During the
warm up it was apparent Liverpool’s goalkeeping coach was attempting to
recreate the pressure Karius could expect from set pieces stepping in front of
the keeper and attempting to bustle the young German out of his stride. Warm ups and the intensity of game itself are
two separate entities. Karius will hopefully
get better over time, but he still needs strong defensive protection.
The intensity
of our play is what helps us to continuously flow forward and with the cutting
edge of Mane, Lallana, Firmino and the leader of the pack Coutinho, Liverpool
have a cutting edge par excellence.
The spark
of brilliance gives us that unpredictability, especially when we set-up as
counter-punchers. The fab four are unquestionably
the most explosive attacking force in the league with poise, verve and
inventiveness the watchwords of their very existence.
The first
goal was an example of our flamboyance and flourish. From deep in the own half Liverpool roared
out of defence. Coutinho feinted a dummy to release Can charging forward, who
found Firmino to the affectionate shouts of “go on Bobby” bellowing from the
Kop. The Brazilian now key a member not only
of the attacking quartet, but of the mind set and heartbeat of Klopp’s revolution, found Mane on the far past with lovely a lipped ball who clinically side-footed
home with precision.
The second
goal was different in creation, but the finish was equally adept. Put under pressure West Brom keeper Foster’s poor
clearance allowed Liverpool to regain possession, with Mane finding
Coutinho. The Brazilian left the defender
for dead cutting inside with a beautiful change of direction before guiding
home his shot with a flourish of his talented right foot.
Saves by
Foster, a sensational block by Olsson and Liverpool being profligate in front
of goal meant West Brom were always one goal away from turning hope into
reality.
Chadi shot wide
from barely 10 yards and Morrison curled just over. It was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable
in the Kop and Vicki, fellow supporter alongside me like most of the crowd were
beginning to feel the pressure as the tension began to rise.
Morrison
and Robson-Kanu replacing Phillips and McClean respectively, enabled West Brom
to an gain an assemblance of possession in the final quarter and they began to
grow in confidence with Liverpool looking to protect their lead.
Karius from
being a bystander was forced to pull off a close range save from McAuley as once
again we struggled to deal with our achilles heel from dead ball situations.
Inevitably, nine minutes from time West Brom broke through from a corner.
The corner
swung in from the left caused the defence to go into the flux and the ball fell to the unmarked McAuley, who sent a blistering shot into the back of the
net from six yards.
Liverpool
attacking instinct would not be denied and Firmino should have killed the game
off after being sent thorough by Wijnaldum, sent on for Lalllana, only to see
Foster pull of yet another great block.
The
remaining minutes saw a critical block from Lovren from Chadli’s shot and
Henderson booked for dissent with the Liverpool captain over emotive in feeling
the pressure of possibly throwing away a golden chance.
The final whistle
couldn’t have come too soon with Liverpool scrabbling across the line.
Man of the Match:
Philippe Coutinho – Once again Liverpool’s surgeon general operated with
his now expected precision in the final third.
His stop start staccato style is unique in the Premier League and is acquiring
admiring glances throughout Europe as he begins to add consistency to his
burgeoning talents. His goal was taken
with the style and guile one has now come to expect from a player who is now
the de facto leader of Liverpool simply through the expression of his
sublime talents.
We do have
a problem and it’s not just the obvious one of giving away superfluous goals,
especially when seemingly in full control of games. The inability to win central
midfield battles, as in the first half against Man United, makes one wonder
whether the future lies away from the Henderson plus one axis. The chance may come earlier than had been
expected with Henderson receiving a one match ban for picking up his fifth
yellow card.
One can
only hope that Karius grows into the role as European goalkeepers tend to struggle
initially in the Premier League, specifically because they are called upon to
be more dominant in the area.
With
Liverpool struggling to defend set pieces one wonders whether Mamadou Sakho is
in the manager’s thoughts as his propensity to attack headers defensively is
something which we are badly lacking, keeping only one clean sheet in the last
11 matches. The indiscipline in defence
is the reason why we are second and not top due to goal difference and if we
learned anything from the 2013-14 season, it’s that the tendency to leak goals
will be costly in the long run in trying to win a league.
With
Liverpool’s attacking quartet having played out the majority of the match,
Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie against Spurs could present the opportunity for Klopp to
return Danny Ings to the fold with the former Burnley player’s recent
spectacular scoring exploits in the under 23s strongly warranting his
inclusion. With Sturridge, according to
his manager going through a torrid time and Origi necessitating much needed
game time Liverpool could go in to the Spurs cup tie with a strong, but much changed
line-up.
Line-ups:
Liverpool: 1 Karius, 2 Clyne, 32 Matip, 6 Lovren, 7 Milner, 20 Lallana
(Wijnaldum 79 mins), 14 Henderson, 23
Can, 19 Mane (Origi 90+1 mins), 11 Firmino. 10 Coutinho (Lucas 88 mins)
Subs:
5 Wijnaldum, 15 Sturridge, 17 Klavan, 18 Moreno, 21 Lucas, 22 Mignolet,
27 Origi
West Brom:
1 Foster, 25 Dawson, 23 McAuley, 3 Olsson, 2 Nyom, 5 Yacob (Brunt 45
mins). 10 Phillips (Morrison 51 mins), 24 Fletcher , 22 Fletcher, 14 McClean (Robson-Kanu
65 mins), 9 Rondon
Subs: 4 Robson- Kanu, 7 Morrison, 8
Garner, 11 Brunt, 13 Myhill, 20 Galloway, 45 Leko
Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Attendance: 53, 218
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