This was an excellent performance by Liverpool, quite possibly one of our best, until the last twenty minutes. It was a match were we needed to be patient and not attempt to force things and Liverpool showed a level of maturity that was simply missing at the beginning of the season. We've come a long way in just a few months. The last twenty minutes, however, was simply too sloppy and against Porto or United, we'd be punished for such sloppy play. I'm sure Klopp will be having words about that as we speak.
I thought the refereeing was dreadful again and so I'm going to digress here for a moment. VAR needs to be rolled out once and for all, but not the VAR that the disfunctional FA running this country's game has introduced. Officials need to be wired up so the supporters both at home and in the ground can hear them. It also needs to be strategic like it is in Cricket. Limit it to say three appeals per side in the match so it's not used willy nilly and is at the discretion of the Captains, not the referees so the flow of the game is not disrupted.
Back to the match, another fine save from Karius to keep us in the match. He's going from strength to strength as a keeper. His positioning has improved, his communication is head and shoulders above Mignolet's and his distribution has added another dimension to our attack. I would still like to see another top goalkeeper signed in the Summer, if for no other reason than to keep him on his toes.
Didn't see much wrong with the last 20 minutes. In fact, it was the kind of performance that people have been screaming for months. Just see the game out comfortably. Once the first goal went in, it was a stroll after that.
Karius has improved. Hard to believe he was written off as a basket case, just a few weeks ago. Now he's no. 1, but Migs was showered with similiar praise when he replaced him halfway through last season, and we know how long that lasted. But as soon as Karius makes a mistake, he will be widely dismissed as a basket case again, and the calls for Migs to return will be back.
VAR is there to help referees, so it's up to the referees to use it, so as to correct wrong decisions, not a tactic for captains and coaches to use when it suits them best, usually late in the game. Just 9 more league games to go, and then it's here for good.
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