To be fair to me, what I saw was the Brentford player running into Konaté. I didn’t get a much higher quality view than that.
There are a couple of ways to look at it: things we can influence, and things we cannot.
We can and should have played better. We started brightly, and Darwin was unlucky not to score, after rounding the keeper. Unfortunately we failed to press on, and as we went about our business in casual mode, Brentford grew into it. They roughed us up on corners, with excellent delivery and piling numbers in there under the bar. Very tough to deal with.
They got their goals and we went in at the half with a mountain to climb.
Subs were made, and I agree with all of them. I haven’t read or heard, but if VVD was subbed and it wasn’t an injury, I’m ok with that. Everyone has to be sharp, and he wasn’t at his best, though he wasn’t alone in that.
Robbo for Tsimikas added some much needed urgency, and better quality too. Tsimikas is a good back up, but that’s all. Robbo is a level above.
Keita has frustrated all of us, but not because of his quality. When he is fit he usually looks quite good, and today, certainly in our midfield that currently lacks, he lifted it a level.
Harvey Elliott was rightly substituted, but my criticism of him will be measured. He is a young lad seeing a lot of minutes in Liverpool’s first team. So full credit to him for that. I’m not sure that he is a midfielder, but if he is, he will do better when we have some legs in there. He is bundled off the ball and there’s too much space out there for the opposition to exploit.
I suspect Jurgen has in mind 4231 for the next Liverpool side that is being constructed, and the recruitment has been moving that way, but as for now, we are between two stalls.
As everyone knows, we need a midfielder.
After we got a goal back in the second half I was disappointed, again, that we failed to keep pressing on. We sat back and played like it was early in the game, and 0-0. I’m not saying we need to go kamikaze with half and hour to go, but when we are behind we need to go about our work with some sort of endeavor.
They got the third goal and that was that.
Which brings me to what we can’t control. I thought the refereeing was very uneven. Brentford are big and strong. Any time we got near they fell down and Atwell bought it, all day long. And on the other side, they were fouling us all game long, often putting a little foul in there as we were trying to pass, and Atwell missed the vast majority of it.
The officiating was shit.
As for the third goal, it was a foul on Keita as they won the ball back in the middle of the park. They went through Keita’s leg first, got the ball after that, and off they went. It switched over to the other side and Konate had it covered, until they clipped him and he went over, and then it became 3-1.
Now, I thought Konate could have done better, too, but he was fouled, and all game long they were winning free kicks for a lot less.
So frustrating.
Bottom line, we weren’t good enough and we didn’t do enough.
We have improved with four wins in five, and we need to get that sort of ratio going again.
Bad day at the office.
Buy a midfielder.
Happy New Year!
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I’d agree we didn’t defend the situations in the best way, but my point still stands. They managed to put the ball in the back of the net only because it was offside, otherwise we would not have “conceded”, but that automatically influences people to think that the situation was a lot worse than it actually was.
good post… only add that we need midfielders not jus a midfielder.
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I think we need two, but if one is the most coveted prize but only in summer, I will settle for just the one now. Crucially, someone who won’t let the opposition waltz through us.
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but that “prized one” is not a defensive midfielder, he is more attacking and better suited up playing up the field… if we get only him, we still in a world of shit as fab still has to cover for him
Yes, but I think the chances of that are extraordinarily slim!
Everybody has got the same amount of games to still play, but what is it about us that makes you think we’re capable of overturning the teams above us, given our performances so far this season?
I think we need two midfielders. I’m happy to wait for one, if it is a very desirable player. But crucially, right now, we need someone who will stop the opposition waltzing through us. That’s a priority January signing, or top four might be elusive.
Caicedo has been linked. And other names mentioned include Kone, Amrabat, and possibly Khephren Thuram. Maybe even Joao Gomes from Brazil. Heck, if we are going further, McKennie might be available for cheap from Juventus, 20-30M perhaps.
I’m not being snooty about American midfielders. McKennie, Adams and Musah didn’t give Rice, Bellingham and Henderson a second on the ball at the World Cup, and we need that sort in this Liverpool midfield now.
It’s all about the blend. And at the moment we lack an athlete in the engine room, which is why we keep getting overrun.
That must be addressed in January.
And then yes, the dream is we add Bellingham on top of that, in the summer.
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Impressive but they’ve also left out the games they lost.
Brentford 0-3 Arsenal
Spurs 2-0 Brentford
City 2-0 Brentford
Utd 3-0 Brentford
Liverpool 3-0 Brentford
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It’s nothing to do with that. There is over half the season remaining. Absolutely loads of time.
No-one needs to call anything yet.
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Sure, but we’ve been poor so far and seem to be getting worse. It’s hard to see where a run of good form is coming from.
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Erm you mean like the 4 straight wins before Today.
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Hard to say anything after that. We are a bit one (one and a half if generous) dimensional and stale.
The complete lack of creativity is hard to understand.
Hoping for better next time.
To be fair, not sure we can call it “form” if there’s a massive world cup in between.
In reality, we won two games after the break, the second of which we were woefully poor in.
18 shots on goal to 8 isn’t woefully poor.
18 shots on goal - not one of them went in.
Regardless, it wasn’t in attack where we were particularly poor.
Well that was underwhelming.
Problem I’m seeing is some players in cruise control, almost an arrogance that we’re still as good as 2019.
VVD, Trent, Fabinho and Salah major culprits.
Absolutely zero creativity aside from Thiago, with the occasional Trent pass/cross.
The team that furiously hunted the ball down when the opposition had possession is now a distant memory.
But it’s much easier to slate Naby, Ox, Milner and Jones in the who would you get rid of thread because they’re not good enough.
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