Salzburg 0-2 Liverpool - Ramblings and Ratings

Welcome to my blog! I'll be here after every Liverpool game this season, giving my thoughts and views on the game, my player ratings, and probably the occasional rant. Feel free to comment, share, or get involved via social media. You'll find me on Twitter as @MNunny91. All abuse and opinion is welcomed.

Well that was a game and a half, wasn't it?! In the end, a job very well done, a tricky European away tie negotiated via a superb second half showing, but my word did we miss some chances. Not just half chances, proper guilt edge, sitter type chances.

I thought Salzburg looked a proper team over these two legs. Really well drilled, exiting outfit to watch with some really impressive technicians. Minamino and Hwang in particular were a real nuisance, dropping off the back four and into those intelligent spaces that are very difficult for midfielders to pick you up. First half they exploited our lack of a natural CDM numerous times. I was crying out for Fabinho at times, for as good as the midfield three were for us tonight, none of them sense danger over their shoulders as well as Fabs. 

The build up to this game was a bit strange I felt. This was a really tricky game that would have caught out quite a few lesser sides, certainly Liverpool teams of the not so distant past might have wilted under the considerable pressure of having to avoid defeat to stay in the competition. Nobody had really given Salzburg a sniff. They scored three goals at Anfield and have a lad up front that scores goals like they're going out of fashion. Boisterous crowd, energetic young coach bellowing orders and a team pressing high. This was no easy assignment, and I have to admit I was starting to get an overwhelming feeling of this is going to be 'one of those nights'.

I wanted to grab Salah and give him a bloody good shake. That chance first half that Keita sticks on a plate for him was an absolute sitter. Perfect for Mo, time to open his body up and slot one in the far corner, like he's done time and time again. Nope. Dragged it about 10 feet wide, looking like he'd never scored a goal in his life. 

The game was so open. Only this Liverpool team could rock up away from home in a 'must not lose' European tie and have 22 shots on goal. The neutral must have been in football heaven. I can only think Klopp had seen enough of Salzburg in the first game to think the best form of defence for us was to attack, as they're clearly a better side in an attacking sense than they are the other end. We had big Alissons to thank a couple of times in the first 45, notably a cracking double save when their lad had sent Hendo for tomorrow's paper.

Second half was class. One of the best halves of football we've played all season for my money. Shored things up at the back, bar that one chance for Haaland after Mo had missed another sitter, and took a couple of our chances, finally. Probably 2 of the more difficult chances we had, by the way. The Keita goal is a lovely move, and not an easy finish. I have absolutely no idea what the keeper is thinking when he comes sprinting off his line but it's a cracking little stand up from Sadio and Keita did the rest. Naby was quality tonight, really sharp, backing up his performance at the weekend. Exciting times for him, I've been quite vocal on these blogs about wanting so much more from him because you can tell there is a super Footballer in there. Maybe this is the start of us seeing the proper Naby Keita that tore up the Bundesliga. 

Mo's finish a minute later is a joke. How can you miss 17 sitters and then tuck that in? On the run, going wider, on his weak foot with about an inch of the goal visible. It's outrageous, a 1 in 100 type finish. That's what I love about Salah, he can be having an absolutely rancid game with nothing going right for him, but you just know he'll have a say still. He's such a threat even when he's not at it in front of goal. Exceptional movement and he is as strong as an Ox. 

So it's job done in the Champions League. Group winners, and hopefully a favourable last 16 tie to come. There is nobody I fear in the Champions League, I believe this team is better than anything else in the competition and there is nobody that will fancy coming to Anfield for a knockout game, especially after what happened to Barcelona last season. This fixture full December has started perfectly so far, and with Watford to come at the weekend, it should continue (touch wood). Until then, up the Reds! 

Ratings

Ali B - Great performance. Saved us a couple of times in the first half and is just the most reliable, safe pair of hands you could wish for. I'm worried about his skin in this winter weather, not as handsome as he once was. 8.

Robbo - Usual Robbo stuff. Bombs forward all day, defends all day, perfect left back. Volleyed cross field ball for Trent first half was magnificent. Defended well against their tricky little lads. 7.

Deji - Did fine. One great ball for Mo first half with his weak foot. Marshalled Haaland pretty well but then got injured again. He's always getting injured. 6.

Virgil - Bossed it really. The classic Van Dijk performance, winning everything in the air, smashing cross field balls like a prime Gerrard and defending like he's the best player to ever play the game, which he might well be. 8.

Trent - Thought he struggled. Got roasted by their left back twice and was out of position numerous times in the first half. We only needed a point lad, you don't have to play up top every week. 5.

Gini - Pretty solid but also unspectacular. Copy and paste for pretty much every other away game he's ever played for the club. 6.

Hendo - Tremendous. He's been absolutely superb recently and this was another dominant showing. Only passes sideways apparently, according to the Internet. Loved him slating Gomez for something after the final whistle. Leader. 8.

Keita - Has he finally arrived? Back to back quality performances, both with goals and loads of invention and quality. I'm excited. 8.

Salah - Completely and utterly shite until the goal, then was shite again after it. Even when he's useless he's better than most other wingers in world football. 6.

Bobby - A little bit sloppy at times. Ended up in our own box tackling one of their lads in the second half. Work rate is barely believable. Improved as the game went on. 7.

Sadio - The best player in the world currently. Was full of beans again and really deserved a goal but it wasn't to be. Had their full back on toast. Phenomenal player and virtually impossible to defend against. 8.

Liverpool 5-2 Everton - Ramblings & Ratings

Welcome to my blog! I'll be here after every Liverpool game this season, giving my thoughts and views on the game, my player ratings, and probably the occasional rant. Feel free to comment, share, or get involved via social media. You'll find me on Twitter as @MNunny91. All abuse and opinion is welcomed.

'Lallana, Origi, Shaqiri. Haha. Good one Jurgen. I know it's only Everton, but come on seriously, stop having me on and show me the real lineup.'

This was me an hour before kick off. The size of Jurgens cojones to pick that team for a Merseyside Derby! Outrageous disrespect. Perhaps he knew quite how bad Everton actually are. However large the chasm is between ourselves and the blue half of Merseyside, this is still a game where the majority of Anfield expect a proper dog fight and an almighty scrap. What transpired was scarcely believable. I have never seen a professional football team be caught out by a long, straight ball that many times in 90 minutes before, and I've watched a lot of football. That being said, these red reserves were absolutely scintillating in that first half. The quality of the goals, the pace of our play, the sheer ruthlessness in front of goal and the desire to prove those pre match doubters wrong. What a team. Hats off to the manager tonight, that was one hell of a risk for him to take, with everything to lose and not that much to gain. If this had been the game that we'd tripped up, the knives would have been out, but he has so much trust in this squad of players, none of us should ever doubt a decision he makes. We've just smashed 5 past the not so noisy neighbours and some of the main men got a night off to rest their legs. The stuff of dreams.

Where do I even start with that crazy game? The first goal. The pass from Mane is just obscene. A total liberty. Wrong foot, eye of the needle, perfect weight, if there's a better pass than that for the rest of the season I will be stunned. Utter perfection, and a gorgeous finish from Mr Merseyside Derby himself, Divock Origi. He just loves playing the blue shite. Nothing will ever quite beat the memory of the 96th minute winner in front of the Kop last season, but this performance was up there with his most complete in a Liverpool shirt. Then there is Mr Shaqiri, who ran on to another glorious Sadio pass to make it 2-0. I'll be honest, I had written him off as a Liverpool player. He's barely played since his heroics against the Mancs last season, for one reason or another, and I know I certainly wasn't alone in believing his Anfield days were well and truly numbered. Tonight he gave us all a reminder of what a high quality operator he is, and who knows, this could rejuvenate him. A flying Shaqiri in the second half of this season could be a bonus that none of us expected. I'll touch more on our defense later on, but let's focus on the positive first. I didn't believe Origi was capable of scoring his second goal. What a first touch and finish that is, just absolutely sensational. If Messi does that, we'd be talking about it for weeks. Mane then rounds off one of the best individual 45 minutes of football I have ever witnessed with a goal of his own, courtesy of another rapid counter attack and more shambolic Everton defending. Mane is the best player in the league. There can be absolutely no doubting that anymore. His creative side sometimes goes under the radar when we talk about his strengths, but the assists for the opening goals tonight were breathtaking, and his all round performance bordering on unplayable.

Now the negatives. We look a shambles at the back right now. It feels ridiculous to type that, as we have won 14 out of 15 league games and sit 8 points clear at the top of the Premier league, but the standards we set last season are currently a distant memory. We are far too easy to score against and it needs to be sorted. Trent, for all his wonderful attacking play and catalogue of cross field passes, was horribly out of position numerous times tonight and we won't keep getting away with it. Dejan Lovren has filled in well for Matip on the whole, but it cannot be ignored that the defense is far more suceptibal to errors with him in it. Van Dijk cannot do it alone. The loss of Fabinho is going to create more pressure on the back line as we have lost our shield, nobody else in the squad can do the job that Fabinho does. Collectively, we need to tighten up and be more solid. If that negatively impacts our attacking play, so be it. Let's get back to keeping clean sheets, scoring goals will take care of itself with the individuals we have in the team. Creativity is never going to be an issue when you have Mane, Salah and Firmino. 

As good as we were at times going forwards, Everton were absolutely rancid at the back. With the run of fixtures they have, I would not be surprised to see them in the bottom 3 when the calendar reads 2020. Marco Silva will be gone by the weekend, I see absolutely no way he can survive his team conceding 5 goals against their arch rivals with the pressure he was already under. I was expecting a battle, a real fight, possibly nicking it by a goal or two. To come to Anfield and be as open as that, as easy to play against as they were, was unforgivable. Lord only knows how much of a bloodbath it might have been had the likes of Salah and Firmino been playing. I touched on it earlier, but there was 5 instances of one long ball leading to a clear run on goal, I have never seen that before on a Sunday morning, let alone a Premier league football match. Another side note, I thoroughly enjoyed the coverage on Amazon prime. Give me Ally McCoist over the odious fossil that is Martin Tyler every day of the week. 

Tonight was big. A Derby is always big of course, but after seeing City brush Burnley aside last night, this was the perfect response. And we have the added bonus of saving some legs for the frankly ridiculous run of games coming up over December. Next up is Bournemouth away, which is another potential banana skin. I'll be interested to see if Mane might be left out of that one, it seems logical after this evening but I can't help but feel like it would be similar to taking the engine out of your car with how he's playing. That's all in the future, let's enjoy tonight first. Enjoy being 8 points clear, enjoy being 11 clear of City, and enjoy Everton still being absolutely dire. See you at the Vitality on Saturday afternoon, as always, up the Reds! 

Ratings

Adrian - Solid, probably the best backup keeper around at the moment. Loved him knocking a ball over Calvert Lewin's head with the outside of his foot. Piss take. Didn't have much to do other than pick the ball out of his net twice, no fault of his own. 6.

Trent - Another diagonal for the scrap book in the buildup for Shaq's goal, another assist to his name, the best attacking full back in world football. However, he is taking the piss at times with his positioning. Who cares until it costs us, I suppose. 7.

Dejan - Ball for Divocks second was glorious, made to look even better by Everton lining up their back 5 on the edge of our 18 yard box. Was a little bit Lovren like at times defensively. I miss Matip. 6.

VVD - Was spraying diagonals around and barely breaking sweat at times, but isn't defending as well as he can. Thought he was fortunate to get away with the tackle on Calvert-Lewin. Must be fuming with the lack of clean sheets. 6.

Robbo - More solid than spectacular tonight. Highlight was laughing in Tom 'the tramp' Davies face. He's turned into the master of shithousery in recent weeks, which has made me love him even more. 6.

Milner - Solid. A calming presence among the madness. Mr dependable. Covers a ridiculous amount of ground still, give him a new contract. 7.

Lallana - At times he was brilliant, running around like a lunatic and making things happen. Gave it away a couple of times in bad areas. Not convinced he's still up to it, but Klopp is a big fan, clearly. Had 10 yards of space in Evertons box at one stage and decided to do a weird, Cruyff turn/lay off thing. Absolute headcase. 7.

Wijanldum - Quality tonight. Absolutely everywhere. Passes it well, wins it back, gets around the pitch as well as anyone, and scores a goal. I maybe underrate him at times. Very good footballer. 8.

Shaqiri - Outstanding. Lovely to see him and his glorious calf muscles back. Tremendous movement for his goal. Overall play was so sharp, looked like a man with a point to prove. Could be a real weapon with Salah off the pace. 8.

Origi - The best player to ever play the game. Erect a fucking statue. Name a stand after him. Give him whatever he wants. Hates the Ev since that Argie tried to cripple him. What a bloke, give him the key to the city. 9.

Mane - I was convinced I'd be handing out my first 10/10 after his first half performance, which was bordering on ridiculous. As good as I've ever seen. If he scores the 2 sitters second half, I'd have given him an 11. What a player. Best in the world right now? 9 MOM. 

Subs

Hendo - Came on and started threading through balls like a prime Gerrard. 7.

Firmino - The skill for the 5th is a joke to be honest. Sent Holgate for tomorrow paper. Piss taker. 7.

Gomez - Glad his eye is better. Looks to have healed nicely. Savlon works a treat. N/A.