Not sure I agree that Szobs was the best performer. I thought there were highlights all over the squad tonight. Robertson had a really solid game and it showed in the confidence of Virgil behind him. We need to nail that down for the forseable future to gain some confidence and stability. Let Kerkez come on when legs are tiring until he learns how we play. Frimpong was good up until his sub but Bradley did ok after he came on and could have scored. Jones had one of his best nights along with Wirtz who I thought was unselfish and outstanding with his passing and positioning tonight. Szobs too but for all of his excellent play he still has a tendency in my view to pass backwards too often when there is a chance to create an opportunity going forward. Ekitike and Chiesa worked hard to create attacking momentum and the team needs them both on the pitch together to keep this going in the Prem…Roll on Brentford
Most fluid the attack has looked all season. Not sure if that was a 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2, but it worked very well. Wirtz spent a lot of time in the half spaces in the right and flourished. I think this is the future of Liverpool with these players. Hopefully we can build on this come the weekend and in the league in general.
Dom did show why he is captain of Hungary…he’s deffo coming on this season.
Analysis of the shape
BBC Sport’s football tactics correspondent Umir Irfan:
"Slot’s altered his approach against Frankfurt and in the end it paid off.
"Liverpool played in a 4-4-2 shape out of possession throughout the game which isn’t uncommon for his teams, with Florian Wirtz defending as a right midfielder.
"In possession they played with a slightly fluid 3-2-5 shape. Cody Gakpo and first Jeremie Frimpong, then Conor Bradley held width on the left and right flank respectively.
"Isak played inside, slightly towards the left, Wirtz playing inside towards the right side and Ekitike down the middle, however these three rotated between themselves.
"Defensively, Liverpool still looked open at times and the more attacking midfield trio, paired with Slot’s rotation-heavy approach, left gaps down the middle.
“In possession, however, this was a performance full of bright performances and budding relationships that may inform how Slot looks to get this Liverpool side in good form, perhaps at the expense of some of their more established names.”
Saw something of where we are going tonight, Wirtz stepped up, finding space a bit, certainly looks a class act, coming along.
Robbo’s legs may be slowing but his head is not,his awareness seems just fine.
Ekititi certainly looks the goods.
Didn’t see Mo looking peeved or what ever at the end, but is it possible Father Time is catching up with him and he is aware of it..That would piss anyone off.
Let’s carry this through to Brentford with further improvement, and the doomsayers will be back in their burrows.
German interviews, you can enable subtitles on YouTube and auto translate it in English.
Liverpool parts starts with Wirtz 11min40
Slot specifically praises the referee, saying that he would love to have him in every game we play.
Great post, that’s why I like Dom deeper, he has the recovery pace, just needs to tweak his and Jones’s positioning
Big early call.
Hopefully this quote ends up in the hall of shame.
His attitude is brilliant, all experts said he would be dropped for Wirtz and was in no ones preferred starting 11 after the summer spending,
Yet for me he would be one of the 1st names on the team sheet, he his a great athlete, who also happens to be good with the ball and lkes to work hard.
I think Flobs is like me, that after getting Ekitike, he felt that the money on Isak could be better spent, although we did need more players for rotation up top.
The money we paid for Isak, almost makes him undroppable and it’s something I don’t like, players have to earn the shirt and produce whist they are wearing it.
Fair call. He is a record money purchase and will naturally be in the spotlight. But we had to replace 2 frontmen and I’m confident that when fit he will be fine and hopefully the heir to the Salah throne. Let the journey begin rather than write off early.
Felt there were one BS foul called against Frimpong but yeah he was a huge step up from what we have to put up with.
At this point, Dom and Gravenberch absolutely has to be the starting CM pair now given Macca needs a period of conditioning and Jones can be quite inconsistent.
Once Macca comes back properly fit, Dom can take a rest against certain opponents whose midfield is not so industrious…
Just read the thread as I was straight off to bed after the final whistle.
I think this is the first match that we have comprehensively put the game to rest before the end. It was really needed, just to bolster the confidence of the squad.
The injury to Frimpong is a bit of a blow as he had looked lively. Hopefully he isn’t out for too long.
The contrast between Grav, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai playing in the deeper position is potentially an issue. Will/Can the fluidity that we saw yesterday with Szoboszlai be replicated with the other two? Could we go (retro) with Grav and Mac Allister playing ahead of Szoboszlai?
But it’s Robbo two games in 4 days which worries me.
I think it should be ok at this moment but he probably needs replacing at some point on Saturday.
As for starting CM pair then you have rotate can’t play the same players into the ground.
Slot probably won’t do that anyway. He’ll go back to Kerkez and ignore Robbo for another four weeks.
I think the midfield we saw last night should be the starting midfield for a while. Gravenberch and MacAlister need time to adjust and learn to be more effective.
Above all Gravenberch needs our press to be more effective to be more effective himself. His main attribute defensively is nipping in with interceptions which is only possible with a good press.