WE’VE conquered all of Europe. We’ve seemingly decided to have a rest.
Let’s get this out the way…
Red Star played well in the first half, picked their moments well and produced two excellent finishes. They did sensible things in the second. It is worth pointing out decent defending and hold-up play but on the other hand worth pointing out composure and kicking a tame ball out of a goalkeeper’s hands, are most definitely mutually exclusive.
And yet Liverpool managed to do so little to rattle that composure. Across the 90 minutes it is with regret I must inform you Liverpool are having shots again.
They are crossing hopefully too.
Your correspondent doesn’t like shots. Finishes are the thing, and to keep playing until finishes are inevitable. It would be right to point out Belgrade’s second is quite the shot but that is just the point — he buys a ticket and wins the raffle. Liverpool should be in the business of eradicating the raffle, or at least stacking the odds in their own favour.
There is a downside to a shot, especially when you are chasing a game, especially from outside the box or the D. It is that it is likely the ball ends up in the goalkeeper’s hands, or, manna from heaven, it results in a goalkick. For a side two goals ahead to opposition it knows is superior there is nothing quite like a goalkick. I know this because I have enjoyed goalkicks for years watching Liverpool in similar situations. The pressure alleviated, the valve turned. Get our shape, get high, start again.
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The floated cross is a different beast. It is possible it will be mistakenly cleared or some chaos caused. But it isn’t the pull back from the byline, it isn’t pressure mounting. It most definitely isn’t irresistible.
Liverpool were not irresistible tonight. They were resisted all too easily.
Floated crosses and shots are what you do when you lack either composure or other ideas. Tonight, Liverpool lacked both and it was painful. In real time, no Liverpool player can go home pleased with his performance.
The manager makes big changes at half time but this for me is one of those aftermaths to games where naming names is harsh — the players who played poorly were the ones in purple with Liverbirds upon their chest. The manager who has to have a big think about things is the Liverpool manager.
The covenant always goes two ways, these are our lads who we are all in on for this season. But these are our lads who are struggling to up it.
When you don’t regularly go through the gears, the ability to do so on demand wanes. There is a valid question to be asked about whether or not Liverpool are trying to do their business distinctly differently this season and how long that will remain the case, if it changes at all.
Liverpool looked like last season’s Liverpool away at Chelsea and home to PSG but other than that they have been a different proposition. How different depends on how you mark the graph, how you view language even.
What they haven’t done, however different we may each perceive them to be, is attack very well, at pace, for elongated periods of time. That, you may say, is the remit of the very best but it is the very best Liverpool aspire to join. Any side can be frustrated at 2-0 away from home, any side can miss chances but great sides don’t look devoid of ideas on 55, 65, 75, 85.
But maybe they do. Maybe great sides have one of these every now and again. This was, after all, comfortably Liverpool’s worst performance since Swansea City away in January. As ever, a bad result and performance is defined by what happens next. For Liverpool there are two aspects to that — Fulham and Watford need to be statements. Then PSG and Napoli need to be relentless.
Redemption calls. Redemption is the best thing about autumn; few seasons are irredeemable by the week of Bonfire Night and this one most definitely isn’t — Liverpool are unbeaten in the league and have their European destiny in their own hands. Spark, though, is a thing and if Liverpool are no longer going to be a rocket they need to be some Catherine wheel.
I can’t wait to watch them again because I need this time not to be the last time I watched them.
Roll on Sunday and redemption. Have your one of these, lads. Remember how horrible it is. Start again.
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Where has our tactics from last season gone?
Where’s the high pressing?
Where’s the forcing the opposition into mistakes?
Where’s the intensity?
Where’s the relentlessness?
Where’s the goals.
Our record over our last 9 games isn’t pretty.
We’ve been out run for 3 of the last 4.
Why can’t we revert back to what was working previously?
We don’t have to employ it the full match, just until we’re winning comfortable then game management comes into play.
All really valid points. I have to wonder whether the pre-season conditioning has led to a kind of rationing if intensity, with the idea being that we’ll be our usual sensational selves in the second half of the season while everyone else is knackered? Because I bloody hope that’s what’s going on. Racking up points in the league is what we all want, but let’s not ditch the chaos, the romance, the madness…
Thought this game was calling for Shaq, we have almost no link-up or drive from midfield like we did last season with Ox, except Shaq. Lallana just isn’t quite there yet, although he looked better today. Would we have lost tonight, probably, such was our abject look and feel. However, we need to get the aggressive transition and strike back, and soon.
Shaq couldn’t be there because of racist fans, that is a travesty, and Belgrade were rewarded for it.
There’s defo a link missing between midfield and attack.
Last season we had Ox and Coutinho. Ones gone and the others not likely to play much football this season. Lallana previously could play this role in the past but nowhere near that level now. I reckon after we failed to buy Fekir it was hoped Kieta would settle quickly and play that role but he hasn’t. It’s definitely a problem but the front men arnt finishing the chances they’re being presented with either.
Have to agree with you on that, front three off the pace; thing is, we know they’ll come good. Naby will settle, the injury hasn’t helped, I reckon you’re right on the hope he would settle quick. Hard to watch the last few games really. Napoli did us a huge solid tonight.
I’ve seen better midfield displays on Buckley Hill. It was displays like that that prompted us going into the market to invest in quality yet we end up with Milner, Wjnaldum and Lallana
labouring and showing exactly why we needed better. The sooner Naby and Stan become regulars and a Fekir alternative found the better.
I’m wondering if the loss of Zeljko Buvac is having a big effect on the way things have gone this season. Just a thought
And with “the way things have gone this season” you mean our best pts tally in Premier League history after a third of the season?
Excellent Article, Well Neil Atkinson.!
Last season you were saying it’s hard to be a centre back at Liverpool because of Klopp’s style. This year it’s midfield that is really hard under Klopp. But we bought Virg and everything had improved in defence. What does that suggest about our midfielders? Gini stank again last night in an utterly typical Gini away showing. Lallana no better but at least he has the excuse of playing himself back into form and fitness.
Wow we stank last night. Klopp though has to take the biggest blame for last night.
We bring back Matip. A guy who had never impressed and suddenly we are fragile at the back again.
We bring in Lallana who has yet to do anything of note ever for us.
Even Origi thrown back onto the pitch.
We missed Shaq. We gave in to bullying. That sent out a great fucking message. Klopp says it was about focusing on football and then we fail on that count.
He then substitutes Sturridge. At least he was doing something. He subs TAA who didn’t do anything wrong. Yet leaves Lallana and Matip on the pitch. A Matip out jumped for the first and does shit all to close down for the 2nd and a Lallana who lets the guy go for the first and passes him the ball for the 2nd.
4 games away from Anfield on the trot now we have been beaten. Score line reads 10 vs 3.
We’ve now made life tough for ourselves and lets be honest, yep everything in our hands but this is a team incapable of doing the business at the top end when it matters and looking shite in midfield far too often this season.
2 games left in the CL this season, one away to PSG and given our recent form away from home they will be rubbing their hands and then Napoli at home, who will be a tough ask to get 3 points against playing as meekly as we are.
As for the rest of Europe, they will now be looking at the Shaq incident and saying to themselves, “let’s advise Liverpool it unwise for Alisson or VvD or Salah or whoever to play this game!” cause guess what they will leave him at home.
And goven Shaq didn’t play, why didn’t he play more game time against the Gunners?
I’m truly pissed off with last night. We had an opportunity and in true bottling it Liverpool fashion, we fucking did it again last night, instead of going at them and ragging them a new fucking arse.
Winners show aspirations, time that desire and fucking fight start materialising soon, as we look far from convincing in any aspect.
Sure mate. You can always choose the lazy way and put the blame on the manager. But you honestly want to tell me Liverpool can only win at Red Star with a full-strength XI? Then we are not much of a squad!
I am blaming the collective on this. However Klopp decided to bring in 2 players who have yet to do anything for us and guess what, they again delivered fuck all again yesterday. Half time Klopp went for the changes and left both on the pitch at the expense of others.
TAA must be scratching his head at how Lallana and Matip stayed on ahead of him.
This was Klopp’s decisions, yes or no.
Klopp said before the season that he wants the team to play good football but he’s most interested in the team being ready for a big fight. Battle it out with opponents. Guess what, thats exactly what you need to win trophies. It’s also what you need to survive hostile European away grounds.
Flair gets us 4th and a final appearance here and there. But top defending and fighting abilities gets us to glory.
Yesterday, the team showed no ambition to fight or even rometoly match the intensity of Red Star. These Reds dont deserve to be included in trophy talk unless they start showing fight and character every single match.
You gotta earn the right to play and earn the right to win. There is courage, judgement, decision – making, execution. Each game has two tides coming against each other. It would be boring if everytime we we played we won because we should. Fair dues to Red Star on the night, fair dues to their collective because their collective beat ours last night.
Time to roll up the sleeves and do a Dirk shift boys …
As you put it, one team showed desire and passion, another turned up thinking that’s all they had to do to win and suddenly found themselves 2 vs 0 down and then had absolutely no idea what to do to get back in to the game. It was shocking that we lacked so much yesterday.
Neil I think Klopp is missing his buddy Buvac.
I get the impression that the team and Klopp are running out of ideas and Buvac added much more value than he Klopp may have given him credit for.