Football News: A Since Lockdown Liverpool Review

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Quick Liverpool Review: Since Lockdown

12 Jul 2020 08:48:39
Morning eds1
Any chance of review of the games from when we started back. Not to detailed just a summary of good points and bad. Players good and bad.?
Thanks mate. Longthing76

Versus Everton:

Both sides looked really rusty and just like they had not played for a while. Which neither had. Neither team were anywhere near their best and a nil nil draw was probably about as much as they deserved. Hard to criticise anyone on either team as it was just the first game back. It was just really about getting it out of the way with picking up too many injuries or losing. It was a step closer to the title after 4 months of painful waiting.

Versus Crystal Palace

The disappointing performance against Everton needed a response and the team gave one with an emphatic demolition of the Londoners. Once Liverpool took the lead, the Eagles rolled over and never looked like they had any fight in them at all. Losing Zaha early on probably didn't help them, though he very rarely shows anything much against the Reds anyway, so it is difficult to know how much of an effect his loss had. The way Liverpool played, it is doubtful he would have done any more than left them more open to attack.

Versus Manchester City

After a promising start the difference in importance of the fixture to the two teams showed. Liverpool had the title wrapped up and little to play for, just pride. City have been embarrassed by the way Liverpool have strode away from them in the title race and needed to prove a point. I am not sure they proved anything, but it did give the media some reason to return to their salivation over how Pep is the greatest of all time and his success is not at all related to having been handed the best teams in their leagues and then lots of money to throw at it. City did get a deserved win, they were the better team on the day, but it meant about as much as a League Cup match does these days.

Versus Aston Villa

This showed that, despite the City game in real terms meaning nothing, the defeat hurt the players and they reacted in the right way. It was very much the archetypal Liverpool performance from this season, a gradual turning up of the pressure as the game went on until the opposition get ground down into defeat. It is very reminiscent of the 1980s. Liverpool would wear the other team out over the game, opening up gaps as defenders and midfielders tire and lose concentration. This was despite Villa fighting for their lives, they were just outclassed.

Versus Brighton & Hove Albion

This was a game that was won in the first ten minutes, as Liverpool capitalised on a sleepy, error-strewn start from Brighton to take a 2-0 lead. After that it was a case of just continuing on from the previous game, but then Brighton started to take advantage of space down the Liverpool left and exposing the inexperience of Williams playing out of position at left-back. Getting a goal back just before half-time could have presented Liverpool with a real problem for the second half but some astute substitutions at half-time turned the game back Liverpool's way and control of the midfield was re-established.

Versus Burnley

A disappointing draw to lose the 100% home record, all the more disappointing as the team's Achilles' heel reared its ugly head as Liverpool were extremely wasteful in front of goal. Too many misses or shots placed easily within the Burnley keeper's reach, when the game should really have been out of sight. You have to give the Clarets their due though, they keep going and give their all for their manager with a never say die attitude. Yes they are extremely physical, but they lack the financial means to buy the kind of quality other teams around them have, so they get stuck in to even the playing field. They, and Sheffield United for that matter, are showing that a good team is much more important than good individuals.#

The Good:

Alisson Becker - the defence have faith in him and he can often spend 80min just spectating only to have to pull out a stop from nowhere. That is never easy. He is the bedrock that the defence is built on.

Virgil van Dijk - he is the leader at the back, even when not at his imperious best, he is still talking, cajoling and instructing his teammates through the game. When he is at his best he makes top class strikers look like non-league amateurs who are completely out of their depth.

Andrew Robertson - he offers far more than just balance down the left, though that is very important. His drive and willingness to go head to head with anyone and to show no care for reputations is a key factor in Liverpool's recent successes.

Fabinho - since the restart he has rediscovered his form and has looked Liverpool's best player overall. Some of his passes are Xabi Alonso/Jan Molby-like and he has scored a scorcher too. At just 26, he should have four or five peak years to come.

Jordan Henderson - after their careers have finished, there are certain players that become remembered by fans of their team as 'captain fantastic', I think Henderson has earnt the right to be one of them now. It is not just what he provides as a player himself, but the way he drives everyone around him on to be better and to keep on going. He has, by hard work and no little talent, turned his reputation around after being the subject of ridicule early on. A few more goals would not go amiss though!

Curtis Jones - a bit early to judge him just yet, but he has been extremely impressive when he has had chances and it looks like he will have a big part to play in Liverpool's future.

Sadio Mane - Mane is just immense. It is not just his brilliant movement and his exceptional skill on the ball but also his workrate and the protection he provides to the defence that makes Mane the best in the world in his position right now.

Mohamed Salah - the Egyptian King provides so much for the team, as well as an immense amount of goals. He creates chances for others, either with passes or by dragging two or three players over to shut him down constantly. It is difficult to understand why he draws so much criticism from a section of the Liverpool support. Liverpool are incredibly lucky to have him and Mane, two world class forwards, in one team.

Georginio Wijnaldum - rarely draws the plaudits but has been a reliable performer since joining. He has come back from the lockdown seemingly refreshed and full of running.

Jurgen Klopp - before the lockdown he led the club to an enormous lead. Throughout the lockdown he said all the right things and now that football is back he got the title won early. Liverpool has always been a club where the manager is held in higher regard than most and Klopp has put himself in the top echelon of the great managers the club has had. He understands the ethos of the club and has fully bought into it. He is arguably the best manager in the world right now.

The Bad:

Injuries - every club has struggled with niggles since the restart as players struggle to regain fitness, so it is not just Liverpool but it is frustrating to see teams having to put out makeshift sides.

Inconsistency - again this is a general problem throughout the Premier League as the games come thick and fast after such a long lay-off, teams are struggling to get into any kind of form. Injuries and the lack of fitness after the break has made it difficult for anyone to put out a consistent team selection, which is then reflected in performances. Liverpool have the added problem of having nothing to play for, adding motivational issues on top of it all.

Cutting Edge - Liverpool are creating huge amounts of chances, and have been all season, but there has been a real lack of clinical finishing. During the normal season it nearly cost the Reds against Leicester. Since the restart it has cost badly against Man City, when a number of early chances went begging before City got off the mark, and now Burnley have taken advantage to pick up a point when Liverpool should have been out of sight.

The Ugly:

Idiot Fans - we all wanted to celebrate the league title, but just why did they have to embarrass the club and fellow fans with the way they went about it on the night? There have been victory parades in a number of places around the world that have shown it can be celebrated responsibly and without causing any problems, so why let the club down in Liverpool city centre itself? They let us all down with their actions.

Firmino's Hair - it hasn't worked Bobby! I love the enthusiasm but the red curls are just not the right red. Still, it could be worse, he could have ended up looking like Djibril Cisse reincarnated like Origi.

Firmino's Finishing - I absolutely love Firmino as a player, he is absolutely central to the way Liverpool play and a big part of the creativity that means the team get so many chances. He must have run over a black cat on the way to Anfield every single game, as he has not been able to score and has had absolutely no luck to help him with that.

Tissue Paper Trio - all three have contributed when on the pitch, but Lovren, Matip and Shaqiri are injured far too much. Klopp is unable to trust any of them because the moment they get a run of games they are out injured once more. Or, in Shaq's case, the moment he gets near a grass pitch he pulls a hamstring.

Lallana Leaving - it is such a shame the way the season has worked out and meant Lallana is leaving in such a way. He played a, albeit minor supporting, but still a role in the title win, in particular with his goal against Man Utd. It would have been nice if he had been able to get a proper sending off with a final game as a champion.

And The Mildly Disappointing:

Naby Keita - he has finally managed to stay fit for a run of games but each time he plays you are left with what could have been, rather than what he did do. The first ten minutes against Brighton, when he worked hard as anyone and pressed Liverpool into a lead should have been ten minutes that launched his Liverpool career at last. Instead he has gone back to showing flashes of his fantastic talent, mixed in between long periods of anonymity on the pitch. He certainly never hides from getting on the ball, but he does hide from the work needed to win it back for periods of the game. Far too often his efforts are lacklustre and weak and he is easily brushed aside when he makes a challenge, yet there are moments when he shows power. It is so frustrating to see the ability that he possesses but he is not making anything like the most of it. He has had the chance to make himself first choice and just failed to even come close to looking like he could be a go to starter in the big games ahead of the likes of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Milner.

Written by Tris Burke July 12 2020 17:51:18