Mamadou Sakho

[Chris]

Anyone else have Sakho on Snapchat? At least five times a week he'll take a video of people taking their "beautiful scouse dog" for a walk

Was just about to bump this and say the same, he's obsessed!!

[Buzzo]

This pretty much sums up Sakhos night. We saw his best and worst in equal measures. Our back 4 have to learn how to hold the line.

5) Sakho’s heart in the right place – but not his feet
Mamadou Sakho was excellent in the first leg, and showed at various moments during the second his reliability in possession, his commitment to the cause and his strength at chasing down and tackling. He quite possibly prevented another goal with a perfectly-timed challenge on Aubameyang in the 26th minute, after Firmino had given the ball away in the Dortmund half, and intercepted well from Kagawa in the 56th. It is his positioning off the ball that let his team down. The Frenchman was at fault for all three Dortmund goals: he ran five yards beyond his nearest team-mate to play Aubameyang onside and allow Gonzalo Castro to set up the first with a chipped pass; perhaps anticipating a ball across him, he got totally caught out when Reus speared a pass on his other side to release the Gabonese forward for the second; and he played Reus onside for the third. He earned back some credit by scoring a goal of his own, and no Liverpool player could end this night in anything other than credit, but perhaps this performance will be remembered more for his weaknesses than his successes.

[fah-q]

Love him!

"Liverpool country"

[Muddled]

Our back 4 have to learn how to hold the line.

Very much so. Our defence relies on exceptional individual performances but we very rarely see a complete defensive display. The Lovren, Sakho partnership has flourished because they are both forward thinking, reactive defenders. Maybe it was the occasion, or the thought of going up against a fantastic attack, but Sakho dropped deeper than the defensive line on a number of occasions. Klopp's wish to play Moreno so high up the pitch also has an impact.

[Lecter]

This pretty much sums up Sakhos night. We saw his best and worst in equal measures. Our back 4 have to learn how to hold the line.

Harsh to blame Sakho for all 3 goals

3rd goal was down to Lovren vacating the space imo

[Rich]

I've not seen Sakho drop off as much as he did last night. Pretty sure it was because of the extreme pace of Aubameyang, who must be the quickest striker on the planet.

[Lecter]

I've not seen Sakho drop off as much as he did last night. Pretty sure it was because of the extreme pace of Aubameyang, who must be the quickest striker on the planet.

He dropped off for the first goal, but he really didnt need to do that

Second one he dropped off but we should have stopped the run higher up the pitch

3rd one was Lovren stepping out and vacating the space imo

[Muddled]

Harsh to blame Sakho for all 3 goals

3rd goal was down to Lovren vacating the space imo

Sakho was again too deep, but Lovren should have dropped instead of stepping up.

[Lecter]

Sakho was again too deep, but Lovren should have dropped instead of stepping up.

I dont think Sakho was too deep, the other goals he did drop off but not that one

Lovren steps out quickly to follow the ball, he should have passed the player on into midfield

[Muddled]

If Sakho is in line with the full backs then Reus is offside. If Sakho is pushed up, Reus' run comes from deeper and Clyne is more aware of what's going off behind him. As it stood, Sakho being deeper means Reus can get behind Clyne and Lovren stepping up vacates any cover at the near post.

[Doc_Piptorious]

I've not seen Sakho drop off as much as he did last night. Pretty sure it was because of the extreme pace of Aubameyang, who must be the quickest striker on the planet.

Yep thought the same myself. Aubameyang is so quick and his pace can destroy any team that allows him the space to run into.

Think he was rated the fastest player in Europe this season with some comparisons being made to the pace stats of Robben at his quickest.

And as fast as he is when he gets going, it is his acceleration that is the killer. He seems to be able to get up to full sprinting pace in a very low number of strides and just blows away any defender that gives him the scope for a clear run.


Considering the quality of the attackers our defenders faced last night I don't think our boys coped badly at all.

Reus vs Clyne was a great tussle at times, and Lovern/Sakho whilst exposed at times (and not many centre backs would go a full game without having some problems with the Dortmund attack) did pretty well and certainly showed themselves to not be cowed by when things went against them.

[Lecter]

If Sakho is in line with the full backs then Reus is offside. If Sakho is pushed up, Reus' run comes from deeper and Clyne is more aware of what's going off behind him. As it stood, Sakho being deeper means Reus can get behind Clyne and Lovren stepping up vacates any cover at the near post.

Its reactions mate

Lovren goes out with the ball and stops still

1) he shouldnt have gone and

2) he shouldnt stop he should fall back

3) you should never play offside with no pressure on the ball

[Kenneth]

It was obvious that the ball was going to be played across and Sakho had a view across the line. He should have stepped up but didn't. But it seems pointless trying to analyse the ins and outs of a game like that.

[Liverpool]

Imagine being the Chairman of the Mamadou Sakho fan club and missing his goal cos you were eating haribo

[G]

If Sakho is in line with the full backs then Reus is offside. If Sakho is pushed up, Reus' run comes from deeper and Clyne is more aware of what's going off behind him. As it stood, Sakho being deeper means Reus can get behind Clyne and Lovren stepping up vacates any cover at the near post.

We won though and they are the best genuine partnership we've had back there in some time so who cares