Very dominant performance by us in terms of possession. That said, I actually thought Sunderland played well. They showed no attacking initiative at all but I thought they got men behind the ball well and made it very difficult for us. I remember thinking during the game that we weren't going to score. So credit to them, they played as well as they could have for a Sunderland side away from home at Anfield of all places, because lets face it, they are a championship side at best, but Im just thankful we got the goals and the 3 points in the end. We were huffing and puffing for large parts.
Karius - Had very little to do but he was called upon on one maybe two occasions which he dealt with well. One in particular sticks in my mind which was in the first half. Long ball over the top which I thought (haven't seen the replay yet) was a million yards offside but play went on regardless and Karius came out and made himself big and saved it. No idea what he was doing for the goal kick he booted out for a corner though, so embarrassing.
Clyne - Defended well but again didn't have that much to do. He was bombing forward down that right hand side but anichebe tracked him all game to be fair, so he couldn't get into the game much attacking wise.
Matip - Big, solid as always. Thought he brought the ball out of defence well too.
Lovren - Same. Big, strong. Had a screamer that went just wide and was unlucky with a header or two on set pieces. Played well.
Milner - Similar to clyne. Defended well but had little to do all game. Wasn't involved that much either going forward.
Hendo - Im surprised to see some people say he had a bad game, I thought he did ok, and I have been his biggest critic for years. He is playing in a new role this season, as a DM, and I thought he did his job well on Saturday. Its upto the other five attacking players to be creative while Hendo breaks up play and wins the ball back for us. I actually thought he was one of few players who had any urgency about him as well.
Can - The more I see of him, the more I doubt he is good enough to be in our starting 11. A decent squad option, but I don't think he has the quality required to play in our midfield every week. Saturday he saw plenty of the ball but did very little with it or lost possession, im starting to see the same thing each week. I think his strongest position is at the back (his best games for us were playing as a RCB as part of a back three).
Wijnaldum - His movement, energy and work rate goes unnoticed. Needs to offer a bit more on the ball but overall a decent game.
Mane - I thought Mane was terrible. The ball was bouncing off his foot with every touch, he was running the ball out of play at times, losing possession. He was just having one of those games until he went and won the penalty in stoppage time by showing his pace and a bit of skill to skip past the defender.
Firmino - I thought he was motm. He was the one player in the team who looked like he could make something happen.
Origi - Big handful when he came on. Worked hard. Deserved his goal even though I think it was a cross. Played well.
That was a must win game and it was vital we got the three points. 10 clear of the mancs, 6 clear of spurs. Keep going reds. Just hope the Coutinho injury isn't as bad as we think and he's back in the team soon. We aren't the same side without him.
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