Liverpool v Leicester City Post Match Thoughts

[Piedro]

Just home and bevvied. Thoughts:

We were poor overall, how many chances did we create? How many saves did their keeper have to make? Leicester played well.

Wasn’t a red card. Too far out. Should have had a pen though. Didn’t see it at the game but have done on the tv.

5 points clear. Would have took that on Monday.

I won’t start believing until the Manc and Everton games are out the way, and we’ve still got at least a 4 point lead.

Finally, I changed my seat today, I’ve never sat in the main stand since they done it up. My mate had a spare so I went in with him. Don’t fucking bother. Twat of a spec. I didn’t get out the ground till 10.30.

 

[Piedro]

 

[Piedro]

Back fucking row by the way

 

[Piedro]

AND. Get this. I got told to SIT DOWN SIR by a steward, cos I was standing up.

I wasn’t blocking anyone’s view. Fuck off.

 

[Piedro]

So after he told me off anyway, I sat down like a good boy. I waited for the Baldy cunt to walk all the way back down to his spec, about 30 rows by the way. And then I stood up again. Seen him clock me, fuming he was. Started marching up the stairs again. Got to within 3 or 4 rows of me, and I quickly sat down again. Fucking look on his face. Boss.

Repeated this again once more, but then sacked it off as I was worried the bizzies would be involved. I’d had about 7 pints like.

Fun tho.

 

[Dreambeliever]

So after he told me off anyway, I sat down like a good boy. I waited for the Baldy cunt to walk all the way back down to his spec, about 30 rows by the way. And then I stood up again. Seen him clock me, fuming he was. Started marching up the stairs again. Got to within 3 or 4 rows of me, and I quickly sat down again. Fucking look on his face. Boss.

Repeated this again once more, but then sacked it off as I was worried the bizzies would be involved. I’d had about 7 pints like.

Fun tho.

Ha ha ha.

 

[Dreambeliever]

One thing this week has told us is there is no way either team is getting anywhere near 100 pts.

93 will win it maybe even less.

What City did last year will never be repeated.

It’s just too hard to be that consistent over 38 games when you are challenging in Europe too.

 

[Portly]

@Piedro your steward friend would have had some fun on our row - row 27 of the lower level. There were some hard-knock blokes drinking beer all through the match and no steward appeared to notice.

 

[Red Astaire]

Back fucking row by the way

Fuck me that's a shit spec.

 

[KopRed]

I am not sure why people are circling in on Keita when he was one of the better players out there. He looked strong and assertive, not in top gear yet but certainly improving.

Salah, Shaq, Bobby were useless.
Even Gini seems lack of energy.
Robbo was wasteful and gave away such a stupid foul.
The defence was all over the place.

We couldn't win because more than half the squad weren't playing well. And Keita was not one if them.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

I don't like these training camps to Dubai and the likes. It seems to make us take the foot off the pedal.

If I'm not mistaken, we always seem to come back sluggish and put in mediocre performances.

Does anyone have stats for results after returning from such trips ?

 

[bkwitche2]

We definitely did not play well today. I wasn’t overly impressed by what Keita had to offer, but I do think he was better than he has been in some games. Hopefully his improvement continues because he is still below the standard I was expecting of him.

I am disappointed that we did not win. This was a very winnable game that we just did not perform well enough in to deserve the win.

I wish Macguire got a red, but I think it would have been harsh. 50 yards from goal one on one with other defenders behind you but only just behind isn’t really a clear goal scoring opportunity in my mind.

Stonewall penalty denied to us that would have changed the game. We may not have held onto the lead, but we were denied the chance to try by poor officiating. He was well close enough to make the right call but he didn’t. I’m interested how some of you think VAR would have impacted that call. I don’t think it would be given even with VAR because of the clear and obvious error nonsense. I think there is going to be a few years of working out VAR and it’s going to be painful and unfair at times.

I think we have probably won four or five games we didn’t really deserve to win this season. Those things working out in your favor is an essential part of winning the title. Today was another game we didn’t deserve to win, but this time things just didn’t fall into place for us.

 

[gkmacca]

I can see why bombing out of the cup was so celebrated by some - we had a nice break in Dubai, after which we looked physically refreshed, tactically better coached and we only came back with a couple more players unavailable than before. Now if only we can either sell or loan one or two more on deadline day we'll be well set to throw away this chance to win the league.

 

[Farkmaster]

I didn't think Keita played well at all, but there's clearly a lot of momentum building up to deciding he's irretrievably shit. Not sure what use that is, but hey. There's always got to be someone, and the others that you can pick out today, have delivered on other occasions, so I can see some sense in it. I don't know why he doesn't play at the top of a midfield three, in certain games, rather than as a two, in a game like this.

I thought that Shaquiri had an awful game, but more than that, I just didn't think it was the right solution in the conditions. I have to imagine Fabinho was iffy healthwise or something? After a few errant touches that would have got Keita excoriated, Fabinho really stamped his authority on the game, but that also coincided with us pushing deliberately for a win and Leicester retreating. Fabinho Wijnaldum + 1 should be the way forward.

We're defensively weaker, that's plain to see. Whatever other options we keep picking, none of them compare to our first choice back four. I can't fathom why we've sold clyne. Under Houllier, or Benitez, or really any of our prior managers, sure, it's only a fullback, shove anyone there. In our team though? That position does a shitload for us, and requires a lot of experience. I don't think TAA has been great this year. Clyne got the impression he couldn't compete, and I guess under Klopp he was right. He'd have had several games recently, were he here though.

And Shaq? Yeah, he's been a solid option, but we're still juggling players around not having a good AM, and not having a decent balance in midfield. There's a reason why we wanted Keita to hit the ground running, there's a reason people will delude themselves into thinking Lallana will do something, or that Ox will catch fire. We have that hope because that's still a flaw in our side.

But in the slop today, Shaq/Mane/Salah/Firmino/Keita is a lot of players who aren't going to dictate tempo or control things. Shaq will sometimes help out on the flanks, othertimes not so much. Henderson looked out of position, and had zero help for large parts of the second half and beginning of the first. The whole thing just seemed disjointed, unless we had all of the ball, and didn't lose it in transition. I think we were always going to in this slop, but we did it more than necessary.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

That Dubai trip has lulled them into pre-season mode.

 

[Y1]

wow, I suddenly feel dizzy and has cold feet from this height looking down!

 

[Frogfish]

.......Stonewall penalty denied to us that would have changed the game. We may not have held onto the lead, but we were denied the chance to try by poor officiating. He was well close enough to make the right call but he didn’t. I’m interested how some of you think VAR would have impacted that call. I don’t think it would be given even with VAR because of the clear and obvious error nonsense. I think there is going to be a few years of working out VAR and it’s going to be painful and unfair at times..........

VAR would have given that penalty no doubt whatsoever. Atkinson was the worst performer on the pitch. Horrendous officiating. Linesmen weren't much better, Mane should have been away on one occasion when given OS when he was clearly well onside.

 

[Hansern]

Nevermind that Keita had a so and so game, but Lallana. 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 2400 mins or something for the club.
Not the player you bring on to win you a game.

The players said the conditions were awful and for us as the team trying to set the pace of the game it was difficult.
No excuse but it certainly didnt help us.

 

[6TimesaRed]

Imagine going 5 points clear and being gutted about it.

 

[6TimesaRed]

Performance was shit.
Referee was shit.
Snowy pitch, shit.
Substitutions, shit.
Hendo at right back, shit.
Referee, shit.
Keita, improving but was Shit
Adam Lallana, really fucking shit.
Shaqiri, better as an impact sub, otherwise as shown last night, shit
Salah, went missing in action, did he shit himself or something?
Alisson is da Shit, won us the point
Dubai training camp, shit idea.. Why have a warm weather training camp in the middle of the winter?? - I never understand that..
BT Sport Pundits, shit.
Did I mention Referee was shit?


Five points clear, fuck it.

 

[Frogfish]

I am not sure why people are circling in on Keita when he was one of the better players out there. He looked strong and assertive, not in top gear yet but certainly improving.

Salah, Shaq, Bobby were useless.
Even Gini seems lack of energy.
Robbo was wasteful and gave away such a stupid foul.
The defence was all over the place.

We couldn't win because more than half the squad weren't playing well. And Keita was not one if them.

I agree. We now have Modo mks 2,3,4 & 5 on the forum as far as shitting on a couple of our players are concerned (and Keita in particular). He's clearly had a slow start to his LFC career and now if he even puts a pass astray arms goes up and expletives fill the air. If Gini or Fabs did that no-one would bat an eye, it'd just be an under-the-breath 'shit'.

Far too many seemed to have been expecting us to replicate our form on a decent pitch. It was horrendous out there, it might have been better to call it off since there was so much standing water (not sure of the regulations in that regard).
I watched Salah try to break down the right and Maguire easily caught him up within 7-8m, as the ball just kept holding up in water, he even nearly left it behind, and it was near impossible for Salah, or any of our players, to play at full speed with the ball on the deck. Same happened to him when he tried to twist and turn players.

There may have been areas of the pitch where it was drier but there were puddles everywhere and of course it took away the advantage better players have. The match looked and felt a bit of a lottery, hence why so many of our players were clearly not at their best.

 

[Brizzle]

5 points clear is obviously the silver lining, but to miss an opportunity to go 7 points clear and the psychological impact that would have had on City is a huge missed opportunity. I think we are really starting to see the challenges that come from having no one capable of switching with the front 3 and creating an impact.

 

[tombrown]

People are going to hate the fact he never gave Keita a minus score

Liverpool 1 Leicester City 1: The Match Ratings

by Ben Johnson | Jan 30, 2019 | 1 comment


ANY matchday where we increase our lead is sound by me.
That said, someone hold this bevy while I twat me self over the head with this shovel.
Alisson: 7
Give it away a bit first half, but so what? He’s so good at sweeping up lad, his starting position is amazing. If Big Little Si was in, Vardy would have had about a million one on ones.
Henderson: 7
I’m saying he was sound, there. Not as good as Trent, better than Clyne.
Virgil: 7
Lost a point for getting sick. It’s disappointed me, that. That said, he probably had Dengue fever and glided through the game for a laugh.
Matip: 7
Alternated between the best centre half on our books and a big soft shambles. Actually thought he was really good, except he kept going on mad big slaloms with the ball and running into the blindest of alleys. Like the alley was blinder than a fucking big bat with its ears chopped off. Couldn’t decide if he just got diddled by the ball for that fucking big couch-headed fucker’s goal or if he just thought no one was there. Answers on a postcard to absolutely no one at all.
Robbo: 6
Did alright, but I’m docking him a point for the freekick for the goal. Fucking ridiculous foul. Put some great balls in the box there, second half.
Gini: 8
Was excellent, there. Reckon if he wasn’t playing we would have got battered, first half. Haven’t half missed him.
Shaq: 5
Need more out of him really if he is starting, there. Not on the ball enough to have an impact, doesn’t really contribute the other way. Needs to be back on the bench there.
Keita: 7
Actually thought he was unlucky to go off. Not having a great deal of luck, beats his man, surges into the box, about to slot the winner, gets legged by some fucking bellend with a pre-determined idea that The Reds have had our pen quota for the year. Fucking tramp.
Bobby Firmino: 6
Worked hard, started really well, drifted out of it really, which was a shame.
Sadio: 8
Our best attacking player there, tonight. Great goal, great movement all night.
Mo: 7
I mean, that fucking big mattress-headed fucker just blocked him off there, with the aid of his massive fucking horse’s head and his forearm, but Atkinson didn’t give it because Salah is a diver. Fucking sound, isn’t it? Had no space. Now and again a team defends really well against you.
SUBS
Fabinho: 8
Was excellent when he came on. You have to think that the manager was being told he only had 30 in him, or he would have started.
Lallana:
Looks like a fella who can’t run no more, which could prove problematic.
Sturridge:
Yer.

 

[Jerry Laser]

All will be well when Ox, TAA & Gomez are back....

 

[acejmk]

All will be well when Ox, TAA & Gomez are back....

Them been back will be massive. The sooner the better

 

[tombrown]

Like 3 new signings

 

[FoxForceFive]

We just need TAA back. Now.

Having Hendo at full back last night was what exposed us so badly defensively. Don't get me wrong, Matip isn't as well drilled as we usually expect, but the entire defence was all over the shop cos Hendo was rarely where he should have been.

Full backs are a huge part of the way we play, we are weaker in attack & in defence without a real full back on even one side & it destroys our shape.

Keita ended up clearing the ball from our own penalty area at least three times that first half, never do your normally need a midfielder to do that in our side.

I really hope TAA is fit for this weekend.

 

[moron]

Performance was shit.
Referee was shit.
Snowy pitch, shit.
Substitutions, shit.
Hendo at right back, shit.
Referee, shit.
Keita, improving but was Shit
Adam Lallana, really fucking shit.
Shaqiri, better as an impact sub, otherwise as shown last night, shit
Salah, went missing in action, did he shit himself or something?
Alisson is da Shit, won us the point
Dubai training camp, shit idea.. Why have a warm weather training camp in the middle of the winter?? - I never understand that..
BT Sport Pundits, shit.
Did I mention Referee was shit?


Five points clear, fuck it.

Yes agree dont Understand this warm dubai trip In winter. I think wet ball training would have been better for us.

 

[Mystic]

We just need TAA back. Now.

Having Hendo at full back last night was what exposed us so badly defensively. Don't get me wrong, Matip isn't as well drilled as we usually expect, but the entire defence was all over the shop cos Hendo was rarely where he should have been.

Full backs are a huge part of the way we play, we are weaker in attack & in defence without a real full back on even one side & it destroys our shape.

Keita ended up clearing the ball from our own penalty area at least three times that first half, never do your normally need a midfielder to do that in our side.

I really hope TAA is fit for this weekend.

Yep, and how coy VVD was due to obviously being under the weather, we massively missed his commanding presence last night, I'm pretty certain had he been at hundred percent he'd have been barking at Henderson to get into the correct position.

 

[manwithnoname]

No post-match thread for moaning and moaning about moaning? No? Fine, here is the RAAAAAAATTTTTINNNNNGS!

That was shit. Bad conditions, decent well-organised opposition, and an anxious Anfield, allied with a patched-up, below-par first XI.
Yep, a classic points-dropped scenario.
And don't give me all that shit about other teams slipping up, or the fact we've gone 5 point clear. We're trying to win our first title since 1990. We cannot afford fuck ups.

Allison (5) Talking of fuck-ups, what the actual fuck as he doing with some of those passes in the first half? One nearly gave away a penalty, and another totally spasticated kick could have let Vardy in; he was awful in the first half and lucky not to concede. Much, much better in the second 45 minutes, playing sweeper-keeper to perfection and bailing out his defence with a great stop from Firmino.

Henderson (7) Started badly, then was very good, then didn't really play as a RB at all, but won plenty of possession with his aggressive harrying and positivity. Gray gave him a few worrying moments too. Very hard to score actually, ermm........7? 6? Maybe I'm being generous.

Matip (6) Good to see him bringing the ball out, and making positive passes, he was kept busy and once or twice caught dawdling, but quite good overall.

Virgil (5) Lost Maguire for the deserved equaliser, and was nowhere near his usual, towering best. In fact he was pretty ordinary, and looked jaded.

Robertson (6) Has hardly out a foot wrong this season, but did last night with a retarded challenge that led to the goal. He was creative and positive in attack, as usual, and made several great passes to create chances for Mane and Firmino, while keeping Albrighton in check.

Wijnaldum (7) Best player on the pitch in the first half, constantly moving, and covering Keita's arse too, as he did the job of two men in the middle. Not as influential in the second half, and as usual he was too conservative in his passing, as we seized up creatively and slowed right down, but he was vital to ensure we kept some semblance of control.

Shaqiri (4) Nah. He's had a better start to his Liverpool career than Keita, with some actual goals and assists, and he's also lower profile (cheaper and from Stoke) so are expectations reduced? Maybe. But whatever, this was not good at all. It was always a risk to play him and Keita in the same team, and sure enough it backfired, with poor old Wijnaldum fighting fires all over the place. He was subdued, rarely involved and just didn't make anything happen.

Keita (4) Given a more central role, after being marooned on the left previously, but didn't do enough to justify his price tag, reputation, expectation, or place in the team. He's just not very good. Made one run into the box and was fouled, and that was it. Gave the ball away, made loose, sloppy passes and never seemed confident in anything he did. Horrible.

Mane (8) Scored a great goal, and is our most reliable goalscorer after Salah. Didn't let the conditions bother him too much, as he slalomed around players and drove into dangerous areas every time he got the ball. Constant threat and never stopped working.

Firmino (6) One lovely piece of control and decent shot was a highlight, and he worked a few other promising situations, but largely wasted them. Nobody really expects him to score many goals, but he needs to really step it up in the next few months and help out Salah.

Salah (5) Just didn't happen. Tried his best to wriggle into space and get shots away, but wasn't given enough support, so Maguire and co snuffed out his threat entirely. One risible penalty attempt was rightly dismissed. Really ordinary, but when he;'s up against two or three fucking giants on his own, what do you expect?