With the attacking trio off and missing some pretty easy chances we were still able to grind out a win with some good defending and lady luck on our side with the goalkeeper error on the Gini shot. I think Mane puts away one of those two great chances late in the first half we would roll them over but we made it hard on us not taking the chances.
I thought the VvD-Matip-Fabinho in the middle had a really good game, snuffed out a lot of attacks, passed the ball well, made key tackles and controlled the play when needed.
We absolutely would have rolled them over if we had taken those earlier chances. They were fu**ed with about half an hour left to play and running on the adrenaline provided by the crowd. At 2-0 and a silenced crowd in that final 20 minutes it would have gone up to 3 or 4. There were numerous moments late on when the likes of Firmino turned and breezed around. Sadly our front 3 didn't quite have the composure to make it count no doubt largely down to the pressure of the crowd. But at 1-0 away from home and having missed golden chances to secure the victory, it is an entirely different game where all the pressure is on you. That they survived with no major cock up induced in such a pressurised environment is a testament to their mental fortitude.
MOTM for me could be any one of Fabinho, VVD or Adrian but I'd give it to Adrian. In high pressurised situations with a charged crowd away from home how many times did we have to put up with moronic goals conceded induced by Mignolet's technical and mental inabilities? Adrian had the crowd on his back all game but didn't spill any of the umpteen lumpy high balls that he had to come for.
The defence on corners and set pieces was also faultless today and Robbo's last ditch tackle to prevent them from scoring was Carraesque. Trent had a tough game but as ever for a teenager like him he's going to have days like these and playing in matches like that, in atmospheres like that and coming through unscathed will only continue to make the guy prosper, more so than a comfortable 3-0, 4-0 home win.
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