The Special One against the Normal One. It was always going to be a seismic event with the bristling Mourinho being talked up as the next manager for the high jump should Liverpool inflict a defeat on his embattled champions.
By the end of the game Mourinho looked and sounded like the Spoilt One, refusing to answer questions on his sides performance saying he had nothing to say. His side unceremoniously dismissed by a Liverpool side coming from behind to summarily trance a Chelsea side made took look one paced.
Make no mistake this was a victory of character coming from behind to score three having scored only nine goals in the League all season and with only two goals from those starting today.
The first ten minutes Liverpool appeared to flatline coming off the back of giving their manager his first victory in the week against Bournemouth. That being said, there were nine changes from the Capital One team with only Clyne and Firmino making the starting eleven.
The lack of early intensity cost Liverpool dear with Chelsea go ahead within four minutes. James Milner was left trailing by Cesar Azpilicueta in trying support Clyne before the full-back was giving an eternity to switch the ball back on to his stronger right foot to cross for the newly contracted Ramires to head home powerfully with Moreno caught out disappointingly ball watching.
We proceeded to get our pressing game into gear without managing to get Lallana and Coutinho into the game. Firmino, playing in the False no 9 position, dropped deep which left us without a focal point up top. As a consequence, the pressing and possession as effective as it was only led only to half chances for Lallana and Lucas.
Toward the close of the half Milner fashioned a superb ball across the face of goal without anybody on the end of it.
Without that focal point Liverpool were only ever going to get back on track through the creative brilliance of Coutinho and Lallana.
Two and half minutes into time added on we were back on terms with a piece of sublime brilliance.
Milner and Firmino managed to work the ball into Coutinho where the impish Brazilian dropped a shoulder to ghost past Ramires before curling a brilliant left-footed shot inside the far post leaving John Terry trailing on the ground and Begovic flailing.
Chelsea appeared more energetic in the second-half without being able to gain control an semblance of control with Can, Milner and Lucas working overtime across the Liverpool midfield.
Chelsea and Mourinho will complain of Mark Clattenburg’s failure to send of Lucas with a second yellow card, but if he had seen Diego Costa’s petulant kick out against Martin Skrtel, Chelsea would have been down to ten men before that juncture.
The turning point came on 64 minutes with the substitution of James Milner for Christian Benteke. Liverpool suddenly had an unplayable no 9 adding a different dimension to our game.
Oscar from fully 40 yards almost chipped Mignolet after a mistake by Lucas only for keeper to claw the ball away in spectacular fashion.
Nine minutes after coming on Benteke made his presence felt. Pinpointed by a long angled ball from the immaculate Mamadou Sakho the Belgian rose to header the ball across the edge of the area to Coutinho who once again showed his amazing ability to make room, before seeing his shot deflect of Terry to loop beyond Begovic to put Liverpool ahead.
It was nothing more than Liverpool deserved having been the more dominant and creative side. Moreno, blistered down the left, after being set free by Can, outpacing the Chelsea rearguard only to see his lowly driven shot well saved.
The game was put to bed with 8 minutes to go after Jordon Ibe cut in from the right and rolled his pass toward the Lallana who in turn stepped over leaving Benteke to work his way onto his right foot to shoot past Begovic aided by a slight deflection of Cahill.
Man of the match: Philippe Coutinho – Goals oozed class. Didn’t take part for 47 minutes of the first half and a flash of brilliance from his normally lesser left ball saw Liverpool all square. His second goal showed just good he is at fathoming out space for himself before unleashing the coup de gras.
Critical eye: It’s not very often that Chelsea are outplayed for the majority of the match. The failure to go in with a lead could squarely be put down to the lack of an penetration without an orthodox front man and it showed once Benteke entered the fray just after the hour as he was unplayable.
What it does show is just how different a proposition Liverpool are with a natural no 9. If we are to make a consistent challenge for the top four it requires a fit Benteke and hopefully Sturridge.
Moreno’s defending on the Chelsea goal was as poor as it gets and while he has been promising in the other facets of his game, his primarily in the team to defend and one hopes his raises his concentration levels doing his defensive chores in the future.
With each game that goes by Sakho is showing reassurance of the highest order and his passing out of defensive is all about pinpoint accuracy. He is fast becoming the rock within the Liverpool defence.
Interesting to see Liverpool shut down Eden Hazard and Willian who has been in brilliant form.
Questions might be asked about the players playing for a new manager, but in saying that Emre Can was hardly ever used in centre midfield and Adam Lallana has only recently began to start.
Teams:
Chelsea: 1 Amir Begovic, 5 Kurt Zouma, 24 Gary Cahill, 26 John Terry, 28 Cesar Azpilicueta Falcao –76 mins), 7 Ramires, 12 John Obi Mikel (Cesc Fabregas – 70 mins), 22 Willian, 10 Eden Hazard (Robert Kenedy Nunes do Nascimento – 59 mins), 19 Diego Costa
Subs: 4 Cesc Fabregas, 6 Baba Rahman, 9 Falcao, 16 Robert Kenedy Nunes do Nascimento 18 Loic Remy, 21 Nemanja Matic, 32 Marco Amelia
Liverpool: 22 Simon Mignolet, 2 Nathaniel Clyne, 17 Martin Skrtel, 17 Mamadou Sakho, 18 Alberto Moreno, 7 James Milner (Christian Benteke – 64 mins), 21 Lucas, 23 Emre Can, 20 Adam Lallana (Dejan Lovren - 90+1 mins), 10 Philippe Coutinho, 11 Roberto Firmino (Jordon Ibe – 76 mins)
Subs: 6 Dejan Lovren, Christian Benteke, 24 Joe Allen, 33 Jordan Ibe, 34 Adam Bogdan, 53 Joao Carlos Teixiera, 56 Connor Randall
Referee: Mark Clattenberg
Attendance: 41, 577
Saturday, 31 October 2015
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Klopp claims first win as Liverpool move forward in cup with help of youngsters. Liverpool 1 Bournemouth 0
Capital One 4th Round
Liverpool 1(Clyne
17mins) Bournemouth 0
Blog by
dedlfc (David Douglas)
Pre-match
thoughts:
We make nine changes to our line-up with one eye on the big game
versus Chelsea at the weekend. The most
exciting decision is to start Teixeira alongside Firmino.with Brannagan in
midfield and rookie full back Randall also making their home debuts.
We nearly
get off to a flying start with Firmino producing a shot within the first 20
seconds.
Bournemouth
then start to look more promising despite Firmino blistering attempt.
First
Origi loses the ball up front and then Allen has his pocket picked which leads
to a great chance for Bournemouth. Thankfully, Bogdan was up to the challenge
and produces an excellent block with his feet.
Klopp had
moved Clyne over to the left back slot to enable Randall to play in his chosen
position of right back and it paid dividends massively with Clyne then opening
up his Liverpool goal scoring account with a well-taken goal after some
brilliant build-up play.
Origi
broke at pace, played it to Firmino, who played Teixeira through. Teixeira
nearly scores on the cheekiest of backheels, only to be cleared off the line
before Clyne put it away for good.
The
attack was, dare I say in the words of our manager Jurgen Klopp
"cool." 1-0 to the Liverpool!
Our
injury crisis then strikes again when Kolo Toure limps off after half an hour
with an apparent hamstring injury. Defender Martin Skrtel comes on as his
replacement.
Halftime: Liverpool showed a few brilliant
flashes on one end, and a bit of luck not to concede on the other. Both sides
have 6 shots, 4 on target. Liverpool probably need to score 1 or 2 more to
ensure victory (especially with Lovren roaming the pitch), as shocking as that
concept might seem on paper.
The match dragged at times, but it is fun to watch
the youth players press like crazy. And that man, Teixeira, soooo close
to nabbing his first Liverpool goal, both with the backheel and later with a
shot into the side netting just before the half had concluded.
The second half advances with Firmino having
with another narrow miss which he should have scored to finish the game once and for all. If Liverpool doesn’t advance tonight, he'll certainly
have a few regrets, with four good shots on goal.
Lucas on
for Brannagan with about 20 mins left. Brannagan can be proud of his
performance tonight. Hopefully Klopp’s lieutenant on the pitch Lucas can help
see this game out.
If the
sides were evenly matched in the first half, Liverpool have had the best of it
in the second without getting that all important second goal.
Lallana
is the final substitute, on for Roberto Firmino. Firmino was a giant among men
today, but just couldn't manage to grab his first goal.
Bournemouth's
last ditch effort goes wanting, and that should do it for the Reds.
Full Time: This time Liverpool
score first and hold on for the nervy victory. It was a well-deserved first win
for the new boss, especially with such a thin, heavily-rotated
squad.
Man of the Match - Firmino started to show why he is so highly rated by knowledgeable football people. Was in the middle of all our good build up play and was a constant threat.
Liverpool (4-1-4-1): Bogdan, Clyne, Toure (Skrtel 31), Lovren, Randall, Allen, Teixeira, Ibe, Firmino (Lallana 86), Brannagan (Lucas 64), Origi
Subs not used: Coutinho, Moreno, Fulton, Sinclair
Booked: Allen
Goals: Clyne 17
Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Bournemouth (4-3-3):
Federici, Francis, Smith, Distin, Daniels, MacDonald,
Pugh, Ritchie, Arter (King 71), Stanisla (Rantie 82),
Kermorgant (Tomlin 71)
Subs not used: Cook, Allsop, O'Kane, Cargill
Booked: MacDonald
Manager: Eddie Howe
Referee: Mike Jones
Att: 41,948
Man of the Match - Firmino started to show why he is so highly rated by knowledgeable football people. Was in the middle of all our good build up play and was a constant threat.
Today marked a return to form for Jordon Ibe, and some stand-out
performances for Teixeira and Firmino. Both Teixeira and Firmino were unlucky
not to open up their scoring accounts for the Reds.
The youth players acquitted themselves well, and the team as a
whole grew into the game as it progressed.
Special mention for our keeper Adam Bogdan who
again came into the side and did not put a foot wrong producing a vital save
with his feet early on and a couple of equally important saves throughout the
first half. He is now looking like a very astute acquisition by our former
manager Brendan Rodgers.
We are now through to the quarter-finals where we have been drawn to play our
most recent tricky opponents Southampton, this time at their ground for a place
in the semi-finals .
With
Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea being defeated at this stage, there is only Man
City left to worry about in the draw.
Klopp may
now start to fancy our chances of getting some silverware in his first season.
Now wouldn’t that be a fantastic start to his managerial career at Liverpool !!
Manager’s thoughts:-
Klopp said: "My first win feels better than a draw! I'm really
satisfied because this team had never played together and the young players did
really well.
"We had many chances against a side which played with nearly their
first team. We were dominant, played football and got the win we deserved.
"It was very important to win because we decided to go with a new
team. To win is always good for the feeling of the whole team."
Monday, 26 October 2015
Klopp still made to wait for first win - Liverpool 1 Southampton 1
Blog by David Douglas (dedlfc)
Pre-match thoughts - Our manager Jurgen Klopp went into his first home league game on the back of a creditable draw away to Spurs and a not so impressive draw at home to Rubin Kazan on Thursday.
Mr Klopp went with the same side that drew with Spurs but had the positive attacking options of Benteke and Firmino on the bench with our young full back Connor Randall for the second league game in a row making the bench.
The game started out quite even with Coutinho, Can and Milner trying to make things happen from midfield. The Christmas tree formation is becoming more established and it looks like Mr Klopp is trying to ensure players are played where they are strongest.
Southampton's Graziano Pelle posed a constant threat up front with his excellent hold up play alongside the pacy striker Mane.
The first third of the game was livened up by a low strike from Milner that went just wide and although we were comfortable in possession, we lacked penetration in the creativity department.
The highlight of the first half for me was a fantastic passionate leaping headed clearance from fans favourite Sakho because it epitomises everything about the player - just wholehearted defending. I really was concerned about the state of the ball afterwards!! That's how supremely dominant the header was.
Half-time analysis
Our defending at set pieces is a continued cause for concern as is the lack of ability to provide the required hold up play from Divock Origi to ensure he can bring other players into the game. A change was required. That change was to bring on Christian Benteke to provide the missing cutting edge.
Benteke at the start of the second half made an immediate impact with a chested knockdown springing the skillful Lallana into offence. We then gained four corners in a row with disappointingly, not one making a clear cut chance.
Both teams cancelled each other out until Benteke does better than any other striker in the Premier League.
With time running out in Klopp's first home league game a beautiful cross by James Milner is put into Benteke and from approximately twelve yards he produces a world class header leaving keeper Stekelenburg no chance of saving. Klopp as is his way celebrated as only he can and he like us must of thought we were on course for a win if we can hold out.
It wasn't to be. Milner gave away a pointless free-kick and from the resulting melee Mane was left unmarked to scramble the equaliser.
Mane after being the Saints hero then becomes a villain of sorts by getting a booking for a reckless foul and then shortly before the full time whistle was sent off for a second yellow card infringement.
Man of the Match - Christian Benteke - Who else? He was the only bright spark in an otherwise drab performance from our boys.
Positives: We are still undefeated under Klopp - Benteke got his first goal since returning from injury. Jurgen Klopp's post match energy after matches has been a great encouragement for fans but we now need the team to start showing the signs that they are learning how to get the wheels in motion to recover from this poor period of results.
Negatives: Once again we were unable to get two goals in a game, we have now had 8 draws in the last 9 games which is not good enough. The lack of clinical precision in front of goal, lack of shots on target and creativity tell the story.
Divock Origi has not been good enough for us so far with him performing like a schoolboy against men. Coutinho has again underperformed for us and has done so since the speculation linking him to Barcelona. We need the real Coutinho to re-appear to help our creativity department to start producing the assists and goals for the team.
Liverpool team: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Lucas, Milner, Can, Lallana, Coutinho, Origi.
Substitutes: Bogdan, Toure, Randall, Allen, Ibe, Firmino, Benteke.
Pre-match thoughts - Our manager Jurgen Klopp went into his first home league game on the back of a creditable draw away to Spurs and a not so impressive draw at home to Rubin Kazan on Thursday.
Mr Klopp went with the same side that drew with Spurs but had the positive attacking options of Benteke and Firmino on the bench with our young full back Connor Randall for the second league game in a row making the bench.
The game started out quite even with Coutinho, Can and Milner trying to make things happen from midfield. The Christmas tree formation is becoming more established and it looks like Mr Klopp is trying to ensure players are played where they are strongest.
Southampton's Graziano Pelle posed a constant threat up front with his excellent hold up play alongside the pacy striker Mane.
The first third of the game was livened up by a low strike from Milner that went just wide and although we were comfortable in possession, we lacked penetration in the creativity department.
The highlight of the first half for me was a fantastic passionate leaping headed clearance from fans favourite Sakho because it epitomises everything about the player - just wholehearted defending. I really was concerned about the state of the ball afterwards!! That's how supremely dominant the header was.
Half-time analysis
Our defending at set pieces is a continued cause for concern as is the lack of ability to provide the required hold up play from Divock Origi to ensure he can bring other players into the game. A change was required. That change was to bring on Christian Benteke to provide the missing cutting edge.
Benteke at the start of the second half made an immediate impact with a chested knockdown springing the skillful Lallana into offence. We then gained four corners in a row with disappointingly, not one making a clear cut chance.
Both teams cancelled each other out until Benteke does better than any other striker in the Premier League.
With time running out in Klopp's first home league game a beautiful cross by James Milner is put into Benteke and from approximately twelve yards he produces a world class header leaving keeper Stekelenburg no chance of saving. Klopp as is his way celebrated as only he can and he like us must of thought we were on course for a win if we can hold out.
It wasn't to be. Milner gave away a pointless free-kick and from the resulting melee Mane was left unmarked to scramble the equaliser.
Mane after being the Saints hero then becomes a villain of sorts by getting a booking for a reckless foul and then shortly before the full time whistle was sent off for a second yellow card infringement.
Man of the Match - Christian Benteke - Who else? He was the only bright spark in an otherwise drab performance from our boys.
Positives: We are still undefeated under Klopp - Benteke got his first goal since returning from injury. Jurgen Klopp's post match energy after matches has been a great encouragement for fans but we now need the team to start showing the signs that they are learning how to get the wheels in motion to recover from this poor period of results.
Negatives: Once again we were unable to get two goals in a game, we have now had 8 draws in the last 9 games which is not good enough. The lack of clinical precision in front of goal, lack of shots on target and creativity tell the story.
Divock Origi has not been good enough for us so far with him performing like a schoolboy against men. Coutinho has again underperformed for us and has done so since the speculation linking him to Barcelona. We need the real Coutinho to re-appear to help our creativity department to start producing the assists and goals for the team.
Liverpool team: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Lucas, Milner, Can, Lallana, Coutinho, Origi.
Substitutes: Bogdan, Toure, Randall, Allen, Ibe, Firmino, Benteke.
Thursday, 22 October 2015
Even Klopp magic cannot turn water in to wine… yet!
Jurgen Klopp delivered a statement of intent for once without muttering a word by choosing what be considered a full strength line-up from those available with the likes of Benteke, Firmino, Lucas and Ibe on the bench.
Noticeable was John W Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon in attendance on Klopp’s home debut.
The resounding sound of the You’ll Never Walk Alone bounced around the old stadium as if it was an attempt by the the Anfield faithful to show their new master The Kop could be a cauldron of noise to rival if not surpass Dortmund’s fantastic Yellow Wall.
Liverpool started with the standard Klopp fast tempo, although without the pressing element, looking especially sharp down the right with Lallana, Milner and Clyne showing up well. Emre Can came close early on striding forward before seeing a measured shot on the run brush the side netting.
Against the run and play and against the script we’d all imagined, Devic cushioned on his chest a superb floated cross before holding off Clyne, caught out on the wrong side, before delicately placing a half-volley into the far corner. Simply a stunning finish.
Lallana, Liverpool’s main source of creativity, pulled a right-footed shot just past the post before seeing his flicked header land on the roof of the net from a Coutinho free-kick. Coutinho intercepted a wayward pass before running and twisting past the defender only to drag his left-foot shot wide.
Although dominating play Liverpool as has been the way of late lacked a cutting edge with the creative players unable to provide decent service for Origi. For all the possession, Liverpool were nearly made made to play, but for a superb instinctive save from Mignolet tipping the ball over after Georgiev chested down the cross and volleyed on the turn from 10 yards.
Rubin Kazan’s captain Kuzmin in a moment of madness brought Liverpool back into the game with the midfielder running up a cul-de-sac with nowhere to go, deciding to haul him down.
Liverpool immediately gained parity from the free-kick with Coutinho’s ball to the back post impressively headed back across the goal by Origi for Can to mop up by sliding home.
Coutinho again came close dragging another shot wide from Origi’s pass back.
It was a half where we enjoyed plenty of possession, but struggled to fashioned out quality service and the narrowness of play going forward made the play rather predictable with most of the attacks coming down the right.
Worryingly, we were lucky not to have gone in behind through poor lapses of concentration and poor defending by Clyne and Can, respectively.
With defensive responsibility in mind Lucas replaced Joe Allen for the second-half.
The inertia in the final the first ten minutes with Liverpool struggled to unlock a Ruben Kazan defence camped on the 18-yard box with intricately pass our way through. Clyne, almost found a way through after a one-two with Lallana slicing through before seeing his attempt to cross blocked with Origi waiting in vain.
Benteke replaced Coutinho just after the hour mark and while the little maestro has not been at his impish best it could just have easily been any member of the Liverpool midfield who had thus far been part of an average performance. That said, there were now two strikers up top.
Perhaps for the first time in open play a Liverpool player in the shape of Clyne whipped in a beautiful cross only for Benteke to show his ring rust in volleying over from close range.
A great attacking move involving Lallana found it’s way to Benteke whose measured shot hit the base of the post. The resulting corner found saw Lallana’s volley well saved by the sprawling Ryzhikov.
If Portnyagin had caught his header flush from with 15 minutes to go given our performance in the last third a lost would have been on the cards.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and as the manager as the manager stated, the decision making process in the last third wasn’t up to scratch and 21 shots outside the box lays testimony to that.
There were always going to be teething problems going forward, but we have the right man at the helm to steady the ship.
Man of the match: Adam Lallana – the best of a bad bunch on an average night.
Liverpool:
22 Mignolet, 2, Clyne, 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho, 18 Moreno, 7 Milner, 24 Allen (Lucas – 45 minutes), 23 Can, 20 Lallana, 27 Origi (Firmino – 74 minutes), 10 Coutinho (Benteke – 63 minutes)
Substitutes: 4 K Toure, 9 Benteke, 11 Firmino, 21 Lucas, 33 Lucas, 34 Bogdan, 56 Randall
Rubin Kazan:
1 Ryzkikov, 2 Kuzmin, 5 Kverkvelia, 88 Kambolov, 3 Nabiullin, 27 Ozdoev, 77 Georgiev, 99 Kanunnikov, 10 Marques (Portnyagin – 64 minutes), 61 Karadeniz (Dyadyun – 81 minutes), 11 Devic (Cotugo – 45 minutes)
Substitutes: 4 Lemos, 7 Portyagin, 13 Haghighi, 14 Bilyaletdinov, 21 Cotugono, 22 Dyadyun, 85 Akhmetov
Referee: Robert Schorgenhofer
Noticeable was John W Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon in attendance on Klopp’s home debut.
The resounding sound of the You’ll Never Walk Alone bounced around the old stadium as if it was an attempt by the the Anfield faithful to show their new master The Kop could be a cauldron of noise to rival if not surpass Dortmund’s fantastic Yellow Wall.
Liverpool started with the standard Klopp fast tempo, although without the pressing element, looking especially sharp down the right with Lallana, Milner and Clyne showing up well. Emre Can came close early on striding forward before seeing a measured shot on the run brush the side netting.
Against the run and play and against the script we’d all imagined, Devic cushioned on his chest a superb floated cross before holding off Clyne, caught out on the wrong side, before delicately placing a half-volley into the far corner. Simply a stunning finish.
Lallana, Liverpool’s main source of creativity, pulled a right-footed shot just past the post before seeing his flicked header land on the roof of the net from a Coutinho free-kick. Coutinho intercepted a wayward pass before running and twisting past the defender only to drag his left-foot shot wide.
Although dominating play Liverpool as has been the way of late lacked a cutting edge with the creative players unable to provide decent service for Origi. For all the possession, Liverpool were nearly made made to play, but for a superb instinctive save from Mignolet tipping the ball over after Georgiev chested down the cross and volleyed on the turn from 10 yards.
Rubin Kazan’s captain Kuzmin in a moment of madness brought Liverpool back into the game with the midfielder running up a cul-de-sac with nowhere to go, deciding to haul him down.
Liverpool immediately gained parity from the free-kick with Coutinho’s ball to the back post impressively headed back across the goal by Origi for Can to mop up by sliding home.
Coutinho again came close dragging another shot wide from Origi’s pass back.
It was a half where we enjoyed plenty of possession, but struggled to fashioned out quality service and the narrowness of play going forward made the play rather predictable with most of the attacks coming down the right.
Worryingly, we were lucky not to have gone in behind through poor lapses of concentration and poor defending by Clyne and Can, respectively.
With defensive responsibility in mind Lucas replaced Joe Allen for the second-half.
The inertia in the final the first ten minutes with Liverpool struggled to unlock a Ruben Kazan defence camped on the 18-yard box with intricately pass our way through. Clyne, almost found a way through after a one-two with Lallana slicing through before seeing his attempt to cross blocked with Origi waiting in vain.
Benteke replaced Coutinho just after the hour mark and while the little maestro has not been at his impish best it could just have easily been any member of the Liverpool midfield who had thus far been part of an average performance. That said, there were now two strikers up top.
Perhaps for the first time in open play a Liverpool player in the shape of Clyne whipped in a beautiful cross only for Benteke to show his ring rust in volleying over from close range.
A great attacking move involving Lallana found it’s way to Benteke whose measured shot hit the base of the post. The resulting corner found saw Lallana’s volley well saved by the sprawling Ryzhikov.
If Portnyagin had caught his header flush from with 15 minutes to go given our performance in the last third a lost would have been on the cards.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and as the manager as the manager stated, the decision making process in the last third wasn’t up to scratch and 21 shots outside the box lays testimony to that.
There were always going to be teething problems going forward, but we have the right man at the helm to steady the ship.
Man of the match: Adam Lallana – the best of a bad bunch on an average night.
Liverpool:
22 Mignolet, 2, Clyne, 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho, 18 Moreno, 7 Milner, 24 Allen (Lucas – 45 minutes), 23 Can, 20 Lallana, 27 Origi (Firmino – 74 minutes), 10 Coutinho (Benteke – 63 minutes)
Substitutes: 4 K Toure, 9 Benteke, 11 Firmino, 21 Lucas, 33 Lucas, 34 Bogdan, 56 Randall
Rubin Kazan:
1 Ryzkikov, 2 Kuzmin, 5 Kverkvelia, 88 Kambolov, 3 Nabiullin, 27 Ozdoev, 77 Georgiev, 99 Kanunnikov, 10 Marques (Portnyagin – 64 minutes), 61 Karadeniz (Dyadyun – 81 minutes), 11 Devic (Cotugo – 45 minutes)
Substitutes: 4 Lemos, 7 Portyagin, 13 Haghighi, 14 Bilyaletdinov, 21 Cotugono, 22 Dyadyun, 85 Akhmetov
Referee: Robert Schorgenhofer
Saturday, 17 October 2015
Tottenham 0 Liverpool 0 – Excellent point for Klopp’s first game in charge
Blog by dedlfc (David Douglas)
Pre-match thoughts: With all the hype around the new manager Jurgen Klopp it was a game that the media and all of football were looking forward to after the international matches. The LFC fans produced some great banners of support especially the 'We Believe' banner being unfurled before kick off.
With Klopp bringing in his preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 Can finally getting a chance in his preferred midfield role rather than being played out of position as a right sided defender in a back three.
After just three days of training we lost Joe Gomez after he picked up a knee injury playing for the England under 21s and then the further disappointing loss of Danny Ings, both for the rest of the season and with the shock news that Daniel Sturridge had picked up an injury prior to the game Jurgen Klopp with a squad already lacking the services of club captain Jordan Henderson and Christian Benteke.
Jerome Sinclair, Joao Carlos Teixeira, and Conor Randall making the extremely young bench. Our excellent manager Jürgen said everything was cool for Liverpool during his pre-match interview, so we do not worry about these things !!!
The minor changes developed by Klopp could already be seen in our early play in the first 20 minutes with everyone pressing, no one holding on to the ball, and just a general, switched on feel which is pretty obvious throughout the team. Full throttle football.
Liverpool almost took a deserved lead for their hard work and endeavour when Milner swung over the Reds corner flicked on by Emre Can toward Origi at the far post who headed against the underside of the crossbar with Hugo Lloris beaten. The young Belgian missed a clear opportunity to put Liverpool ahead..
Around the 25th minute mark, Spurs' counterpunches started to take effect and gaps started appearing in Liverpool's defence. Mignolet saved superbly and Sakho with his immense presence blocked Alli's goal bound shot. Klopp began to gesticulate recognising Spurs were beginning to work their way into proceedings.
Halftime: The Klopp effect is real and slowly signs of us being visibly energized, still the old problems of giving the ball away lightly remain with two such instances meaning that Mignolet had to earn his keep by making to very good saves.
Spurs are also a decent team that have grown into the game. Perhaps even to the point where they had the better of the first half.
The second half was not as enthralling as the first half with both sides struggling in the attacking thirds of the pitch.
Perhaps its a matter of wanting to see things we've been told to expect, but Liverpool's players truly seem more adept at quickly stepping up for their tackles. Doesn't guarantee they come off, but the decision to change the play is already a much quicker process across the board.
Throughout the second half we looked like we were crying out for a change.
Coutinho or Origi perhaps most deserving of being sacrificed, but who to bring on? Joe Allen (with his new bearded look) for Adam Lallana, who looks like he'll take to Klopp's system just fine, thanks.
There were late chances for Harry Kane and Emre Can respectively but overall Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool FC can walk away with a very encouraging point in our first game under the charismatic German.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Dembele, Alli, Lamela(Townsend), Eriksen, Chadli (N'Jie), Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Winks, Davies.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Can, Lucas, Milner, Coutinho (Ibe), Lallana(Allen), Origi.
Subs: Toure, Bogdan, Randall, Sinclair,
Man of the match: Sakho – outstanding at the back won all his aerial battles and played intelligent balls into midfield when required.
Special mention for Lucas who worked tirelessly for the team and Lallana who had a good first game under new management.
In my opinion Divock Origi was disappointing throughout apart from one very good run down the right wing. He didn’t hold up the play enough to get his colleagues to join him further up the pitch and was also very slow to react to situations that occurred which could have resulted in further chances being created for the team.
Pleased with the result mainly because we at the moment do not have any depth in our squad for strikers.
Sturridge again being injured is a massive worry as we do not seem to score goals to win games unless he scores.
KLOPP'S THOUGHTS - POST MATCH
Jurgen’s Klopp’s post match thoughts after the point at Spurs:-“I’m satisfied with the start and it was not the worst sign.“I knew we only had three days and Tottenham are very strong, a well-tuned team, so I knew it could be difficult.
But I’m really satisfied because the start was brilliant and we surprised them a little bit – we wanted to go on the second ball.“Divock, Phil [Coutinho] and Adam [Lallana] worked perfectly in the three, good positions for them. They did well.
The problem was that when we had the ball, we were not cool enough and we didn’t use our skills. We were a little bit too hectic. We didn’t see the right option, but it’s normal.“We had our moments.
From a very good corner we hit the post and there were some other situations where we could have been a little bit better, but for today it’s okay.“Now we have our own game, our own experience, together and now we can go on working.
”Klopp feels today’s game could provide a solid basis moving forward. “Football is a results sport, so we need results, but we have to try to improve,” he continued. “We have to try together, work together and do the things better that we want to see. That’s what we are doing at the moment.
“A nought on the right side [of the scoreline] is okay, for sure, but on the other side it doesn’t give you the same feeling.“I know Liverpool have not scored the most goals this season, but football can be enjoyable and spectacular without goals if you play well and have good moments.
Of course, our target is to have the nil on the right side and on the other side, another number! “For the moment, it’s more important for development to become stable. We needed Mignolet and a very strong game from him [today], but we can make it better when we play better football.
We are able to play better football but today, after three days [training], it is okay.
”Klopp had words of praise for Origi, who marked his first Barclays Premier League start with an encouraging performance in attack. The manager revealed he had previously been interested in taking the young striker to Borussia Dortmund, and believes he has a bright future ahead of him at Anfield.
“I wanted to take him to Dortmund but Liverpool bought him,” explained Klopp. “He is a very good player. “He is young, very fast, a good technician. At this moment, he’s not full of experience in the game because he hasn’t played so often, but we will have fun with this player, for sure.
”Meanwhile, journalists quizzed Klopp on the emotion of overseeing his first match in charge of Liverpool.
He replied: “It was good. It’s not important to talk too much about me, but of course it was my first match as a manager in the Premier League, coming with Liverpool to White Hart Lane, and we enjoyed it.
“We’re not here to enjoy it and once the whistle went at the start, we were in the game – but before, I tried to look at the things I’ve never seen before. Now we are in and working.”
Final mention for former Everton player and manager Howard Kendall who died today at 69. Kendall who with the legendary Alan Ball and Colin Harvey formed the Holy Trinity midfield which drove Everton to the League title in 1970. As manager from 1981-87 he led the Blues into a golden period capturing 2 League titles, a Cup Winners Cup and a FA Cup - our condolences to his family and friends - great player, great manager and obvious from all the tributes from the football family great man. RIP Howard Kendall.
Pre-match thoughts: With all the hype around the new manager Jurgen Klopp it was a game that the media and all of football were looking forward to after the international matches. The LFC fans produced some great banners of support especially the 'We Believe' banner being unfurled before kick off.
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| WE BELIEVE in Klopp banner unfurled before Klopp's first game |
With Klopp bringing in his preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 Can finally getting a chance in his preferred midfield role rather than being played out of position as a right sided defender in a back three.
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| Klopp faces the camera in the dugout as LFC manager |
After just three days of training we lost Joe Gomez after he picked up a knee injury playing for the England under 21s and then the further disappointing loss of Danny Ings, both for the rest of the season and with the shock news that Daniel Sturridge had picked up an injury prior to the game Jurgen Klopp with a squad already lacking the services of club captain Jordan Henderson and Christian Benteke.
Jerome Sinclair, Joao Carlos Teixeira, and Conor Randall making the extremely young bench. Our excellent manager Jürgen said everything was cool for Liverpool during his pre-match interview, so we do not worry about these things !!!
The minor changes developed by Klopp could already be seen in our early play in the first 20 minutes with everyone pressing, no one holding on to the ball, and just a general, switched on feel which is pretty obvious throughout the team. Full throttle football.
Liverpool almost took a deserved lead for their hard work and endeavour when Milner swung over the Reds corner flicked on by Emre Can toward Origi at the far post who headed against the underside of the crossbar with Hugo Lloris beaten. The young Belgian missed a clear opportunity to put Liverpool ahead..
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| Origi misses a great chance from the rebound off the bar |
Around the 25th minute mark, Spurs' counterpunches started to take effect and gaps started appearing in Liverpool's defence. Mignolet saved superbly and Sakho with his immense presence blocked Alli's goal bound shot. Klopp began to gesticulate recognising Spurs were beginning to work their way into proceedings.
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| Klopp barks out instructions to his players |
Halftime: The Klopp effect is real and slowly signs of us being visibly energized, still the old problems of giving the ball away lightly remain with two such instances meaning that Mignolet had to earn his keep by making to very good saves.
Spurs are also a decent team that have grown into the game. Perhaps even to the point where they had the better of the first half.
The second half was not as enthralling as the first half with both sides struggling in the attacking thirds of the pitch.
Perhaps its a matter of wanting to see things we've been told to expect, but Liverpool's players truly seem more adept at quickly stepping up for their tackles. Doesn't guarantee they come off, but the decision to change the play is already a much quicker process across the board.
Throughout the second half we looked like we were crying out for a change.
Coutinho or Origi perhaps most deserving of being sacrificed, but who to bring on? Joe Allen (with his new bearded look) for Adam Lallana, who looks like he'll take to Klopp's system just fine, thanks.
There were late chances for Harry Kane and Emre Can respectively but overall Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool FC can walk away with a very encouraging point in our first game under the charismatic German.
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| Klopp applauding the travelling LFC away fans at Spurs |
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Dembele, Alli, Lamela(Townsend), Eriksen, Chadli (N'Jie), Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Winks, Davies.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Can, Lucas, Milner, Coutinho (Ibe), Lallana(Allen), Origi.
Subs: Toure, Bogdan, Randall, Sinclair,
Man of the match: Sakho – outstanding at the back won all his aerial battles and played intelligent balls into midfield when required.
 |
| Sakho - My man of the match - excellent performance |
Special mention for Lucas who worked tirelessly for the team and Lallana who had a good first game under new management.
In my opinion Divock Origi was disappointing throughout apart from one very good run down the right wing. He didn’t hold up the play enough to get his colleagues to join him further up the pitch and was also very slow to react to situations that occurred which could have resulted in further chances being created for the team.
Pleased with the result mainly because we at the moment do not have any depth in our squad for strikers.
Sturridge again being injured is a massive worry as we do not seem to score goals to win games unless he scores.
KLOPP'S THOUGHTS - POST MATCH
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| The Normal One analyses his team's first performance |
Jurgen’s Klopp’s post match thoughts after the point at Spurs:-“I’m satisfied with the start and it was not the worst sign.“I knew we only had three days and Tottenham are very strong, a well-tuned team, so I knew it could be difficult.
But I’m really satisfied because the start was brilliant and we surprised them a little bit – we wanted to go on the second ball.“Divock, Phil [Coutinho] and Adam [Lallana] worked perfectly in the three, good positions for them. They did well.
The problem was that when we had the ball, we were not cool enough and we didn’t use our skills. We were a little bit too hectic. We didn’t see the right option, but it’s normal.“We had our moments.
From a very good corner we hit the post and there were some other situations where we could have been a little bit better, but for today it’s okay.“Now we have our own game, our own experience, together and now we can go on working.
”Klopp feels today’s game could provide a solid basis moving forward. “Football is a results sport, so we need results, but we have to try to improve,” he continued. “We have to try together, work together and do the things better that we want to see. That’s what we are doing at the moment.
“A nought on the right side [of the scoreline] is okay, for sure, but on the other side it doesn’t give you the same feeling.“I know Liverpool have not scored the most goals this season, but football can be enjoyable and spectacular without goals if you play well and have good moments.
Of course, our target is to have the nil on the right side and on the other side, another number! “For the moment, it’s more important for development to become stable. We needed Mignolet and a very strong game from him [today], but we can make it better when we play better football.
We are able to play better football but today, after three days [training], it is okay.
”Klopp had words of praise for Origi, who marked his first Barclays Premier League start with an encouraging performance in attack. The manager revealed he had previously been interested in taking the young striker to Borussia Dortmund, and believes he has a bright future ahead of him at Anfield.
“I wanted to take him to Dortmund but Liverpool bought him,” explained Klopp. “He is a very good player. “He is young, very fast, a good technician. At this moment, he’s not full of experience in the game because he hasn’t played so often, but we will have fun with this player, for sure.
”Meanwhile, journalists quizzed Klopp on the emotion of overseeing his first match in charge of Liverpool.
He replied: “It was good. It’s not important to talk too much about me, but of course it was my first match as a manager in the Premier League, coming with Liverpool to White Hart Lane, and we enjoyed it.
“We’re not here to enjoy it and once the whistle went at the start, we were in the game – but before, I tried to look at the things I’ve never seen before. Now we are in and working.”
Final mention for former Everton player and manager Howard Kendall who died today at 69. Kendall who with the legendary Alan Ball and Colin Harvey formed the Holy Trinity midfield which drove Everton to the League title in 1970. As manager from 1981-87 he led the Blues into a golden period capturing 2 League titles, a Cup Winners Cup and a FA Cup - our condolences to his family and friends - great player, great manager and obvious from all the tributes from the football family great man. RIP Howard Kendall.
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