An
impressive start to the season with victories over three top sides and a draw
against another, but confidence coming into our second home game wasn’t total
with the loss away to Burnley creating a fear factor of losing against sides in
the lower half of the division which would expect dispatch, which had so
undermined the 2015-16 campaign.
That being
said there was never any chance of Hull fashioning a win in front of the
Anfield faithful with Klopp’s side dominating from start to finish with Roberto
Firmino returning to League action and Klavan coming in for Lovren reported
ill. Loris Karius came in for his first
Premier League start for the much vilified Simon Mignolet.
To say
Liverpool were barely out of first gear would not be giving enough credit to
our pressing which pinned Hull back in their own half for almost the entire
match. Hull were so pressurised it often
elicited hurried clearances out of bounds or returning possession straight back
to Liverpool. The 5-1 score line
flattered Hull. It should have been ten or more Liverpool dominance new no
bounds with the Coutinho, Mane, Firmino and Lallana in the ascendance.
Matip
leaping high among the challenges met an early corner close in only to see his
effort flash over. Liverpool were
rampant, coming forward in wave upon wave and again spurned a chance to lead
with Lallana finding Mane on the right and he adroitly found Coutinho in the
six-yard box. The Brazilian in a rich vein
of form failed to get hold of his shot allowing Elmohamady time to clear of the
line with the goal at his mercy.
Hull were
being penned in on the edge of the area and the first goal seemed inevitable,
it was just a case of and when. It was
soon to come and when it arrived it was the trade mark fluent football that is
becoming the embodiment of Klopp’s team.
Coutinho, picking up the ball on the left drifted past two defenders, as
he has a penchant for doing, before finding the arriving Adam Lallana whose
scuffed shot found its way into the corner of the net for his third League goal
of the season.
Liverpool
were pouring forward at will and the interchange upfront continued as Firmino
and Lallana linked up down the right with the goal scorer floating the ball to
the back post for the impressive Milner only for Snodgrass to head out for a
corner.
The
devastation Hull were undertaking was almost one-way traffic and just before
the half hour mark another scintillating move resulted in Mane cutting the ball
back for Coutinho. His shot unerringly
homing in on goal was blocked by Elmohamady with his arm, leaving referee Andre
Marriner little option to point to the spot and to dismiss the defender. Hull were down to ten men for the second
successive game.
Milner
stroked home Liverpool’s second of the match and his second of the season.
If there had
been chants of easy, easy from the home crowd it would not been out of place,
because it was. Mane’s shot from just
outside the area deflected of Mason looping over keeper Marshall before
clipping the bar. The same player then
blazed a shot over from inside the area.
Mane may
have been using the two previous attempts to get his eye in as he was soon on
target in no uncertain manner. Lallana,
loitering with intent on the left side of the area, produced his copy of Cruyff’s
trademark turn before finding Mane. With
the attacker given enough time to assess the situation he was allowed to turn
and fire into the bottom corner to all but end Hull’s challenge.
Georginio
Wijnaldum saw a drive parried away by Marshall and was another who spurned a
chance to get himself underway in the scoring charts volleying straight at the
keeper from close range. Wijnaldum also
saw a goal bound header well saved by Marshall as half-time approached.
It seems
almost churlish to criticise, but with a lethal striker upfront like Sturridge particularly
in home games Liverpool could well have been five-up. But, the flipside of that equation is the
argument that the pressure exerted over teams specifically the pressing of the
front five is not helped by having Sturridge in the team. Who’d be a manager?
Unbelievably
or believably if you watch Liverpool enough, five minutes into the second-half
they gifted Hull an avenue back into the game.
From a corner on the right, Hull’s first, the ball dropped down from the
first challenge and even with all our outfield players back in defence, we
failed to react to second phase ball which Meyler slammed home with relish.
Klopp couldn’t
hide his disappointment for the rest of the game because if Liverpool were
going to have a clean sheet in a League game then this was it.
Any hopes
Hull had of an unlikely comeback was snuffed out in seconds.
Coutinho,
receiving the ball slightly to the left dropped his shoulder to leave the
defender floundering, before releasing his hallmark of quality, his curling
right foot finish high into top corner.
Normal service had been resumed and how.
Jurgen Klopp
saw wise to give Sturridge a run out after 69 minutes for Lallana and less than
a minute later his dancing feet caused Robertson consternation to mistime his
tackle and give James Milner another opportunity from the penalty spot which he
accepted with alacrity, shooting to Marshall’s left and under his diving body.
With Liverpool
happy not to raise the intensity too much after the Milner’s second, Klopp used
the final 16 minutes to introduce Can and Grujic into the action for Coutinho
and Henderson, respectively.
As the game
moved to a close, Daniel Sturridge controlled a ball fired into him in an
instance, ghosting past a defender before being closed down at the last as a sixth
goal seemed imminent. In brief moment,
his class shone like Venus the brightest planet in the night sky.
We were well
worth the win and if we could only rid ourselves of the sudden lapses in
concentration, which at the moment are prone to happen at least once a game,
then there is no end to the damage this team could inflict.
Man of the match:
Philippe Coutinho – instrumental in many of the creative moments of the
first half and should have broken the deadlock when he failed to get decent purchase
on his shot from close in. Made up for
it in the second-half with a stunning strike from 20 yards.
Adam Lallana
is growing by the week scoring his third goal of season and assisting for Mane’s
goal with a majestic turn and pass.
Liverpool’s
propensity to give away at least a goal a game was disappointing, especially in
a game where there was very little goal threat from the opposition. Moreover, it’s the lack of concentration
which cost us a win over Spurs which to my mind was more disappointing than the
Burnley loss where we failed to fire in front of goal and something we must eradicate
or sooner or later it will lose us a match.
It was also poor for Karius. On his first League start he barely had anything
to do, but pick the ball out of the net.
Teams:
Liverpool: 1 Karius, 2 Clyne, 32 Matip, 17
Klavan, 7 Milner, 20 Lallana (Sturridge - 69 mins), 14 Henderson (Can – 74 mins),
5 Wijnaldum, 19 Mane, 11 Firmino, 10 Coutinho (Grujic – 74 mins)
Subs: 15 Sturridge, 16 Grujic, 18 Moreno,
21 Lucas, 22 Mignolet, 22 Lucas, 23 Can, 27 Origi
Hull: 23 Marshall, 27 Elmohamady, 14
Livermore, 6 Davies, 3 Robertson, 10 Snodgrass, 8 Huddlestone (Maguire – 45 mins),
11 Clucas, 25 Mason – Henriksen – 73 mins), 20 Dionmande (Meyler – 33 mins),
Hernandez
Subs: Maguire, 7 Meyler, 15 Maloney, 16
Jukupovic, 18 Mbokani Bezua, 19 Keane, 22 Henriksen
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 53,109
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