I hope Klopp actually learned something from this game. In previous years we have gone to Old Trafford and acted scared of the badge on the kit even when they have had piss poor teams. Klopp always sets us up more conservatively and waits for the game to happen - whereas in basically every other game we try and set the tempo and be on the front foot.
I think having Phillips and Williams forced his hand. He knew we couldn’t sit back and wait to get picked apart so we had to press high and take the game to them.
Next season, when it is hopefully van Dijk and Gomez at CB on our next trip there, I hope take that same approach.
Their squad is nowhere near as good as ours and we have no reason to fear them.
It’s also possible Man Utd tried to play a bit more than they normally do. They saw our team and our form this season, and after resting ten men against Leicester they would have thought they had every chance to win. So they came out to play, which meant we could do likewise. And at that point we did really well.
In recent seasons they have looked at our team and seen a better side, so they tucked in and hoped to nick something here and there on the break.
Hopefully a little mental block is lifted though, and everyone at Liverpool realizes there’s nothing for us to fear over there.
Maybe, it’s a hard one, though Taylor gives it, you are probably right as anywhere else you wouldn’t argue as I’ve seen Fabinho do that a few times this season.
Fantastic result. Front 3 of Salah Firmino and Jota has best combined movement of the front 4… Kudos to Klopp on that decision.
Not much else to say that hasn’t been said.
Great effort when we needed it.
It all goes for nothing if we don’t win the next matches.
I’ve absolutely no problem with the penalty decision. Bailly took the ball, and while he wasn’t 100% in control, I struggled to justify it on the replay. In the category where I’d be fucking livid if we’d had it given against us. Notwithstanding, of course, that we have had those given against us this season.
What pissed me off about Taylor’s performance was the same old story with every fucking referee in the league. Our lads can’t buy a free kick. They were allowed to wrestle ours to the floor, kick them, stamp on them with no sanction, and he didn’t miss a chance to blow for even the most minor infringement if it was committed by a Liverpool player.
When he finally gave McTominay a yellow, after an hour of shithouse snide fouls (which is OK because he’s Scottish, according to Tyler) two minutes later McTominay rugby tackled Mane to the ground in a clear professional foul. Taylor absolutely bottled it. He doesn’t give the foul, because then he has to give the yellow, and if he gives the yellow, it’s red. Fucking coward.
Mind you, I enjoyed him taking Fernandez to one side and telling him to stop being a fucking bellend.
It’s a goal given to Bruno as it was on target in the first place. It’ll only be put down as an own goal if the ball wouldn’t have gone into the net if it hadn’t have been touched.
It looked like it was going wide to me. But what the hey, give it to him. He gets everything else given to him - penalties, free kicks, yellow cards when he demand it.
It was about time for a performance like this to be honest. Man for man, we’re a better team than United, and I really hope we push on and prove that next season.
Big Nat is emerging as a top defender by the way. A really strong alternative to Gomez to partner Van Dijk in the long run? And someone we’d probably not have pushed if it hadn’t been for the injury crisis.
I disagree on the penalty, he still takes Phillips leg which constitutes contact.
The rest of Taylors shit performance goes under the radar because Liverpool won. You can get called out here for conspiracy or not enjoying the moment or engaging in hyperbole if you comment on how poor a ref has been. But the fact remains, agree or not on the penalty the rest of his performance was utterly biased and crap.
The gushing over Philips is getting silly now. That was actually an extremely weak defensive performance from him; feet in treacle for the first goal and then went rushing out like a bull in a China shop, got played around and watched as Rashford ran into the gaping hole he left behindfor the second goal in pretty much the exact same scenario I labored on trying to point out many times before.
The issue is contact in itself is not a penalty. This is a myth drummed up by the media to cover the blatant and rampant cheating of players diving to win a penalty
He was poor on both goals, out of position quite a lot, poor on the ‘clearance’ off the line incident that he got praised for and was skinned easily by Rashford late on.
I try not to comment on Phillips anymore because minds are already made up but when he’s getting all the praise for the off the line chance whilst nothing is said about Williams making a block a second later (blocking a shot that was actually going in, not wide) I think that’s a little unfair. One is en vogue and the other isn’t and it shows.
