It's still on

[eggy81]

Our whole midfield was comfortably bested yesterday. None of em stood out. City have been comfortably better than us in 1v1 games for a few years now. Not like it’s a new thing. I feel the high line against players of their organisation and ability is just futile especially away from home. Drop 5 yards and most of those chances are nullified and we have the defenders to stop them 1 on 1 further up the pitch. They are too good to be playing in the halfway line against. But look. We live to fight another day.

[miller0863]

Apart from the Sterling offside goal and the breakaway at the end I thought we dropped off a little deeper in the second half, only a few yards and handled them much better. The first half we forgot about any sort of real defending whatsoever trying to catch them offside every single time and they could have had a hatful.

[faridtoxteth]

Trent to blame for Jesus goal.
KDB goal a lucky deflection.
Fabinho had a rare bad game.
A point is ok.
I don't know why people think City won't drop points. They dropped five last month and allowed us to catch them.
They have a tougher run in than us to the CL final. Players will get tired.

[Nineteenx]

Henderson barely had a 50% pass completion in the first half of that game in October. It proved to be a well founded fear too. A similar occurrence yesterday with Henderson not up to it all first half

Oh do please shut the fxxx up and get over your Hendo bias, not up to it, so he put Mane and Jota through in the first half, our only plyer to put any players through, aside from our two goals and both players should have scored or at the vert least forced Ederson into a great save

Again, if you gave me a 40% pass completion ratio and that player was only giving it away in the opposition half a long way away from their goal and creating 2 to 4 really big chances a game I'd take it all day over Thiago pissing around creating nothing all game

Thiago's a worry in every game Steveo, especially the big games, he creates nothing, he was simply woeful in the press and counter press, he has been an absolute disaster of a signing, signing him on over 200k a week to let Gini go was a major major error

The main point from yesterday was we were second best and City didn't get to play their passing game, they were better at and through being direct and in their pressing and counter pressing the 2 things we won a Champions League and a Premier League title being the best team in the world at

The Fab issue yesterday was really simple and what I've always talked about, he's not good enough with the ball, City were getting their pressing and counter pressing positions and the ball going to Fab was a constant trigger to go.

It's what I've always talked about in terms of pressing and counter pressing, he can't play it to the levels we need to play it to be at our best, to be at our best we need all 3 mids in the press and counter press, taking expert positions off each other, we can't have that or reach those levels with Fab just sitting in front of the 2 CBs

How our other players press, we can get away with Fab not really being in it, sitting deeper and not being good enough with the ball against most sides as the league table shows, but as you rightly point out, we haven't got away with it v Chelsea or City either game. Keeping him on the entire game in the 1-1 when they were down to 10 men was a disaster

Oh and I will always defend a player who always creates opportunities and who actually presses and counter presses expertly, you persistently defend and even championing a player who doesn't do either of those things, which considering we're a pressing and counter pressing side, formerly the best pressing and counter pressing side in the world until we tried to go all tappy crappy and overplay unnecessarily and swapped the likes of Gini for the non productive Thiago

[Nineteenx]

Our whole midfield was comfortably bested yesterday.

Disjointed, outpressed and counter pressed, not playing remotely like a collective 3 all absolutely on point in their positioning including off one another in the press and counter press - I warned and warned and warned and moaned and moaned and moaned and moaned about our letting our pressing and counter pressing ability and our ability to be devastatingly direct slide saying we should have been improving and evolving that while adding other elements to our game

And yet yesterday City were the best side, not through flowing silky one touch pass and move football, through their better pressing and counter pressing and ability to be direct

As sad as it is, it was like watching the 3-1 at Anfield in the 19-20 season, only we were a poor imitation of that City side and how they played then and they were a very very good imitation of all the things that made us a lot better than them that season

[CCTV]

19 Hendos played as a 10 on numerous occasions this season. Never looks great there.

Yesterday his direct rival was KDB, an actual 10 who I'd argue was motm. We had hendo as his direct rival 10, Hendo isn't a 10. That was the big advantage to them, and a decision not forced on Klopp through injury.

[Nineteenx]

19 Hendos played as a 10 on numerous occasions this season. Never looks great there.

Yesterday his direct rival was KDB, an actual 10 who I'd argue was motm. We had hendo as his direct rival 10, Hendo isn't a 10. That was the big advantage to them, and a decision not forced on Klopp through injury.

He isn't a fucking 10, just as Elliott isn't a 10 when he plays our more attacking RCM role, just as Keita isn't if he plays it, just as Jones or Oxlade aren't if they play it - They are operating as a more attacking No8 not a fucking 10 for FUCKS sake

HOW HOW HOW do you not understand that? We played for several seasons now with what I describe as a lopsided midfield 3 in a 433

LCM No8 controller No6DM RCM No8 Attacking mid

That's it, they have been our midfield 3 positions for oh, only 5 years, the variation being that in games like yesterdays against City we quite frequently played


LCM No8 Controller No6 DM RCM No8 Controller

Surely you must undertsand this at least? we've only been doing it 5 or more years

[scientificred]

19 Hendos played as a 10 on numerous occasions this season. Never looks great there.

Yesterday his direct rival was KDB, an actual 10 who I'd argue was motm. We had hendo as his direct rival 10, Hendo isn't a 10. That was the big advantage to them, and a decision not forced on Klopp through injury.

I thought Virgil for motm

[justme]

I agree with CCTV i did see Henderson press the ball at times even closing down their keeper.. He did play furthest forward of our midfielders. and since your 3rd midfielder can be considered a number 10.. so yes he did play that role in parts of the game.

[Nineteenx]

I thought Virgil for motm

It was Baconface who was motm playing as a No10 in a free role across the entire width and bredth of the pitch, you know, the role and freedoms of movement to go and try and be an attacking force you associate with a No10, we did have 2 midfielders sitting, but neither seemed interested in ever trying to pick him up