My view on your performance last night, was that overall you looked in control of the game against a Palace side who will have a decent season imo, as the hapless Benteke aside they’ve got a decent, well drilled outfit there under Woy. I thought Allison looked assured, he made that save from the free kick look easier than it actually was, as that was a going right into the corner as it was only a fraction inside the post. Good positioning, very good save. Robertson has developed into a quality LB, a good defender and links well going forward down the left. Van Dijk had a very good evening, he marshals that back line well, and looked very solid, especially in the air. Keita, had a decent game, looks like he’ll be handful during the season. Klopps comments about him post match were slightly odd, sounds like he’s a bit of a loner, and his only mate is apparently Mane, which shows on the pitch! I heard him being discussed on the radio last week (can’t remember who was speaking) but they said he was a very sensitive guy, and quite high maintenance. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops, but he’s got a good skill set based on that performance. Salah looked slightly rusty imo, but he’s such a dangerous outball, if the opposition try and hold a high line. Overall I think you probably deserved the points, but I thought the penalty was extremely soft, and the sending off was harsh on the young full back, as he’d been absolutely superb. Based on that, I think you’ll definitely challenge this season, but having watched City the day prior, all things being equal (injuries, form etc) I can’t see you pipping them personally, but I can see you finishing second. Disclaimer: my teeth were truly gritted throughout this review, but I call it as I see it. Amen.
Thought robbo was alright. He didn’t do much going forward, mainly getting it and cutting back. Whether that was a tactic rather than whipping crosses in because of Palwces strength in the air. TAA crossing has been hit and miss so far this season but he’s young so can give him some leeway. Allison is an odd one because he made 2/3 solid saves, and the one where got slight deflection and he held onto looked so simple but were used to keepers spilling them. The good thing is the defence seem to have confidence in him which is a huge bonus. Only one issue was lack of comma between him and Gomez which ended up going for corner i thought Gomez was excellent again. Clearly helps he’s playing next to vvd but him and TAA are a young and inexperienced defence on that right hand side and up against Zaha, they coped really well. Think he’s really going to grow into that role, and his extra pace is a huge benefit as shown when he got back to get foot on through ball v Zaha.
which is fair as I think it's the same way I am thinking. a lot of people need to forget 25 point gap rubbish and give city the respect they deserve for a record 100 points last season. if anything mendy improves tjat side quite a bit. city need to come back to 90 to 95 points and lfc need to add 10min to get to 85 to 90. imo it will hinge on city in cl and results.v.other top 6. I note that city took 24 out of 30 last year and already have 3 for 3 this season. alisson. good start last night. its.pure.confidence compared to hands over eyes with karius. the actual.shot.stopping doesn't need to be any better that confidence alone will spread through team. vvd was massive for us. Robertson is more than good enough. gomez did ok. he might just stake a.claim here. kieta comments.. well.. we will see how he progresses. his passing to salah is ok but he has no.link to firmino at all. he made that turn last night and a glorious pass. it was holy **** moment. the only dark spot is salah for.me. he is not at races yet.
Looking back the red card was harsh. Think Salah lost control and wasn't going to get a shot off. Mané handled his situation at the end of the game much better. He's in great form. Firmino went missing up top, but did his usual tracking back to make up for it. As for the penalty, not much to discuss it was a foul and was a penalty.
Plus it came from Alisson playing a confident pass to Keita who knew there was a man on him but could handle it
I don't think the red card was harsh at all. He knew exactly what he was doing and where he was doing it. He didn't know Salah would lose control as he had already committed to the foul and couldn't even see the ball let alone play it. Taking one for the team requires you to actually take it.
What I loved is that it wasn’t a great performance but had we only have been 10-20% better, we would have won 4-0. Keita had a great chance and Salah had at least one he should have buried. Winning whilst not being at our best and largely untroubled at such a hostile ground and against a tidy team - bodes well for us. I do wish klopp took one of the attackers off sooner to give Shaqiri or Sturridge some game time. The front 3 looked knackered (only for salah and mane to sprint at the end!!). Should beat Brighton and hopefully, that’ll be 3 wins out 3.
Yeah, the red card was totally deserved as per the rules of the game. I think we all felt for the lad because of the quality he showed during the game, very impressive. But a red every day of the week. Agree with pretty much everything else Tobes has said bar the penalty. I don't see how you can argue against the decision, Oliver could not have been better placed with no one obstructing his view. Silly from Sakho. Tough, tough game though. I thought we deserved the points overall, but that Palace side are dangerous and will finish top half if last night is anything to go by. Hodgson's comments post match were daft, maybe he didn't have his fresh vole for dinner
Fair assessment I think. Palace were in the game until the last minute. We simply have to kill games like these much earlier but we shouldn't complain as Palace are a team who on their day can give you a difficult game. The penalty was soft but it takes a brave ref not to give it when it looks so obvious at first viewing. The objective at the moment is to keep up with City. At the moment I can't see us winning the title as they are so far in front of everyone else. Many of the teams they face are already beaten before the ball is kicked. But in terms of squad and spending, we are and should be the closest challengers to them this season. It will be a major disappointment if we are not up there in April/May next year.
