Great to win but we cant be conceding 3 goals to mediocre teams like these. Rio was fantastic, Mac and Wirtz very good also. Fiest 30 mins was so bad.
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Interesting to hear on Prime that Rafa nearly signed Iraola 
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We can all see it and it is rightly being pointed out. Terrible first thirty. Van Dijk in particular had a bit of a mare during that spell. Then we woke up, took control, piled on four goals and life was good. But then we finished the game a bit too lackadaisical again, and what should have been a calm ending was a jittery one.
So thereās lots to work on, and as we keep saying, we are a work in progress.
We saw some rotation, got the three points, and witnessed Rio having a great game as he really gets to grips with playing on the right.
Iāll take it, but thereās work to do. Iām sure Iraola is on it.
Oh, final comment is on our resilience. We seem to have a bit more fight and belief, certainly compared to last season, when heads dropped too much.
Onwards and upwards.
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100% home record in CL baby.
A Rio is born
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Itās reminding me a lot of the early days of Klopp. Weād have games where weād be inconsistent - score a hatful, then switch off and concede a hatful. Weād go on runs of matches where weād look dominant one week and shite the next. It was all part of the process.
Thereās lots to like about Iraolaās football, and lots to dislike as well, but the main thing is we seem to at least be getting a bit of fight back in the team, and goals are flowing a bit more. Weāll continue to improve incrementally over the season, and should finish in the top 4, but next summer is fucking massive. We desperately need a proper #6, and maybe both a RB and LB. If we can manage that and continue to fill out the squad with promising young guys like Nyoni, Rio, Koumas, etc. then Iāll feel good moving forward with the attacking options we have.
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I wouldnāt say there is a lot to dislike. There are issues and we are a work in progress but I think itās worth comparing to certain games and performances last season.
It felt a bit PSV at 2-0 and yet our performance for 60 minutes was a joy to watch.
We will get better and if this is a setback itās a good one to have. Under Slot I wanted to see changes, something to hold on to. I think we are seeing that.
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Yeah its clearly not clicking yet, but there is a refound fight in the team and the players are in a structure that allows their individual quality, stuff that was so absent last year people questioned if it even existed in this team, is able to rise above the collective struggles often enough for us to be picking up a decent run of results.
Im not entirely sure I know what it is that is missing right now for us to take that next leap forward and get these games done with less of a struggle, so iām inclined to think its mostly reps, familiarity and fitness.
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Wow.
Did Jurgen turn up after half an hour and give them a team talk?
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Good to see Ronald was tactical.
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Ron coming into the changing rooms seconds after scoring the equalizerā¦
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Really strange game. At 2-0 there was rising unrest in the crowd and if theyād scored again it would have got really ugly.
Most people would have been happy to go in 2-1 down at H/T and make some changes but the 2nd goal was a real bonus and it looked like it had a real psychological effect on Villarreal because they were a complete fucking shambles as we went into a 4-2 lead.
I didnāt like Iraolaās team selection at all. Iām prepared to give him a free pass this season given what he was dealt but that tonight was a mistake imo. Far too weak up front. Koumas is a willing lad but lacks real quality and Gakpo just returning from injury, we were always going to struggle to put them under any pressure.
Ngumoha was unreal though. Iāve not been his biggest fan but Iāve watched a lot of football over the years and I canāt remember too many occasions where one of our wide men has had his full-back on toast the way Rio did tonight. Just skinned him time after time, MOTM by some distance.
Macca also got my vote, looks a different player to last season and the CL seems to bring out the best in him.
Virg struggled badly again 1st half and I think this will be his last season as a regular starter or even as a Liverpool player. We need to get Aroujo signed up and forming a CB partnership with Jacquet.
As usual will take a win all day long but the likes of PSG, Barca and Bayern will cut through us with ease. We need to sign a defensive mid in January if we are to compete for the top prizes.
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I think weāve overplayed Virgil this season. We needed to give him a break for this match.
He had a proper nightmare. Possibly his worst performance in a Liverpool shirt.
He switched on after the first 30 min. Probably canāt afford to do so again.
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Yes but the reason for his wobble was the Araujo performance as soon as he went off he was back to normal aided and abetted by Jacquet.
I was at the game and I was tearing my hair out at Araujo who kept abandoning his post at right back and leaving huge gaps and it wasnāt just Virgil that was unsettled by that Jacquet was also trying to plug the gap but as soon as Gomez replaced Ronnie we were better at the back until the last 10 minutes. Rio was outstanding that left back will be having nightmares tonight!
Iraola had to rest his important players and in a way the team sheet in first half was lopsided but when the ringers were introduced we were much better wirtz, Macca, Gakpo and Rio were very good. Had he done it the other way round we would have lost the game.
On their second Araujo wasnāt just randomly out of position, but got sucked inside tracking his man and trying to help with the CM overload they were having. This is AI explaining that was by design, but just not done well enough
https://x.com/centrekop/status/2112666858302349476?s=61&t=VxX1vHU3NOwwNhlbyICG-g
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Exactly. Ronnie was just following instructions but wasnāt happy with the role and thatās why AI switched him out at halftime. Rio should have picked up the FBās run for their second but was nowhere. AI probably had a word at halftime because second half Rio was a lot more attentive to tracking back.
Strange report in the Independent states that we ācapitulatedā in the first half that finished 2-2 but Iām never surprised by the way the media can turn anything Liverpool related into a negative, even when we win. Also stated that we looked anything like European champions on the night we went second in the CL table behind the holders. Go figure.