We we take a closer look at some of the whys and hows of the
match as the Reds dominated from the off against Leicester City
It was supposed to be ugly. It was supposed to be disjointed.
Instead, it was a lot of fun! Jurgen Klopp has shown himself to be
a lineup mixologist, mixing and matching his way
yet another win at Fortress Anfield. And despite missing a bevy of
the best players in the world, the not exactly ragtag bunch that
took the field today put forth one of the best performances all
season. The Reds were on the front foot from the off, showing a
swaggering attacking verve. Defensively, the squad did a good job
of minimizing chances on the counter by playing a deeper line.
Join us as we try and separate narrative from reality of the
match up and how it all went down in the end.
Winners
Squad DepthNo Jordan Henderson, no Thiago, no
Trent Alexander-Arnold, no Joe Gomex, no <insert name here>.
When Liverpool’s line up came out, it was astonishingly…not
worrying. Sure missing a lot of world class players is rough, but
Liverpool’s recruitment and academy has provided Jurgen Klopp with
enough depth to put an extremely talented side out. Credit also
goes to the coaching staff for having these players ready to step
in and impress against one of the better teams in the league.
Diogo Jota Where to even begin with the
Portuguese dynamo? He was scintillating all game long with his work
on the ball, and yet again he makes the perfect run at the right
time and buried his chance with a fantastic flicked header. He has
a knack for riding a challenge with his low center of gravity and
quick feet, and almost scored a couple more times. He ended the
game with 3 shots on target from 5 total shots, and provided 3 key
passes to boot (stats from whoscored.com).
4 – Diogo Jota is the first player in
Liverpool’s history to score in each of his first four home
top-flight league appearances for the club. Fantastic. pic.twitter.com/AcQ1za4mYE— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 22, 2020
Roberto FirminoThe Brazilian
forward looked like he was on his way to yet another game where he
did everything BUT score at Anfield. His movement was stellar,
creating an open lane for Diogo Jota to run into for his goal.
Firmino also was dynamic on the ball, completing 4 dribbles, and
getting 6 shots off. He hit the post twice and had a ball cleared
off the line before finally powering a header home off of a corner
for the third goal of the game.
Curtis JonesThe young Scouser stepped into a
starting role yet again, and yet again showed he absolutely belongs
as part of the midfield unit on the world and league champions.
Jones was phenomenal tactically today, playing on both the left and
the right of the midfield three. He was positive and incisive with
the ball, both passing and dribbling, when the space was there. He
never forced anything, however, and was content to recycle
possession to switch the point of attack if he didn’t have better
options. He also did a very solid job defensively, tracking back to
make a brilliant tackle on Jamie Vardy
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in the second half, providing support to another youngster, Neco
Williams, when he came in at right back.
Defensive SolidarityIt was a patchwork bunch,
but they got it done. Joel Matip and Fabinho formed yet another
center back partnership, flanked by stalwart Andrew Robertson and jack-of-all-trades James
Milner. Both fullbacks provided stellar service (before Milner
moved into midfield, and continued to provide stellar service a
little further forward). Matip and Fabinho did a very nice job of
keeping the game in front of them, rarely letting the speedy Jamie
Vardy get a run off the back shoulder of either of them. Not to be
left out, Alisson was aggressive off of his line the couple times a
player did get a run through, and made two strong saves
Losers
Naby Keita’s Injury HistoryThe Guinean
midfielder started the game brightly, but yet again succumbed to a
muscle injury in the second half. After sitting out with another
injury and not playing significant minutes since September, Keita
was played 90 minutes twice in a week over the international break.
While that stress on his body after and extended layoff didn’t
help, at this point Naby doesn’t seem like he can be relied upon to
play multiple times a week and recover.
Johnny EvansHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
This is my analysis of Evans scoring an own goal (and repeatedly
getting taken to task).
From The Manager
“Very! He has a new record now as well, the closest to a goal
with goalline technology! Congratulations to him on that!”
-Jurgen Klopp on how happy he is for Bobby Firmino
What Happens Next
Liverpool kicked off yet another extremely packed stretch of
fixtures with their win today. The Reds now sit tied on points at
the top of the table, but are second on goal differential to a
Tottenham team entering a tough stretch of their schedule.
Liverpool continue their Champions
League group stage with the reverse fixture against Atalanta on
Wednesday before returning to league play with the early fixture
away to Brighton on Saturday.