GETTING beat, then. That’s new. That’s new.
We could do without it. But then we could do without Eden Hazard every week. Liverpool supporters overrate Hazard because every time we see him he verges on unplayable. He’s carrying Kryptonite. If Hazard brought his Liverpool game week in, week out he would play for Real Madrid now. He would be the world’s finest. He loves Anfield more than Bill Shankly in his pomp.
His goal is magnificent. It was my side in the ground. At all stages I am convinced he is bringing about the winner. Every Liverpool player near him could do better but that’s the point. That is Kryptonite for you. That’s what it does. He flashes the shot and he wheels away and, you know what, he deserves it. He deserves his moment. This is sport, ragged and marvellous, and just because it happens to you rather than for you doesn’t mean you can’t take a step back and say fair enough. Say well played.
Chelsea probably edged the contest across the 90 due to that moment of sheer brilliance. The first 30 was theirs. The second 30 ours. The last thirty a split decision but with a knockout blow and that was that. Bang.
There is loads to take from the game for Liverpool and their players to work on, but this result means it will be done for a few while the plane is flying. Across the first 30 we saw the value of Liverpool’s absentees in midfield and full back.
The fact is that in Liverpool’s 4-3-3, the full backs and the midfielders are all asked to play one and a half positions. The full backs are wide midfielders. The wide centre mids are wide midfielders. The central centre mid has to play in front of the back four and ahead of his mates. The two full backs and the middle centre mid struggled massively with the ask.
It would have been fair to say that Liverpool’s outstanding players of the first half were Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum.
That could just about be the meanest sentence written about Liverpool players in this column. But what was absent ached. The fact is that Liverpool are a high-wire act. That this is a difficult team to be part of. That every cog has been polished and honed to within a yoctosecond.
Sadio Mane was Liverpool’s best player. He organises that frontline. Kevin Friend’s display the poorest on show. Everywhere else there were curate’s eggs. Good halves. Marvellous 10s. Solid firefighting. Few joined up showings. Few footballers putting it together in a meaningful way.
It was reminiscent of 18 months ago, of the back end of 2016-17. Of a knife edge we have fucked off. No to this.
No to getting beat home or away. It is distasteful. No to footballers with Kryptonite. No to Cesc Fabregas having tons of time. Yes to Cesar Azpilicueta being amazing, but no to that as well. No to getting beat.
It will happen again. But let’s make sure it doesn’t for a while. A good, long while.
Getting beat ain’t no friend of mine.
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Had to google ‘yoctosecond’. And I’m a scientist. Nice Neil.
I only know it from my seven-year-old math/science genius. One of those things that remind me, as a parent, of the movie “Her,” where the artificial intelligence grows bored of chatting with a mere human and wants to connect with the other AI folk and renegotiate the fabric of the universe together.
As always, Kevin Friend shat on us… This fool should never, ever be allowed to ever officiate one of our games. He is a twat, pure and simple… He is in fact a bent twat when it comes to us.
Negatives
Too many changes with players who haven’t had minutes, that exposed some of our player’s lack of talent when compared to Kante, azpalicuta and Hazard.
Henderson looked like a school yard bully trying his best to undermine Hazard.
Klopp berating Shaqiri after the match for that free kick which I think was taken by Henderson.
Most worrying negative is that we don’t have proper backups for VVD, Gomez and Alisson.
Poor game management and subs.
Training alone will not cut it. Game time even 20-25 minutes with the first team is so important.
Klopp’s selection put too much pressure put on the lads to perform in this one game, when most had played no minutes this season.
Hazard will still be available on the weekend at home. So it’s not going to be so easy.
Mane and Milner’s efforts were ineffective.
Lost the winning momentum that might affect the team especially against Napoli if we lose or draw this weekend.
One less trophy to play for that could have helped players gain valuable minutes if they could have been eased in as carefully as the first team players have been by Klopp.
Positives
Shaqiri, Keita, Fabinho, Sturridge have a lot to offer.
Migs, Moreno, Clyne and Lovren grouping don’t work well and we got to see night and day for it was.
Reds being brought back down to earth by second string Chelsea.
Less matches to play?
Maybe a good thing but now we have to win the League and CL trophy or Chelsea and other team fans will continue to remind us that “You’ll Never Win Anything”.
Think that what’s not being discussed is our conversion rate. Had we been more clinical with our chances we’d have killed them off and probably be overlooking Moreno’s faults today.
Sturridge, Keita, Shaq and Mane all guilty yesterday and it’s been a theme this season so far but we’ve got away with it because our D has been solid enough. The matches against Palace, Brighton, Leicester and Spurs were closer than they should be been and half them would have been drawn last year. With our second string D against CFC we simply had to score another goal or two and it didn’t happen.
Getting drawn against Chelski this early in the league cup was just unfortunate for our second string but there’s no shame losing to that Hazard goal. And again had we been more ruthless in front of goal we would have beaten them.
Great chance on Sat to get revenge and put down a serious marker for our title aspirations this year. Hope VVD, Hendo and Milner are angry in that dressing room and getting everyone ready for war. It’s a big match psychologically. Simply can’t lose two in a row to them.
Yep, agree
This post by Drewid is bang on the money for me. – We had clear cut chances and did not take them.
There’s also the fact that apart from a Worldie, which okay Hazard shouldn’t have waltzed away that easy, the other goal should never have stood. Firstly it was never a FK and secondly it was an offside goal.
We got nothing out of Friend, in fact he invents things against us to either award things against us, or to generally not find in our favour.
Too many losing the plot which was players coming in and having their first run out. Shit happened, but not to the extent some are making out.
Who cares
Its the bloody League Cup – a complete distraction – just a stupid way to tire or injure our vital 1st team players
None of whom should have started
We have ONE priority
The League
Screw everything else
My sentiments… Win Saturday and the game on Wednesday will be a distant memory. It will be some trivia question in about 5 years time, spawned out by Sash, because he still upset that we didn’t win that, The Grand National, Eurovision and Come Dancing… and this is because our Ressies are Messi and Co.
*Aren’t not are… Freudian slip :)