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The Liverpool FC Thread XIV

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Reply 6180

A Mysterious Lord

Worried about Sunday now, no Hendo and no Can (suspension).

Reply 6181

Mackay

Sakho and Origi excellent tonight.

I was a little disappointed by Dortmund, in truth. I thought they started the game very wayward, and sloppy, and were too intricate going forward. They are guilty of over-elaborating their play at times.

That said, this Dortmund side always have a chance in them - and plenty of goals. That's why I'm so delighted in the former's performance. He was a colossus. He was great at throwing himself in front of shots, sacrificing his body in a Carragher-esque manner. I thought he tired and diminished towards the end, namely because of the amount of pressure and scrutiny he was under throughout the course of the 90, but he and Lovren are such a solid partnership and show real promise for next season, along with the incoming Matip.

Origi completely repaid Klopp's faith in him. He was tireless in his running, and he created a bit of luck with the goal in the form of a deflection, but it was a great moment. I think we can look back at tonight as a landmark performance from him. I'm glad he got the nod over Sturridge, but I'm also glad that Sturridge himself showed quality with that late devilish run into the Dortmund box, and by all accounts, he was the first up on his feet applauding Origi.

There are worries. Henderson's form - albeit with an injury - is concerning. He was really poor tonight, overworking himself to the detriment of the team. His heart and desire cannot be questioned, but I wonder if it's ill-advised. We were better with Joe Allen on the pitch tonight, and I felt our midfield was bypassed quite commonly by Dortmund. Regularly, one ball sliced us open in the middle of the park.

Can was affected by the early booking, I think. He didn't seem as brave as usual, but Milner added grit and steel in the middle and laid on Origi's goal. On nights like tonight, his experience is crucial.

Each and every time Mignolet conducted a Cruyff turn, I **** myself. That said, our defence wasn't a problem tonight - though I was gutted with the nature of the Dortmund equaliser, given my dislike for zonal set-piece defending.

Hummels must be one of the most over-rated defenders in Europe, by the way. Julian Wiegl, though. What a future he has.

In many ways, this is probably my favourite of our performances post-Christmas. We neutralised Dortmund, out-played them at times, and got a vital away goal. The atmosphere was excellent, and I'm sure Tuchel's men will have a goal in them next week at Anfield, so Origi's goal was crucial.

I'm glad Klopp was proven right for trusting his judgement and backing Origi. Perhaps that shows the way this team will go when Klopp gets to build and fashion it in his ilk? Origi's running in the first half made Sahin's introduction vital for Dortmund.

A very positive result and performance, and one which stands us in good stead.

Reply 6182

fallen_acorns

if you guys win and get CL football..

and united dont, despite being ahead of you..

I would enjoy that a lot.

Reply 6183

Lúcio

Original post by fallen_acorns

if you guys win and get CL football..

and united dont, despite being ahead of you..

I would enjoy that a lot.

It's probably a good thing for England we knocked them out because as disappointing as Dortmund were, they would've no doubt thrashed United in that match. They were poor but we still needed several world class blocks and a few good Mignolet saves.

That was one of the most organised and disciplined Liverpool sides I've seen this season, no way United are replicating that.

Reply 6184

difeo

Original post by Lúcio

and there's no way we could've done that, with our defence and keeper who are better than yours

Reply 6185

Lúcio

Original post by difeo

and there's no way we could've done that, with our defence and keeper who are better than yours

Tfw baited in 13 minutes :wink:

Not about individual quality, or else Dortmund would've destroyed us.
It's about discipline and desire - our defence might not be as good but we were solid last night. Significantly moreso than anything you would've put together :smile:

Reply 6186

difeo

Original post by Lúcio

Tfw baited in 13 minutes :wink:

Pls

That's my point, our defence is far more solid than yours (2nd best in the league vs 11th) so there's no basis to that prediction, just salt.

Add in our great (W3D2L1) record vs the top 4 and we'd have probably won, given how poor Dortmund were.

Reply 6187

Vae

Original post by Mackay

Hummels must be one of the most over-rated defenders in Europe, by the way.

He was good yesterday and I feel like the criticism can only come from how he looked in the goal. He was wrong to leave the line and go out to Origi, but that wasn't the main/only mistake in this goal looking at Piszczek, and Bender, who should have moved. He repayed himself with scoring anyway and was doing well otherwise, particularly in the second half, with some very delicious passing, e.g., that one to Castro. One of Dortmund's best players yesterday overall, despite not being 100% health-wise before the match, and he is only continuing his great form.

Reply 6188

Mackay

Forgot to mention Lallana in my earlier post. I think it's easy to look past what he does for us, not least because of his lack of numbers in the final third, but I thought he worked tirelessly - especially in the second half.

He ran and ran, and bore a huge chunk of our toil in the final third. Coutinho and he didn't seem to influence the game much to the naked eye, though, admittedly.

Reply 6189

Mackay

Original post by Vae

I've always thought his defending was suspect, personally. I'm not doubting that he has an ability to influence his team's attacks by crisp passing - and even a penchant for attacking the ball at an attacking set-piece - but from what I've seen he always looks suspect when up against a striker who is quick on the turn.

The attempt to outjump Milner just exacerbated my beliefs, to be honest.

Reply 6190

swirly

Apparently Lovren gave it to Weidenfeller long dick style?

Thoughts? Just can't see it imo

Reply 6191

Parties in LA

Moreno (?) lazy to get out for the short corner?

Klopp did well, nothing special tactically for this individual match but it can be seen as a benchmark for the progression of our pressing. They missed Gundogan but the rest of the team would largely have been used to playing against pressing teams and yet Hummels was the only one who came out with any credit, Sahin too maybe. Couldn't see properly because of how the camera panned but I wonder how much space was in between the midfield and the defence. Mkhi started taking advantage of it towards the end of the first half.

I still have Dortmund as marginal favourites for the tie. Yesterday was a colossal effort but we'll have to match it.

Reply 6192

Zerforax

Original post by Parties in LA

I think Mkhi had a lot of joy because Dortmund played a very 4-2-3-1 with Mkhi going into that central role behind the striker which meant he could go back to the midfield or go forward to attack whereas our midfield were more in a horizontal line across the middle. Usually in Europe teams have tended to drop a DM in that gap to counter the attacking midfielder. Think it was a lot to do with being a spare man in that area than just being a huge gap?

Reply 6193

Zerforax

Arsenal are generating more match‑day revenue than any club in the world, making over £100m from the Emirates Stadium last year. Manchester United made £87.96m from Old Trafford, Chelsea made £71.84m from Stamford Bridge. Liverpool made £57.85m from Anfield and Tottenham made £41.83m from White Hart Lane. West Ham made £19.9m from Upton Park, which holds 35,000.

Wonder what our stadium revenues will increase to once the expansion is finished.

Obviously Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham are all looking to move/redevelop to increase their revenues too.

Reply 6194

mr tim

Henderson out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament damage. No surgery required.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6195

ClockEnderAFC

Original post by mr tim

Henderson out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament damage. No surgery required.

England's hopes at the euros have just been rekindled.

Reply 6196

Zerforax

Original post by mr tim

Henderson out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament damage. No surgery required.

That's a shame and it probably doesn't help his chances to improve any opinion Klopp might hold of him. Milner in midfield or Allen? Lucas back soon but I can't see Klopp opting for a Can/Lucas pairing..

Maybe Allen can improve his value by a few million with half a dozen good performances to the end of the season..

Original post by ClockEnderAFC

England's hopes at the euros have just been rekindled.

Lol because Wilshere might play instead? :rofl:

The ultimate problem for this summer is Roy Hodgson who will in turn pick a terrible team based around Rooney.

Reply 6197

samir12

Allen can take his place, he can actually provide some control in midfield. Think Henderson has only been getting into the first XI with his captaincy imo. He hasn't been good enough this season, not really his fault due to injuries but Allen has been more consistent than him.