Liverpool v Ajax (H) CL

[Fosterbloke]

Hello cunts.

Not a bad game from the 3 minutes of highlights, it looks like we got away with it on occassion but so did they.

[danperkins]

did the atmosphere seem flat on the tele?

was ****ing awful like most games in Anfield.

[Shaggy]

It was better and I reckon any return to our best is going to be incremental rather than suddenly hammering someone, but I thought it was concerning again. Everything looks a slog and dysfunctional, and we're still too easy to score and create chances against. Last night wasn't evidence that we're back, I didn't think.

[S-RED]

[ame]https://twitter.com/fcsalah11/status/1569803705695731713[/ame]

Not telling me Elliott is slow, this shows he has the pace, he just needs the incentive to do the dirty work as well as the attacking stuff.

Love Mo's attitude

[baitman]

Even Lickle Legs Harv was giving it a go, Trent take note

[poorscousertommy]

was ****ing awful like most games in Anfield.

Go to many?

I had to go back to the 80's last night and listen on the radio! It sounded quiet at times but then very loud at times.

Not every game has non stop singing.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Good result and some real positives on show.

Thiago being imperious as always. He can draw two, three or even four players to him and still ensure the ball ends up with another red shirt. Makes the difficult look easy and the easy look sublime.

Tsimikas filled in very well at LB and looked every inch starter quality for teh most part.

Matip was flawless and the goal was more on him being badly exposed by our own players than any mistale by him.

VVD looked better than he did against Napoli. Not VVD good, but still good.

Fabinho looked better with Thiago in the team and was able to concentrate a bit more on his own job with less fires to be put out elsewhere. Less fires though not none.

What is really worrying is that entire right flank. We look horribly unbalanced as a team at times and are getting through mathes like the one last night thanks to how individually good some players are rather than it being a solid team performance.

That right flank is worrying not just because it is allowing other teams three or four clear chances a game. Not only because neither TAA nor the RCM in Elliot seem willing to do a shift when the other team is attacking. Not only because our RCM is constantly leaving a massive whole in our midfield that thankfull we had Thiago there last night to plug a bit so that Fabinho was not having to cover holes at both LCM and RCM.

But worrying because we in attack had a serious overload again down that right flank and seem to rarely be able to turn it into anything concrete.

We on a regular basis has Salah, TAA and Elliot all on the right flank and it never really looked like the Ajax LB and the Ajax LCB were at a constant disadvantage.

TAA is basically doing what many here were suggesting and playing as a midfielder and as a RM all game long and he is not adding an extra threat to us, his assist output has dropped, and he is showing that the 360 degree awareness a midfielder needs is not a strong point of his. When he was excelling as an attacking RB, he really only had his channel to watch but now that he has given up watching that channel he is showing he is not really cut out for the extyra respobsibilities a midfielder has. Just watch Thiago to see how a sublime playmaker can do the lovely looking stuff as well as working his ass off to do his bit in maintaining balance.

We are basically playing with three at the back, two CBs and a LB, but not making the extra numbers in attack convert into extra goals or assists.


Elliot is also part of the problem right now too imo. He has great talent. Moves the ball well at times. Is a willing runner. But like TAA he seems to be showing very little by way of responsibility to looking after the areas of teh pitch a RCM would look after. At times it looks like both him and TAA are just looking to attack and to stay up the pitch to receive the ball and not have to work hard at making things compact when when are in the back foot and not at pressing the opposition when the other team first gets the ball.

A couple seasons ago even numpties like me could see the triggers as our team started a press when we did not have the ball. You could see it like a ripple effect across the team and it all looked like everyone knew what they were meant to do and where they were meant to be in that press.

Last night time after time when we looked to press, you could see two, three, four and sometimes five players moving to press but what stood out was the right side of the press just did not move with the rest of those doing it and often not at all. Thiago and Fabinho would press and there was Elliot and TAA just standing where they were and leaving a massive space for Ajax to pass into to avoid our press.

Guys with more tactical nous would be able to explain it better than I, and notice a hell of a lot more than I can, but if I can see huge holes in our line up, if other teams seem to be able to stroll into those positions game after game, then the holes/gaps are very much a problem.

Thiago back is a massive help. Matip back is a massive help. Tsimikas ensuring there is n massive drop off from Robertson is a massive help. But a soft underbelly that takes up our entire RCM and RB parts of the pitch is something that better teams than Ajax are going to attack all game long every time we start with TAA and Elliot in the positions they are currently in and whilst they are following whatever new tactics they are following as I am convinced that TAA is staying up the pitch as part of a tactic as I refuse to believe that Klopp would tolerate TAA just ignoring his RB responsibilities if Klopp wanted him to defend more.

And it is not the Man Citys of the league that really worry me with how we are leaving those spaces as I think players will be more "up" for games against City and run a bit more/harder. It is the Brentfords, the Spurs, would have said the Brightons had Potter syill been there, that worry me as being very capable of having both the players and managers to expose our RB and RCM if those positions are filled by Elliot and TAA in those games.


Might seem strange, but last night's performance, improved as it was over the previous one, worried me more.

[Pablo]

The finish for their goal was absolutely insane. He could have hit a 100 from there and 99 would have been skied over the bar.

[Doc_Piptorious]

The finish for their goal was absolutely insane. He could have hit a 100 from there and 99 would have been skied over the bar.

The finish was nuts, but what led to the ball getting into that position was not a one in a hundred thing unfortunately.

Last night alone there were maybe four or five other attcks that came through the same channels that were eventually blacked off or that just fizzled out. But the getting into that position and how they got there remained pretty constant.

That same Ajax team would imo have been torn apart against how we were playing for a lot of last season or against our our 2019/20 team.

Last night we were against an Ajax team missing their manager, a number of their first team that was sold off, and that is still settling in a lot of new players. Think six of their first team from last season were sold.

So yes they are a good team but realistically they are not quite as good as we made them look at times.

[Buzzo]

Hello cunts.

Not a bad game from the 3 minutes of highlights, it looks like we got away with it on occassion but so did they.

We were well worth the win.

They had one good chance to go 2-1 up. Other than that it was one way traffic. We didn’t capitalise on some great pressure just after the goal and then they scored with their only attack of note.

A massive step in the right direction, particularly when you factor in how amazing their recent record is (9 hours without conceding massively strong away record in CL).

[danperkins]

Go to many?

I had to go back to the 80's last night and listen on the radio! It sounded quiet at times but then very loud at times.

Not every game has non stop singing.

Been to several champs league games over the years and they are usually amazing. I get about 2 weekend prem games a season and the atmosphere is always ****e.

[danperkins]

It was better and I reckon any return to our best is going to be incremental rather than suddenly hammering someone, but I thought it was concerning again. Everything looks a slog and dysfunctional, and we're still too easy to score and create chances against. Last night wasn't evidence that we're back, I didn't think.

was an improvement in tempo and pressing but that right hand side issues & Fab not being at his best is a problem. Teams are going straight for the weak in every game.

[Pablo]

The finish was nuts, but what led to the ball getting into that position was not a one in a hundred thing unfortunately.

Last night alone there were maybe four or five other attcks that came through the same channels that were eventually blacked off or that just fizzled out. But the getting into that position and how they got there remained pretty constant.

That same Ajax team would imo have been torn apart against how we were playing for a lot of last season or against our our 2019/20 team.

Last night we were against an Ajax team missing their manager, a number of their first team that was sold off, and that is still settling in a lot of new players. Think six of their first team from last season were sold.

So yes they are a good team but realistically they are not quite as good as we made them look at times.

Yeah thanks for all that but I was just saying it was a good finish


I do think it was progress though. We were never going to go from the Napoli debacle to a perfect clean sheet. We definitely gave up a few too many easy chances, but it was progress in the right direction at least.

[Norbs]

Albeit at home and against worse opposition

[danperkins]

Albeit at home and against worse opposition

Also true