Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal: In game and Post Match discussion

Ratings:

Migs: His distribution appeared quicker and a little more measured to be fair to him. The top class save looked better than it was in my opinion. Still a good save but a slice of luck to take it on to the bar which I think could have been avoided with better contact. Still got away with it, flapped at a couple or didn't claim convincingly enough on some of their crosses which looked like Arsenal's only recurring threat. Should have done a touch better on their goal, don't think he had come out and if you do choose to come on that kind of angle you have to take everything and in the end he was in between both which looked poor. 6/10

Clyne: Got up and down well but did nothing to prevent them passing around him like he wasn't there and let us down when trying to stop any cross. Thankfully he wasn't needed up the other end today because when he got there he did very little. Quickly becoming an irritation even seeing his name on the team sheet. Replace as soon as possible. 5.5/10

Matip: Did well considering who he was playing alongside, was well organised with Klavan and handled most things that came in to the box. 7/10

Klavan: Best defender on show today, did let Giroud go for the good save from Migs but it looked like he was falling over so I'll have to rewatch that one and give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Covered Milner well and had to on occasion. Good performance by Ragnar that. 8/10

Milner: One top cross when Matip should have scored and hit the post, other than that his offensive contribution was very poor indeed. Got caught out regularly in the wide areas for pace and allowed far too many cheap crosses to be fired into our box. Think he either needs a rest and of course in the summer the first position we need to replace. 5.5/10

Can: Better, he's quicker in posession than Hendo and I don't think that's appreciated enough. People were saying we seemed quicker today and I think a large slice of that has to go in credit to Emre. He gets it and moves it on with purpose regularly but also has those momentary lapses that need to improve. Did do a terrible flick on for Arsenal in the first half that we got away with. Don't think he deserved a red for the challenge even though it looked bad his foot was kept on the floor and went for the ball. A foul for sure, but only a foul. 6.5/10

Gini: Bossed his battles in midfield, covered well at the back and that run at the end just epitomises what I love from that position. He wanted it so much more and that pass can't be made without that run. The finish was cool and expected to be honest, he hits the target so often when he shoots that it would have taken a special save from that distance. Needs to produce a similar performance away from home though. 7/10

Lallana: He's the most improved player in the entire league, absolutely brilliant again. He's tireless, creative and leads the charge when it comes to nicking the ball. He's won me over completely and I love the bloke now. Think that position is his for as long as he can maintain these energy levels because I don't think there's another player in the entire league who could offer that as well as his ball carrying/creative skills too. To me he's our equivalent of Kante for Leicester, seems to be everywhere. 9/10 MotM

Coutinho: Think his contribution will be over-rated, thought he shot with almost every touch and didn't need to. Thought he was the weak link of our attack today. When he passes, David Silva style, I think there's few players that can hold a candle to him and when he did try that we almost or did get through the Arsenal ranks. Still overall it was a decent performance but by his standards I think he should have bagged a goal and assisted today. 7/10

Mane: Started the game a little rusty, almost certainly got in the way of a goal-scoring chance when taking a ball not intended for him. Also lost the ball plenty in the early part of the game but from there he grew and grew and became more of a threat as the game got stretched. Great goal when given a beautiful assist from Bobby and was also always on the press, good performance Sadio. 8/10

Firmino: Absolutely bossed the game in the first half, got his goal, got a beautiful assist. Terrorised the Arsenal defence and had them like spinning tops not knowing which side he'd be running off them. For anyone who doesn't know how to move they should watch that first half again, it really was a joy to behold. Thought he also should have had a pen and I'm not too sure how you get away with blatantly pushing someone to the ground in the box. Slipped a little in the 2nd half but I think that has plenty to do with playing every minute of every game almost and he could do with a rest. 8/10

Origi: Brilliant cameo, was strong when he needed to be, judged his runs well and that pass for Gini was a thing of beauty. Nicely done lad.

Jürgen: Got it spot on today, was set up on a hiding to nothing by some but still he produced a performance by the lads that we can be proud of. Whoever wants to say that Arsenal played into our hands by 'actually playing football' and 'actually trying to win' really doesn't understand what a huge compliment you're giving this team. Great stuff Jürgen 8/10

It's quite simple really.

Klopp has one style of playing football and one style only which is only suited to playing teams who attack.

This allows us to win the ball back quickly and transition to attack in the exploited space in the oppositions half.

When we come up against teams who park the bus and play on the break after we have over committed we lose.

Klopp just hasnt figured out the solution to opening up stubborn defences.

Yet.

If that was the case wouldn't the top teams do the same?? I can't make head nor tail of it. Can fully understand how plenty of you fans get totally frustrated with it. 

It's quite simple really.

Klopp has one style of playing football and one style only which is only suited to playing teams who attack.

This allows us to win the ball back quickly and transition to attack in the exploited space in the oppositions half.

When we come up against teams who park the bus and play on the break after we have over committed we lose.

Klopp just hasnt figured out the solution to opening up stubborn defences.

Yet.

I think its definitely true away. But our home record in the league is very strong. The result against Swansea was a freak result.

The game against Chelsea I expected us to drop points. The match against Man U - they played for a draw. We have beaten everyone else, the stronger AND lesser teams.

Burnley have a terrible away record - 2 points all season. We will create far too many at home and we *should* win.

I do agree Klopp needs to think of a different strategy away from home against those teams.

All happy here today! Fantastic performance all round, but why so up and down?

Never mind. That can be answered another day!

Bollocks.
Can has been good.
Not at the level of Lallana or Firmino, but still good.

I actually thought he was below average, but he didn't need to be good as our front 6 were on fire.

Ratings:

Migs: His distribution appeared quicker and a little more measured to be fair to him. The top class save looked better than it was in my opinion. Still a good save but a slice of luck to take it on to the bar which I think could have been avoided with better contact. Still got away with it, flapped at a couple or didn't claim convincingly enough on some of their crosses which looked like Arsenal's only recurring threat. Should have done a touch better on their goal, don't think he had come out and if you do choose to come on that kind of angle you have to take everything and in the end he was in between both which looked poor. 6/10

Clyne: Got up and down well but did nothing to prevent them passing around him like he wasn't there and let us down when trying to stop any cross. Thankfully he wasn't needed up the other end today because when he got there he did very little. Quickly becoming an irritation even seeing his name on the team sheet. Replace as soon as possible. 5.5/10

Matip: Did well considering who he was playing alongside, was well organised with Klavan and handled most things that came in to the box. 7/10

Klavan: Best defender on show today, did let Giroud go for the good save from Migs but it looked like he was falling over so I'll have to rewatch that one and give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Covered Milner well and had to on occasion. Good performance by Ragnar that. 8/10

Milner: One top cross when Matip should have scored and hit the post, other than that his offensive contribution was very poor indeed. Got caught out regularly in the wide areas for pace and allowed far too many cheap crosses to be fired into our box. Think he either needs a rest and of course in the summer the first position we need to replace. 5.5/10

Can: Better, he's quicker in posession than Hendo and I don't think that's appreciated enough. People were saying we seemed quicker today and I think a large slice of that has to go in credit to Emre. He gets it and moves it on with purpose regularly but also has those momentary lapses that need to improve. Did do a terrible flick on for Arsenal in the first half that we got away with. Don't think he deserved a red for the challenge even though it looked bad his foot was kept on the floor and went for the ball. A foul for sure, but only a foul. 6.5/10

Gini: Bossed his battles in midfield, covered well at the back and that run at the end just epitomises what I love from that position. He wanted it so much more and that pass can't be made without that run. The finish was cool and expected to be honest, he hits the target so often when he shoots that it would have taken a special save from that distance. Needs to produce a similar performance away from home though. 7/10

Lallana: He's the most improved player in the entire league, absolutely brilliant again. He's tireless, creative and leads the charge when it comes to nicking the ball. He's won me over completely and I love the bloke now. Think that position is his for as long as he can maintain these energy levels because I don't think there's another player in the entire league who could offer that as well as his ball carrying/creative skills too. To me he's our equivalent of Kante for Leicester, seems to be everywhere. 9/10 MotM

Coutinho: Think his contribution will be over-rated, thought he shot with almost every touch and didn't need to. Thought he was the weak link of our attack today. When he passes, David Silva style, I think there's few players that can hold a candle to him and when he did try that we almost or did get through the Arsenal ranks. Still overall it was a decent performance but by his standards I think he should have bagged a goal and assisted today. 7/10

Mane: Started the game a little rusty, almost certainly got in the way of a goal-scoring chance when taking a ball not intended for him. Also lost the ball plenty in the early part of the game but from there he grew and grew and became more of a threat as the game got stretched. Great goal when given a beautiful assist from Bobby and was also always on the press, good performance Sadio. 8/10

Firmino: Absolutely bossed the game in the first half, got his goal, got a beautiful assist. Terrorised the Arsenal defence and had them like spinning tops not knowing which side he'd be running off them. For anyone who doesn't know how to move they should watch that first half again, it really was a joy to behold. Thought he also should have had a pen and I'm not too sure how you get away with blatantly pushing someone to the ground in the box. Slipped a little in the 2nd half but I think that has plenty to do with playing every minute of every game almost and he could do with a rest. 8/10

Origi: Brilliant cameo, was strong when he needed to be, judged his runs well and that pass for Gini was a thing of beauty. Nicely done lad.

Jürgen: Got it spot on today, was set up on a hiding to nothing by some but still he produced a performance by the lads that we can be proud of. Whoever wants to say that Arsenal played into our hands by 'actually playing football' and 'actually trying to win' really doesn't understand what a huge compliment you're giving this team. Great stuff Jürgen 8/10

Bang on.

For me the lack of conviction from Mignolet is so bad it makes me wince. He expresses very little intent and you just know that he takes to the field hoping that he doesn't F**k up. The run out to try and prevent Welbeck's goal was really poor. And yet, ironically, it was one of his kicks that led to our first goal. But sadly, given what we know of Mignolet for the last 3 and a half years I just put that down as a fluke kick.

We're going to really have to see Mignolet and Can get up to 7 or 8 if we are to finish in the top 4. Fullbacks have entered a worrying period of form when they looked so sure of themselves earlier on in the season. I don't have concerns about our central defence. With Matip, Lovren or Klavan there (Matip being the key dependent) it's more a case of how those players encircling them will do.

It's from GK and full back and DM that we really need major surgery done come the summer transfer window.

Great performance in a really good game. As everyone is saying, amazing that we can keep doing that against our rivals but struggle against the wee clubs. Tends to confirm my feeling that we basically have good players, but just need to get our tactics sorted out against teams that sit deep and counter-attack.

Anyway, that was great stuff tonight. A word for Klavan and Matip, who I thought were back to what they looked like pre-Xmas after a  shaky month and a half for them both. Thought they looked a really good pairing again. Mig also had a good game - great reaction save early in the 2nd half. But basically everybody played well. Going to go for Mane as MOTM, but could have been Lallana.

Very good to see Origi doing so well when he came on as well. To me, we need to play him against the weaker teams - we need a centre forward on the pitch against bus-parkers Jürgen! Hopefully he gets the nod against Burnley.

Well deserved win. I'm pleased for the boss too as it will push the media attention elsewhere. We are know we need some additions to the squad in key places and this can't be done until the summer. Let's just keep going for a CL spot.

Bollocks.
Can has been good.
Not at the level of Lallana or Firmino, but still good.

He really really has not.

Can is a very average midfielder who was lucky not to be sent off today, which had he been might have cost us the game.

I thought we were very good throughout, aside from being way too gung-ho in the second half. Quite why our full backs keep on bombing on even when we're two goals to the good is a mystery to me, but as they ALL do it I can only assume it's what they've been instructed to do. I thought Can was fortunate not to get sent off, but I don't think it would have altered the result.

My ratings:

Migs: A couple of goodish saves but still didn't really inspire any confidence. If Karius isn't better than him he has no business at the club, even at 24yo. 6/10.

Clyne: One or two excellent moments in defence, got forward with gusto but his final ball wasn't good on occasions. Decent performance though from Mister consistency. 7/10.

Matip: Did well throughout and managed to hold it all together even when they decided to come out and play. Should have scored from Coutinho's beautifully flighted free-kick, but aside from that was very good. 7/10.

Klavan: Certainly a massive upgrade on Lucas and was solid throughout. I like him to tell the truth, a good honest pro. 7/10.

Milner: His usual tireless self, bombing up and down the line all game and giving 110%. That we have gone all season with Milly at left-back is a fantastic achievement by him, and I thought he was very good yet again today despite often having to deal with the best attacking right back in the league. 7/10.


Wijnaldum: One of his better games capped off with an excellent goal. 7/10.

Lallana: Clear MOM and aside from one overhit pass barely put a foot wrong. At this level he really is a class player, one of the best in the league. 9/10.

Can: Lucky to stay on the pitch IMHO but overall probably his best performance of the season. 7.5/10.

Firmino: Took his goal well and got a good assist for the second. Tireless in his running and this was definitely his best game since Christmas. Hopefully this signifies the proper return to form from him that we desperately need, given he is clearly going to get selected regardless of how he plays we really could do with him being on song from now on. 7.5/10.

Coutinho: Little flashes of brilliance and quality all over. Not his best game by any means but still a shining star of a player. 7/10.

Mane: Excellent performance from Saido, on this form he's very difficult to contain. Great goal too. 8/10.




Subs:

Origi: Did well when he came on, ran around a lot which was what was needed. 7/10.

 
 

I think its definitely true away. But our home record in the league is very strong. The result against Swansea was a freak result.

The game against Chelsea I expected us to drop points. The match against Man U - they played for a draw. We have beaten everyone else, the stronger AND lesser teams.

Burnley have a terrible away record - 2 points all season. We will create far too many at home and we *should* win.

I do agree Klopp needs to think of a different strategy away from home against those teams.

Our strategy away from home should be to lull the opposition in to our half then quickly counter once space opens up.

However to do that we need better defenders and a better DM than Can.

A player like Kante would be perfect for this tactic to work.

More like it Liverpool! Get in that felt like we're back to early season form even more so than Spurs. Ffs lets get on a bit of a run now and not back to square 1 against Burnley

Can is a very average midfielder who was lucky not to be sent off today

He would have been very unlucky to have been sent off.

Think some of the criticism aimed at Can has been well over the top.

I thought we were very good throughout, aside from being way too gung-ho in the second half. Quite why our full backs keep on bombing on even when we're two goals to the good is a mystery to me, but as they ALL do it I can only assume it's what they've been instructed to do. I thought Can was fortunate not to get sent off, but I don't think it would have altered the result.

My ratings:

Migs: A couple of goodish saves but still didn't really inspire any confidence. If Karius isn't better than him he has no business at the club, even at 24yo. 6/10.

Clyne: One or two excellent moments in defence, got forward with gusto but his final ball wasn't good on occasions. Decent performance though from Mister consistency. 7/10.

Matip: Did well throughout and managed to hold it all together even when they decided to come out and play. Should have scored from Coutinho's beautifully flighted free-kick, but aside from that was very good. 7/10.

Klavan: Certainly a massive upgrade on Lucas and was solid throughout. I like him to tell the truth, a good honest pro. 7/10.

Milner: His usual tireless self, bombing up and down the line all game and giving 110%. That we have gone all season with Milly at left-back is a fantastic achievement by him, and I thought he was very good yet again today despite often having to deal with the best attacking right back in the league. 7/10.


Wijnaldum: One of his better games capped off with an excellent goal. 7/10.

Lallana: Clear MOM and aside from one overhit pass barely put a foot wrong. At this level he really is a class player, one of the best in the league. 9/10.

Can: Lucky to stay on the pitch IMHO but overall probably his best performance of the season. 7.5/10.

Firmino: Took his goal well and got a good assist for the second. Tireless in his running and this was definitely his best game since Christmas. Hopefully this signifies the proper return to form from him that we desperately need, given he is clearly going to get selected regardless of how he plays we really could do with him being on song from now on. 7.5/10.

Coutinho: Little flashes of brilliance and quality all over. Not his best game by any means but still a shining star of a player. 7/10.

Mane: Excellent performance from Saido, on this form he's very difficult to contain. Great goal too. 8/10.




Subs:

Origi: Did well when he came on, ran around a lot which was what was needed. 7/10.

 
 

Can was a 6 at best.

Same with Clyne.

Would give Migs a 7 he made a couple of vital saves.

Rest of the teams scores are about right.

He would have been very unlucky to have been sent off.

Think some of the criticism aimed at Can has been well over the top.

The was poor second half far too slow the game completely passed him by.

He's an ok squad player but not good enough to start if we want to achieve anything.

I said we would win this and we did, I never really had a doubt. Now I just want us to hurt Burnley, really give them a kicking and then push on for the rest of the season and secure a top 4 spot.

I find it quite remarkable  time and time again you can do it against the big boys and have a tremendous record against the top 6/7 sides. What the f**k goes wrong with you lot against the minows??

As far as I can understand, is that small team park the bus and wait for a counter. Then we struggle to break them down.

When teams try to play football against us, we are quicker and fitter. We just need to make our defense more solid and Learn few tricks to break down teams who park the bus.
A proper cm like fabregas could do the trick Imo.

This game just shows how much we miss Henderson.  We would've won had he played.

Oh.  Wait.  We did win.  Without him.

And we lost last week.  Without him.

Conclusion?  Henderson is irrelevant to our success our failure.  We don't lose because of him and we don't win because of him.  Top priority this summer should be gutting central midfield.  Henderson, Can, etc, we can do so much better than them, especially if we qualify for CL.

Imagine if we added a top keeper and a strong central midfield to our attack.  We'd surely be title favorites next season.

When we had a similar problem of being bullied against the more agricultural sides in the league, Rafa started playing away games with the intent of at least getting a point and maybe nicking it with a set piece from Crouchy.

Cracking win, we were superb in the first half and had plenty of chances to out the game away and make it far easier than it was. Thought Lallana was truly outstanding in the first half, and then Mane was the best on show in the 2nd plus his two goals in the first half. I thought Gigi was also excellent and that was the best game from Coutinho since returning from injury. Also good to see Firmino repay the faith the manager has in him with a good display.

Obviously we are all tearing our hair out that we can do this against the best but look clueless against the lesser sides but hey ho let's try and enjoy the roller coaster and for once, mots is worth staying up for tonight and I'm not sulking like a petulant child for a change!

Happy days!

At least until we play Burnley!

This game just shows how much we miss Henderson.  We would've won had he played.

Oh.  Wait.  We did win.  Without him.

And we lost last week.  Without him.

Conclusion?  Henderson is irrelevant to our success our failure.  We don't lose because of him and we don't win because of him.  Top priority this summer should be gutting central midfield.  Henderson, Can, etc, we can do so much better than them, especially if we qualify for CL.

Imagine if we added a top keeper and a strong central midfield to our attack.  We'd surely be title favorites next season.

As much is I think Henderson is an average player, I think we need more stats than two games to draw a conclusion on the overall effect in our team. I do feel he would be better as a squad player though.

Slightly ironic that the pundits think he shouldn't of got sent off but you do.

The lad done good today but if you look for negatives you'll see them.

Let the lad play.

I didn't say he should have been sent off I said he was lucky not to as it looked a rash challenge at first.

I give every player a chance I have no agenda against any player.

I call it as I see it and Can is an average midfielder.

I didn't say he should have been sent off I said he was lucky not to as it looked a rash challenge at first.

I give every player a chance I have no agenda against any player.

I call it as I see it and Can is an average midfielder.

Can and Hendo look average to me. Maybe that is big part of why we win some and lose some.