Liverpool 2 - 0 Rangers - CL Player Ratings
Alisson Becker - 7.0
The weekends man of the (reds) match. He was made to deal with some tricky back-passes early on, but did enough to make sure he wasn’t caught out. Had a busier spell late on, but was determined to keep them at bay.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 8.0
Kept his place despite some poor form, and rewarded his manager with a brilliant early strike. It was a wonderful free kick, and you could see the confidence flow as …
Liverpool's Disjointed Attack
The game against Bournemouth was the first time this season that Liverpool had been able to get Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah involved properly.
Prior to that, the wide forward pairing had struggled to influence proceedings on a consistent basis. Diaz, for example, had taken seven shots in his three Premier League appearances. Across matches against Fulham and Crystal Palace, he had an Expected Goals average of just 0.21.
Granted, the sample size isn’t the largest but it was a …
Liverpool FC 9 - 0 Bournemouth - The Player Ratings
The Starters:
Alisson Becker – 7
Well positioned to clear or gather any slightly overhit long ball, which came in useful once or twice. Didn't have much to do, but did it well.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8
What a strike! Trent looks like he's got something back after an underwhelming start to the season, but today he looked ready to win, and comfortably. Not every pass comes off as envisioned, but he gets enough of the hard ones right, putting …
Liverpool v Bournemouth - A Changing Of The Guard
Jordan Henderson and James Milner need to be dropped, with clear limitations brought into their roles on the pitch. Neither can compete at the Premier League level anymore, and thus youth should be preferred whenever possible. It is not a targeted attack or misdirected opinion to state fact, and continuing poor performances do not lie. If circumstances dictate one of Milly or Hendo must start, then the other should only ever come into the game to replace the other. To …
Salah Salvages a Draw: Man of the Match
Throughout the tightly contested league opener, Salah justified the widespread desire to keep him at the club for years to come. Without the three points, it's harder to relish an impressive display, but an assist and a goal was enough to salvage a point and perhaps catch the imagination of supporters wondering what the Egyptian King might bring to the new campaign.
Luis Diaz looked the likeliest to grab headlines in the first half, but his left-footed effort that hit …
Liverpool v Man City - The First Hurdle
We all know that the community shield is little more than a glorified friendly, but when two particular sides collide, sometimes it brings a little more needle and attention.
Not since the days of Fergie’s Manchester United & Arsene’s Arsenal, have we seen such a long running duel between two English domestic sides. City are without doubt the recent victors overall, but Liverpool remain that relentless element in their side. The on going transfer window has seen both sides evolve …
A Darwin Evolution
This week Darwin Núñez signed as a Liverpool player, in a deal that could eventually reach £85m. The guaranteed outlay is around the £63m mark (£20m upfront), and if the full fee is to be paid to Benfica, then that would be a mark of extreme success by the player. The cost is of course substantial, but then so is the player.
I’ve never really cared who cost this or that, only that the right tools were afforded to our …
Player Ratings for Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea (LFC win 6-5 on penalties)
For the third time under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds outlasted the detestable Chelsea FC in a penalty shootout to lift a trophy into the night sky. While Liverpool once again could not get a win in either regulation or extra time against the Blues, new heroes stepped up to complete the set for Herr Klopp.
Alisson – 8
Shook off a knock in the first half after a clash with Marcos Alonso to put in a composed and vital display. …
Aston Villa 1 - 2 Liverpool - Man Of The Match
Luis Diaz
Low key good performance, in a tough contest. The minutes are mounting, and fatigue is starting to show. Diaz had really good moments, and was brilliant in his delivery for Mane’s goal.
He was perhaps less incisive from the right, but he stretched the play and still looked to run defenders at every opportunity …
Observations: Heroes and Villans
Liverpool made it through a very chaotic game to manage a 2-1 victory against Aston Villa, but it was far from easy. This was incredibly stressful watching, and it started right from the off. Jurgen Klopp will be very irritated by the manner in which the game began, however, as the Reds conceded after just 3 minutes. In the build-up to the goal, Ollie Watkins was clearly offside, but the assistant didn't flag it and play continued. About a minute …