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Liverpool Article 08 Apr 2025
Fulham v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







Another in what is becoming a string of poor performances from Liverpool. It felt the team sauntered out there completely complacent and expected to just roll over Fulham on their way to the title, particularly van Dijk, who looks absolutely shot right now. And yes, that is not a typo, though it would have been just as correct with the word you are no doubt thinking I meant instead. Before I go any further, I will have to complain about the officials once again, even though this time their incompetence/corruption (delete as applicable) favoured Liverpool.



Fulham are quite rightly aggrieved as they could have, no actually, should have, had two penalties and possibly seen Liverpool reduced to 9 men as well. The first was as clear as day, Konate decides to try and be clever in the box and messes up, losing the ball to Pereira, who is then wiped out by Kelleher after he plays a pass across the box. I can only think the officials never looked at that challenge as they were intent on checking the next one. Even that is no excuse as you can see Kelleher absolutely wiping out Pereira in the background in the shots of the next challenge. It was one of the clearest penalties you will see. They also managed to completely miss van Dijk swinging his arm/elbow about in the box while defending a corner. Again, it was as clear as day but the officials and VAR somehow all missed that too. If VAR is not going to spot those kind of offences, it would be as well scrapping it altogether.



Tactically, Slot got this game all wrong. For starters, not bringing on Endo as soon as possible was an obvious error, there is just not enough bite in that midfield without him and no one in there has his defensive awareness. That allowed Fulham to overrun the midfield. Without Alexander-Arnold's passing to force Fulham to drop off, they were able to press high and bully Liverpool's midfield. The other potential option, as Endo just seems to be totally off the table for Slot, would have been to send out the team to play with intensity and get at Fulham from the kick-off. Instead of slowly rolling it around at the back, push right on to Fulham and play with high intensity and pace. As usual though, Slot set the team out with low intensity, thinking he can make changes as the game goes on to counter the opponent.



This time it failed badly as he made no changes until half-time. It was clear Jones was being targeted by Fulham, but he left it as it was throughout the first half, only adjusting things at half-time, when it was too late. It is frustrating to see as the change he made at half-time is one that could have been made during the first half, when it could have made a difference. It was such a simple adjustment he made, simply instructing the team to play in the way it usually does, with the right-back pushed onto the opposition full-back, while Robertson sat in as almost a third centre-back. It sets a much more aggressive tone for the defence playing that way, as the midfield and attack have to push on as well, which would have helped counter the complacency.



It did feel a bit like Slot was a bit on the complacent side as well, he was waiting too long to make changes, then sent the same eleven back out for the second half with no substitutions. That decision felt like a huge mistake at the time, Liverpool were getting absolutely hammered in the first half and there were eleven players in need of being changed, a couple of changes could have given that team a jolt. Instead, another ten minutes were wasted before changes were made. It is little wonder the game ran away from Liverpool, everyone seemed to have expected a stroll and no one was quick enough to react when Fulham did not roll over.



The one good thing from a Liverpool point of view is that the team must have had a wake up call from this performance. They must now realise that they still have to win the points needed, they are not just going to get them handed out for free. They have to be better next weekend, surely?







Fulham





Fulham were truly excellent and Silva showed some tactical nous to exploit Liverpool's weaknesses. Unlike Moyes last time out, Silva went for the jugular in an attempt to win. Where Moyes used Liverpool's lack of a genuine right-back as a way of trying not to lose, Silva saw it as a chance to win. He had his team attack down that flank and it put Liverpool on the back foot right from the start of the match. Added to that, he sent his midfield and striker out to be as physical as possible from the kick off, clearly having spotted how much Beto had unsettled Liverpool's centre-backs simply by being physical.



It worked really well, up until they started to retreat in the second half, as often happens when a team has a lead to hang onto. But, for me, it was a big relief when Muniz and Lukic were taken off as they were both excellent, bullying Liverpool while they were on the pitch and winning most of their battles.



I guess I should also point out that their goals were down to Liverpool's individual errors, but they were very good value for their lead and were far and away the better team in the first half. In the second half, after starting well they did gradually begin to retreat as Liverpool improved, but overall they were the better side and it was a well deserved win. Liverpool were awful, the worst performance of the season in the first half, but that was in huge part due to how well Fulham played and the tactics they employed.



Tactically, they got very tight in midfield, pressing high and hurrying the Liverpool midfield into many mistakes. They also attacked down the flanks, particularly their left, committing bodies to get forward whenever the opportunity arose. Clearly they knew that, without Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool lack a player who can put the ball in behind them with quality and that Bassey had the pace and power to ensure the main threat, Salah, was shut out of the game. That is in part why the game changed so much when Elliott came on, as they had then to worry about quality passing from him and he was constantly pulling into space to look for a pass. When that happened, they started to drop off, which allowed Liverpool to take control of the midfield as Fulham were no longer first to all the loose balls.







Liverpool





Kelleher - terrible game, his legs are open wider than the Mersey Tunnel and he inspires absolutely no confidence in the team at all. Far too slow to move the ball on as well, whether at his feet or in his arms, missing chances to launch a quick counter. I know he suffers by being compared to Alisson, who is the best in the world, but even putting that aside, he simply is not, right now anyway, good enough to be Liverpool goalkeeper. How he got away with wiping out Pereira in the box, right at the start of the game after Konate's disastrous attempt to do a drag back, is beyond me. That was a very clear penalty for Fulham.





Jones - was put under pressure from the off and found wanting at right-back. He did improve when asked to defend similarly to Alexander-Arnold, at the start of the second half. Instead of dropping back to form a flat 4 at the back, he was pushing on to allow Salah to push more central in the press. That certainly helped as he was not being asked to do anything that was not natural to him then. Much better after moving into the midfield after Bradley came on, but it was a very low bar.





Konate - a disastrous performance again, he has dropped so far off the level he was at earlier in the season it is hard to believe it is the same player. He has not looked right since coming back from injury. He was physically imposing and dominating attackers, now he is being dominated by them, even average ones like Beto last week and now Muniz. It is not like he is up against the power of Drogba, these are players he should be able to handle but his head does not seem right. He is no longer anticipating the balls in, even though he is not being asked to be responsible for the right-back area as well. Maybe it is a concentration issue and he needs that extra little bit to think about in order to keep himself focused? It is hard to see any other reason for his form crashing so horribly off a cliff in recent weeks but he has been abysmal for a little while now and seems to be getting worse rather than better.





van Dijk - on the basis that he played the worst game I have ever seen from him last time out, this match was at least an improvement. However he was still absolutely woeful. He does look complacent. When Liverpool won the league under Klopp, his form dipped badly then too in the second half of the season, but he had Gomez come in and play out of his skin alongside him, as well as every forward avoiding him like the plague due to how well he had performed in the first half of the season. It was clear he got complacent then, it was all too easy for him and this season seems to be following a similar pattern, but this time out his defensive partner is also having a nightmare. He needs to wake himself up before it is too late. Also very lucky not to get sent off swinging his arm about like that, which would have also been a penalty for Fulham. No idea what he was thinking then.





Robertson - is it possible that he is actually getting worse as the season goes on? He was among Fulham's best players, which is really a shame to see from such a great servant to the club. It is clear that he is no longer capable of being first choice at this level, the legs are just not there any more. But then that was also clear last season, so questions need to be asked of the recruitment team that a replacement was not brought in during the summer, if none of the academy full-backs were deemed ready and clearly Tsimikas cannot be relied upon.





Gravenberch - going forward, he still looks really good right up until the final ball, when he tends to make the wrong decision. It is defensively that he is a worry. It is fine dropping in to the right-back area and he does that well, but he is not spotting gaps in the centre or runs from the opponents. He is still young, but there has been no sign of him even being instructed to think about that, as his reaction to Jones being right-back has shown that he follows instructions well. He is not being paired with someone to provide protection to the back four, which means he has to do it, but there just seems to be a trio of midfielders who are all looking to go forward in there, with often Szoboszlai having to chase back from his position as the furthest forward midfielder to provide cover. Someone in there needs to do the dirty work and his mobility, height and the position he is playing should make him that one. In the early weeks, he did so much more harrying of the opposition and winning the ball back, it seems to have fallen away as the season has gone on. Which is why it is odd that it works so well when he moved into centre-back, as he did late in the game. It just shows he is capable of doing the defensive work when he has to.





Szoboszlai - had a poor game, most of his passes went astray, though you do have to wonder why it is that he is constantly making that same pass from the wings into the centre where there is no one. Is there always someone there in training? If so, why not during the games. If there is no one there in training, why is he doing this in matches? Surely it should be ironed out of his game in training sessions? It happens far too often for it not to be worked out of his game or for the rest of the midfield not to have figured it out and position themselves for that ball when he gets it out there. It is not like they are giving him a lot of options instead, which is a big part of the problem.





Mac Allister - showed for his goal that he can handle the physical side of things when there is a chance of getting forward, the problem is that he just does not seem the same when asked to do it defensively. The goal was brilliant, I have to say, but it just shows why he should be playing higher up, as he was weak defensively again. The same player, Berge, that he brushed off when running towards the box to take a shot, was able to overpower him when he was defending. He just does not have the appetite for it that he has for attacking. Added to that, his skillset is best suited by playing higher, where he can thread balls into the box.





Salah - really struggled up against Bassey, who was outstanding (possibly man of the match), though Salah was not helped by the quality of pass he was receiving. When Alexander-Arnold is in the side, the balls he gets from him favour Salah, he is able to collect them with little difficulty and get them under his control before the defender can put pressure on him. Without him, the balls Salah gets are ones that force him to battle for them and not many players are going to win a physical battle with Bassey. You are not going to outrun or outmuscle him, so the ball needs to go into feet or a space that angles it away from the defender. Unfortunately, Liverpool failed to do enough of that and it meant Salah barely got a sniff of the ball. When he did get the ball, it was rarely in a position that he could threaten to score himself, though he did put some good quality balls into the box.





Jota - another abysmal performance but this time not rescued by a goal. The problem is that, other than for those moments he scores, Jota is a liability who constantly loses the ball, no matter how simple the pass is that he tries to make. This was one of those days, when even putting the ball on a plate for him was not enough for him to score. Most of the game he was just a passenger.





Gakpo - was not at his best, but he got little service. He did at least offer some kind of threat in attack, though he was not offering much protection to Robertson behind him. Probably lacking a bit in match sharpness by the way he played.





Diaz - replaced Gakpo in the 55th minute. While Liverpool had improved in the second half already, his arrival, along with Elliott, changed the game. He was everywhere and pulled one back to make it an uncomfortable finish for Fulham. He was very much up for it, chasing everywhere. Lucky not to get booked for a horrible dive in an attempt to win a penalty though.





Elliott - was brought on in the stead of Szoboszlai in the 55th minute. He was one of the few bright spots in the match and was unlucky not to score. It was also pleasing to see him not shirking his defensive duties, chasing back to mop up when Liverpool were caught trying to sort themselves out after the second pair of substitutions. He constantly got out wide, which allowed Salah to play more centrally, where he could be more of a threat.





Nunez - replaced Jota in the 66th minute. It looked like a game tailor made for his brand of chaos, but he looked like a player who just was not at all bothered and he was anonymous. It is difficult to come on and not improve over Jota in that game, but Nunez managed it.





Bradley - also came on in the 66th minute, taking the place of Konate. His driving runs created some threat and it was that which led to the Diaz goal.





Chiesa - Robertson went off so the Italian could come on in the 82nd minute. Showed some much needed fire and aggression, even if he is a bit on the lightweight side, he still put himself about and looked to make something happen. Did come close to equalising, but he needed to be on earlier to really make a difference.

Liverpool Article 15 Mar 2025
Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain A Liverpool Perspective







Slot has been brilliant this season, but the lack of squad players that he trusts came back to bite him in this match. The big run of games in a short space of time with little to no rotation has run the players into the ground and sapped their energy. When they needed to raise their game and attack a team there for the taking, they had nothing left in their legs. I also think Slot's substitutions were poor and far too late in this game, making the wrong changes and leaving it so late that the team had run out of legs anyway.



It did start so well, with Liverpool overrunning PSG in the early few minutes of the match, on another day they would have scored enough goals to win the game comfortably. In fact they made more really good chances, rather than just good quality strikes from distance, in those first ten minutes than I can remember PSG making in the entire tie. That is what makes it so frustrating to lose, as Liverpool had the chances to have it won and done before the Parisians scored.



A lot did come down to that PSG goal, as Liverpool had dominated until that moment but that saw the energy drain out of them and the high, aggressive press they had been using so successfully to pen Paris in during the opening minutes faded. The players lost all cohesion in the press, lacking the adrenalin that they had been running on to begin with. Instead, you could see them struggling with tiredness and they felt every one of those 5 games in 15 days.



What was needed was an injection of energy from the bench at half-time, some fresh legs and running to take the game back to PSG, but Slot waited. He seems to lack faith in the options that were on the bench to change things. After two transfer windows at the club, where nothing was done to strengthen the options, it finally caught up with the team. Thankfully, the team was still strong enough to be in with an extremely good chance of two trophies, something every Liverpool fan would have been happy with before the season began.







Paris Saint-Germain





Once again they struggled to create clear cut chances, but that was more down to the set up Enrique went with. I know Dembele is the new flavour of the month right now, but his unwillingness to put effort in and make runs into the box left them bereft of any option in the middle to put the ball into. All he needed to do was get into the box, but he was usually strolling around somewhere in midfield. That was what cost them badly, not having a focal point to create for.



Personally I was disappointed with PSG, this was a very tired Liverpool side, reeling after going one down and they were completely unable to take advantage. They should have been looking to win that game in normal time, but they seemed content to ensure they did not concede. It was a very odd performance, especially considering most of their team had rested over the weekend to be ready but they did not really make the most of their freshness.







Liverpool





Alisson - unfortunately could not replicate his heroics from the first leg by saving any of the penalties but had made a couple of decent saves during the match.





Alexander-Arnold - had a good game which was getting better as the match went on. I would say though, he was probably trying a bit too hard to make things happen. Unfortunate to pick up an injury, which could cost Liverpool badly over the final few weeks of the season.





Konate - overall it was a good game, but his horrible error cost the team. It was idiotic. Why try and control it to the keeper there? Just get it clear and reset. The fact they got there in the first place was down to him getting his positioning wrong, he was way too far to the right anyway, which left a gap. Even though the rest of his game was very good, that was such a horrendous passage of play that it meant he had a poor game in actuality. A defender is there to keep the ball out of the net and he failed to do so at the only point of the game PSG truly threatened.





van Dijk - overall a very good game, but there were a couple of times he was caught on his heels busy shouting and directing his teammates and not noticing an attack immediately. He has become an excellent captain, as well as centre-back, but he does need to learn from that and save the instructions until an appropriate time.





Robertson - defensively he was passable, not great but at least he did nothing stupid or rash. It was offensively that he was truly woeful. It took him over 90 minutes before he produced any half decent quality balls into the box at all. He did make a few good runs and linked up will with Diaz at times, only to mess up good opportunities to get the ball across almost every time.





Gravenberch - he really struggled as the game went on and showed clear signs of fatigue, it was a surprise he was not taken off. His whole game is very reliant on his physical abilities, which are not anywhere near their previous levels. He just looks in need of a break, with the lack of rotation really affecting him now. Slot will need to find someone he trusts to play in his stead if the team are going to mount a challenge for every trophy next season.





Szoboszlai - started well but faded as the game went on and it was clear his energy levels dropped massively as he was unable to maintain a press after the early stages.





Mac Allister - Liverpool's man of the match, with only Alexander-Arnold rivalling his performance. Put himself about really well and showed a lot of energy, was one of the few bright spots on the ball too.





Salah - early balls to him showed a lot of promise, but he was finding himself short of support, which required him to take more touches than he would have wanted. That allowed PSG to get midfielders across to cover, particularly Vitinha, who did really well in covering when Mendez got forward, similar to how Milner used to do for Robertson in the past. Before the midfield did that, in the early part of the game, Salah was running havoc and Liverpool created enough chances to put the game to bed.





Jota - an absolutely terrible game. It is hard to understand how he stayed on the pitch longer than the first few minutes. He was abysmal. The ball was bouncing off him, he was too slow and sloppy in the press and offered nothing until he was taken off. By that time it was too late, as the whole team looked finished.





Diaz - another who was terrible. It just shows how little Slot rates Chiesa that he left him stinking up the left wing for so long. His delivery was appalling, despite numerous good chances to put a ball into dangerous areas. One decent ball could have changed that game, but everything he touched was poor.





Nunez - replaced Jota in the 73rd minute. He should have come on much sooner, when there was still some energy left in the legs of the team. By the time he came on, the team was so tired that he was never going to get any real service and his high energy pressing was not possible, as everyone else was too slow to back up the press.





Quansah - came on for the injured Alexander-Arnold in the 74th minute. Did a decent job, got forward well and tried to make a difference. He looked a lot more comfortable in the right-back role than he has done previously.





Jones - was brought on in the stead of Mac Allister at the start of extra time. There was no energy left in the rest of the team by the time he came on. He replaced the one guy who had actually been playing well and showing a bit of energy as well. He was well off the pace and caught on the ball repeatedly. I am sure he was trying to be calm and composed and help to control the pace of the game, but all he did was dally on the ball and lose it.





Gakpo - took Diaz's place in the 101st minute. He is clearly not fit and offered nothing.





Elliott - replaced Szoboszlai in the 106th minute. Too late for him to do anything, the game was done at this point.





Endo - he came on in the place of the injured Konate in the 111th minute. Same as Elliott, there was little he could do to change the game, especially at centre-back.

Liverpool Article 11 Mar 2025
Liverpool v Southampton A Liverpool Perspective







Almost the perfect example of a 'game of two halves'. It had started out really well for Liverpool, with them dominating the ball and penning Southampton in, right up until the clash of heads between two Saints' defenders. The stoppage and substitution disrupted Liverpool's rhythm and afterwards they seemed sluggish, lethargic even, and very passive. It is one thing being given a bit of a doing against Paris Saint-Germain, but when it is Southampton that are all over you, it is a worry, especially when they manage to score.



This is when your manager has to earn his corn, and Slot did just that by making a surprising triple substitution at half-time. Mainly surprising because he changed three players and one of them was not Darwin Nunez! Nunez had been having such a poor game and was walking a disciplinary tightrope, I think pretty much everyone expected him to be one of the players to make way. As usual, it was Slot who was right and it turned out to be another great decision by him.



The second half was a dominating, smothering performance. Slot said he had to make the players angry at half time and it showed. They were absolutely fired up and completely in charge of the match for the full 45 minutes. Nunez scored the equaliser and then won the penalty to give Liverpool the lead. While it was certainly at least partly down to the increased tempo and attitude of the players, the subs made a huge difference. Each of them contributed massively to the improvement.



Tactically, the game was fairly simple. In the first half Liverpool started off in control of the ball, passing it around and probing the Saints' defences. But after the stoppage, Liverpool got put on the back foot and simply never recovered. Some players were clearly fatigued and were unable to get about the pitch to win possession back, which made it difficult. The second half saw Liverpool be more aggressive and get onto the front foot, chase down possession and kept Southampton held in. It was clear that Slot had managed to fire the players up at half time and it made all the difference.



The key thing to come from this game, and the weekend as a whole, was the mentality of the team. This team is made up of humans, who make mistakes and play badly at times, but they are also winners. They make a mistake and they work harder to make up for it. When they concede a goal, it fires them up. Most importantly, when they equalise, it is just a quick celebration and then get on with the business of hunting for another. They are not satisfied with second place or second best.







Southampton





There are clear signs of improvement by the Saints, they still have the odd moment of messing about at the back and putting themselves under pressure, but they are much more forward thinking now. For a long period, after Bednarek went off, they looked very good and put Liverpool under a lot of pressure. Certainly the team spirit seems good, there is no lack of desire and there was no sign of heads dropping until Liverpool got their third. Though it did look different the last time I saw them, where Fernandes was constantly just throwing his arms up in the air and giving up or standing round with hands on hips watching. He is very much a weak link for them, I believe.



They are still miles off being good enough to even challenge to stay in the Premier League. They dominated for a long period, but their only goal came courtesy of a silly mix up between van Dijk and Alisson, rather than something good they did themselves. In my opinion, that is their biggest problem, their lack of any kind of firepower and creativity. Sulemana is quick, but his end product is almost non-existent and that is pretty much all they have in the attacking third.







Liverpool





Alisson - was part of a mix up with van Dijk, other than that he did not really have a lot to do, despite Liverpool being under the cosh for most of the first half.





Alexander-Arnold - defended well in the first half but struggled to create anything. In the second half, he was given a lot more freedom to roam and made the most of it to ping the ball about well.





Konate - a good game, defending well and doing well on the ball.





van Dijk - was badly at fault for the Saints' goal, but other than that he played very well. He was exceptional in the second half. Mistakes happen, but what makes the like of van Dijk into winners is the way they respond to those mistakes or other setbacks.





Tsimikas - it was little wonder he got hooked at half time, he had a terrible half. The worst thing about his game is his runs. He constantly runs into Diaz's space, while the winger is on the ball, leaving him nowhere to go and allowing the opposition to double up easily.





Gravenberch - struggled a bit for him, looked very tired and leggy. It was clear he is a little fatigued again as he was very loose with his passing as well.





Szoboszlai - unsurprisingly, after all the mileage he has put in, he looked way off the pace too. It was little wonder he was taken off at half time, he clearly needs a rest.





Jones - had a fairly decent game, but he is just not aggressive enough and does not play on the front foot, slowing the play too much. I believe that is why he was also brought off, as Mac Allister is much more direct.





Salah - not so good in the first half, but in the second half he was much better. Also added two more goals, via penalty, to his total for the season. It is insane just how good he has been this season at his age.





Nunez - in the first half, like pretty much everyone else in red, he looked well off the pace, with his touch horrible and the ball bouncing off him. Added to that, he was walking a disciplinary tightrope picking up a yellow card and being the wind up merchant we know he can be. Though he was still bringing the chaos, so to speak, chasing things down and not giving the defence a moment's rest, it just was not coming off for him. In the second half, it was like a different player. The aggression was still there, but it was channelled in the right direction and he was there to slot home the equaliser like a number 9 should be. Suddenly, after that goal, he looked lifted, like the Nunez that the Kop adores was back. Brilliant management from Slot. His industry then, within a couple of minutes, got him in position to win the first penalty.





Diaz - had a poor first half, but was not helped by Tsimikas constantly blocking the space and leaving him nowhere to go. In the second half he was much better, with Robertson sitting deeper and letting him attack the full-back, which led to the opening goal.





Robertson - replaced Tsimikas at half time. The team looked so much better with him there, he has a much better idea of where to go and stays out of the way for Diaz to make his runs.





Elliott - came on for Szoboszlai at half time. Added energy and creativity with his range of passing and vision giving Liverpool much more points of attack. Looks like a player finally finding his form again after injury at just the right time of the season.





Mac Allister - was brought on in the stead of Jones at half time. I would personally credit him for having equal effect on the scoreline, along with the increased tempo and aggression, in the second half. He pushed right on Southampton, with their midfield lacking the pace and movement to exploit any gaps in behind he was free to get in their faces and play in areas he can create danger. He really was excellent.





Jota - took Nunez's place in the 68th minute. He came on early enough to allow Nunez to be rested ready for the PSG return leg, to give Slot the option of either of them in the centre.





Endo - replaced Gravenberch in the 81st minute. In the supporters club I was watching the game in, the moment Endo was brought on saw an eruption of noise like the game was already over. And it was. He did not just shut the door on Saints' hopes of coming back, he locked and bolted it too. If only he was younger!





Quansah - the sixth substitute, due to concussion protocols, he came on in the place of Alexander-Arnold in the 89th minute. Never had time to do much at all.

Liverpool Article 08 Mar 2025
Paris Saint Germain v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







Tactically, Slot has been brilliant this season, but this time round he got it wrong. Well, if you can call it wrong when you still end up winning! Luckily Alisson was on top form to bail out the team and give Liverpool a platform to snatch that incredible victory. When you talk about 'getting away with it', this match is one of the best examples you will ever see.



I do have to mention the officials, who were terrible once again, proving that English officials are not the only ones that have no clue. Though I do wonder why there was such a fuss over the Konate challenge, yes I would not be complaining if it was given as a foul (though it was outside the box), but you see those challenges constantly within a game and they are almost never given as a foul. In fact, I am currently watching AS Roma v Athletic Bilbao and within the opening seconds there was an almost exact replica challenge on a Roma player, though out wide rather than on the edge of the box, and no foul was given. A few minutes later and there was another one as well, again nothing given, this despite every other challenge being given as a foul in Roma's favour, even though the foul was always by the Roma player who have been allowed to pull jerseys at will.



It is just one of those things that is rarely seen as being enough to give a foul, so it is little wonder the referee was not convinced it was one then. People keep saying Konate got lucky, but on the basis of the games I have watched this season, it would have been unlucky if that was given as a foul, rather than lucky not to get called. There seems to be a change this season, in that a lot more physicality is being allowed from defenders, in terms of pushing and pulling at opposition players. In some respects I like that, I love the physical battle of the game, I would love to see that back, with thundering tackles etc, but that is not what they seem to be allowing. It is the shoves and shirt pulls and rugby tackles at set pieces that are being let go and I am not sure that is good for the game.



Going back to the game itself, that gap in behind Mac Allister, that I have talked about in the past, was being exploited to good effect. That meant everyone else was getting dragged about trying to plug gaps in front of the defence, opening up more avenues to attack. Slot tried to get on top of that but it was not until Endo came on that the gaps finally got plugged. From that moment on, the game was done for the Parisians, as we all know that whenever the Japanese is brought on as a sub, the opposition have failed to score afterwards.



What is most annoying, looking back at the game, was how poor Liverpool were going forward. They had so many chances to attack that were not broken up by PSG, they just messed up simple passes. The front three all combined to have their worst game in years on the same night. Because of that, it meant the midfield had little in the way of opportunity to get forward, as the moves broke down so quickly, but allowed PSG plenty of chances to hit on the counter.



I feel the actual defence, not just Alisson, deserves praise for their defending. Alisson made some truly world class saves, but he will also be the first to agree that those saves were only possible because the defence made sure that the chances were not truly clearcut. It was more about good quality strikes, rather than good, clear chances.







Paris Saint Germain





Luis Enrique has been slowly improving this PSG side over the course of the season, that really showed against LFC. They were right on top of their game, exploited the gaps in midfield really well and were a really good, exciting side to watch. But, and it is such a big but I probably should have put it in all capitals, they still lost after being unable to take advantage of their dominance to score.



They constantly baited Mac Allister into moving forward to press, then attacked the space he left, obviously seeing Robertson's poor form this season as presenting an opportunity. Their front line interchanged brilliantly and exploited the gaps well, but Liverpool defended solidly and so they were unable to create much in the way of clear cut, 'have to score' type of opportunities. Robertson is often liable to lunging in rashly and opening a space on the flank, but he kept his head and stayed on his feet, making it as difficult as possible for Paris to get time and space.



Unlike Liverpool, they also have a defence and, particularly, goalkeeper that are unreliable against top class opponents. There were a few chances for Liverpool to catch them cold, that only broke down because of poor Liverpool play, rather than good defending. Then, of course, there was Donnarumma's hapless attempt to stop Elliott's shot. They have always had an excuse for failing to lift the Champions League in the past, blaming it on big egos among the forwards most of the time. For me though, their failures have always been more about that backline. Until they put together a solid defence, in top class football terms rather than Ligue 1 terms, they are going to struggle to get that trophy that they so desire.







Liverpool





Alisson - what can I say about him that has not already been said a million times before online over the last couple of days? He was absolutely brilliant, reaffirming his position as the best in the world and potentially the G.O.A.T. Superb. If I caught him in my bed with my missus, the first thing I would do is to organise a masseuse to come round for afterwards to ensure he did not pick up an injury!





Alexander-Arnold - defended really well but was not as good on the ball. To be fair, I doubt it would have mattered if he had been brilliant with his passes as everything was being wasted by the front three anyway.





Konate - a very solid game against the team he grew up supporting as a kid. Defended well.





van Dijk - he was excellent, organising the back line well, as well as doing his own defensive work. He kept his calm throughout, especially on the ball when he got the chance.





Robertson - his best game of the season, he kept his head and stayed deep, though sometimes a little too deep to hold an offside line, avoiding the rash challenges that have plagued his game this season. He kept compact, not allowing the PSG forwards to draw him forward or too wide, so that there were no gaps in the defence for them to use.





Gravenberch - a decent game, spending it mostly trying to mop up the gaps left by Mac Allister. Never really got enough of the ball to do much, as it was given away so easily by the forwards.





Szoboszlai - he ended up mostly chasing his tail, he would get forward but the ball would be given away and he would then have to race back. With the press being bypassed, he was left isolated.





Mac Allister - had an awful game, he was trying hard to be aggressive and press high, but he was easily bypassed, leaving a huge hole in front of the defence. He really was not at the races at all and allowed himself to be dragged out of position constantly. He did work hard, but he would have been better dropping off and holding station more.





Salah - by far his worst game of the season. Nothing he tried came off at all. Whether it was taking on the full-back one-on-one or putting the ball into the box, he was very poor. It was the first time that his performance was just poor, usually he produces something even on a bad day.





Jota - the wrong game to put a player in place with absolutely no ability to link the play. He was terrible, though he did work hard and tried to help out defensively, he just was unable to help when Liverpool did get the ball. His work rate was exemplary though, he was always willing to chase around trying to win the ball back. It was just not a game for a player like him.





Diaz - another who was awful on the ball and provided nothing going forward. However, he was working very hard and was often the one who would drop back in to cover the gap left by Mac Allister. That probably contributed to his poor performance on the ball, as he was working so hard that he was gassed out constantly when he did receive it. It is much harder to produce quality when you are gasping for breath.





Jones - replaced Diaz in the 67th minute. His arrival helped solidify the defensive platform. His tendency to take a bit longer on the ball helped to give Liverpool players time to gather themselves and offer options and movement.





Nunez - came on for Jota in the 67th minute. His fresh energy and pace helped break PSG's total dominance, as the defence were forced to sit a bit deeper in order to protect against him running off them. That led to the goal, as he was able to receive the ball much higher up the pitch than Jota, putting Paris on the backfoot for the first time in the match. Once he had won the initial challenge, he then had the composure (surprisingly for a player not known for it) to look for the right pass, rather than the first pass on offer.





Endo - was brought on in the stead of Gravenberch in the 78th minute. It was a move that could probably have been done a lot sooner, once he was on the pitch, Paris struggled to create. I am not convinced they were tired, it is a lot less tiring to have the ball than it is to chase after it, so Liverpool should have been the ones who were leggy. It is more that he has the mindset needed to just defend when needed, where Gravenberch is always looking for a chance to break forward. Endo played much more central than Gravenberch had done and left fewer gaps for the Paris attackers to utilise.





Elliott - took Salah's place in the 86th minute. He scored the goal with his first touch, nothing else really matters other than that from his performance. When it mattered, he produced.

06 Mar 2025 05:01:11
I know it wasn’t 100% the same script but Elliott scoring away reminded me of Benayoun at the Bernabeu.

05 Mar 2025 21:49:09
Well looks as though all of our players will be spending the night in a paris jail for robbery 🤣🤣🤣.