Derby County 0-3 Liverpool: In game and Post Match discussion

How reassuring is it to have Matip in defence everything he does is just so calming and reassured.

Compare to the days of Skrtel " suddenly shudders".

Thankfully, their performances are making Skrtel a quickly residing memory.

Easily dispatched the two Championship sides away from home in what had the potential to be so-called banana skins. 

Can't ask for more than a clean sheet on Karius debut.  Happy with tonight's game and hopefully we can carry on with the 'expected wins' against Hull.

How reassuring is it to have Matip in defence everything he does is just so calming and reassured.

Compare to the days of Skrtel " suddenly shudders".

Turning out to be the best buy of the summer.  Looks like he has been playing with us for years. 

I gave MOTM to Lucas and while Firmino was very good I feel that Lucas' control in midfield is what led to our sustained pressure and kept the ball in high areas for the likes of Firmino. I also forgot just how good his range of passing can be from that CM role. Every year he comes within an inch of leaving and every year he makes me happy he's stayed, without being world class/phenomenal... what a player!?

Very disappointed with Firmino. Every time he plays he lets me down. Picked him as my surprise flop of the season and I keep having to pick him as my m.o.t.m. 

I had him down as the flop for this season too.  Happy to see him prove me wrong, and long may it continue!! 

I think I saw that we've had more goal scorers than any other team in the Prem.  It's so nice to not feel over reliant on any 1 or 2 players and have faith in the collective regardless of who plays.

I gave MOTM to Lucas and while Firmino was very good I feel that Lucas' control in midfield is what led to our sustained pressure and kept the ball in high areas for the likes of Firmino. I also forgot just how good his range of passing can be from that CM role. Every year he comes within an inch of leaving and every year he makes me happy he's stayed, without being world class/phenomenal... what a player!?

I thought Lucas was great tonight, especially in the first half. Showed he still has an impressive range of passes when he doesn't have pressure on the ball and made a couple of good clearances too.

Only player that was a bit below par for me was Clyne, who seems to be in the middle of a sticky patch at the moment. Didn't do that much wrong, but for a consistent 7/10 player he's thrown a few 5 and 6/10 performances in lately. 

Highlights for those who had a shitty stream.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=3PUHDsmeCEs

Listened to this on 5 Live. They moved the commentary to the Leicester v Chelsea match after our third goal on 54 minutes. I should complain but I can't really. A contest that didn't last an hour, the rest I assume was a warm down. Comfortable.


What a difference a year makes. Been a long long time since I was 100% convinced that we'd win but tonight I did. Was like the best Rafa days. In stark contrast to this point last year when we luckily beat Carlisle on penalties at home! But that's a long long time ago now.


F**k the past, embrace the future!

Listened to this on 5 Live. They moved the commentary to the Leicester v Chelsea match after our third goal on 54 minutes. I should complain but I can't really. A contest that didn't last an hour, the rest I assume was a warm down.

Yeah, although our subs didn't really help. We were flowing and they simply disrupted that flow. Not their fault really.

Yeah, although our subs didn't really help. We were flowing and they simply disrupted that flow. Not their fault really.

When you're 3-0 up I don't expect subs to make much of an impact. Give them a little bit of a nice run out, save the legs, don't try and be a hero. Easy.

I thought Lucas was great tonight, especially in the first half. Showed he still has an impressive range of passes when he doesn't have pressure on the ball and made a couple of good clearances too.

Only player that was a bit below par for me was Clyne, who seems to be in the middle of a sticky patch at the moment. Didn't do that much wrong, but for a consistent 7/10 player he's thrown a few 5 and 6/10 performances in lately. 

I agree with the point you raise on Clyne, however I'm not sure he's gone as low as 5/6 out of 10. I think he is extremely consistent, in that his primary job as a RB is to defend first, everything else is a bonus. The games in which he "struggles" the most, or his weaker games, always seem to be against teams that bunker in and look for us to break them down. While Clyne has plenty of attacking attributes, he is a defender primarily and when he's asked to unlock a defence with a run or a pass it appears outside of his comfort zone. Against Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea etc. he always looks imperious because he has more defending to do (his strongest attribute) and when we do go forward he's not up against 11 men swamping the box.

He is a solid 7/10 player, at his worst he is 6/10 (I've never felt he's cost us a game) and at is best he's 8/10 (likewise I've never felt he's won us a game). For years, Riise, Johnson, Enrique and more recently Moreno have been so inconsistent, at their worst they really did cost us games and at their best they were key figures in major wins, but rarely did they fall in between. You know exactly what you're going to get with Clyne, and in this particular squad, with such a fantastic mixture of individual brilliance and team dominance I think he fits in perfectly!

Listened to this on 5 Live. They moved the commentary to the Leicester v Chelsea match after our third goal on 54 minutes. I should complain but I can't really. A contest that didn't last an hour, the rest I assume was a warm down. Comfortable.


What a difference a year makes. Been a long long time since I was 100% convinced that we'd win but tonight I did. Was like the best Rafa days. In stark contrast to this point last year when we luckily beat Carlisle on penalties at home! But that's a long long time ago now.


F**k the past, embrace the future!

Exactly and to be honest mate we still had chances on the break where we should have won me the money, I mean got the 4th and 5th goals but some of passing (mostly Emre's) lost their composure and let them off the hook. At the other end of the pitch I felt our lads were just getting nervous for the clean sheet as they were not anticipating our own passes and therefore making a few of them look worse than they were. Defensive shape and keeping them at arms length though was very good and apart from the Karius clearance and maybe one headed chance they had to feed on scraps all night. Loved it.

I agree with the point you raise on Clyne, however I'm not sure he's gone as low as 5/6 out of 10. I think he is extremely consistent, in that his primary job as a RB is to defend first, everything else is a bonus. The games in which he "struggles" the most, or his weaker games, always seem to be against teams that bunker in and look for us to break them down. While Clyne has plenty of attacking attributes, he is a defender primarily and when he's asked to unlock a defence with a run or a pass it appears outside of his comfort zone. Against Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea etc. he always looks imperious because he has more defending to do (his strongest attribute) and when we do go forward he's not up against 11 men swamping the box.

He is a solid 7/10 player, at his worst he is 6/10 (I've never felt he's cost us a game) and at is best he's 8/10 (likewise I've never felt he's won us a game). For years, Riise, Johnson, Enrique and more recently Moreno have been so inconsistent, at their worst they really did cost us games and at their best they were key figures in major wins, but rarely did they fall in between. You know exactly what you're going to get with Clyne, and in this particular squad, with such a fantastic mixture of individual brilliance and team dominance I think he fits in perfectly!

Clyne is up there with Finnan and Arbeloa as Mr Consistent. No worries at all and I actually thought he did an efficient job on Hazard on Friday night. Only real bad moment was his mistake that led to Burnley's first goal a few weeks back but that was a very rare slip up.

Clyne is up there with Finnan and Arbeloa as Mr Consistent. No worries at all and I actually thought he did an efficient job on Hazard on Friday night. Only real bad moment was his mistake that led to Burnley's first goal a few weeks back but that was a very rare slip up.

Is right mate, For someone who hardly ever makes mistakes that are punishing you can forgive the odd error.

You know exactly what you're going to get with Clyne, and in this particular squad, with such a fantastic mixture of individual brilliance and team dominance I think he fits in perfectly!

I think carries the most weight in the argument for keeping him (beyond this season I'm clearly talking). I've been underwhelmed by Nat because I feel he gets so much of the space we create that we should be getting more from that position of the pitch, no matter if it's him there or anyone else.

Now I totally buy the 'it's his first job to defend' argument but that only applies when we're under defensive threat, in games like this he must provide more and it's games like this (or lesser opposition teams in the prem) where we have struggled in the past. No longer is it good enough to be just a good defender unless you are exceptional, which he isn't, but he is good.

I do believe that the consistency he offers does allow some of our other players to become much more relaxed in the game and composed because of that reliability though. Players such as Henderson can become confident to go forward if they have a Nat behind them because he does have excellent recovery pace and he will not let you down when called upon to put the effort in. So while I've had a bit of a downer where he's concerned the case for keeping him long term is certainly a very strong one.

I think carries the most weight in the argument for keeping him (beyond this season I'm clearly talking). I've been underwhelmed by Nat because I feel he gets so much of the space we create that we should be getting more from that position of the pitch, no matter if it's him there or anyone else.

Now I totally buy the 'it's his first job to defend' argument but that only applies when we're under defensive threat, in games like this he must provide more and it's games like this (or lesser opposition teams in the prem) where we have struggled in the past. No longer is it good enough to be just a good defender unless you are exceptional, which he isn't, but he is good.

I do believe that the consistency he offers does allow some of our other players to become much more relaxed in the game and composed because of that reliability though. Players such as Henderson can become confident to go forward if they have a Nat behind them because he does have excellent recovery pace and he will not let you down when called upon to put the effort in. So while I've had a bit of a downer where he's concerned the case for keeping him long term is certainly a very strong one.

Completely understand where you are coming from, and I don't think it's by mistake that he gets so much space, I think opposition teams are happy to let him get the ball on the touch line rather than show it to Coutinho/Firmino/Mane etc on the edge of the box. I thought against Chelsea we targeted Ivanovic on the left so much that they were doubling up their cover on him and leaving Clyne in oceans of space with just Azpilicueta in front of him and we ignored it so many times. It is frustrating, especially against sides like this, but I don't see it changing drastically.

I'm not stat expert but I can't imagine Clynes figures differ that much from Neville/Cole/Ivanovic/Zabaleta etc. I know the "his first job is to defend" argument comes across as patronising but I meant it in comparison to our recent full backs who all seemed to struggle with the notion. A full back who puts in a solid game in a rarity for us in the last 7/8 years!

I gave MOTM to Lucas and while Firmino was very good I feel that Lucas' control in midfield is what led to our sustained pressure and kept the ball in high areas for the likes of Firmino. I also forgot just how good his range of passing can be from that CM role. Every year he comes within an inch of leaving and every year he makes me happy he's stayed, without being world class/phenomenal... what a player!?

It's what he has never really gotten credit for, he just recycles the ball so well and with purpose. He knows his limitations, he plays with in them. Smart player and I hope we see him become, at the very least, a coach some day.

How did moreno play?

I think carries the most weight in the argument for keeping him (beyond this season I'm clearly talking). I've been underwhelmed by Nat because I feel he gets so much of the space we create that we should be getting more from that position of the pitch, no matter if it's him there or anyone else.

Now I totally buy the 'it's his first job to defend' argument but that only applies when we're under defensive threat, in games like this he must provide more and it's games like this (or lesser opposition teams in the prem) where we have struggled in the past. No longer is it good enough to be just a good defender unless you are exceptional, which he isn't, but he is good.

I do believe that the consistency he offers does allow some of our other players to become much more relaxed in the game and composed because of that reliability though. Players such as Henderson can become confident to go forward if they have a Nat behind them because he does have excellent recovery pace and he will not let you down when called upon to put the effort in. So while I've had a bit of a downer where he's concerned the case for keeping him long term is certainly a very strong one.

I think the emphasis on Clyne  to 'provide' in the centrality of attacks places too much emphasis and expectation on him in my opinion.

I think his main role in an attacking sense is, like most modern right backs, to be that outlet who keeps the opposition full back occupied that acts as a 'dummy' threat while all the players like Coutinho, Lallana and co do the actual business of creating and scoring. His sheer speed alone just gives us that extra bit of power on the attack as a whole. That he is so fluid and tuned in makes it a shame that many seem to forget about him.

Compare right backs like Randall or Manquillo a couple of years back and you realise their inadequacy to get forward quickly enough or defend well enough. Worse, you could get the balance all wrong and have a decent attacker but a truly awful defender like Glen Johnson (who along with Skrtel represented the sort of sub standard quality that underpinned our defensive, and overall, downturn across the last 7 years.

The position of fullback is probably the most important but hardest position to fill on the football field. They have to do so much these days. Our inability to find an adequate left back over the summer shows this. We're very lucky that Clyne ticks all the boxes!

Very comfortable night, and exactly as it should be.  Never needed to hit top gear and that is a credit to the improvements we have made.

Went for PHIL as my MOTM, involved in everything while he was on.

Good to see a few players get some time on the pitch.  Roll on Saturday.

Job done! We had complete control of the game, so much so Karius was never really tested. Interesting to see what looked like 3 centre-backs playing well Matip, Klavan and Lucas, which allowed Clyne and Moreno to push forward. Thought the build up to our second and third goals was good and was really good to see us working until final whistle to keep clean sheet.

Interesting to see who we get in next round.

Busy day, wasn't able to watch or follow the game thread, but it sounds like we did well and it sounds like winning is starting to become an expectation again and not a pleasant surprise (even against the minnows). Just keep that momentum going through the weekend now. 

Nice routine win, let's carry it on into the league now!

Feels like we are really starting to click under Jürgen now.