Tactical Breakdown: Midtjylland 1-1 Liverpool
With Liverpool's qualification from the group stage of the Champions League settled prior to MatchDay 6, most fans were looking forward to a game with no significant consequences, in which they could put their feet up and enjoy the reigning Premier League champions' second team play against Danish champions, FC Midtjylland.
Liverpool set out in their usual 4-3-3. Kelleher retained the gloves, with Alisson still injured. Ahead of him was a back four of Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Williams and Tsmikas. The …
Jota's emergence springs Firmino back into life for Liverpool
The real Roberto Firmino, or at least something close to it, has returned.
The Brazilian has had a 2020 to forget on an individual footballing level, even if he was crowned a Premier League champion during the middle part of the year.
That Club World Cup-clinching goal against Flamengo last December feels like a lifetime ago now, when Firmino was in excellent form and clinched yet more silverware for his club.
While others have had major impacts for Liverpool throughout …
FC Midtjylland vs Liverpool Preview - Final group game presents opportunity for squad players to impress Klopp
THE DETAILS
Venue - Arena Herning, Herning
Referee - Francois Letexier (FRA)
Date & Time - Wednesday, December 9th 2020 @ 17:55
Current Odds - FC Midtjylland 5/2, Draw 14/5, Liverpool 1/1
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With crowds gradually returning to games around Europe, it's possible that Anfield could be in for some more memorable European nights between now and May. Wednesday evening, Liverpool have the opportunity to give some game-time to more of the fringe players in the squad.
The group is …
Jurgen Klopp and Five Substitutions
You know when you’re ordering a takeaway and you add on some last-minute spare ribs or something? They’re a nice little option, but it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t eat them. However, if someone said you can’t order them as you don’t eat them all, you’d be annoyed, I reckon. Well, I would anyway.
Anyway, that is how I think Jurgen Klopp views the five substitute situation. Just because he wants the option doesn’t mean he …
Liverpool Academy Efficiency Highlighted in Ajax Win
With justification, Ajax are considered one of the best talent producing clubs in world football.
Footballing luminaries such as Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and Wesley Sneijder, among many others, have cut their footballing teeth in the Amsterdam club's academy system.
But in Liverpool's 1-0 Champions League victory over Ajax last Tuesday, it was the Merseyside club's homegrown players who stood up and tilted the game in the favour of the Anfield team.
Caoimhin Kelleher, Curtis Jones and …
Fabinho Proving Himself As Top Class Liverpool Defender
After taking a few months to settle into his new surroundings after his move from Monaco, Fabinho has consistently been brilliant for Liverpool since joining the club from Monaco in the summer of 2018.
As the teams defensive midfield general, the long-legged Brazilian played a prominent role in the Reds having the best Premier League defence in the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons, campaigns where the club won the Champions League and Premier League respectively.
And now, thanks to an injury …
Liverpool Win The Jota & Werner Transfer Saga
Liverpool's second choices in the transfer market have come up trumps in recent years.
In the summer of 2016, the Reds were heavily linked with a move for Mario Gotze, a player who enjoyed his best footballing days under the management of Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund. The German, however, opted to rejoin Dortmund from Bayern Munich. Klopp wasted no time and decided to push for a move for Sadio Mane from Southampton.
Since then, the Senegalese winger has become …
Tactical Breakdown: Brighton 1-1 Liverpool
Before looking at tactics I think it's important to preface any tactical discussion within the unique circumstances players, managers and clubs find themselves in, especially Liverpool FC.
Jürgen Klopp's team is currently in the midst of a season in which their pre-season was disrupted, their transfer plans unexpectedly affected and in which games are being played at a faster rate than I can write them up. The nature of this campaign has resulted in a number of decisions being made …
Injuries and VAR distract from below-par performances
It's hard to believe that Liverpool are on the cusp of the Round of 16 in the Champions League and sitting pretty among the early pace-setters in the Premier League.
Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Brighton certainly detracted from what has been a solid start to the season.
Yes, it was a draw away at a side you would expect Liverpool to be beating, but it really should have been a win for Klopp's side.
An incredibly unjust penalty decision …
Neco Williams And The Toxic Culture of Scapegoating
Liverpool, as a collective, were poor in their 2-0 defeat at Anfield to Atalanta in the Champions League this past week.
Jurgen Klopp -- wary of the physical toll that a stupidly compacted season will take on his players -- made a raft of changes and his team, predictably played with a lack of synergy and rhythm.
The Italians, with their aggressive man-marking system, were given a lot of latitude to impose themselves physically by the Spanish referee in a …