Rewatched the game until the 3:0 – after that it was mostly United players losing their heads and us punishing their mistakes. A few things stuck out at me:
- Gakpo was everywhere – I think you could say his role was less a "false 9" and more a 4th midfielder playing at the tip of a "diamond." But rather than being stationed in one place, he moved around the pitch to be near the action at all times – and almost with every touch he did something useful: a deft knockdown to a teammate, shielding the ball, winning a header, a tackle to stop an attack. For someone who was initially described as "quite basic in his movement" his understanding of the game is impressive as is his workrate and he has a wide range of skills. United's tactics helped him somewhat as he was almost always a free man in the middle – if he continues in this vein, teams will start designing special strategies to try to stop him and then everything will depend on whether he'll be able to overcome those additional obstacles and reach another level. But for now he's just enjoying himself and doing useful things all over the pitch.
- This was Henderson's best game at LCM – by a distance. I always thought he was an awkward fit there, but perhaps it was just the lack of familiarity with this position – he gradually improved his ability to turn out of trouble and position himself on the left, his pressing of the opposition right-back was very useful and ball distribution smart. On this evidence, Hendo can finally be considered a genuine option for a LCM role.
- Nunez was quite poor in the first half and generally you could argue didn't have a particularly good game apart from the goals. Sometimes he looks quite natural on the left, but this was one of those occasions where his lack of genuine dribbling ability or top-class passing game seemed like a serious shortcoming for a player in that position. What he did do well is to find a way to move into goalscoring positions in the middle and took his goals well. His strong qualities are obvious, but it will take a lot more individual and systemic tweaks to maximize his impact.
- Having Fabinho and Henderson "back" to their previous energy levels + Konate rather than Gomez or Matip at the back does wonders to our overall team balance. Suddenly we can accommodate a player like Elliott in midfield without too much trouble and Trent's defensive problems don't seem insurmountable. Suddenly it doesn't look like we desperately need 2-3 new midfielders for the team not to fall to pieces; in fact a new top-class CB seems like an equal priority to a midfielder. Having said that, a proper CM with speed and ability to cover a lot of ground and cover for the full-backs (a Camavinga type) would be most welcome.
- Bajcetic is a baller – clearly wanted to prove something after being left out of the starting 11 and his footwork and arrogance on the ball were delicious. Klopp chided him for forgetting his defensive responsibilities sometimes, but I'm sure deep down he loved it.
- I agree with Klopp that we started the game well and no – United were not generally "the better team" in the first half. But we did have a serious collective lapse in concentration between around 23rd to 28th minutes when we conceded two clear-cut chances in quick succession and suddenly looked like the "old" Liverpool from our worst games of this season – lethargic and capable of making inexplicably stupid decisions. This was an 85-minute great performance, but we're still waiting for a 90-minute one.
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