Liverpool 2-2 Middlesbrough AET (14-13 penalties): In game and Post Match Wha..?

Just arrived in my hotel after watching the game, didn't clearly see what caused their first.  Lallana had a good game,

Sakho handball at the edge of the box.  I didn't think Lallana was brilliant myself but plenty on here have said they were impressed so I'll go with the majority.  Did have some nice touches but still a little lightweight for me.

Sakho handball at the edge of the box.  I didn't think Lallana was brilliant myself but plenty on here have said they were impressed so I'll go with the majority.  Did have some nice touches but still a little lightweight for me.

I wouldn't say Lallana was brilliant but probably the second best player to Sterling imo. I know Sterling gave away a goal and missed a pen but that shouldn't take away what went before. He was our main threat (at times our only threat) and worked his bollocks off.

Lambert and Markovic very disappointing again. I haven't seen Markovic do anything yet to deserve the high regard he seems to be held in. One good run in his first game is about all I remember.

I thought Rossiter and Williams both did exceedingly well, neat on the ball and kept possession well (especially Williams)   

Lambert and Markovic very disappointing again.

Lambert has hardly played. Giving him the armband as well. Talk about pressure. He was poor tonight but I've been quietly pleased with his cameos. He gets extra slack anyway.

I can't trust Migs. Every single ball that comes his way, I feel he's going to screw up by palming the ball to the middle of the box...

And, of course, we have a problem with ou defenders. And again: We can't allow other teams to score like they did on their second goal. We were winning, the match was nearly over and, yet, we allowed them to score on a counter attack. It's unacceptable.

God we were sh*te.

Anyway:-
Sterling - 2 slip ups but STILL easily our best player.
Lallana - one of our best players. Not a worldbeater, but ok.
Lambert - did he win a fan's competition to play for us? WTF
Mignolet - saved 1 of 14 penalties, one other going wide. Not a bad keeper, but not one of the best in the PL.
To sell(for zero pounds!) Pepe for Mignolet is just bad comedy.
Rossiter - some really classy touches. Not sure how much of a physical presence he'll end up, even after he fills out. But did very well indeed with passing as well as goal.
Markovich- far too much pressure placed on him. Shadow of the confident marauding young player of pre season. Knew it would take time for him to settle. Thanks Yanks. NOT.

Overall, par for the course. Just what I expected, and it wasn't far off a 1st 11 either!

God we were sh*te.

Anyway:-
Sterling - 2 slip ups but STILL easily our best player.
Lallana - one of our best players. Not a worldbeater, but ok.
Lambert - did he win a fan's competition to play for us? WTF
Mignolet - saved 1 of 14 penalties, one other going wide. Not a bad keeper, but not one of the best in the PL.
To sell(for zero pounds!) Pepe for Mignolet is just bad comedy.
Rossiter - some really classy touches. Not sure how much of a physical presence he'll end up, even after he fills out. But did very well indeed with passing as well as goal.
Markovich- far too much pressure placed on him. Shadow of the confident marauding young player of pre season. Knew it would take time for him to settle. Thanks Yanks. NOT.

Overall, par for the course. Just what I expected, and it wasn't far off a 1st 11 either!

God your posts are fckin depressing jeez.
 
On another note hit the wrong button for motm pressed Lambert by mistake  ,who may be a local but is rank average at the moment.

I can understand the happy factor due to us winning and going through, but it was a freak penalty shoot out lottery against Boro’, and we were terrible again

Mignolet continues to worry me with his lack of reaction and positional sense - it's not all about shot stopping
Manquillo was industrious but is obviously raw
Sakho looks awkward but didn't do too bad
Toure was high
Enrique is obviously still rusty but put in a good shift
Rossiter was enthusiastic but will get eaten alive in the Prem due to his diminutive size. Hopefully he will fill out in the next two years because he looked quite capable
Lucas was hard working but lacks anything going forward
Markovic is a mystery; £20m and I cannot see what he offers the team. Lucas is hard working, Sterling has pace, Studge is great at going past defenders and is tricky, Mig is a good shot stopper, Balotelli holds the ball up well, Couts has great vision etc. But I fail to see where Markovic excels
Lallana was good, probably our best player on the pitch until Suso came on. Lallana has great close control and he was direct
Sterling frustrates me and really need to work on holding on to the ball more and stop being so sloppy with it. His 'hit it past a defender and run into him' is getting very old very fast
Lambert's has to be the worst performance I've seen from someone in a red shirt. He was literally useless

Balotelli looks like he cannot be bothered any more. Regardless of his ability, his work ethic is going to drive me nuts
Williams looked comfortable on the ball and if he’s that big at 17…
Suso looked classy and looked like he’d played a full season with us. If Rodgers sells him ahead of a misfiring first XI I think I’ll scream. His passing was crisp and he was creative; just what we need

All in all it was a dour performance and I am worried that the Gaffer is looking more and more like he’s not sure of the best way to go forward. The injuries don’t help, but of all of them, only Studge would walk back into the side, and an Allen most people wanted gone last season

God we were sh*te.

Anyway:-
Sterling - 2 slip ups but STILL easily our best player.
Lallana - one of our best players. Not a worldbeater, but ok.
Lambert - did he win a fan's competition to play for us? WTF
Mignolet - saved 1 of 14 penalties, one other going wide. Not a bad keeper, but not one of the best in the PL.
To sell(for zero pounds!) Pepe for Mignolet is just bad comedy.
Rossiter - some really classy touches. Not sure how much of a physical presence he'll end up, even after he fills out. But did very well indeed with passing as well as goal.
Markovich- far too much pressure placed on him. Shadow of the confident marauding young player of pre season. Knew it would take time for him to settle. Thanks Yanks. NOT.

Overall, par for the course. Just what I expected, and it wasn't far off a 1st 11 either!

I voted for Lucas as MOTM, if he plays like that every game then he should be starting instead of Stevie. Lallana showed that he is getting back to his best, saw lots of good touches form almost all the players but what has happened to the cohesion in the team, so many misplaced passes and runs not being picked up. Brendan really needs to sort this sh*t out.

Oh and btw we really have a big big problem in the striker position, Lambert is next to useless and I have no real idea what the issue is with Balotelli but he was terrible yesterday. Please get well soon Sturridge and please please stay injury free all season. If anyone points out that I missed out Borini, then I did for a reason, he's not a striker in my opinion.

Some clarifications:-
I'm a huge fan of Markovich, but he WILL take time to settle.
Rossiter, I thought played wonderfully for even someone 3yrs older on a debut. My observation was that, while he won't be a Joe Allen in physicque, he won't be a Yaya Toure either. Not a major problem, just an observn.
Mignolet isnt that bad. But how many teams would he walk into? He's ok, but I wouldnt even say international class. Pepe I thought was fantastic, and harshly criticised while at the club... unfairly.
Lambert- in fairness I knew what he would and wouldn't offer. Where he functions is when opponents draw very deep. But he isn't a pass and move, linkup striker. He's pretty average as modern day PL stds go.

And yes, we were UTTER sh*te.

My player ratings:

Mignolet: Presumably was played to give him confidence, it probably backfired. Once again in no-mans land for the first goal, and I think it's not unreasonable to have expected him to do better in the shootout. If we had a viable alternative then Simon would surely be dropped. 4/10

Manquillo: OK on the night but no better. Once or twice gave infuriating free kicks away when all he had to do was hold. 5/10.

Toure: Not good, but kind of played as you'd expect these days. At least he gives it everything and is obviously a good pro. Not a bad defender as long as you don't expect any fancy work in possession. Penalty giveaway was predictable, but did make one goal saving challenge. 5/10.

Sakho: Thought he was pretty good. Distribution success continues to bely the awkwardness of how it looks, and defended well. I know many don't agree, but I remain convinced he'll make an absolutely top centre half. 6/10.

Enrique: Once again not too bad and kind of played how you'd expect. I've a hunch that he's not that bright. 6/10.

Rossiter: A good debut for the kid. Got a bit lucky with the goal (which I'm fairly sure he was going for height with, over the goalies left shoulder) but overall did well. Obviously a bit lightweight at this stage, but no disgrace at all. 6/10.

Lucas: Obviously outgunned physically, but nobody could deny his effort. The fella gave absolutely everything he could, it wasn't all good but he had a right go, fair play. 6/10.

Sterling: The best player on view obviously, but missed the pen and gave the equaliser away. He'll learn from that, I love the kid and prey to God we give him anew deal. What we pay him is almost irrelevant, it's the hefty sell on clause which we need. 8/10.

Lallana: I thought he grew into it and was excellent with his little twists and turns. Perhaps a touch of the Peter Beardsleys about him the way he opens things up, and I gave him my MOM. 8/10.

Markovic: Looks a good player to me, but was very poor on the night. Once again spent too much time right side in my view, and looking at him it may be a long wait for him to come good. 4/10.

Lambert: Really felt for him because the harder he tried, the worse he got. Truly terrible and he'll know it. Once he relax's he'll be a good player again, hopefully he can do that while he's got a Liverpool shirt on. 3/10.

Balotelli: I'll have a go at talking about his movement in his thread. Suffice to say here it's currently not good enough and doesn't fit what we're trying to do. We could help him too if we crossed it earlier, better and more often, but the big Italian had to do more here in my opinion. 5/10.

Williams: Liked this kid a lot when he came on. Looked a good prospect to me and will make a good living out of the game. Might even make it at the top level, liked him. 6/10.

Suso: A real bright spark from the minute he came on. My guess is Brendan doesn't fancy him because of his lack of pace/physicality/presence, but nobody can deny the kid can play. A wand of a left foot, and he looks like sale which could potentially come back to bite us one day. 7/10.

A wand of a left foot

Always has had a fantastic left foot.
Will be gutted when he goes on to be successful in Italy.



Mignolet - 26

Enrique - 28
Toure - 33
Sakho - 24
Manquillo - 20

Lucas - 27
Rossiter - 17

Markovic - 20
Sterling - 19
Lallana - 26

Lambert - 32

Subs

Williams - 18
Suso - 20
Balotelli - 24

Average age of starting team - 24.7
Average age of penalty takers - 24.1

Considering that team was Under 21s and fringe players I'm just happy we went through.
Many times we've played fringe and youth and got destroyed.
Look at that team and Lambert & Toure aside it's a very young team.

That's half our problem too.
Suarez left at his peak (27)

Markovic is only a few months older than Sterling, yet we expect him to deliver now.
Balotelli is still only 24, he has all the expectation of replacing Suarez now.
Sterling, our great hope for the season, is still only 19.
Manquillo, who now seems nailed on to start, is 20.
Can, who I was looking forward to seeing in this type of game, is 20.

A large chunk of our transfer budget was spent in some way to get around FFP.
It's all been on U21 players.
but we need them to perform now.

Some clarifications:-
I'm a huge fan of Markovich, but he WILL take time to settle.
Rossiter, I thought played wonderfully for even someone 3yrs older on a debut. My observation was that, while he won't be a Joe Allen in physicque, he won't be a Yaya Toure either. Not a major problem, just an observn.
Mignolet isnt that bad. But how many teams would he walk into? He's ok, but I wouldnt even say international class. Pepe I thought was fantastic, and harshly criticised while at the club... unfairly.
Lambert- in fairness I knew what he would and wouldn't offer. Where he functions is when opponents draw very deep. But he isn't a pass and move, linkup striker. He's pretty average as modern day PL stds go.

And yes, we were UTTER sh*te.

It was the end of your post that confused me mate, couldn't make sense of it and some stuff in the middle.
Got a bit of a hangover so thanks for explaining more.
I thought you were trying to get a negative response, maybe you were just frustrated at our display; I don't blame you there.
No worries...


On the subject of the match:
That penalty shoot out was unbelievable, never seen anything like it.

I thought Lucas was Rossiter a few times, he looked energetic and like a teenager again.
Me and my dad were laughing when we mistook him for a 17 year old, classic
Also thought Enrique had a great game, gave him my MOTM award.

I can see how we will get in the groove soon enough, I know we should be smashing that team, we will improve drastically in the upcoming weeks/months.
Have faith til the players get used to each other and all that.

Got ya : )
Got a bit of a hangover myself hehe

Lallana was actually the most consistent player on the pitch, tho not the best, IMO. He did look a bit more lightweight than I'd expect, atleast from how some people described him at Soton.

Still, I think we can do something with him in the team perhaps.

Went with my lad (he's 7 - his first game)

Decided due to the time to leave 116 minutes in.  Got to the back of Annie Road and heard the pen.

Was on the lancs, past the motoways when they finished.  He was knackered though.  So although gutted we missed it, I had to do the right thing

I'm a huge fan of Markovich,

Not fan enough to spell his name right though. 

As for the match. We never do it easy do we? Strengthens the ♥ muscles I s'pose. All our hearts are in training for the CL nights.

Not fan enough to spell his name right though. 

As for the match. We never do it easy do we? Strengthens the ♥ muscles I s'pose. All our hearts are in training for the CL nights.

Its the English translation, minus the grapheme thingy 

Toure was high

That makes two of us.

Its the English translation, minus the grapheme thingy 

Ah, I'm with you now, like the French version of boolsheet.

Well that was pretty F***ing epic 

A couple of points:
The ref judging 2 similar handballs completely differently. Ayala at the end was the worse offence, and yet play gets waved on.
I'd have no complaints about the "handball" from Sakho, if refs were consistent.

We're going to continue to struggle against massed ranks of defenders if we don't score early on, or if we concede first.

Th team itself:
Mignolet: is lacking in confidence.
Manquillo: did OK again, but I expect Johnson to replace him when he's fit. Nothing to do with Manquillo being bad, I think BR prefers Johnson.
Toure: did OK as well apart from his usual comedy moments when he turns into one of the Keystone cops.
Sakho: was good. Took pretty much everything in his stride, and unlucky with the handball given against him.
Enrique: As physical as ever, backed up well on the left in attack, and got up and down well. Didn't do much wrong.
Rossiter: Very good from the youngster, and that performance will give him bags of confidence.
Lucas: Swapped positions with his partner a few times to get forwards, and did it well. Kept the ball moving in their half, switched it to the wings well, broke up some counters before they got started, and gave it everything.
Lallana: Showing glimpses of why BR rated him so highly. Much more to come from him.
Sterling: Another good performance, but gave the ball away as he tired towards the end which was understandable given the amount of running he did. Great outlet for us.
Markovic: Still adapting, doesn't seem to like the physical side of the game here.
Lambert: Doesn't look fit enough. Didn't do a lot wrong, maybe because he didn't do much.

Williams: slotted straight in and did a good job. Beast of a youngster physically, he showed some good touches and nice passing.
Suso: Nice little cameo, scored a goal and played pretty well in the limited amount of time he had. Would probably have posed more of a threat than Markovic if he'd started in his place.
Balotelli: Looks languid, but isn't. Worked hard for the team, tried to find a way through a few times on his own, but needs to get in the box more.

Not an impressive team performance, but valuable game time for a couple of players and valuable experience for a couple of others.

http://www.tvgolo.com/pt/resumo-jogo-1411494895---40

Goals and penalties.

Thanks Tiago for the link.

Not a great performance, was very impressed with the two kids, for a 17 year old Jordan Rossiter is so F***ing level-headed it's untrue. Sshould definitely get a few more run-outs this season. Can pass and already looks like he could fill in for Lucas.

Our defence still gives me nightmares, Kolo should definitely play in Capital One and Fa Cup games, wouldn't have the loon anywhere near the league and European Cup squad though.

Also thought Boro played very well and gave it a good go, our Keystone Kops defending notwithstanding.

On a brighter note, at least we know the majority of the squad can take a pen!!

And whoever is selling the small-Chelsealike plastic flags, whether it's the club or someone outside, stop it. NOW! We'll end up looking like F***ing Chelsea at this rate.

Not really sure what to say about the game overall. Very typical of this season really: played well (ok but not great), then a big let down defensively. Still looking for that flare we had last year.
Migs: Average. A couple good saves. Improved from last couple games, but not near good enough still.
Manquillo: Average as well. Plenty of energy, but just leaves me missing Flanno even more.
Toure: Was very solid until the penalty. Just evidence he is a step too slow. Great penalty in the shootout though!
Sahko: Very good in the air, and overall good. For their 2nd goal, I do think he was dragged out of space again. Our CB pair really need to work on this, as it seems they get stretched out too easily/often.
Enrique: Very happy and pleased with his performance. After basically a year off, he slid in very well. Have always been a fan of his, however I do think moreno is ahead of him now.
Lucas: Solid. Slow, but steady with his usual fouls.
Rossiter: What a debut! Very calm on the ball and passes with conviction. If he proresses like he should from here, we will be seeing him much more often!
Sterling: Usual energy, but has seem a little stifled the last few games. He is best when he has space to run at. I still wonder what he would look like up top.
Lallana: MOTM for me. Looked energetic and dangerous everytime he touched the ball. Holds on to it a little too long at times, but very pleased with him.
Markovic: More left to be desired tbh. You can tell there are great moments in him, yet he does not relase them! And please...shoot the ball!
Lambert: It may be harsh, but he was terrible. I like him a lot and wish him better, but not a good performance at all. Effort was there, just not the quality.

Mario: I'm still waiting on him. I'm waiting to be impressed and excited, and it just hasn't happened. Just more evidence that Sturridge is our main guy.
Williams: Solid. Very solid. Could see him feature more as I think he is more of a physicl presence than Lucas.
Suso: We need more of him! Would like to see him feature this weekend. Whenever he has been on the pitch this season, he has delivered in one way or another.

If Sturridge is available this weekend, he slides right back in the starting squad for me. We miss his pace and creativity. And if Mario doesn't show something more soon, I'd be willing to give Borini that same amount of minutes. I like to see the strikers flying around the pitch...like last year.