It shows how good a lot of that Liverpool squad is that they can effectively play that well with 10 men, given Isak's expensive presence.
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I don't agree with this. Firstly, he's played further up the pitch. Secondly he's actually created some excellent chances, that others have not taken. Not physically/speed wise at the level yet, but will be, and will be excellent. It seems to come as a shock to some people still, yet there remains an adjustment period for the quickest most physically intense league in football.
As an example, that airbourne pirouette drag back to set up a clear goalscoring chance (missed), would have been a goal of the season contender if his teammate had scored it. He has real quality.
Agreed. This is entirely at the heart of the problem, in my view. In fact here is my view, part of a discussion elsewhere:
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TBH I think defensive players doing stuff like that is bad and clubs like Liverpool are best off avoiding signing players of that ilk and anyway Murillo’s not that good really.
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This is precisely true. Literally any defender could have pumped that ball to Hutchinson yesterday, so Murillo would just be a waste of money.
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I love the little gasp of 'yes!' - presumably from the person filming - as the 3rd goal hits the back of the net.
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One of the best things about the match highlights is that Liverpool's top moment is probably when Salah goes shoulders with Milenkovic. There really was nothing for them in that game.
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On this point, I saw that Nuno went defensive early in the second half against Bournemouth when 2-0, which is exactly what he would have done against Liverpool, and we'd have been under the cosh. I loved last season, but I think Nuno had reached his ceiling.
Anyway, Slot moaned about how they keep missing chances and the opposition keep taking theirs. With about 15 minutes remaining yesterday I just had that feeling that Liverpool could play until midnight at not score. They were getting into decent positions, but before they even thought about shooting, three Forest players were ready to block their effort. The only way they were getting a shot off was from distance, and to score it would have taken a Richarlison style worldie or a horrible deflection. The defensive desire is back and it is wonderful to see. Liverpool have too much quality to not create chances, but we put a brick wall in front of most of them, and they spooned the rest over the bar, wide or into the waiting hands of Sels.
I had my doubts about Dyche, especially having seen us turn over an abject Everton at Goodison last season, but it is the first time he's had a decent attacking unit at his disposal. After the disaster of Ange I still felt we were good enough to finish 12-14th (I never really had any fear of relegation), but maybe it's time for going back to my initial 8-12th with a decent Europa League run.
Also, very pleasantly, the new rules over away tickets seem to be making it easier to get hold of them. The only games I've missed so far are the ones we're I've not been able to attend. Up until this season it was always in the interest of members to buy tickets even if they couldn't go in order to obtain loyalty points and move up/retain their status. With electronic ticketing and checks on attendance it's no longer possible, so more availability. Hoping for more away days like yesterday, starting with Wolves next week.
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It's believable. And he really didn't want to work with a bigger squad. We don't know if Dyche is ok with the squad size, because injuries mean our choices are limited.
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Still very early to be going overboard on Dyche. He’s riding the new manager bounce and the relief of not being Postecoglou. Let’s see what happens when he’s settled in.
But also I don’t think there’s much chance of relegation - was saying in the week that the obvious aim is to be well clear by the time the knockout stages start (still think top 8 is possible, if not likely) and then rest people in the league and focus on the Europa (and maybe FA cup).
8th in the league would require a hell of a run - last season Brighton had 61 points, so we would need 49 from our 26 remaining games. We don’t have the goalscorers to do that, I think. (Season before United had 60.)
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We just scored 3 goals in successive games without any from our strikers. We might still be ok.
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On the subject of goalscoring, Anderson is a funny one. He can score an emphatic penalty. He hits a decent corner and free kick. He can plays long and short passes from almost any angle. So he definitely has “can run, can kick, and can do both at the same time” prowess.
But when it comes to shooting from anything above 8 yards, he really lacks any power. What’s all that about?
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49 points from 26 needs something like w14 d7 l5. Don’t think that’s possible without someone getting a lot of goals, especially when we are likely to be focusing on Europe if we pull clear.
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Could just be a confidence thing based on not having many goals. We’ve long been rightly critical of MGW for not weighing in with goals, despite appearing to have all the attributes a goalscorer needs. He had all the time and space he needed to over think and fuck it up when that chance came to him.. but he just strode in and firmly put the ball in the right place to score. Maybe having got some points on the board recently has got his mind working right when chances come.. and Anderson will go the same way once he’s got some in the bag.
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MGW has reasonably been criticised for a couple of seasons over his finishing. I have been sure he would develop that. Signs that it's coming together.
Anderson I'm not so sure of. Doesn't have finisher energy. We might have to just settle for him being the best player, box to box, in the league.
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Mildly annoying that the commentary on the Matchday pass, which I guess is the premier league’s international feed, refers to Liverpool as “the reds”.
