AncalagonTheBlack Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 10 minutes ago, Mark Antony said: One of if not the best performance of the season I think. Good timing with the Napoli game coming up. Fabinho/Naby need to start as much as possible. Agreed.Best team performance of the season so far for me.Bring on Napoli! eta - oh also,Matip was very good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Refs in the PL are terrible. Wrong side of an offside call for third time in three games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Referee's had an absolute meltdown in our game. Gave a penalty to Fulham for a great tackle by Herrera and then sent off Anguissa for 'getting into a scuffle' with Rashford which really was just Rashford pushing at him. It could have been for the original foul he committed that got Rashford riled up, but that would be really really soft too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Very nice by Liverpool and easier than expected in an early game away to in-form Bournemouth, even if they do tend to struggle against the top teams. It helped us that Wilson was unavailable for them, although we had some absences too. Very nice to see Fabinho and Keita both play and play well. Our stagnant MF has been a problem and our exciting new signings had been disappointingly, but perhaps wisely, eased into the team. Plus their presence freed up Milner for his shift to RB — I hadn’t even considered him as one of the contenders there. Lallana even made an appearance as a sub and got an assist with some quick thinking. Big game against Napoli next, and then we’ll get clogged by United even more than Arsenal were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 At least we played well after a very long time even though it was against a diabolical Fulham. Herrera, Mata and Dalot were excellent - It was refreshing to see our RB bomb forward with quality. Fred had another decent outing coming on as a sub and Lukaku was alright - certainly not as bad as he has been all season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Arsenal are masters now at claiming points with late goals. Tidy finish by Torreira, after Guendouzi picked out Auba. New players have really boosted the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Fuck yeahhh. A surprise to be sure but a welcome one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 More Conte-like than Sarriball but it was effective especially 2nd half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 So Liverpool are top of the table after a decent chunk of the season and we've got the joint best defensive record in the history of the Premier League this far into the season and the 4th best points total in history of top flight English football after 16 games. It's probably gone about as well as could have been hoped for so far in the league and yet it feels oddly underwhelming because it's still hard to see City not winning the title. A bit of a strange feeling not to be that excited about a start this good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Probably, but I think also getting reminded regularly that Liverpool have not been as flashy offensively as they were in the second part of last season and that Klopp selects wrong team and almost everything was doom and gloom might have influenced that eprception of underwhelming top of the league. It's really worth comparing this season with last season, and remembering that Liverpool didn't really start to shine until after that 0-4 loss to Spurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 For all the off pitch chaos and uncertainty whether this result will stand, the Copa Libertadores exceded expectations when it was finally played. River win 3-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate in extra time. Lovely goal from Juanfer Quintero to put them ahead and a tap in in the last second with the keeper out of his goal to seal it. I still have no idea what happened with Boca being awarded an indirect free kick rather than a penalty for a foul in the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 13 minutes ago, Philokles said: I still have no idea what happened with Boca being awarded an indirect free kick rather than a penalty for a foul in the box. Didn't see the match but assuming it wasn't the usual goalkeeper infringement (pass-back, etc.), might it have been for dangerous play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 20 minutes ago, mormont said: Didn't see the match but assuming it wasn't the usual goalkeeper infringement (pass-back, etc.), might it have been for dangerous play? I think it must have been. The River defender stuck a leg out at about knee height to block a shot, managed to deflect the ball away but caught the Boca player as he was following through after striking the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 On 12/8/2018 at 7:22 PM, Consigliere said: More Conte-like than Sarriball but it was effective especially 2nd half. Maybe 16/17 Conte, but certainly not 17/18, where he had the Chelsea XI back off Man City and watch them set passing records without even trying to tackle. What was most impressive about the victory against Man City was that Sarri finally showed his tactical flexibilty as a coach. In every game prior to this, we basically had the same approach, same system, same team, and within games, Sarri's substitutions were predictable and always like-for-like: Morata for Giroud, Willian for Pedro, Barkley/Loftus-Cheek for Kovacic or vice versa. I thought playing without a recognised striker was a risk - it certainly didn't work in the first half. At times in the first half it would have been good to have had an option to go long to to relieve pressure, but we continued to play our way out to decent effect. In the second half, when we started to get more possession, the decision to play without a striker looked a wise one. The obvious stand out performances came from Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz and Kante, but I have to give credit to Alonso, who showed a defensive discipline I have rarely seen from him. Kovacic had one of his best performances until his injury. These types of games against opposition who press really well may suit him better. Due to his excellent ball control, he was able to wriggle or dribble his way out of trouble when Man City players were pressing him. It's games where we expect to dominate the ball that Barkley or Loftus-Cheek might prove the better options, as they carry more of a goal scoring threat, which is something we clearly lack. For all the talk of Kante not playing in his best position, it was against the best opposition that he had his best performance in his new position - and it was his work on the ball that really impressed me. The problem isn't that he can't play as a box-to-box midfielder; it's more that Jorginho is limited in the holding role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorshach Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 Very late to the party, but on the subject of Bailly - I think he can become a very good defender with the right manager. No, I don't know who, Basically, he has pace and physicality, and he is unafraid. What he needs is a manager who can teach him a bit of smartness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 Bailly was already a good defender at Villarreal and was excellent in 2016/2017 with us. Mourinho, for whatever reason, decided to bin him last season and has been overlooking him ever since. I think most managers would get more out of Bailly than what Mourinho has. Basically, Mourinho has done what he is known to do i.e. destroy a players confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 In unrelated news. Henk Veerman is greater than van Basten and Nistelrooy combined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 Everton are winning but I'm glad to see Isaac Success developing into a good solid forward. He's never going to be a superstar but when he arrived he was basically just reliant on being an absolute unit and struggled to get in the team but he's clearly knuckled down and learned and he's now an understatedly smart all-round forward. More goals would be nice but he's a good player for others to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 This game’s gone a bit nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 Fair play to Watford. They've played well in the 2nd half. Mina was lucky not to have picked up a second yellow for the foul on Success in the 1st half - ref didn't even give a foul. Everton's goal should have been flagged offside as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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