Free podcast looking back at Liverpool 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 2 in the Premier League, and ahead to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Neil Atkinson hosts Ian Ryan, Harriet Prior and Ian Salmon…
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Liverpool 2 Brighton 2
a) A game in 3 phases. Want to do each of them. But first…
b) Two dropped. Really felt it, felt it while it was happening.
c) There are hard lines; Keita injury, Mane disallowed goal and their opening goal.
d) But we, perhaps unfairly, expect better. Expect much better.
e) Been in the post.
f) Last thing – they played ever so well second half. Sometimes you have to say well in.
Phase one – 0 to 35.
a) Liverpool much the better side.
b) Swamp Brighton; every Liverpool player wins his battles.
c) Who plays well?
d) What works?
e) Period ends with the disallowed goal. If Salah is as selfish as is occasionally suggested and blams it in then it might count.
Phase two – 35 to 65
a) Their goal.
b) Another disallowed goal but clear.
c) Liverpool seem to stutter at this stage.
d) Look a midfielder light and look a little tired, frankly.
e) Defensive line seems to disappear.
f) Robertson sweeping over in a really weird way.
g) They score and we are at sixes and sevens. Konate also not settled.
Phase three – 65 to end
a) Manager changes the shape but we are never right in attack.
b) Brighton tire, Lallana goes off.
c) They still seem more likely.
d) No coherent chance.
So…
a) What should have been different? What were his moves?
b) What do they do? I think we need to be aware that no one smart engages our centre backs until around the penalty area. They literally avoid their areas.
c) And again they play well.
Getting ready for Atletico
a) First game they also play away from our centre backs.
b) Don’t see them massively changing their plan.
c) Who we need back and when.
d) Opportunity in the group.
Harriet prior is absolutely spot on with her analysis
I think Brighton were fantastic Potter was unfazed after going two down he completely out-thought Klopp,
rescuing a point with intelligent changes when most teams would have simply folded and accepted their fate.
At 2 goal heading to half time after the disallowed goal Brighton calmed down in possession and it allowed them to wrestle control of the game away from us.
Rather than rushing to push Mwepu and full-backs forward into attack,
They were more willing to hold back and hold onto the ball.
They would form a diamond in midfield, with Bissouma at its base,
Mwepu and Moder on the sides and Lallana at the tip.
This occupied the centre,
creating space on the flanks for Marc Cucurella and Joël Veltman,
while solly March and Trossard took up narrow positions between the centre-backs and full-backs,
making it harder for our backline to push up and support the midfield without leaving an exploitable gap.
Having gained control by flooding the midfield in more of a 4-3-1-2 shape,
Brighton reverted back to a proper 4-2-3-1 with the introduction of Alexis Mac Allister – Moder pushed back up into attack,
while Mac Allister and Mwepu flanked Firmino in midfield.
Now with a better grip on the game, they could ease up in midfield and push Moder forward again to add to the frontline.
Five minutes later, Brighton equalised.
Our front three were all high up but putting little pressure on the ball,
allowing Sanchez to pick out a pass wide to Cucurella. With Ox pulled a little forward,
wary of a pass into Mac Allister,
Cucurella was in behind the midfield as soon as he received the ball, with Brighton having five men running at Liverpool’s back four.
With Moder running in behind him, Trent was reluctant to move out, while Ox didn’t either, enabling Cucurella to pick out a pass inside to Lallana.
Both Konaté and Trent turned,
but stopped as if holding an offside line,
only for Van Dijk and Robertson to continue their runs, leaving them outnumbered two-against-three.
Robbo continued to drop deeper and deeper as Van Dijk stepped up to close down Lallana, playing Trossard onside as Lallana poked the ball through to the Belgian to finish.
Robertson didn’t use to drop off behind the rest of the defensive line,
but has picked up the bad habit recently.
It’s slightly odd given he has the pace to play catch-up, so wouldn’t need to drop off to be in a position to cover,
asking questions of Liverpool’s defensive organisation.
Rather than Liverpool responding, it was Brighton that looked likeliest to get the next goal, continuing to stretch and cut through Liverpool’s midfield.
We somehow went from winning 3-0 to drawing 2-2 and we can’t feel hard done by.
We pretty much had Brighton beaten,
yet threw it away with poor individual displays and a poor collective performance,
showing many of the same issues that continue to go unaddressed hopefully we do better next time.
Thanks.
Ian bang on on this one.
Bring Gini back on loan in Jan, we dont have 8 MF’s Naby Milly, Oxo, Thiago, and Mini only half considering games played and injury history so with Hendo Fab and Curtis that makes only 5.5, midfielders! and thats not even accounting for current quality, with jury out on Mini and Oxo. Curtis is young not played at his best level consistently as yet,and dont feel its fair to burden him
Harvey is great, but only from very small sample of games he has played for Liverpool, no idea of his stamina, fitness, consistency and indeed his drop off, again dropping a young player into this mf’ asks a lot both physically and mentally of them.
On adifferent note Brighton loan be good for Kelleher and Brighton, important to have a relationship with Brighton, so cantake their well coached players proven in the Prem off their hands such as Bissouma,