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Liverpool Article 18 Sep 2025
Burnley v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective









A terrible watch, not helped by the way Liverpool play it slowly around trying to tempt the opposition out for long periods, particularly early in the match. Burnley had no intention of coming out to play, they were always going to just sit there and hang on for dear life, so it was just wasted time. When a team is sat in, the ball needs to move much more quickly to move them around and create gaps. It only takes one man to be a bit slow reacting, maybe he is looking the other way to check on the man he is marking or is distracted for a moment by a runner, to leave a gap that can be exploited. When you are just moving it around slowly, they have plenty of time to shuffle over. The other thing that would be good is to have full-backs flying down the wing and hitting the byline at pace before crossing the ball in, but instead they constantly underlap the widemen and just clog up the space in the centre.



It means the full-backs are just running into the packed defence, rather than potentially pulling someone out of position trying to track them, which allows the wide defenders to concentrate on Salah and Gakpo. When Robertson came on and did make some runs out wide, it created the opportunities for Gakpo to really attack and beat Walker to get a ball in. Unfortunately, until Chiesa came on, there was no one in the centre to even try to get on the ball. Wirtz and Ekitike both want to drop off and get the ball to feet, rather than looking to get in on the end of crosses. Mac Allister's injury meant he was unable to be the one that broke into the box, something he has proven to be good at, and Szoboszlai and Gravenberch are both similar to Wirtz and Ekitike and want to receive the ball on the edge of the box, rather than charging in to get to a cross.



That is why it ended up being a grind, rather than picking up an early goal and forcing Burnley to ditch their game plan. With the slow ball movement and lack of players attacking the ball when it did come in, there were very few real chances created. I am sure Slot will be looking carefully at it and I would hope that he will give more freedom to the full-backs to attack, but most of all to get them to overlap, rather than underlap all the time. Underlapping is more useful when the defence comes out to engage, leaving gaps. When there is no gap, there is no point in them running into traffic. At the end of the day though, what matters most is the points. It is three more points and how it was achieved is really not as important at the end of the season, just that those points are on the board.







Burnley





Burnley had a plan, but no ambition of even snatching a win despite being at home and so got what they deserved - nothing. It is not like this is something unusual, they played this dross football week in, week out in the Championship last season, so I have no sympathy for them when it fails them. Their whole tactical plan was to sit in with everyone behind the ball and defend their own penalty box - it says a lot that their supposed main striker spent what felt like most of his game in his own penalty box in open play. They did work hard and gave their all, but it made little sense to just keep dropping deeper and not have at least one player up to give them an out ball. It turned the game into a boring attack against defence training session, rather than a true football match.







Liverpool





Alisson - a very easy day out for Alisson.





Szoboszlai - he needed to be getting down the flank in this match, rather than inverting, to try and drag the Burnley defence wider and stretch the play. This would have been an ideal game for Frimpong's style of play really. Once he shifted into the centre after half-time, he was much better, but I would have liked to see him try a few more shots on the edge of the box to force the Burnley defence to push out to him and close him off. It might just have created a gap in behind.





Konate - with Burnley providing little attacking threat, he spent most of the game deep inside their half. The problem was that he is the one getting furthest forward, getting on the ball in areas he could do damage, rather than van Dijk. It is the wrong way round, as Virgil is much better on the ball and needs to be the one pushing up. Unfortunately, Konate cannot be trusted to defend one-on-one, so it has to be him that pushes further on. Otherwise, you just know he would end up not reading the run because he is sleepwalking through the game, as usual, and getting a red card due to pulling someone down who had just run straight past him without him noticing.





van Dijk - very rarely had any kind of threat to deal with, but what he did have to do, he did in his usual calm unflappable way. I would like to see him drive forward more from defence in these games. Maybe hit a shot or two from range as well, he has an excellent long range shot on him.





Kerkez - he is playing with so little confidence at the moment, not helped by his shockingly bad dive. He just needs to relax a bit. I would like to see him let off the leash in games like this, to just be given the freedom to attack down the flank at will. I also think a few games of playing without having to worry about the instructions he has been given would help him lift his confidence and help him perform better when he does have to play in a more limited way. What was badly missing against Burnley was having the two full-backs bombing down the wing, overlapping their wideman, to allow the wingers to attack the box.





Mac Allister - bit difficult to judge his performance, as he got crunched on his ankle and came off at half time. It might be that he is still off the pace, or it could be just that he was struggling with his ankle.





Gravenberch - the man of the match for me. He was able to get further up the pitch without worrying about Burnley breaking, as they were refusing to commit bodies forward even on a break. In matches like this, maybe there is a case to be made for him to be looking to break into the box for crosses, as his height should enable him to cause problems, even if he does not get on the end of balls played in.





Wirtz - improving with every game, he is starting to have a genuine influence now. Not the easiest game either for the more creative players, like him, as there was simply no space between Burnley's packed ranks to pick a pass or run through.





Salah - not his best game, but I am not sure what people expected him to do. He is always watched by at least 2 players, usually with a third covering, he got very little chance to run inside, particularly after Bradley was brought on, as Bradley constantly cut inside him and just congested the space. That left Salah with chalk on his boots, which is not where you want him and is not helpful for the team. He needed an overlapping full-back or midfielder, drawing away a defender so he could actually get some freedom and move more central, where he can threaten. What you do know is that, when the chips are down and you need someone to step up and win the game for you with a late penalty, Salah is the man to do so.





Gakpo - needed to see more of the ball in dangerous areas. When he did, he was mostly able to get past Walker and cause real problems for the Burnley defence. Then the issue was a lack of numbers for him to pick out in the box, which was packed with defenders. He was very lucky to escape a yellow card for a dive that was almost as embarrassing as Kerkez's.





Ekitike - a decent game, a few good moments, but he just did not get enough service to really impose himself on the game and often ended up drifting deep or wide looking to get involved. What I did not like was that he did not get himself into the 6 yard box enough when the ball was wide. There was no one getting in there looking to get on the end of crosses to cause a bit of danger for the Burnley defence.





Robertson - replaced Kerkez in the 38th minute. Where Kerkez was nervous and looked to be trying far too hard to make an impression, Robertson just slotted right in and played well. Admittedly, he was never under any pressure defensively but he got forward well and caused a few problems in the opposition half.





Bradley - was brought on in the stead of Mac Allister at half-time. He provided energy and direct running, worked hard defensively and did well in that aspect, but was poor going forward. He gave the ball away cheaply a couple of times, plus his runs were always inside Salah, which did nothing to create any space. Salah was being doublemarked all game, he needed someone overlapping him to create some space, but never got that until Frimpong came on. Bradley needs to vary his runs, instead of always just looking to get into the box.





Chiesa - replaced Ekitike in the 72nd minute. Showed energy and desire, plus the lift his song provides among the fans, but really should have scored with unchallenged header. At least he did get into the box and look to get on the end of things, which made a huge difference.





Frimpong - took the place of Konate in the 87th minute. His arrival, along with Ngumoha's, really improved Liverpool, simply by allowing Salah to shift more centrally, that opened up all the space on the wings for him and Ngumoha to utilise. Just having him running wide and looking to attack down the flank caused so many issues as their defence on the left side were all focused on Salah.





Ngumoha - came on for Wirtz in the 87th minute. Showed some pace and trickery, just needed to see more of the ball.

Liverpool Article 04 Sep 2025
Liverpool v Arsenal A Liverpool Perspective









A game that really lacked entertainment value but still managed to produce drama at the end. It was an odd game, with Liverpool really struggling to get their forward line into the game. There were a number of reasons for it, poor passes into them was probable the biggest, as it took until the second half to produce any decent accurate balls into their feet. Another issue was the movement, which saw a lot of replication of runs - particularly the deeper midfield pair Gravenberch and Mac Allister, who made the same run a number of times, reducing the available options to the man on the ball. Worse was their tendency to both run forward, forcing Wirtz to drop deep to cover for them, which happened a lot and he was forced to act like a defensive midfielder a number of times. That is not getting the best out of any of them.



Unless the team is losing late in the game, those two should never ever both be forward at the same time. Not just because it then requires Wirtz to be alert and his attacking threat is nullified, but because they tend to just get in each others' way. They both think along similar lines, spot similar openings and make the same run to take advantage. Over time, as they get back used to playing together, I am sure they will work it out so that only one makes the move forward at a time, but right now it is the main cause of Liverpool's disjointed play. As the players gain match sharpness and familiarity with each other's game in their new roles, I am sure that be sorted out.



As usual though, Slot's ability to tweak the team during the game to crank up the pressure on the opponent was impressive. He is like a boxer, feeling his way into the fight, sizing up his opponent in the early rounds and then all of a sudden takes charge of the fight. The first half slow, patient passing around at the back to try and bait the opponents into leaving gaps can be a bit dull to watch, but it is incredibly effective. It is pulling the opposition around and making them work, tiring them so that there are gaps to exploit in the second half. It is actually incredibly reminiscent of the Liverpool of the early 1980s, who won everything and they did it by grinding the opposition down over the 90 minutes. Slot's team is the same.



You could see it in this match, as Liverpool started to control more of the play after about 60 minutes, helped by the arrival of Jones in midfield. But there is still a lot of work to be done on bringing the unit together and building the innate understanding that the players need to have of each others' runs and movement. There is still a looseness to the passing at times that also needs to be ironed out, something that usually just needs match sharpness to get rid of. Overall though it was a close game, but Liverpool just about deserved the victory due to actually having the ambition to go out there and try to win it, rather than looking for a point.







Arsenal





Arsenal were very disappointing, I know they lost Saliba after 5 minutes to injury, but that is not the reason they lost. In fact, his replacement was one of their better players in the match. The reason they lost was down to one man alone - Arteta. For all the talk of him being a disciple of Pep Guardiola, he is producing performances that suggest his real icon is Tony Pulis. When he first took charge, Arsenal under him played good football, they were exciting to watch and they were improving. But recent years seem to have taught him the wrong lesson and instead of looking to keep playing good football and getting some gains from good set pieces, he has just thrown out the good football and is playing for set pieces.



The problem is that, apart from the constant recruitment of full-backs that are a threat from set-pieces and are actually centre-backs who can play there, the players Arteta adds to the team do not suit the way the Gunners are playing. And that is where it all fell apart. The midfield, apart from Rice, was poor. Zubimendi was all at sea trying to play like this. He needs to be in a ball-dominant team to get the best out of him, not a team that looks to win corners in the hope of making something happen. He is not physical enough and ends up just getting bypassed by opposing attacks. Merino is so lacking in mobility that his only real use in this system is to be a big body at set pieces.



Added to that, Arteta lacks Slot's ability to tweak things to take control of games. He just seems to throw on players with little real plan. The fact that, even at 1-0 down in the final minutes of the game, you still had the embarrassing spectacle of Jurrien Timber time wasting and refusing to get off the floor, even after Gakpo twice tried to help him up, tells you a lot about what they are getting instructed to do. It is the lack of ambition after coming up to 6 years in charge and a billion pounds spent that would bother me if I was a Gooner. But they seem to 'trust the process' even if that process is not apparent to anyone else!



It is odd that a team with such a solid backline is afraid to push forward a little more. They have such a solid base to operate from that they could afford to be a lot more attack minded without leaving themselves wide open, even against the better sides. If they keep being so negative, it will end up in yet another negative result at the end of the season.







Liverpool





Alisson - had a much easier game than against ten man Newcastle, which tells you a lot.





Szoboszlai - the best player on the pitch, even without that free kick. He was exceptional, getting up and down at pace, playing an exquisite 60 yard cross field pass to Wirtz's foot (incredible touch by the German too) and he inverted at the right times and also got down the flank when that option was right. His ability to pop up all over the pitch from right back and pick passes was like some kind of cross between Gerrard and Alexander-Arnold. Bradley and Frimpong actually have a real fight on their hands to hold onto the right-back slot, he genuinely looks like he could be better than either there. Though he is also badly missed from the centre of midfield! All that and managing to look nearly as good as me while doing it. His movement caused Arsenal so many problems, he was able to find himself space in dangerous areas high up the pitch, but had the work rate and pace to get back into his defensive position when the ball was lost. He also got forward at the right times, other times he would drop in between the two centre-backs to create a passing option when the ball was being passed around at the back to try and bait Arsenal in. He was a right-back when the ball was lost, but when Liverpool had possession, he was free to roam. The key thing was that he had the intelligence to use that freedom to help the team.





Konate - a much better performance, but he is still making basic errors which could cost the team. A number of times he was far too busy grappling with the man he was marking to just deal with the ball being played in, like he should have, and it sailed over his head into a dangerous area. So a step forward, but far from a great performance.





van Dijk - an excellent performance from the captain. There was no header that went unchallenged in his area because he was too busy with the opposition players - he remembered what he is there, to deal with the ball. And win it he did, again and again and again.





Kerkez - a very good game from the Hungarian international. Madueke has the ability to beat anyone, but he never gave him a moment's peace, even when beaten he was right back at him again straight away, harrying him.





Mac Allister - still a long way off the pace and struggled badly, but he needs to play to get back to sharpness. Luckily he was not put under any real pressure to take advantage of his lack of match sharpness. I would have liked to see him play with a bit more caution, with him not being at his best, instead of charging forward at every opportunity. Now there is Wirtz up there, he just ended up crowding the space and not giving Wirtz any room to play in. Plus Gravenberch often made the same run, which is something they need to work on, a bit more communication would not go amiss.





Gravenberch - a decent game, though he did get forward a bit too much for my liking, which forced Wirtz to drop off and end up protecting the defence. It is clear the trio in midfield are going to take a bit of time to come to an understanding of each others' games, but at least the three of them are all conscientious enough to be able to cover for each other.





Wirtz - showed some moments of genuine quality, including that beauty of a take from Szoboszlai's cross field pass, but often ended up as the deepest lying midfielder, which is not ideal. However, you cannot fault his effort for covering and how well he did when in that position. There are definitely signs that he will come good.





Salah - he took a bit of stick for his performance, though I am not sure why. Not just was he up against the meanest defence in the Premier League, but he got no service until near the end of the game when he must have been tiring. Considering he kept Gabriel pinned back and unable to double up on Ekitike, allowing him more space to operate, I would consider it a decent game.





Gakpo - decent game, but the lack of service gave him little chance to do more than he did.





Ekitike - got no service, but put himself about as much as possible. New boy Mosquera gave him little time or space to work in.





Jones - replaced Mac Allister in the 60th minute. Bringing him on helped Liverpool to step up their game, he played very well, mostly sitting in and allowing Wirtz to just stay up high and operate where he is most effective.





Gomez - was brought on in the stead of Konate in the 78th minute after Konate pulled up. Had an excellent game, he made sure not to get caught up in a personal battle and instead concentrated on the ball.





Chiesa - replaced Ekitike in the 78th minute. Like Ekitike he never got the service to really affect the game.





Endo - took the place of Wirtz in the 88th minute. Closed out the game in his inimitable, combative, abrasive style.

31 Aug 2025 21:53:54
Chuffed with the win (as we all are) but what I’m more chuffed with is the fact that we are 3 games into the season and we are already 4 points up on respective games from last season 👍🏻.

{Ed025's Note - the result was great AH but what a dire game of football, it was disgraceful that the supposedly 2 best teams in the country could serve up such a load of S**** mate...it was embarrassing..

Liverpool Article 28 Aug 2025
Newcastle United v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







It was not a particularly good performance by Liverpool, not in the slightest, but once again they found a way to win it when it matters. That is a great habit to get into while you are trying to get your football flowing. There were long periods in the second half that it looked like it was Liverpool that were a man down, as they allowed themselves to be overrun and pushed back. In the main though, they did deal well with the aerial onslaught from Newcastle. It was two bad basic errors that gave the goals away. I think I have to agree with Arne Slot on this though, games like this, especially this early in the season, you just have to get through and get the result. It was the same when Stoke were in the Premier League, games against them were never pretty but all that mattered was coming away with the result.



It does continue a worrying trend though of Liverpool's midfield being bullied out of games by a more physical opponent. So far it has not cost the team and so it is not a problem, but long term you would have to think the opposition will target this more and more. One thing is for sure, I have faith that Slot will find ways to deal with whatever is thrown at him. He has the ability to adapt and overcome, no matter how ugly it can be at times.



Once again in this game, Slot showed his ability to bring on substitutes, change the play and get that win. It may not be doing much good for my heart, but it is working. It was clear that he expected Newcastle to do exactly what they did and was just looking to soak it up and try and take the sting out of the game. You could see that by the way Liverpool took their time in everything they did, when they are usually looking to restart quickly all the time. Instead they were looking to frustrate Newcastle's team and fans. And it worked. Yes, it was unable to lower the crowd volume but instead it saw a number of the Toon players lose their heads. If the referee was not so weak, the man advantage would have been either more or the Newcastle team would have had to back off a bit. Unfortunately, Hooper is the weakest (and probably the worst) of the Premier League officials and he folded under the pressure. He seemed a lot more concerned with just trying to get good pictures on that stupid bodycam, than actually dealing with the problems.



But, the key thing is that, from a Liverpool point of view, it was three more points in what is likely to be a long, difficult season. The performance may not have been great, but it usually takes a while for teams to get up to speed and it is rare teams that start playing well in the first few games maintain it. And, if you can't enjoy a moment like Rio Ngumoha's last gasp goal in a difficult away match to win it, well then you may as well stop watching football. That is the kind of moment that makes the sport so special. It is a moment that will be remembered for years to come.



One last thing, I saw a piece by an ex-referee saying that this game needs to be investigated because of the amount of time the ball was in play. It was the least amount of time in a Premier League match since the days of Stoke City. However, he immediately tried to remove any blame from Simon Hooper for that, when he is mainly responsible for it. It was his weakness that led to so many free kicks being given. It was his inability to tell the time that led to him not putting enough added time on the end of each half. It was him that allowed the game to degenerate into a slugfest. Hooper set the tone from the outset by not clamping down hard at the beginning. I agree it needs to be investigated by the PGMOL, but not with the mindset that the officials did no wrong. Instead they should purely be interested in what the officials can do to improve matters. Instead they are only interested in covering their own arses and claiming they got every decision right, when everyone watching saw them get it hopelessly wrong!







Newcastle United





It was clear last season that Howe had decided the way forward for Newcastle was to utilise power and try to bully the opposition. This season he has doubled down on that. In this game, Howe decided to go full 1980s Wimbledon and just pump everything possible into the box and hope for a break. He seems to have become fixated on how effective Burn can be, with his height, and is just building everything around that as his tactics. It is quite worrying at the start of the season that a number of teams seem to be going back to the old long-ball tactics of lumping it up to a big man and looking for bits and pieces. Newcastle looked so much more effective when they play the ball out wide and crossed it in. Yes, they were still using longer balls, but it was not just for someone to fight for, but an actual pass into an area a wide man should be able to collect it first if they are alert. It does seem like Howe has panicked with no Isak and Wilson to play up front and is not confident that the current front three will get the goals.



The intensity had been cranked up for this game, the Newcastle players were really up for it, but that manifested a lot of the time as intentional fouls. From the start it seemed like they were far more interested in leaving something on a Liverpool player than getting the ball. Trippier launched himself in studs first at Wirtz within the first few minutes set the tone. They were lucky that Simon Hooper is a weak referee as Guimaraes could easily have already had a number of yellows before being booked and afterwards continued to tackle wildly. Even after Hooper gave him a final warning, he went in over the ball and made numerous reckless challenges that would normally have been a yellow. That did the Toon no favours though, as, apart from the red card, they picked up injuries with their reckless challenges and Tonali managed to hurt his shoulder after a couple attempts to foul failed and he threw himself to the ground looking for a free kick. I think that one was karma!



That intensity and bullying style did allow them to put real pressure on Liverpool and keep them from getting on the ball and playing the way they want to. So I would think Howe will probably see his tactics as being successful, despite the defeat. Personally, I just feel that they could have paired the intensity and physicality with a bit more brains, rather than just going for more brawn and going down easily looking for free kicks to launch into the box. Just a little bit more variety in their play could have been the difference for them. After all, there is a reason why Stoke City under Tony Pulis, though always competitive never actually competed for league titles. I am not sure this style is the way to move the club forward, but it seems to be the style favoured judging by the attempts to sign 6ft 4inch tall Strand-Larsen from Wolverhampton Wanderers.







Liverpool





Alisson - was put under some severe pressure at times and mostly dealt with it well. Between him and Virgil, most of the aerial bombardment was dealt with safely. There were a couple of times he got crowded out when coming for the ball, but mostly he was very good.





Szoboszlai - had an excellent game at right-back, despite it being an unfamiliar position to him. He kept Barnes quiet. Then he popped up at the end, after moving back to midfield, with a lovely dummy to draw away the defender to give Ngumoha time and space to place the winner.





Konate - another rank rotten performance. This season he has played like a player whose head is elsewhere. His 'defending' on the second goal was embarrassing. He simply cannot handle physicality, despite being such a big, powerful guy. His head goes and he starts grabbing and pulling. He was lucky that referees are now looking to see whether a forward is going to get on the ball or not before giving fouls, as he would have been picking up a second yellow in previous years. This season however, we have seen it already a few times with penalties not given as the player held was not going to get on the ball. Not convinced it is a good idea, it just seems to be another excuse for weak referees to avoid making a decision or for VAR to hide behind.





van Dijk - a proper captain's performance. I lost count of the times he headed the ball away, even though he was usually giving away a few inches in height to Burn or up against multiple Newcastle players. He looked back to his best. His timing was there and his positional sense saved Liverpool a few times. Man of the match in my opinion.





Kerkez - was badly at fault on the first goal turning his back before the ball was played in. He is still young though, so that is something that can be worked on in training for the future. Play the ball, not the man. Other than that, he had a restrained game trying to contain the threat of Elanga, rather than being given the freedom to bomb forward.





Jones - put in a shift but struggled to get on the ball and make anything happen. Newcastle were working so hard that it was difficult for him to play the way he likes to.





Gravenberch - despite picking up an early booking, he was able to mix it in the midfield for the rest of the game. Had a good game, but never really got to do much more than defend, so never got to play to his strengths enough. Despite that, he was able to pop up on the edge of the Newcastle box to score his first goal of the season.





Wirtz - he has not yet made the hoped for impact in English football, but it is little surprise that he struggled in this match. This was not a game for skill, the referee made sure of that by allowing Trippier to stud him on the very first challenge he received. He was not given a moment to do anything, though he never stopped trying. His work rate was excellent.





Salah - found it difficult to impact the game until right at the end when he popped up with the ball across for Rio to finish. However, as usual he was handicapped by the opposition being allowed to manhandle and kick him at will, but the moment he so much as breathes in the direction of a defender they are given a free kick. There has always been an odd bias against from referees, but it seems more pronounced this season.





Gakpo - despite being very closely marked, he ended the game with 2 assists. Worked hard, but needed some help on the wing when getting forward, which he barely received.





Ekitike - a very good game and showed he has the physicality to deal with attempts to rough him up. It did not phase him at all and his finish for the second almost right after half-time was very cool. Ekitike is impressing me more and more each game.





Bradley - replaced Wirtz in the 80th minute. Had a fair bit of the play, but did not do well. Gave away a silly needless foul which gave Newcastle a chance to put it into the mixer and they equalised from it.





Chiesa - was brought on in the stead of Ekitike in the 80th minute. Was unable to really get involved, though he worked hard to try and do something.





Elliott - replaced Jones in the 90th+5 minute. Struggled to make any impression on the game, as Newcastle were missing out midfield and just lumping it forward into the mixer.





Ngumoha - came on in the 90+5th minute, taking the place of Gakpo. Despite him and Elliott having to wait a good five minutes to get on, Ngumoha showed no signs of nerves at all and played with freedom. Great finish for the goal as well.





Endo - took the place of Salah in the 90+11th minute. I am not even sure if he touched the ball, he barely got on the pitch before it ended.

30 Aug 2025 00:16:18
Great summary, pretty much my thoughts on the game from a fellow Bootle boy 😎.

Liverpool Article 19 Aug 2025
Liverpool v Bournemouth A Liverpool Perspective







An exciting and entertaining way to open the season, against a team that are looking strong despite an almost entirely new backline. The clearest thing to come out of that game, for me at least, was how many Liverpool players are not quite ready yet for the season. There are still a number of them, for various reasons, that are nowhere near match fit and even further away from being match sharp. It used to be that teams would expect to need 5-6 games to get up to speed, but modern sports science has meant that these days most players come back almost match fit and ready to go. Even so, while players get match sharp in the early season there is always the potential for a surprise result, which makes this part of the season just about picking up results, rather than performing well.



Once again Slot showed a willingness to alter things tactically, starting the game with a new-look 4-2-3-1 formation, but he kept it similar to last season at the back, holding the left-back in position most of the time. Frimpong was given much more freedom to get forward, but Kerkez was sitting back, covering against Semenyo for the first half. That all changed at half-time, with the full-backs both freed up to get forward at will and it changed the game. Suddenly the Cherries were pinned back and a second goal quickly came. It looked like Liverpool would go one to build a bigger lead the way it was going. But it was that point that Slot made the subs on the 60th minute.



Frimpong had been feeling his hamstring at half-time and had to come off and Kerkez was running on empty. The mistake was, in my opinion at least, to bring on Endo at right-back. Once Gomez came on to play there and Endo moved into the centre, the team looked much more comfortable, even though they did get caught by a break. That was down to the central mids both getting forward at the same time. As the attack was building by Endo, Mac Allister should have dropped back in and protected the back line. It is just the kind of mistake teams make early on, as they get used to each other and a new style of play. These little things getting punished but not costing the points can be a good thing, as they are there now to remind the team to work as a unit and not all just charge up field at once.



I do understand why Slot was unable to bring Gomez on initially, as he is still working his way back to fitness following an injury, but moving Szoboszlai over would have been a better option in my opinion. Someone with the pace and energy to get up and down the flank was needed and Endo just is not that. Having said all that, more of the problem was the shift in emphasis, with the team being more disjointed defensively, most looking to just drop off, rather than press. A lot of that was probably just tiredness, but certainly it was also the factor of going two goals ahead, which naturally sees players begin to be a bit safer with their choices, choosing to hold on to what they have.



There is also a natural lowering in care over what they do, which shows in sloppy passes and also the players all getting caught up field as none of them were taking the time to check where the others were. In a normal course of play, players have partnerships that they build up and they work in tandem, one attacking, one sitting back or dropping off to cover. That is something that develops over time, so it is understandable that at times that was not happening in this match, but I expect it to improve over the course of the coming weeks. Liverpool are clearly looking to be a little more attacking this season, but I would not expect them to be as open every game as they were in this one, even if Gravenberch is out.



And, on top of all that, this game was also extremely emotional for the players, the first home game since the sad passing of Diogo Jota and that has to have an effect on players. Mo Salah's tears at the end as the Kop belted out Jota's song told a story. This was a game that was just about getting 3 points on the board, players feeling their way back towards match sharpness and yet it was done in style, with an exciting game and some moments of sheer joy to savour. You can't really ask for much more.



Well, actually I can think of one more thing that could be asked for - decent match officials. It was not just the blatant hand ball they missed, it was a whole series of decisions that Anthony Taylor messed up. He truly is an abysmal referee, not fit to referee anywhere near the professional game. I used to put it down to him being a Mancunian under pressure (or biased) when officiating Liverpool games, but I have noticed that it is every time I see him in charge of a game he is hopeless. One of the worst referees in the modern era, which is a hell of a high bar to reach, considering how low the quality level has dropped. Taylor is the kind of official that the Premier League should be ashamed of.







Bournemouth





it is very difficult to judge Bournemouth on this game. They were second best, but they gave a very good account of themselves, however the defence looked extremely ropey without their two centre-backs from last season. That would worry me over the course of the season. Also, they were extremely fortunate with a terrible decision by VAR to decide the blatant hand ball was not enough of a hand ball to make a decision. Senesi will no doubt still be wondering how he got away with that one, the moment he did it, he must have thought his evening was over. There is no question it was deliberate and no question it stopped a goalscoring opportunity as it stopped Ekitike from breaking through one on one, with no defender near him. With his pace, no one was going to catch him. Once again VAR fails to do its job in the most clear and obvious situation possible. It really is tiresome how badly the set up is affecting the game in such a negative fashion.



On this showing, I think Bournemouth look like a team that will be safe from relegation and probably in the chase for Europe once more, though the defence will need to tighten up if they are to qualify. They press so well that they are going to get a lot of goals from winning the ball back high up the pitch. Unfortunately though, they are going to concede a lot as well. Senesi looks weak and was all over the place at times, he will need to improve massively if they are to improve on last season's placing.



They also lack a bit in midfield, lots of hard work and industry but little else, they lack a player with the ability to break out with the ball like a Baleba can for Brighton & Hove Albion, or who can pick a pass like Wharton does for Crystal Palace. That is why Evanilson, for all his hard work, got no service. They are overly reliant on players, particularly Semenyo, breaking at pace with the ball. Teams that sit in against them will be a problem if they do not find a way to get Evanilson more of the ball in better areas. Semenyo will not often get the space he did in this match, and when he does it will usually be against teams like Liverpool that are able to take the risks due to creating chances themselves.







Liverpool





Alisson - not a lot he could do with the goals, other than maybe give a few players a kick up the arse to wake up. Some of his passing was sublime, the little round the corner balls with the outside of the foot were lovely, but he will not be happy without a clean sheet.





Frimpong - got forward well at times, though the understanding is not quite there yet with Salah. Showed good pace getting back but struggled physically and was bullied a few times, which is something he will need to work on. Some provision will need to be made to deal with long balls played high into his area as that is going to be targeted by some teams. A big forward will be able to physically cut him off and stop him even attempting to head it, unless he works on building up his strength.





Konate - I am not even going to try and list all the mistakes he made, he was partly at fault on both goals, his positional sense was abysmal all game. It was a disastrous performance, something he is sadly quite prone to. On a good day, Konate is one of the better centre-backs in the game, the problem is that he does not have enough good days, and even on a good day he is still likely to do something stupid and rash. I have seen excuses made for him, about him just having it too easy because there is no pressure on his place, but he knows there is pressure on his place as Liverpool just bought a player considered the best young centre-back in Europe by Serie A observers and are trying to buy Guehi as well. So he is playing for his place, but he just has not got the mentality. Konate loses his head far too easily, allows players half his size and strength to bully him and knock him about, he will throw himself into needless challenges and when they fail he will grab and grapple. His performance level is far too dependent on having someone alongside him to talk him through the game for a top flight defender who should be coming into his peak years.





van Dijk - was also having a bad day, but he is coming into the season undercooked after missing a couple of late preseason games through illness. He looks a little off the pace right now. The only worry is that just maybe it is age catching up with him, but I am of the opinion that he is just a bit ring rusty at the moment and will get better as the season goes on.





Kerkez - struggled up against Semenyo, who gave him a really difficult game, but it is telling that the goals only came after he went off. While he did struggle, he was always there to make sure Semenyo never had time and space. I just felt he was trying too hard as it was his debut up against his old team.





Mac Allister - clearly miles away from match sharpness and really struggled to start with. As the game went on, he got better and better though. He just needs some minutes in his legs to shake off the rust. While it was not a good performance from him overall, I have no worries that he will improve as he gets his match sharpness. You could see his timing was off as he has had so little game time ahead of the season. I am looking forward to him being fresh later on in the season after a much needed extended summer break.





Szoboszlai - very mixed game, broke up play well at times, did some good stuff in attack but also gave the ball away a couple of times. Looked like he is still coming to terms with his new role in the team.





Wirtz - struggled with the physicality. Bournemouth were able to get away with a couple of early fouls on him, which stopped him getting any momentum and he was struggling to adjust to the pace as well. There were some nice flashes, some lovely touches and passes but it was just not coming off in this game.





Salah - had a quiet game, like Wirtz (and in every game he plays in the Premier League to be honest) the Cherries were able to foul him with impunity to keep him off his game. If he challenged back, a foul was given against him, it is little wonder he gets frustrated. Showed a bit of fire and got his customary opening day goal, so not a bad day all in all.





Gakpo - one of the better players on the pitch. Tracked back well, was always dangerous going forward and scored a goal as well.





Ekitike - the more I watch Hugo Palindrome play, the more I like what I see. When Liverpool were first linked I was unsure, but since then I have been watching a lot of footage of him and I really liked what I saw. Seeing him in a Liverpool shirt, I am even more impressed. He works hard, has height, pace, skill and is an intelligent footballer too. A goal and assist on his home debut which were well deserved.





Endo - replaced Frimpong in the 60th minute. Struggled at right-back when he first came on, then got caught up field on the second Bournemouth goal. Settled in after that and was fine, but he did look rusty at first.





Robertson - was brought on in the stead of Kerkez in the 60th minute. Has an extremely poor game, was absolutely hopeless on the first goal and then caught up the pitch on the equaliser. Maybe it is rustiness for him as well, but he is really looking like a player whose legs have gone.





Gomez - replaced Ekitike in the 72nd minute. Had a solid game and made a big difference at right-back.





Jones - came on in the 72nd minute, taking the place of Mac Allister. Did ok, maybe even helped solidify the midfield a little.





Chiesa - took the place of Wirtz in the 82nd minute. Finally got his goal. Already a cult hero with a great song, maybe this is the springboard for him to finally make a place in the team his own? He has certainly never lacked for effort and causes problems for the opposition whenever on the pitch, but the quality he once had does not look to be there right now. Perhaps a boost in confidence can help bring that back?

20 Aug 2025 02:40:40
Excellent write up. To a great season.

13 Aug 2025 15:25:54
Not heard many calling Richard Hughes now the way they were 6 months ago.