
Instead we’re left again cursing very poor goalkeeping while acknowledging that Liverpool defended well as a collective and in two or three cases splendidly as individuals. Moscow didn’t get near our goal apart from those and that set piece(s), being left taking time out of a home game. Jordan Henderson’s all round contribution matched that of Saturday evening and Dejan Lovren loved the contest and won it at every opportunity.
Liverpool didn’t though and that is what matters. Instead they are left needing to produce the goods. I suspect they will but seeing them fail to demonstrate how good they are grows tiring.
This thing of ours — we want Liverpool to be BY FAR the greatest team. BY FAR. BY FAR is what it might take this season but BY FAR is the hardest. Start with just being the greatest team, lads. Then we can work on the BY FAR.
Liverpool, the nuts and bolts won’t tighten themselves. Come on, lads.
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Must say I really enjoyed the performance tonight and in fact most of the performance against Leicester. We could and should have won by a hatful tonight, but despite a disappointing draw, the quality of our attacking performances bode well. Our underlying play is pretty good and once Lallana returns, Hendo, Coutinho and Mane hit full match sharpness we’re going to be pretty hard to handle going forward.
We’re creating chances and the goals will surely come. It’s still an unsettled XI unsettled still by enforced rotation. But the team is gelling. Hopefully our main men can stay fit. I am impressed with the improved performances from Moreno and Sturridge and Trent seems to be learning his trade well.
Bit disappointed in some of the reactions towards Karius. He maybe should do better but clearly he saw the ball late. He also contributed to our fluid attacking play and high tempo football. The only way we are going to see how good he is, is to give him games. Goodness knows how many chances Mignolet has had by virtue of lack of quality competition.
Must say Can and Gini really need to step up their game. The criticism Hendo has no doubt been reading have clearly fired him up. I hope to see similar improvements for the other two. Can in particular needs to get his head straight and sort this contract situation out one way or the other.
I agree with all this, Ash. Although I didn’t enjoy the match overall but that was more to do with Spartak’s tactics than ours, and together with the travel and short time between this match and Saturday’s, we underestimate the effect all that had on our players. On Karius: he definitely should have done better. But I have no problem with him playing in these matches. On paper these are the matches he should be playing in if he’s ever going to find form – maybe if our group was stronger the manager would have put Mignolet in goal instead. The disappointing thing is that Karius is not taking his chances but it’s also reasonable to excuse him since he’s not played much at all for the past year. I wonder if sending him out on loan this season was a better option in hindsight. I keep reading he’s not had any good games, but he was pretty decent when he played last January in the cups. Having said that I wouldn’t be surprised if Ward is given one of the next two CL matches, because Klopp has made it clear he’s going one game at a time in the CL with the ‘keepers.
Just a note on reactions in general: seen loads of our supporters sharing the quotes from De Rossi about Social Media and modern football, and yet… not sure why we always have to slaughter our players with such venom every time they make mistakes. But really the saddest thing is that I now find better and more balanced analysis and punditry on Liverpool’s performances from the likes of Ferdinand, Lampard, and Gary Neville, than anything any one of the club’s ex-players have offered in recent weeks.
I think we’ll be fine for the next few matches, but it would be great if everyone didn’t go on about how “we’ll beat these 8-nil they’re crap” just in case…
Just watched the highlights. Can’t remember seeing a game with so many good chances. Really good chances. Klopp can’t really do anymore. He’s created a system that generates a bucket load of chances; one that can absolutely destroy teams; despite the odd defensive lapse. Seems to me the problem is not the system; but the execution. Is the outcome the difference between a team with 3-4 US$50 million players and a team of 3-4 US$100 million players? Score just 20% more of the good chances we create and we have 4 more points in the league and 6 points in the Champions League. What worries me a little is whether there is an easy fix. It’s individual execution, or lack thereof, that is our Achilles heal. The system is generally working well; not sure Klopp can tweak it much more; we are better than the sum of our parts. So if that is STILL not good enough then isn’t the only option that we have to upgrade the players – which means we wait another season for a true title challenge. Hope I am wrong.
Its ridiculous that after creating so many chances, and conceding so few, in an away European tie that you come away so deflated.
that 4 on 2 break we had. There is never a need in that situation to pass to a lad who then needs to pass to someone else.
The pass from Trent should have been straight to the lad who puts it in the net. Henderson should have backed himself more to go 5 more yards and simply smack it past the keeper. As soon as Henderson shaped to cross you just knew offside was coming.
After 109 games, Jk has won 54 games. Br won 59. Europa beckons. I
BR had a team with Suarez and Gerrard already in it.
Just some thoughts of someone who knows the square root of fuck all……
We went to the champions of Russia and showed them how to play football, the fact they came away with point won’t be of any consolation to them when they come to ours.
Mignolet would have saved that, I can’t speak for Ward cause I have’ny seen enough of him.
Mane does’ny like being pulled does he?
Up the fuck’n reds
We are the opposite of ruthless….ruthful?
Our Ruth is overflowing, we can’t move for Ruth. The Ruth bins are full and the binmen are on strike.
Have a feeling Ward might end up as our No1 keeper. Can needs to do one.
The teams of ours that have come closest to winning the league in the last decade have had someone very good at putting the ball in the net. That’s true from the best Liverpool teams that I remember, those that I’ve only seen on VHS and every team I’ve ever seen win a league I think.
I love Bobby for his energy and link up but he’s just not clinical enough and even the former is not working for him at the moment. I would have loved us to have signed an Aubameyang or similar. Whether they did and no one wanted to come is another matter but Mane, Salah and Coutinho could make 30+ goals for a finisher. We don’t need to share goals around so much, we need someone to consistently score goals and do so when we need them to. Sturridge has been that man once but his lethal finishing seems to be on an extended leave, plus I don’t think Klopp will ever prefer him to Firmino.
Disgusted by Karius. That’s another saveable free kick put in 2/3 of the way across the goal. Any opposition goalkeeping coach must just say, don’t worry about trying for the corner, this lad only jumps once it’s well over the wall.
Danny Ward needs to get in Klopp’s ear about showing him what he can do. Barely seen the lad but he’s become David de Gea in my mind with these two ahead of him!
Still confident we can win the group and do Seville at their place but then it is the hope that kills you…
which De Gea? The current one or the one of the first 2 seasons at United?
The finishing was so disappointing and frustrating. Firmino and Sturridge particularly. It seems we have to create a number of chances before we score whereas the opposition seem to score every time they create. What was Can doing for the first goal, just concede a throw in!
Ah just be patient everyone. In hindsight there’s some excuse like jet lag, time zone difference, and a team and manager still working things out.
Yes we could do with a proper striker one who can finish, etc but what if the same thing happened to this fantasy 20-30 goal striker? Bin him too?
I do get frustrated with Gini who goes back into his magic lamp when he plays away games or Can turning from monster to hamster on certain days as someone mentioned.
But barring Karius’s brain fart, Moreno, Lovren, Matip, TAA, and Henderson did well than before.
Now watch the Gini mysteriously appear from his magic lamp against Newcastle and score a hat trick. :)
Klopp will get the Red Machine in full effect and it will happen against United, at least in my fantasy world it will.
Up the Reds!