More Liverpool Posts 3

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 🤣🤣🤣.

Liverpool Article 18 Feb 2025
Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers A Liverpool Perspective







A very strange game, Liverpool barely got out of first gear to stroll through the first half, but then struggled to get going in the second when Wolves upped their game and ended up hanging on for the three points. Tension had clearly crept in at Anfield, both on the pitch and in the stands, with both players and fans clearly feeling the pressure of the title race right now. Arsene Wenger did say, during his appearance on TV after the game, that this is the time during a title battle when the pressure does build up most, and it was clear to see in this performance.



I have to say that the game was not helped by the officials, who were incredibly poor. Hooper is simply the worst of a very bad bunch, he is weak and half the time has no idea what has happened and waits to see the reaction of the players before deciding what to give. It must be said that he was not helped by the players at all. Wolves have good cause to complain about the officials, but they made it more difficult for him by throwing themselves to the ground at every contact. When you have such a poor official being faced with players looking for non-existent fouls, then you really cannot complain when poor decisions are made against you when there is a foul. It is the case of the, oddly apt, boy who cried wolf. After a while a referee as weak, indecisive and downright awful as Hooper is will only give you decisions when there is no doubt about them if he feels you are trying to con him.



There is no excuse for some of his bizarre decisions though, particularly not booking Konate for a second time or Jota for his pathetic dive. Liverpool can also feel hard done by as the Salah goal ruled out for offside could not possibly have been checked and it was very tight. There was nowhere near enough time for them to draw lines and there is supposed to be doubt applied in the attacker's favour in these situations. Why was it ruled out so quickly when, to the naked eye, it was impossible to tell if he was offside or not? In the Crystal Palace-Everton game, they spent 4 minutes trying to rule out a goal for Palace that was clearly onside, because it took that long to get the lines sorted out. Are we meant to believe that it only took them seconds on this occasion?



So yes, Wolves have every right to feel hard done by with some of the decisions, but it was not all one way and certainly not a referee just being against them. By the end of the second half, their players were winning a free kick every time Endo got within 5 yards of one of them, simply by falling over. This was just another embarrassingly bad performance by the most incompetent referee ever to work in the Premier League. It is incredible to watch him and think this man is extremely well paid and considered one of the best in the country. If this is the level the PGMOL thinks acceptable and is producing, then we would be as well scrapping even having them. We would get fairer and better refereeing from someone who had never even seen a game of football in their life before.



To go back to the performance, it was very disappointing, with the team clearly sent out to avoid fatigue issues in this run of games by not pressing high or aggressively. Instead, they were very gently just sitting off and attempting to conserve energy as much as possible. That did allow Wolves a lot more of the ball, but will hopefully pay dividends later, when the players are not struggling for energy in the final couple of matches of this 5 games in 15 days period. The key thing was that Liverpool got the three points, which they did, so the tactics worked and were enough to see them through. It may not have been a convincing win, but at this point in the season that does not matter. Grinding out wins is key when the pressure is on.







Wolverhampton Wanderers





In the first half they were poor, offered little to no threat at all, with Liverpool able to stroll through the first half and lead without playing even close to well. The changes at half-time made a huge difference and they were the better side from the moment the game restarted, though only took full control of the game after Alexander-Arnold went off and they were able to really push onto Liverpool. After that they were dominant and would have fully deserved to get at least a draw on the balance of play, but they just lack a cutting edge.



It is clear they are in a false league position right now and should gradually move away from the drop zone before the season ends. If they continue to put in performances like this, they could very well pick up a few places in the table before the end of the season. They do need to improve up front, Cunha is quality but the rest around him are nowhere near his level. Munetsi is intriguing, but very raw and extremely clumsy with his touch of the ball.







Liverpool





Alisson - pulled off one great save but other than that was not really tested, despite Wolves' dominance in the second half, which tells you a lot about why Wolves failed to get a result.





Alexander-Arnold - defended solidly, though Ait-Nouri showed some tricks, he made very little headway in reality, creating little against Alexander-Arnold. On the ball, he did give away some loose passes, but also played some excellent one, particularly the beautiful ball which sent Salah away for his goal that was ruled offside. Overall, a decent game.





Konate - a mindless performance from the big French centre-back and he was incredibly lucky to benefit from weak refereeing, as he should have been sent off. His head was not right at all.





van Dijk - a mixed game, showed good leadership but struggled at times defensively, being caught out more often than I can remember seeing happen to him at Liverpool. Though that was still a lot less than either Konate or Quansah were in just 45 minutes, which shows what a high bar he has set. In fact, if I was talking about just about anyone else I would be saying what a good job he did!





Robertson - another poor game. Once again he was constantly dropping yards deeper than the rest, putting pressure on the defence by creating gaps for Wolves to exploit in behind them. Made a bad error in the first half and was lucky that Wolves were caught offside. He is so far off the pace right now, it is scary.





Gravenberch - really struggled to make any impression on the game as Wolves crowded him out of the match. With them double and sometimes triple-teaming him, that did create space for others to work in. His defending on the Wolves goal was weak, at best.





Szoboszlai - In the first half he had a good game, but spent the second half mainly running back towards his own goal to help defend due to the way the game was going. However, he was everywhere, worked so hard and was probably Liverpool's best player of the starters.





Mac Allister - had a very good first half, was heavily involved at both ends of the pitch. In the second half, he was pushed back and did produce some good moments defensively, like in the first, but he was consistently poor on the ball. His corners were well delivered.





Salah - not his best game, in the first half he struggled to get at Wolves, who doubled up well against him. In the second half, the only sniff he got was ruled out for offside after he netted. He did take his penalty very well.





Diaz - awful game, other than his goal and winning the penalty. His delivery from wide areas was one of the reasons the performance was so poor, as he messed up almost every single ball in. He was also as guilty as anyone for throwing himself to the floor, once again, and should have been booked for a clear dive towards the end of the first half.





Jota - the most frustrating player I can think of. For every good thing he does, there are multiple times when he messes up the attack or does something stupid. On form, he does provide goals, which is why it is so frustrating as he should be invaluable, but his inability to link play and poor touch, even on those occasions when he can stay fit, mean he is often as much of a hindrance as he is a help. The idiotic dive for the penalty which ended up being correctly overturned is a case in point. He did brilliantly well to block off Doherty to allow the ball to be played through into the space, but then has to ruin the good work with that embarrassing swan dive. I have no idea how he escaped a booking for that pathetic moment. Personally, I would like to see players sent off for that kind of blatant dive.





Quansah - replaced Konate before he got himself sent off at half-time. I know people are raving about his 'goal-saving tackle' but he was, once again, awful. His positional sense is non-existent, he was caught time and time again, including that challenge, where he was caught the wrong side and was lucky that the ball was poor and played behind the Wolves forward, to allow him to intercept it. It is arguable that it was not really saving a goal, as it would have been difficult for the forward to get onto a ball in behind him. He did show good pace and strength, but his positioning and awareness are abysmal.





Bradley - came on for Alexander-Arnold in the 63rd minute. While he is a very good player and did very well defensively, the moment he came on it allowed Wolves to push right up on top of Liverpool and apply more pressure. Without the threat of Alexander-Arnold's balls in behind, Wolves were comfortable from then on in. The whole Liverpool style of play will need to alter if he is to become the long term right-back, as it is not suited to him.





Nunez - was brought on in the stead of Jota in the 63rd minute. A really odd performance from Nunez. At first he came on and chased everywhere, then it was like he gave up after a few minutes of that, before picking up his work rate again after a word from Slot. I know he had absolutely no service, but he could still do more, much more.





Endo - took Diaz's place in the 71st minute. He was understandably given the man of the match award by Liverpool as he constantly broke up play. There were a few fouls given against him, but some of them were as much of a foul as the one on Jota for the penalty that was rightly chalked off. It does seem his combative nature makes it easy for players to just throw themselves to the floor and get given free kicks for nothing.

Liverpool Article 25 Dec 2024
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective







After the wins over Real Madrid and Manchester City, which were very one-sided, it is hard to believe any performance could top those, but for 70 minutes of the 90 against Spurs, Liverpool went up to a whole new level. The big questions I have afterwards are how did they score only six (though it feels odd to use only in relation to six goals) and how did Spurs manage to score three? That was a hiding of epic proportions and it is hard to believe just how good Slot has this team playing. This performance was incredible. Yes, it was helped by the way the Londoners play under Postecoglou and their injury situations but it was still an exceptional and exciting performance.



It really felt like Liverpool could score every time they swept forward and Spurs just had no answer. If it was not for a couple of spells of complacency, that game would have been a much better reflection of the game than 6-3 actually was. It was certainly much more one-sided than that suggests. There is really not a lot to write here, it was a thrashing, but there was nothing out of the ordinary that Liverpool had to do to achieve it, other than play their game well. Press them, they give the ball away, attack them and they are wide open. That was it in a nutshell.



The end of the game showed how to control the play and see out time, but that only became possible because of the way Liverpool constantly broke the press throughout the game. There were periods when it was clear the Reds were baiting Tottenham in to press them, by slowly rolling the ball around, looking to create a gap when someone got tempted to chase it. It kept working as well, freeing up players all over the pitch, as Spurs' press was ragged and they were not all reacting in time to the trigger. By the end of the game, understandable when you consider the scoreline, it was a broken Spurs team, who had lost the enthusiasm to even chase any teasing balls around the defence.







Tottenham Hotspur





Spurs are turning into a massive disappointment under Postecoglou, the players are letting him down badly. Far too many are strolling around the pitch and not putting in the effort needed. The only player who seemed willing to put in the effort required, and consequently their only decent performer, was Kulusevski. It looks clear that they are already at the point where a choice needs to be made to rip it all up and start again, either by backing Postecoglou and offloading the main offenders, or by removing the Australian. Which almost certainly means that it will be the manager that makes way, as that is the easy option for Levy, before the fans turn on him.



However, while it is clear that the players are failing the manager, it is also clear that he is failing to make the most out of those players. There is no adaptability to circumstances and it is costing them badly. It does not take an expert to see that Forster is awful with his feet (actually for Premier League level, every part of his game is below the level required), and that is being kind about his kicking. It also should not take much to see that a high line only works if the defence, midfield and attack are working together as a cohesive unit. Just putting fast players at the back is not a solution, even with their first choice defence in place, they are just as bad at defending.



The front three is not pressing as a unit, the midfield is too slow to back them up and the defence is just stood up high waiting for the race back towards their goal when a ball gets played over them. There is nobody willing to organise them on the pitch, much as I love Son, he is not leading them. In fact, he is probably the biggest worry as he is not playing well in himself, let alone helping to get the others playing better. And, on top of the lack of organisation and cohesion, the whole team is incredibly slack with their passes, constantly passing themselves into trouble, before inevitably giving the ball away.



They are in a mess of similar proportions to Manchester United and they need the same drastic surgery to their team to fix it. The problem is that the repairs are going to require investment at a level that Levy is unlikely to sanction, even if the money is there to do it. The youth academy is not producing the talent to work with, so it is going to be a case of signing players to plug holes. I am just not sure that anything can be done to plug the holes Postecoglou's system leaves against better sides. At the top end, you simply have to be better at defending, I am not sure he can or even if he is inclined to try and fix the defence.







Liverpool





Alisson - he spent most of the game sat in a deckchair watching the game like the rest of us! There was a dip in levels after Liverpool went 2-0 up, which led to Spurs pulling one back, but I believe he could do nothing about the shot from Madisson. It was cleverly bent around the defenders, which meant Alisson was unsighted until too late. The second half was more of the same for him, watching the game until after Liverpool's fifth, when they got complacent again and let Spurs back into the game. Alisson was needed to stop it becoming 5-2 much earlier than it did. He could do nothing about the second, though you do have to wonder if there was a possibility he could have claimed the ball in the air. He also made a good save at 6-3 to stop Spurs making the game look far too close a contest. Overall though, he just had it nice and easy.





Alexander-Arnold - defended well, almost scored with a cracking shot and produced a masterclass in passing to top it off. His cross for the opening goal was a thing of beauty - when you talk about bending it like Beckham, well that is exactly what you are meaning. Son had a very poor game, in large part thanks to Alexander-Arnold.





Gomez - an excellent game from Gomez, the kind of performance he was routinely putting in during the Premier League title-winning season under Klopp. He was all over the pitch sweeping up at times. Though, it must be said, he could have done better on the first Spurs goal and been more vocal to get the midfield to drop in and cover on the second. The midfield were sleeping and he could not deal with everyone, so he needed to bawl at them to wake them up.





van Dijk - like Gomez, he could have done better on the first Spurs goal, he also allowed himself to be drawn out of position on the second, though he does have every right to expect the midfield to drop in and cover the gap left. But, he still should have disengaged a bit sooner and dropped back. Overall though, a good game for him, though he will not be happy at letting in three goals in one match.





Robertson - a mixed game for him, some poor crosses and awful defending on the third Spurs goal in particular, but he also did some excellent work too. He did struggle up against Kulusevski, but the Swede is an excellent player. Once Kulusevski moved inside after Spurs made some subs, Robertson was much better.





Gravenberch - apart from a spell after Liverpool scored their fifth, when he was asleep defensively, Gravenberch was once again exceptional. He does need to be more alert to a centre-back being caught up field pressing the ball though.





Mac Allister - after his pathetic piece of play acting, trying to win a free kick rather than getting on with the game and possibly stopping Spurs scoring their first, he was much better. It seemed to wake him up when he did not get the decision he was hoping for and, after that, he was getting stuck in, rather than throwing himself to the floor when involved in contact. And, of course, he scored the second after a really good, well-timed, late run into the box to steal a march on the defence.





Szoboszlai - outstanding! He was my man of the match, though there are a lot of options for that accolade. However, the Hungary captain seemed to be everywhere and at the heart of everything Liverpool did. His workrate, passing and timing of the run was absolutely brilliant in this game.





Salah - brilliant game from a player who is making a stronger case for being the greatest player ever in the Premier League. Each week that goes by, he seems to be setting new records and this week it was becoming the fastest player in Prem history to notch double figures in goals and assists, getting two more of each. I am not sure there is even an argument to be made for anyone else right now for being the best player in the world. Salah has been so good this season, that he is making it more and more laughable that he gets so little recognition from FIFA and UEFA.





Diaz - played in the centre as a false 9 and was excellent, though Tottenham's defending did help with that. However, his movement was very good and they could not cope with it at all. Could easily have scored more than the couple he got.





Gakpo - had a decent game, but not at the level he has been playing. There were a number of times his touch was poor, one of them led to him getting a booking.





Jones - replaced Mac Allister in the 68th minute. He never seemed able to get up to speed in the game and was caught chasing the play a lot. Should have done better on the second Spurs goal.





Jota - came on for Gakpo in the 68th minute. Went into the centre, so Diaz could go back onto the left. While he did have a few moments of loose play, like the moment when he should have done better with a header, he worked hard to make up for his mistakes. At one point, after he gave the ball away sloppily, he chased Kulusevski back 50 yards to try and recover it. At one point his desire was enough to win a ball against a number of Spurs' players, as he just wanted it more.





Nunez - took Diaz's place in the 86th minute. Played on the left and did a decent enough job in the few minutes he was on the pitch.





Elliott - was brought on in place of Salah in the 86th minute. Played a lovely ball to Szoboszlai right at the end, but played on the right which no longer seems to be his best position at all.

Liverpool Article 17 Dec 2024
Liverpool v Fulham A Liverpool Perspective







Wow, yet again another fantastic match! To think there were people complaining on our Liverpool site recently about the lack of entertainment watching them play. Since then, it has been just incredible to watch the games. They have all been exciting, for different reasons. Manchester City and Real Madrid were just blown away, while the others have just been rollercoaster rides. Well, I accept that the Girona match was not exciting, nestled in the middle of it all, but it was a game with little riding on it, as Liverpool had already qualified for the next stage. There was very little chance of that being anything other than a bit of a grind.



Firstly though, sadly I once again have to complain about the officiating, which was abysmal. Tony Harrington was all over the place and had a mare and was so inconsistent, he was almost consistent in his inconsistency. How on earth Diaz ended up being booked was beyond me. It was clear he was the one actually being fouled. The Perreira booking was extremely questionable and really looked a red card, or should have been. There was no attempt to play the ball, it was just studs on the back of the calf in an attempt to put Gravenberch out of the game. It was everything we are told they want to stamp out of the game.



Then there was the sending off of Robertson. I have to admit I thought initially it was a good decision, but on seeing it back, I can understand why it is controversial, especially as they did have their goalscoring chance. I am now unsure what the decision should have been. The one I am not unsure about is the penalty claim for Liverpool, which was a clear penalty in my opinion. A foul does not have to be deliberate to be a foul, so I have no idea how the referee and VAR came to the conclusion that Gomez being wiped out by accident was not a foul.



The game itself was, well I think I can call it a tactical masterclass by Arne Slot. The way he jiggled the team about, over and over again until it worked to put pressure on Fulham and really take the game to them. It meant taking big risks, but the potential rewards were well worth the risk. For most of the game, despite being down to ten, Liverpool were the better side, though the spaces left by being a man short did mean there was always the potential there for the Londoners to break. If it had been up to me, I would probably have put Endo on to give a bit more solidity, but what Slot did instead worked probably a lot better than what I had in mind. It worked so well that it felt almost disappointing to only get a draw with ten men. My only worry about it is how much it would have taken out of the legs of those players who played the full 90 minutes.







Fulham





It must be said, Marco Silva has improved massively as a head coach over the years. In the past, his teams were disorganised defensively and easy to break down. This Fulham team is much better organised and defensively much more solid, while still retaining the ability to score goals that his teams have always had. I like that he rarely thinks about settling for a point and almost always sends his team out to take the game to the opposition and attempt to win. Silva has Fulham at the point that they can give any team a game and you can never rule them out from getting a result, no matter who they are playing.



Having said that, the big issue he does seem to have is motivation. They do seem to sit back far too easily as soon as they have a lead. They did it twice against Liverpool and let them back in both times. As soon as they have a lead, they want to drop deep and look to hit on the counter. They do have pace in wide areas, so it is understandable, but it does often cost them. They may be more organised than Silva's previous sides, but they are still not solid enough to sit in and hold out. That makes them very reliant on their forwards to keep opponents pushed back.



They do have a lot of pace up top, which helps, but they are so good and comfortable on the ball that it feels like they would pick up much more points by holding slightly higher up and getting on the ball more. They can play keep ball to draw opponents out, then use the pace on the counter, without ending up sat inside their own penalty area when they get the ball and in danger of one sloppy pass throwing away their lead.







Liverpool





Alisson - he was unlucky with both goals, they were both deflected past him or neither is likely to have ended up in the back of the net. He also came up with a save to keep the score equal when needed.





Alexander-Arnold - it is hard to judge him defensively in this game, due to the way Liverpool played with ten men. Slot was brave and went aggressive, pushing him onto Robinson to stop the Fulham full-back getting forward. That did leave a lot of space behind him, but it was a risk that was worth taking. His flexibility was used, as he was inverted and then pushed out wide and then inverted once more, as Slot looked to figure out how to get at Fulham with just ten men. Some of his passing was brilliant, some of it loose, pretty much as normal.





Gomez - had a really good game, though he was constantly moved about from right-sided centre-back in a back four to left-back, then right-sided centre-back in a back three. Then back to left-back and then left-sided centre-back in a back three. Through it all, Gomez had a good game, though he was very unlucky with the deflection, at least he was there to attempt to block.





van Dijk - in the early parts of the game, he was caught up field, then got caught by a simple ball over the top. But, as the game went on, he grew into it and led the team well. Slot had to take chances and go man-for-man at the back, which meant there were lots of spaces to be covered, but van Dijk did what he could to organise the defensive set up.





Robertson - that was a disastrous game for Robertson. Even when he got wiped out by Diop, there was an offside so the team were unable to gain any real advantage from it. But then he followed that up by giving the ball away, leading to a passage of play where he was caught out ball-watching and not noticing Perreira behind him on the first Fulham goal. Worse, the ball deflected off him, otherwise it would have almost certainly been a simple save for Alisson. Not satisfied with that, he then failed to control a simple ball, letting it bounce off him to Wilson, who he then wiped out and got himself sent off. I know people are making excuses for the loose touch, due to him possibly carrying a knock, but that is no excuse for ball watching.





Gravenberch - was immense, whether playing in midfield or defence. And that even despite Perreira's attempt to put him out of the game with a stud rake down the back of his ankle. What a player he is growing into. Man of the match for me.





Szoboszlai - was the one who pushed Gravenberch closest for man of the match. In fact, he has a very good case to be the one who should get it. His graft and intelligent work for the team made a huge difference. His mobility and some very nice play, allied to a prodigious workrate, were like an extra man. He allowed Slot to play an aggressive game, going for the win, even though they were missing a man for most of the game.





Jones - played a higher role initially, though he had to play all over the pitch after the sending off. Before the sending off, he had not done well, he should have done better early on and then was weak just before the sending off. But after the sending off, he picked up his game and the only blot on his copybook after it was the silly booking he picked up. It was a consequence of him trying so hard and the way the team was sent out to be aggressive and on the front foot, but it was a moment that you could see coming as he chased the ball. He did play a big role in enabling Liverpool to wrestle the game back, after Fulham took complete control following the sending off.





Diaz - he should never have been booked but he never let that mistake by the referee stop him. He was here, there and everywhere helping to fill in gaps. He was also a threat when Liverpool got the ball, interchanging well with Gakpo while he was on the pitch, and generally causing havoc. A very good performance from the Colombian.





Salah - I know Robinson had been booked for a cynical foul on Diaz, and so had to be careful, but it was still impressive how Salah just ripped him apart so easily, even though Fulham constantly doubled up on him with Cuenca constantly coming over on the cover. He also got his 100th assist with a lovely ball for Gakpo to put in the net. By forcing them to double mark him the way he did, it opened up spaces that would not otherwise have been there. And he was still managing to cause them problems, even with two men on him.





Gakpo - apart from his short spell at left wing-back, as Slot tried to find a solution with the ten men on the pitch, Gakpo was excellent. He scored, showed skill on a nice run, worked very hard and caused them real problems with his movement.





Nunez - replaced Gakpo in the 70th minute. Set up Jota's goal, but he looks short on confidence still in front of goal. His energy and enthusiasm came in at just the right moment, I felt, as it brought fresh impetus to the performance.





Quansah - came on for Jones in 70th minute. Unfortunately Quansah once again had a terrible game, vying with Robertson as the worst player in the match. He was negative on the ball, mostly turning back and playing sideways, ruining the momentum that was building. His touch was poor. But the worst thing was his defending for the second goal. He had fresh legs, but he was weak and allowed Muniz to just muscle him out and score, when he should have seen out the danger. He is far too lackadaisical and needs to wake up before he misses the chance to make it at Liverpool. He has not learnt anything from all his errors, which is worrying. He plays like he is a reincarnation of van Dijk, but lacks the Dutchman's quality and physicality, so just ends up costing goals.





Elliott - took Szoboszlai's place in the 79th minute. Nearly scored but, other than that he struggled to make his mark on the game. His energy and willingness were much needed though, as there were clearly some tired legs on that pitch by the time he came on.





Jota - was brought on in place of Alexander-Arnold in the 79th minute. He may not be the best at link up play, to put it nicely, he may spend far too much time injured, but when you need a man to come off the bench and rescue a goal for your team, there are few, if any, better players around. At times like that, he turns into something special, able to shimmy and send players so far out of the way they need to get a ticket to get back into the stadium. And he is clinical as a substitute as well, with no need to get a feel for the ball or get up to speed, he is just on it. It was an excellent goal as well.