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Football News: Liverpool Vs Manchester City: View From A Red

Liverpool Vs Manchester City: View From A Red
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Liverpool Vs Manchester City: View From A Red

These two teams are the outstanding teams in England, arguably all of Europe, so it is inevitable that they met at some point in the cup. It was another real heavyweight tie but, unlike the Premier League game, it was Liverpool who came out swinging. The first half was superb, as good as we have played this season, the 3-0 scoreline was richly deserved. Second half wasn't quite as sparkling, and predictably City really put the pressure on. They had more chances, scored two goals, and played more like themselves. We were still good but perhaps lost our intensity a little, on another day we'd of been well clear but at this level everything makes a difference.

 


Manchester City

There is no getting around it the team selection was just weird. KDB and Walker were enforced, but Ederson and Laporte (from what I understand) were not. Alex wasn't that bad but you would imagine that goal from the corner doesn't happen with Laporte in there. Similarly Ederson probably doesn't make such a catastrophic error. These small details make a difference, it was very surprising that the team selection was so changed and we benefited as a result. As for individuals Grealish 100mil?

KDB must be worth a billion then. Not hard working enough, not good enough in any aspect of his play - how he starts ahead of Mahrez is baffling. Steffen? The less said the better, it was a dreadful error. Fernandinho? In my opinion should've received a straight red for his reckless challenge but, by then could've already been booked like three times. How he gets away with it I will never know. Sterling? Dominated. How did Mahrez let him take free kick at the end? There better players didn't play well enough, and their lesser players didn't step up enough. I think the biggest factors were Walker not being available, and Diaz starting. Diaz kept Cancelo occupied all game, and Zinchenko just can't get up and down like Walker. It meant the pressure they applied in the last game from their fullbacks marauding forward never happened and meant they were much more one dimensional attacking wise. It also meant TAA and Robertson had more time on the ball, TAA in particular used it very well.

 


Liverpool

Sublime first half, very good second half, job done. Tactically we were more aggressive in the press, more players pressed with higher energy and it made life harder for City. We were sharper, passed the ball better, kept possession better, compared to last weekend it was night and day. We should've made certain but I mean against City it was a huge performance, and a richly deserved result. If I had to criticize anything it'd be our offside trap which just wasn't very good and was how they crafted all their best chances. You cannot expect perfection though, not against City at this state of the season. The first half was damn close though.

 


Player Ratings

Klopp - team selection was spot on and his tactics were superb. Clearly learned lessons from the game at the Etihad and we were more aggressive and in control as a result. He keeps on leading this team to ever greater heights, another remarkable result and a final to look forward to.

Alisson - his distribution was a bit iffy at times, it lead to some scary moments. Fortunately his shot stopping was very good and he made a couple of crucial saves. Thought he got slightly unlucky with their second, overall though a good game.

TAA - very good, very aggressive in the press, positionally spot on, I thought he did everything asked of him well. Passing was much sharper compared to the previous City game, and much more expansive and it helped us relieve pressure and counter effectively.

Robertson - like everyone a really solid first half, I thought he was a little underwhelming second half though. Sloppy pass out of position lead to their first goal, and he was beaten a little easily by Mahrez for their second (in fairness to him it was near the end of the game and Mahrez was a sub) . He works harder than anyone, and still defended well overall, but he will want to improve upon those errors moving forward.

VVD - he is so good that teams just don't seem to really bother attacking much on his side of the pitch. Aerially he was superb, and he kept City relatively quiet. Offside trap wasn't quite working though, it looks to me like his understanding with Konate isn't as strong as with Matip. Overall very good though, his passing was also much improved compared to the same fixture last week.

Konate - very strong showing, another goal, a very dominant defending display. I thought he read the runs in behind well and had the pace to not be caught out by them. He certainly didn't make himself an easy target though his positioning is suspect at times: he either gets hyper aggressive and gets dragged further upfield, or he drops too deep. If he can work on developing a solid defensive line and understanding with VVD he could be a huge player for us moving forward.

Fabinho - a much, much better performance his passing was crisp, his energy levels remained high, and he managed to make tackles and break up play throughout the game. This is the Fabinho we know and love, a really good display.

Thiago - another superb performance it is no coincidence that his spell of fitness has coincided with our excellent run of form. Passing was good, he was an effective attacking threat, he looked to make things happen, just a quality performance.

Keita - he had a really good game. Passes well, drove firearms, but also did the dirty work and got back to help out of possession. Faded in the second half but was still doing well enough, I'm not convinced he should've been substituted.

Diaz - he was a nightmare for City, nonstop energy, good pressing, supremely hard working, gave Cancelo enough trouble to basically stop him getting forward, he was close to being man of the match. When fit he should be starting every game.

Salah - another pretty poor showing, seems way out of form at the minute but hard to know if it is just form or if the contract situation has affected him. An in-form Salah destroys Zinchenko, today Zinchenko had a reasonably easy game. Salah also had a few good chances in which he either made the wrong choice (shot instead of passed) or just missed. On his performance he could've been substituted but his fitness is sublime which is why I think he stayed on.

Mane - a man of the match performance from a player who may of lost a bit of pace, but who still has so much to offer the team. I don't think he is a viable LW option anymore, but he is a great option as a striker. Hard work, pressing, tackling, link up play, finishing, he did it all today. Superb play, he is coming into form at the perfect time.

 


Subs

Henderson - did ok but at the stage he entered the fray we were already playing slightly differently. Neither great nor terrible.

Jones - very little time to make an impact, had a few neat touches.

Jota - should've had more energy and aggression, was only on for a short amount of time but his lack of work rate compared to Diaz and Mane was evident.

Firmino - did ok, not much time to make an impact but probably should have scored.

 


Conclusions

Huge performance, huge result. It should've been more comfortable but it was a great, high energy team display. Into the final, that is what it is all about. Just a note about the City fans disrespecting the Hillsboro silence: every fan base is, unfortunately, blessed with prats. They are a minority - find them, lifetime ban them, it is the only course of action.

Written by Seano_ April 16 2022 21:56:40

 

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