Today we were the epitome of the cliche "it's a game of two halves". Absolutely abysmal in the first half with no energy, no urgency and no hope if truth be told. Second half, all that changed. We looked refreshed from the minute of the restart. The three early subs certainly helped that as all played a big part in us turning the game around. And the three lads who went off were all rightly taken off, even if Gakpo had just scored.
A third game this season where we've come from behind to take maximum points. It's great that we have that fighting mentality but it'd be a lot nicer if we didn't have to go behind before we start playing.
We used a makeshift back four with a lad on his first start and a centre half playing at right back and still came out on top. Few problems at the back in the first half but second half we didn't look troubled in the slightest. And Jarell Quansah was the one player in the first half who could hold his head up high. Second half he got even better. Hopefully it's just a touch of cramp he went off with because if he's fit, he's got a role to play this year. Three appearances this season, three wins.
And after all is said and done, we're top of the F***ing League. People said this season was a write off before a ball had been kicked - funnily they don't seem to be as active on these boards now. Four wins on the spin, 13 points from a possible 15 and now we're above all. Oh but we don't have world class holding midfielders they bemoan well who F***ing cares. We've got a world class manager who has put this club top of the table. We've got a world class team and that's more important than world class individuals.
Liverpool Football Club, I love you. Thank you for being the greatest club in the world, even if you do give us some divvy fans along the way.
Alisson - for all of Wolves' dominance in the first half, didn't actually give Ali much to do. Becoming quite a trend this season that although we're looking quite iffy at the back, teams aren't actually giving our keeper much of a test. Even Newcastle, bar one top class save from Almiron, it was all quite easy for Ali.
Gomez - poor f**ker got terrored in the first half but second half was a solid, dependable full back. Coincidence or not, I don't know, but he performed better when he was playing as a right back only and not being expected to move into the middle of the park and become Xabi Alonso. Big improvement in that second half and gave us an option on the right hand side when we were attacking.
Matip - like Gomez, and basically the entire team, was appalling in the first half but improved in the second. Tried a couple of his mazy runs during the second half. Looked scared to defend first half, second half he was assured.
Quansah - man of the match for me. For a kid making his first Premier League start in a team that was well below it's best and he shone. Biggest compliment I can give is that Wolves aimed the majority of their attacks down our right, not the left where young Jarell was playing. Carry on with performances like that and we can be confident that our centre halves for the next few years are well covered.
Robertson - other than his goal that looked like it was gonna be the winner, I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was getting the man of the match vote from Jenas. He wasn't great by any stretch and for me should have done a lot better with their goal. Seemed to pull out of attempting to stop it getting to Hwang and turned his back when the shot did come in. Like the rest of the back four though, he did improve second half and was a bit more like the Robbo of old.
Mac Allister - I've said many times already this season that when we have the ball Alexis looks fine but without it he looks lost. And today was a prime example. Wolves dominated much of the first half and Mac Allister was probably the worst player on the pitch, even when he had the ball he was wasteful. I don't know if the very early yellow card affected him because he knew he couldn't touch another Wolves player without getting his second red card in a very short Liverpool career. But he was shocking in that first half and was rightfully taken off at half time.
Szoboszlai - I can understand him getting so many man of the match votes because he's the latest of a long line of players we have who only has to blow his nose to get votes from some people but for me he wasn't at that level. He was almost as poor as Mac in the first half and even in the second was sloppy at times. He was much improved second half, as was the whole side, and was involved in pretty much everything but I still expect more. And like Mac Allister, has to improve as a player when we don't have the ball.
Jones - practically invisible for most of the game. While the team improved second half, Jones still didn't do a great deal. Was neat and tidy enough but didn't really create much. He was one of the few I felt sorry for in the first half though because there was a number of times where he'd moved into space down the left but we were moving the ball too slow and instead we'd play a safer pass. Whatever people think of him though, Jürgen clearly rates the lad.
Salah - for whatever reason he always seems to struggle against Ait-Nouri and doesn't get much out of him. So I'm not surprised he wasn't electrifying best. Yet he ends up with three assists and proves once again why we shouldn't be entertaining any bids for our Egyptian King. And he could of had at least one other if his pass to Diaz had been better. 5 assists, 2 goals in 5 games this season.
Gakpo - really good instinctive finish to get us level but he had two chances at the end of the first half that he really should have done better with. One from a cross by Robertson that he sliced wide of about four goals. And a free header that he probably wasn't going to score from but should have at least hit the target. Been a slow start to the season for him but hopefully now he's got his first goal he can push on and start performing to the levels he reached at the backend of last season.
Jota - I say it constantly with Diogo that he's wasted out wide. If he isn't playing through the middle then he shouldn't be playing in my opinion. Was poor for most of his time on the pitch today, including blowing our best chance of the first half. One thing that's really worrying is that the energy levels ramped up when he and Gakpo went off and the South American lads, who had travelled the furtherest, came on.
Diaz - was a real danger in that second half and his energy seemed to lift the whole side. Was positive, ran with the ball and was linking up well with everyone around him. I've said previously he needs to become more consistent over the course of a match to really nail down the left wing position but his flashes of brilliance have probably still cemented him in our best side. Just gives us a spark that others don't.
Elliott - another game where he worked hard but today he also looked alright on the ball. Kept us ticking over. And got his reward in the final minutes with a goal that he won't be credited with but he celebrated like it meant to the world to him. He's certainly got a role to play in this team. And with the midfield positions still up for grabs, he's doing all he can to put his name in the hat.
Nunez - similar to Diaz, his energy lifted the team. It was clearly missed in the first half but second half it was there for all to see. Didn't get his goal today but certainly had enough about him to trouble Wolves. Fantastic show of strength that led to the third and final goal. Held Dawson off and showed the other side of his game rather than the running in behind side we see so often.
Konate - I know it was only a cameo of an appearance but probably looked as good as he has all season. Was dominant, solid and even had time to go on a little mazy run and play Diaz in with the outside of his right foot. We all know he has the potential to be world class, hopefully he can stay fit for a sustained run now.
Gravenberch - 800th player to represent the club and has a 100% record as a Liverpool player. We'll see more of him as the season goes on and hopefully he'll have a 100% record for many more games to come.
Overall, a first half to forget and a second half to savour. And it results in us sitting top of the League, for however long that will be remains to be seen. But at least we're there for now.
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