There were a couple of things that stood out in this game:
Hopefully we can snap out of it soon, otherwise we could easily draw/loose this sorts of matches
I know some would consider hitting the inside of the post as the ultimate in placing a penalty, but I don’t think any penalty Mo takes needs to get that close to disaster.
Three points, job done. We weren’t firing up top so it was important for the defence to hold it together. Two 1-0 wins back to back is important in its own way, and it’s what we needed to see. Don’t get me wrong, winning by three or more each week is lovely, but football doesn’t work like that all the time, and you have to be able to dig deep. The question mark for us was whether or not we could be tight enough at the back, on the evidence of this season, if we only score one.
Six points against Wolves and Villa, while not especially firing up top, is a good return.
As for todays game, in a Queensbury Rules gentleman’s sort of battle, we win it by four. So Villa had to set their stall out to aggravate. At that point it’s always a matter of degrees, as the opposition will do what the ref allows them to do, so yes, we are looking at Atwell. He had a very poor game. Missed a lot. Let a lot go. Let them waste time starting in the first half.
We were wasteful and could have added a couple more but it wasn’t to be.
Villa actually have some decent players and should be comfortably mid table, maybe upper mid to the edge of lower Europe, if Stevie takes them higher than their natural habitat. On that score we are all watching. It’s fair enough to dig in and have a bit of a war of attrition against teams who are better, but can you do more than that when you have to make the play yourself? Stevie has made a good start there, but there’s a long way to go for him to show us he should be in the conversation for Liverpool manager. Still, he’s only just started, so let’s see what he can do there.
Ironically after we went ahead Villa tried to play, and they had a couple of good moves. They also stopped with the time wasting, funnily enough.
Atwell gets the bulk of the criticism, and rightly so.
Stevie gets some credit, and rightly so.
We get the three points, and rightly so.
Onwards and upwards.
The commentator said that it was Atwell’s first game for three years at Anfield. After that comment I feared the worst and he didn’t let me down. He was absolutely diabolical.
A good three points but a very average performance. For all the play we had down our left flank I didn’t think it produced any quality or chances. I sometimes think Robbo should just slow down slightly and concentrate on a better quality ball into the box. I also think that Mane is really struggling for any decent form these last few weeks.
Matip and VVD looked solid at the back which was a good thing as Ali looked unsure throughout the game.
Obviously things would have seemed a lot better if we had scored with the two breakaways second half but Mo either slowed the break down or chose the wrong pass.
A good three points and onward to Thursday
Yeah, that was on Salah…
Looks like lapses of concentration to me. He’s just doesn’t look used to being closed down from any direction with such intensity and intent. He is getting better but having opposition forwards coming from behind him seems to startle him too easily.
We weren’t most of the match except our final decissions. Then our forwards went gungho when we needed to calm it down (only really had the one good counter in that period with a 3 on 1 that Mo messed up). Just needed to bring the ball down and keep it a bit to take the sting out of AV’s madness.
Agree here, I thought we looked great, in most of our play, just that last pass and poor decisions when in great situations stopped us scoring, we were at it for most of the game and deserved to win by more.
My father called me after the game to say this, and I’m annoyed that someone agrees with him! 
Can imagine some of our players have some knocks after that game but I am expecting at least 2 changes for Thursday anyway.
For me a lot of the negative tactics thing is simply down to the gulf in quality between sides. Not always but certainly in some instances. Quite happy to throw Villa into that category. Pretty sure Gerrard would play a different game if the quality was in the squad.
Anyhow. Glad we got through it.
That’s bullshit. Anyone who calls Stevie G a cunt isn’t a Liverpool fan. The guy carried the club on his shoulders for a decade. Legend
3 points is all that matters. Over the course of a season everyone loves the games that we win 5:0 when 2:1 would have sufficed and been a fair result but it’s the grinding 1:0 victories when we could have dropped points that count.
I thought we were a bit of a mess today but Robbo and Trent forced the play up the wings.
The refereeing was atrocious. Not even just the big decisions but even trivia like who knocked the ball out of play. The German commentators seemed quite bemused by it. I’m not sure what everyone else made of it.
I pretty much cursed at the ref, assist refs and VAR the entire match with all kinds of profanity. Dad said that son, calm, no need to get all worked up with idiotic people making idiotic decisions. Pretty difficult to do though.
Heart was pounding in the last 10 minutes. Literally heart in the mouth.
3 picks:
Some very disrespectful comments about Stevie in the match thread…to put it mildly…disappointing. I would like to think we are better than that. It was Bluemoonish
I don’t usually comment of the refereeing, but Atwell is an absolute fucking disgrace. Incompetent beyond belief.
For the most part, let’s treat the in match thread for what it is. Everyone’s chimps are out, and nobody should be judged too harshly for an out of place comment.
I’m sure nobody thinks Steven is a cunt now we’re all thinking clearly.
On the performance today, sure it wasn’t great but the rain was fucking horizontal. Let’s just accept the points and be grateful the media didn’t get their dream narrative.
Yeah it’s why I avoid it, partly for other opinions but I think I’ve banged on about how shit every player is for us every 90 minutes this season.
I’d end up in that thread daily.
