There’s one bloke with a Twitter name of Rafa Benitez
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Excellent. 6 wins, people rested, money men satisfied, fringe players saw valuable minutes, kids got a nice memory too.
The one thing I don’t like, which is completely out of our control, is that Atletico advance too. Eleven points behind Liverpool, yet such a cynical and classless team has a fresh start in the knockout round of 16. I had hoped that us humbling them twice, home and away, would have sent them on their way to Thursday night football. Oh well.
As for the mighty reds, onwards and upwards. Some good signs that something special is brewing again.
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Atletico
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Group of death,my arse!
Rest 8 players and come out on top of AC Milan.
Dunno whether the talk about flogging Phillips off will continue…unless he wants out!
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Who’s the youth expert here (poster)? I am curious to know how much Morton’s stock has risen, as I believe he wasn’t marked as “one to watch” In the youth team reviews. I can’t find the thread.
@Sweeting, thats the guy. Found thread - Youth reviews
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Was that a Cryuff turn by Nat on the edge of his own box , cheeky git. I’d say Juergen roasted him but it’ll give the lads a laugh in the dressing room for sure. Johann Philips.
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I have promoted him to my first team squad in Football Manager, to give you a clue.
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Fuck we had the son of Chuck on the bench?
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welcome back to the great man.
how have you been?
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Beat Serie A’s top team (according to the table) in Milan making 8 changes to the team that faced wolves.
Also perfect group stage considering Porto top the Portuguese League & Atletico are the defending la liga champions and this was potentially seen as the group of death.
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They’ve got a better chance of upsetting one of the other teams than Porto. If they beat someone who’s a group leader…makes our job easier , If they lose…then no big loss.
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Good that Divock and Ox are coming on with good form. Add to that Harvey Elliot’s impending return and this would help ease Jurgen’s striking worries during AFCON.
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A bit surprised that AC Milan did not put more pressure against our second team, such lack of urgency. Part of it was probably due to the intense press against their middles and forwards. One strange thing that I noticed that our corners were outrageously high and loopy. Nevertheless, good match by our lads.
At least 5 players performance stuck in my head, but here are the 3 that I picked on here:
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Ibou: Disarmed any sprints and attacks from Milan’s forward. Used his size extremely well to protect the ball. Ibrahimović got so tired of Ibou that he finally wrestled him on the ground, and the bloody ref not only did not give a foul, but let Milan had a corner. Ibou, what a unit.
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Ox: Ran at Milan’s centre and backline, great passes, fantastic shots, and one of them led to Mo’s wonderful volley. Heart in the mouth moment when he was down on the sideline for a few minutes. A relief to see he back up and contribute.
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Neco: Fearless performance, lots of energy, good interceptions. Seems to have improved more since I last watched him played.
Shout out to Big Div, nice looping header to win the match. Nat Phillips for being so bloody cool under pressure.
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I’ve said it last season and i wasn’t taking the piss off of maguire too.
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Just goes to show how far Italian football has fallen.
When I was a kid I use to watch channel 4, all those brilliant players.
Today i would rather turn the channel over and watch a team from the championship.
Even French football ranks higher.
Corruption, diving, boring football. It’s a shadow of its former self.
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I think our “dead rubber” game went rather well. Too many good performances to list but it’s the ones from the fringe players and the younger lads that were the most pleasing. Aside from the prize money we seem to have used the game well in terms of player development.
Looking further ahead I think we can see the basis of the team to play Leicester in the League Cup game and we can probably dig a bit deeper into the U23 squad for the FA Cup game.
Incidentally, does “Group Of Death” now essentially mean that a team has been drawn in the same group as Liverpool?
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Not much to add. From Phillips channelling his inner Baresi to Morton bossing the midfield as if he was a seasoned veteran it was a perfect performance.
I know that I’m sounding like a broken record about this but it’s games such as these, where we don’t skip a beat with our youth and reserves, that make me appreciate Klopp and his staff all the more. And while everyone is worried about Salah’s contract and understandably so, it is the thought of losing Klopp that is truly terrifying.
We’ve got to find a way for him to stay on. Preferably for at least five more years.
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Is it too much to ask for Utd to get through the round of 16??
Maybe we could get them in the QF, meaning we wouldn’t have to play a real team until the SF.
I don’t think there is a way to be found.
Once he feels he’s done, that will be it. I honestly reckon you could triple his wage and he’d knock it back.
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