Great result. I think they were extra up for it after last week. Struijk was immense and, if Harrison hadn't got a hatrick he'd he my MOM. Ayling and Dallas were excellent as was Koch. Hjelde can definitely play at this level. Rodrigo took a bit of time to get up to speed but once he did he was ok. Superb performance against a top 4 side MOT
blonos post made me realise, have we started the turnaround with our performances against the top 7 sides now? BTW, why was Bate off?
Fair play to Souness he said unlike arsenal who called their game off because of injuries we played the game with kids on our bench.
Cheers Gessa, it's well worth watching, just a shame that even with only two games played, we will probably still be the 3rd choice on MOTD2 with Benitez getting the chop
Meslier - 8. Some really important saves. The double save 2nd half where the goal was disallowed was absolute world class. For a young keeper he has such a calming influence on the defence. They trust him implicitly. Ayling - 7. Tough to score. On the one hand he gave the ball away in dangerous areas. On the other hand the passes that found their target often resulted in our best attacking moments. The pass that set up the attack for our first goal was fantastic. Struijk - 9. I'm calling it. He's the best centre back at the club. Calm, calculated, strong, good on the ball. Antonio came second best. Firpo - 6. Continued his improvement but succumbed to yet another injury. Dallas -7. At fault at corners. Putting that to one side he is getting back to the form of last season. Much better. Koch - 7. Stood firm in the Phillips role. Left exposed after the injuries but dug in and quietly dismantled attacks as they came to him. Forshaw - 7. Best player on the pitch up until his injury, great touch for assist for first goal. Rice ran riot after he left the pitch. Hopefully not out long term. Klich - 6. Ran his socks off. Dipped in and out of the game. Steady without being spectacular. Harrison - 10. Faultless. Superb defence and a hat trick. Superb pressing. Raphinha - 9. Quiet first half. 2nd half he was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch. James - 7. Worked extremely hard up top against some big strong defenders. Got stuck in, led the press. Needs to improve on the ball. Subs. Hjelde - 8. Coufal is a real threat down that side and Hjelde dealt with everything. Fantastic prospect. Bate - 5. He came on up against Rice for his PL debut. That's a tough ask and he struggled physically against him. That said, he never stopped and played a key part in a very important win for the club. He did his best and came off knackered. That's all you can ask. He shouldn't be too disheartened by that. Declan Rice is an absolute beast. Bate will grow physically over the next couple of years. Rodrigo - 6. First game back. Unlucky with the struck off Klich goal but really should be getting out of the way there. Other than that he looked neat and tidy, put in a couple of key tackles and worked hard for the side.
Mahoosive three points but you couldn’t make it up with Forshaw, a new contract and does his hamstring. Firpo is far too lightweight (as in injury prone) for the PL. Pinching myself that we’ve won in London Souness: If I lived in Yorkshire I’d be buying a season ticket love watching them play
Fair play to Robbie Keane too. Obviously saw Bate looked a bit down about coming off. Bigged him up on TV saying he had a huge future in the game. That's classy.
