We battered Burnley today. Could have been 7 and Burnley were very lucky to score 2. A poor refereeing decision and a lapse of concentration late on in believing we had made it accounts for their two goals. Nice to see us outfight them in the physical stakes as well. Dyche always loves to play the hard man like the pepped up aggressive piece of sh*t he is but when they get found out his team are a right bunch of pussy cats. Awful technically, simplistic, remedial tactics, bone headed players - quite simply they would do all of English football a great favour if they were to be relegated. Doing one over that c**t and his band of merry shits is always a good day.
On today's match, Keita has even more to prove because on his day Lallana can be the heartbeat of the team's attacking output something Keita can't be. You could just see how much more Salah, Firmino and Mane were revelling in it compared to last week's impotent midfield display where all three were feeding off scraps. It just highlights the importance of players like Lallana (and Oxlade Chamberlain) in maximising the potential of that front three. Keita by comparison (who I know did not play last week but has had the burden of being our main creative force in midfield for much of the year) has quite simply failed to come near to liberating that attack - if anything he stymies it, in that he carries the ball too far and for too long by which point the opposition defence are comfortably in possession and he inevitably loses it. Unless Klopp wants us to play a more patient, calmer style of football then fine - Keita is more than able and perhaps ideal for that role. But I don't believe that he has the ability to unleash the blitzkreig type of play we've become so accustomed to over the last 3 years. The hellish gegenpress is something I've felt we've lacked this season and we've lacked it because we haven't had the players in midfield. As Adam showed today, with the right midfielders in there then we get back to playing closer to our more natural, fearsome attack and the performances of the front three will prove it. It's a while since I can remember all three of Sadio, Bobby and Mo playing as high a level as that.
Today was a return to the relentless type of attack that did for us so well around this time last year. But given the injury history both Lallana and Chamberlain have, I think it's essential to go back into the market come the summer and seek that type of front foot, aggressive presser that can see us slip back into our natual style of attack and restore Mane, Firmino and Salah to the incredible levels they displayed last year.
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