And that ladies and gentleducks will do nicely. Not the evisceration I was hoping for but a win is a win. One absolutely key save from Alisson and 2 well crafted goals from us.
Putting points on the board is all that matters now. Two back to back wins after Everton. Happy with Bobby getting his Anfield goal and Jota getting the winner. Onwards and upwards!
Firstly, a round of applause for all those who refused to buckle to the Premier League, Sky and BT Sport; that £14.95 charge for a one-off game is a travesty and I hope that uptake was very low across the entire country. To all who chose to support their local food banks instead, a hearty thank you.
The pre-match inclusion of Jota with our normal front three was an exciting piece of news, as was the earlier than expected return of Alisson in goal.
Absolute joke of a decision to award the visitors an early penalty- Fabinho clearly won the ball and the challenge was made outside the box. Sander Berge converted from the spot and we were behind less than fifteen minutes into the game, having been shafted by VAR yet again.
A fairly humdrum first half saw us equalise when Mané’s header from Henderson’s cross was saved by Ramsdake; Bobby was on hand to tuck away the rebound and at least get a goal at Anfield far earlier this season than he did last!
Honours even at half time, then, thanks to the officials and it was the home side who looked much the brighter in the early stages of the second stanza. Mo had a goal disallowed by our friends at Stockley Park- to be fair, he was fractionally offside this time- just after the hour mark but we didn’t have to wait long for Jota to put us in front with a thumping header from Mané’s cross. The lead was no more than we deserved.
The rest of the game offered little-conditions certainly didn’t help- but our goal was rarely under threat and any Sheffield United equaliser would have been undeserved. West Ham next- let’s hope that we can get three points against them where Manchester City failed today.
MOTM: Those fine people at Camus Cognac. A splendid tipple on a thoroughly miserable autumn evening
Back to winning ways, albeit with a lot of difficulty. The Ajax game will have taken a lot of energy, but our lads managed to get through and score the all-important goals.
Shocking penalty decision for me, Fab won the ball even if it was on the line. Still, professional response to come back from 1-0 down and the Jota gamble paid off. I like the lad a lot already. And the Mancs all dropping points makes today a good one altogether! Good to get back to winning ways and take away some boo boys ammunition.
Uff. That was some hart piece of grunt work today - respect to Sheffield who look the only team that can match us on energy levels.
Just a few observations:
Our front line players are relentless fighting machines - each and every one of them - meaning Diogo Jota has truely arrived in style. I see why we wanted him.
I really, really clenched dat booty watching Fab on CB tonight (undie change imminent) - I’m absolutely exhausted by his …hm… creative solutions
Joe was the stabilizing factor in this.
Great team performance.
I’m done … 3 golden points … moving on.
Oh , Diogo Bonito , Sadio and Bobby my Motm tonight - on fighting points. I feel a bit dirty though not to honor the monster midfield workrate of Hendo and Gini propperly.