Neil Atkinson’s post-match review after Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford…
LIVERPOOL have been the better side and are the team in the ascendancy at 2-2 right up until the moment the referee gives the freekick on the edge of the area.
And the keeper should do better. It isn’t a freekick for me. But even when given, the keeper should do better. It isn’t a brilliant freekick from Bruno Fernandes. But it is a percentage one.
Footballers make percentage decisions all the time; a lot of what we think is brilliant play is percentage gambles that come off; Mo Salah, for instance, is brilliant at percentage gambles that come off.
Alisson Becker sets his wall up a certain way, but he doesn’t back his gamble, doesn’t entirely back his goal. We, rightly, praise Becker because he makes the marvellous look mundane because of his footwork and anticipation.
But here, in this instance, he has made the mundane look marvellous. Fernandes strikes it well and into the corner of the net but not the corner of the goal. He is struck it solidly but not emphatically. He hasn’t put height on it.
Becker sets up the gamble, sets up the odds and Fernandes reflects those odds right back, knowing that if he puts it where he puts it there is a good chance of a corner, a decent chance the ball comes back into play and a slight chance of the goal.
He pulls the lever and hits the jackpot because at the last moment Becker shifts his weight the other way. He stops backing his own gamble. He lets doubt enter his mind.
We’re not in the habit here in general of slaughtering the footballers. There are a ton of reasons for that. One is that most of these lads are the best you have ever seen. Alisson Becker gets that one wrong but he is the best goalkeeper I have ever seen play for Liverpool. There is a fair chance that when I fade from this mortal coil he will still be the best goalkeeper I have ever seen play for Liverpool.
You need to bear that in mind.
But doubt creeps in.
In the previous round Liverpool conceded a goal to an Aston Villa under-18s side because of the issue of right-hand sided centre back. All game against Manchester United, especially the second half of the first half, Liverpool were deeply vulnerable on that side and on that channel outside.
United took a gamble – they let Marcus Rashford cheat a fair bit knowing that the reward for the cheating was significantly greater than the stakes. Essentially if Liverpool have Joel Matip or – especially – Joe Gomez there then you don’t do what United did with the same commitment. But when it is Rhys Williams it doubles the encouragement.
It was writ large the issue that Liverpool have which is structural. Trent Arnold cannot find a starting position he can settle in because there is constant chaos next to him. Without someone playing six who isn’t Jordan Henderson, Liverpool are struggling to bolster the space, because it is Henderson who makes that space work best.
Last season doing what United did was the equivalent of throwing the dice and needing sixes. This season, with this selection, it is the equivalent of throwing the dice and needing even numbers. You make a calculated gamble.
The United second doesn’t particularly even come from the gamble. It’s a ball which should just be dealt with, frankly. Williams will go to bed tonight knowing that. We don’t need to labour it here.
There is something about football where Liverpool’s shape and approach was arguably better in the game at Anfield but they created far more tonight in terms of quality opportunities. They had Harry Maguire on absolute pins, he was the poorest central defender on the pitch who wasn’t a teenager by a distance.
Roberto Firmino was both dreadful and the most creative player on the pitch. His ball for the opener was sweet as a nut, sweet like Tropicana. Sadio Mane came on and looked likely and, if we are looking for positives, then Mo Salah has himself a brace and should have had a hat trick. He was very, very lively.
The movement was the best it has been for weeks. It’s worth remembering even his two against Crystal Palace are not the goals we need. These tonight very much were.
Thiago Alcantara and Gini Wijnaldum looked goosed. James Milner was tremendous. The second best midfielder on the pitch behind Paul Pogba who, for reasons I don’t understand, was shunted right mid.
This is the oddity of the arrangement. It feels like there is a fair bit I don’t understand beyond the idea that what happens in both boxes matters.
Were it not for the fact that they are literally Manchester United I would say there is a fair bit to like about this United side as individuals but that they aren’t as good as Liverpool. Even tonight you can see them lose the ball sloppily over and over. Pogba digs them out repeatedly.
But they have a point at Anfield and a fifth round FA Cup tie to hold close.
If Liverpool had been as good around Manchester United’s box as they were tonight last week then they would have the three points. And if Liverpool had had the shape they did last week tonight then right now I wouldn’t be typing these words but watching extra time.
“If” is frankly a bastard in football. It counts for nothing but it feels like something.
If Liverpool relax a tiny bit more and Joel Matip plays his 7.5/10 then I fancy they beat Tottenham. But doubt creeps in.
There has been so little doubt for so long that any amount of it feels like a mountain of it. And it is perfectly natural to have it under these circumstances.
“If” Liverpool build on tonight, if they win on Thursday and back that up next Sunday then tonight is OK, a stepping stone on a tough journey. But “if” Liverpool end this season trophyless and aren’t able to hang in until the bitter end then tonight will sting.
“If” that happens then Liverpool will also rue the decision to start the season having sold Dejan Lovren and replaced him in the squad with a left back we have barely seen. And they will rue not having addressed it in this window. Another percentage gamble. They don’t all come off, you know.
Regardless, as it is, the agony continues. Liverpool haven’t won in a month. And if you can’t sleep tonight then know that neither can I.
Liverpool are no longer on the road to Wembley. They aren’t necessarily on the road to nowhere either. But the doubt creeps in.
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We did everything right before this new COVID- season.
How to improve a finished product? Bring in Jota and Thiago. Even a full-back to provide some cover. 3 CBs and Fab as 4th option was enough. VVD never missed a single League game since he arrived at the club. Unpredented situation. But the most staggering part is that Klopp basically called out FSG and said a CB would help.
He never ever said something like that in a press conference since he came in. Always spoke for FSG and defended them. So this is new and it is heartbreaking to know that the club won’t give Jurgen what he wants in an EMERGENCY. They owe their whole success to Klopp. Ridiculous not to do him this favour.
In addition to many our attackers and full-back underperforming this season, it would have given us a big boost to attack the 2nd half of the season with the ripple effect in midfield as well
This team is built to win trophies since two seasons. Third season we are experiencing a major dip and nothing is done to help us salvage it. I feel for Klopp the most. He doesn’t deserve to be hung out to dry like this. Not after what he has achieved at the club.
Firmino – two assists (?)
Mo – two goals
We are just lacking experience/quality in a few positions – mostly the bench to change the game/handle injuries (all obvious).
Not too bothered about this one. We looked better at what we do for longer periods today.
We should be able to build on this against Spurs.
One “diddle” I haven’t heard mentioned is Wijnaldum at centre-back ( …for good reason you say?). However, he has pace, is robust, can carry the ball and has a decent jump on him. Spurs do not have height up front however they do have pace.
Anyway, enough of the armchair manager.
We should focus on the League, European Cup.
It stings but there were positives. 2 lovely goals by Salah and if he chips the chance in the second half like the one in the first he has a marvellous hat trick. United are top of the league and in the FA Cup 5th round with an £85M traffic cone at centre back. There isn’t a team in the league with a decent defence at the moment – and I’m not counting Allardyce’s or Dyche’s back 10s – anyone can play with 11 behind the ball and fluke a result. Burnley nearly did United but for a deflected Pogba volley. United punished our stupid mistakes at the back today and we didn’t do likewise and that was the difference. That and Pawson falling for Cavani’s “clever attacking play”, aka dive.
The team starting to age and 3 years of pressing is taking a toll
You know what?
I’ll take that result. Yes, two of their goals resulted from mistakes from our players, the second getting an assist from the referee. But other than those two moments, we looked and more importantly played like Liverpool than we have for what feels like years, although in reality has just been a couple of weeks.
Giving the goal away might be the making (or breaking) of Williams, R. And, I hope it is the making. But whatever, we’ll still be playing ‘Guess Who?’ regarding our centre back pairing for some time to come yet.
So I’m less worried about the problems that we will struggle to fix until Virgil Rolls Royce Dyke returns and more focused on why all of our forward players (with the exception of Thiago) decided to do impressions of Blind Freddy when trying to pass the ball to each other for the last couple of weeks.
Is playing silly buggers a symptom of Covid the government have been keeping quiet about, to avoid one half the population turning into the Stasi and reporting the other (or 51% reporting 48% or people who can sing the theme tune to Dad’s Army… or whatever)?
Anyway, my eyes were very much on the boys who used to score for fun and often did, back before people lost their heads and obituaries of one season wonders were being written. And to those eyes of mine, it looked like that despite the current restrictions, more than one of them has been to Specsavers.
We are not back to our amazing best, but for good chunks of that game, we were the better team by a country mile and having pops at goal. And I’ll take that.
Okay, we bollocksed the FA Cup for the n’teenth time running and Manchester-based journalists will be beaming for days with faces that look like freshly smacked arses.
But you know what, I’ll take that.
This corner we’ve been turning for a while may be starting to sap our strength like Switch Island used to do before you had power steering, but I think we are almost around the bastard. And we’ve just remembered how to score goals again.
And most of those with eyes on the Premier League prize have at least one more game to play than us now.
And most will probably play two or more.
Right around the time at least one of our centre backs could turn up on a bench.
Yeah so losing is never great, but now we get to concentrate on the Leagues.
I’ll take that
The owners are killing us here, absolutely killing us. We won’t be in contention for anything before long.
My sentiments exactly except 3 fit CBs plus fab in a normal season would be sort of okay but when one is susceptible to injury and the other is made of glass AND it’s an unprecedented congested season it was and is total madness. Even picking up an experienced Klavan-style player would have been better than relying on a kid who would look 12 years old if he wasn’t 8 foot tall. I feel for Rhys coz he’s ended up being the scapegoat when he’s blatantly not ready. Not his fault. A penny for Degsy’s thoughts!
I was also amazed thiago played deepest again. Was crying out for Milner to come in and play the 6.