Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool: In game and Post match debates

Slight silver lining that CB of theirs went of with a hammy injury he was pretty solid for them.

massachio who came on is probably their best cb but had been out injured although he doesn't have the same physicality as bailly

Mo matter what, Ibe was a strange move, he has done absolutely nothing that leads to anything all season (Ibeyyyyyy moments haven't been forgotten btw) , this is coming from me- who is a huge Ibe should be here and play here advocate, even I'll admit he's useless at the moment.

I still feel impressed with our performance weirdly enough.

We need to demolish these at home. Hope we do.

At the moment i think young Ojo could be ahead of Ibe based on the few performances so far.

All is not lost,I had settled for a draw and could not believe how we capitulated in that last minute of added time.We can beat Villarreal at Anfield even if they park the bus hoping for a goal on the break.Have faith in Jürgen and our REDS it is not over yet.

Some great saves by Mig. Shocking loss of composure (not for the first time) late on at the back

The one thing in our favour. European Anfield nights

These guys will have never experienced ANYTHING like it

I think we can do it next week. Its going to be a belter of an atmosphere thats for sure

another player who's IQ matches his boot size

You mean it is as high as that? You could have fooled me.

My ratings:

Mignolet: Good save towards the end, but in truth like his earlier save it was one he should make. Worried me in the first half when their striker ran across the front post, got caught in no mans land and was lucky the fella never flicked it in. Obviously no chance with the goal. 6/10.

Clyne: Solid and dependable at the back, didn't create much going forward despite having loads of space. Mind you, when you get forward and look up only to see an empty penalty area (in terms of red shirts) in front of you it's not easy. 6/10.

Lovren: Excellent again, only the once almost got turned by their forward (can't remember his name sorry). 8/10.

Toure: Excellent apart from the goal. Even then, with 90 seconds to go he s entitled to expect his left back to be holding his position rather than careering off up the pitch. 7/10.

Moreno: When we talk of "pragmatism" it sometimes confuses people, perhaps we should just say "common sense". Caught out all night by the ball in behind, Alberto had gotten away with it until the dying seconds. Why he went all Roberto Carlos with only moments remaining only he will know. Even then he has the pace to cut off the square roll to the eventual scorer, but seems slow in sensing the danger. How many times? 4/10.

Milner: Plodded around again to great effect. Excellent tackling, almost an assist and perceptive passing. Obvious that he has played on these stages many times, my MOM. 8/10.

Lucas: Despite being blown past with ease on a couple of occasions stuck to his task well and had IMHO an excellent game. Our midfield three were really top notch I thought and all deserve credit. 8/10.

Pirlo: Really ought to have scored first half (imagine Gerrard arriving onto that) but that aside had another fine game. 8/10.

Lallana: Unlucky with the offside, and generally flitted around pretty effectively. Unable to create much, but had the same problem in that sense as everyone else. 6/10.

Coutinho: Had the sh!ts apparently so shouldn't be too hard on him. Game passed him by though. 6/10.

Firmino: Very poor once again, as he has been since he returned from injury. I know he's well liked on the forum (by me also when he's playing well) but f*** me he was desperate last night. One shot got us all excited, but in truth if the goalie turns it around the post as opposed to onto the outside of it we'd all have already forgotten it. Posts excite us all, but not touching the ball inside the oppositions area once in the first half despite us being on top doesn't excite me from a "striker". If Sturridge was fit last night, not playing him or more to the point not bringing him on was a truly baffling decision. Anyway, Bobby. Awful last night. 3/10


Subs:

Ibe: Poor when he came on and is obviously low on confidence. He's probably best though as a young wide player when he has a striker in the box to hit. I'm also not sure we are necessarily giving him the best chance to recover his confidence by the way we treat him. Any ways, poor when he came on. 4/10.

Benteke: Won a couple of headers, ran around a bit. 5/10.

Why would you push a high line and press in the last minutes? why?

Why would you push a high line and press in the last minutes? why?

Because it was pretty clear that we went for the away goal.

Most likely those were Klopp's instructions. The whole team went for it, and on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately, we got hit on the counter. Sucker punch.

Why would you push a high line and press in the last minutes? why?

It's a very similar question to the one I was discussing with Debs last week, only there it was how you defended a lead with a little bit more game intelligence. Unfortunately for some of our players, they are as likely to appear in the same sentence as "game intelligence" as they are on Britains Got talent. Moreno in particular has "headless chicken mode" as his default setting.

Because it was pretty clear that we went for the away goal.

Most likely those were Klopp's instructions. The whole team went for it, and on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately, we got hit on the counter. Sucker punch.

Not sure I agree mate. I think we would have gladly taken an away goal if it happened (and once or twice it came close to happening) but it wasn't our primary objective. If it were, we'd have brought a striker on for Firmino.

It's a very similar question to the one I was discussing with Debs last week, only there it was how you defended a lead with a little bit more game intelligence. Unfortunately for some of our players, they are as likely to appear in the same sentence as "game intelligence" as they are on Britains Got talent. Moreno in particular has "headless chicken mode" as his default setting.

I would prefer that Klopp would have played for the 0-0 and then beat Villarreal at Anfield, would have made it a lot easier than trying to get the away goal which completely backfired.

Like you said, some of our players just don't have the quality to defend properly from counter attacks

Because it was pretty clear that we went for the away goal.

Most likely those were Klopp's instructions. The whole team went for it, and on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately, we got hit on the counter. Sucker punch.

I dont agree I think it was just the fact that we lost shape with players over committing into tackles when there was no need. They were looking for that option all night - catch Moreno out of position and hit us hard through the middle, none of our midfielders could live with their pace on the break.
Simple tactic but it worked and we fell for the sucker punch.....

I would prefer that Klopp would have played for the 0-0 and then beat Villarreal at Anfield, would have made it a lot easier than trying to get the away goal which completely backfired.

Like you said, some of our players just don't have the quality to defend properly from counter attacks

I think that's what we did do mate. That's why we played a "harrier" rather than a "striker" up top. I don't think though that if the manager could have got instructions out to the players in injury time he would have told Moreno to go walkabout.

Not sure I agree mate. I think we would have gladly taken an away goal if it happened (and once or twice it came close to happening) but it wasn't our primary objective. If it were, we'd have brought a striker on for Firmino.

It was in those final minutes - hence why Benteke came on.

Hold up the ball, get it forward, get a goal. Moreno's dart forward gave the team extra hope that we could hit them. Had we settled for the draw, we would have sat deeper.

Clearly we thought there was an opportunity - to defend and attack. Not saying that was the best option, but that's what happened. as I saw it. We had a couple of chances in those final few minutes. We weren't sitting back and holding out.

It was in those final minutes - hence why Benteke came on.

Hold up the ball, get it forward, get a goal. Moreno's dart forward gave the team extra hope that we could hit them. Had we settled for the draw, we would have sat deeper.

Clearly we thought there was an opportunity - to defend and attack. Not saying that was the best option, but that's what happened. as I saw it. We had a couple of chances in those final few minutes. We weren't sitting back and holding out.

Fair enough Dan, good post.

It was in those final minutes - hence why Benteke came on.

Hold up the ball, get it forward, get a goal. Moreno's dart forward gave the team extra hope that we could hit them. Had we settled for the draw, we would have sat deeper.

Clearly we thought there was an opportunity - to defend and attack. Not saying that was the best option, but that's what happened. as I saw it. We had a couple of chances in those final few minutes. We weren't sitting back and holding out.

Hence why Benteke came on?

More like, what was the point in bringing Benteke on, he should have stayed at Melwood....  .... along with Sturridge.

football is cruel we did everything right for 91 mins and then one lapse of concentration. I really don't think they will withstand a full onslaught although I worry we will not start the game full on when it being Anfield we should try and destroy team from the first to the last whistle

I understand the frustration here,we were unlucky to concede;  but had Alberto Moreno been more composed in his effort the result could have been so different.... I am quietly confident with what I saw last night to believe that we will get a result when they come to Anfield... Feel Klopp was trying to look after Sturrigde while trying to give Benteke some game time should we need him down the line due to the Injures we have in the striker department

I think that's what we did do mate. That's why we played a "harrier" rather than a "striker" up top. I don't think though that if the manager could have got instructions out to the players in injury time he would have told Moreno to go walkabout.

I'm not sure I agree with you on here mate, I think Klopp was looking for the away goal and instructed the players to push a bit, especially that he introduced Benteke late on and we started playing more long balls to try to get something. We know Moreno is brainless as he doesn't know when to go forward or to go backwards, but the whole defensive line was way higher up the pitch than it should have been, so we had a lapse of concentration in our part and Villarreal took advantage of that, unfortunately.

But anyhoo, hopefully we don't go into gung-ho panicking mode at Anfield, just play to our strengths and find an opportunity to score.

From my perspective we played very well indeed up to a point. I thought Clyne let us down all night in an attacking sense, he was given so much strong possession on his side and time and time again he produced nothing. Lallana also failed to get involved enough and we need much more out of him than we got.

 Ibe produced absolutely nothing on the ball and I think he lost it almost every time he received the ball. Firmino I thought had a decent game, produced the best interplay of all our forwards and put, as ever, a very good first line of defence in. As is his biggest weakness though did lose the ball too easily on occasion.

I think that ball retention was a problem that ran trough out the team last night... As for Ibe I dared to say some months ago that he was simple not progressing and should be sold...Last night confirmed everything i said about him, he was poor in every aspect of his play...Ojo should be given his place in the team

It's all the Fume Mori's fault - blue bitter.

He deliberately took out Origi and we are short of forwards now with only Sturridge available.

I will say that goal may come to bite us in the ass in 2nd leg. They will most likely play 1-5-5 and park two Spanish buses for us to get thru - not easy.

BTW: Is Ojo in the Europa squad? If so, he should be picked before IBE. Ibe should be sent on holidays now - sorry useless player for me. Showed so much promise but nothing now. Also, Moreno should be made into a winger and we buy a proper left back.

But, In Klopp I Trust.

I'm not sure I agree with you on here mate, I think Klopp was looking for the away goal and instructed the players to push a bit, especially that he introduced Benteke late on and we started playing more long balls to try to get something. We know Moreno is brainless as he doesn't know when to go forward or to go backwards, but the whole defensive line was way higher up the pitch than it should have been, so we had a lapse of concentration in our part and Villarreal took advantage of that, unfortunately.

But anyhoo, hopefully we don't go into gung-ho panicking mode at Anfield, just play to our strengths and find an opportunity to score.

There's nothing wrong with playing a high line if you play it properly. The problem was Moreno didnt have the discipline to hold the line and went charging 20+ yards forward to try and nick a ball that he was never going to get, leaving Kolo totally exposed.

Moreno on paper should be perfect for playing a high line cos of his pace, but his reading of the game is so bad that he just cant do it.