Totally agree, this was a performance that introduced us to the Premier
league. To score 3 goals ( almost 4) all from open play v the best team in the
country who only conceded 16 (?) at home last season was remarkable
Like many pre game I just did want us to get outclassed, by the end I was
gutted we did not get at least one point All this with our captain and
organiser missing
It will be the results against the lower teams, not liverpool, man city etc
that will define our season, and if we play like that against them, starting v
Fulham we will be fine.
One thing that did piss me off was the lack of knowledge from so called experts
- whilst they, quite rightly gave us lots of praise, some comments showed
total ignorance of Bielsaball. Souness , knob, was the worst offender, asking
if we had a big squad ( we purposely do not! ) then saying we can't keep this
high pressure game all season, welll we have managed to do it for 48 and 46
games in the last 2 seasons so 36 will be easy ( whilst the results collapsed 2
seasons ago the level of intensity and performance did not)
Feeling much happier and more confident now than before kick off
Just gutted that we cant be there . I saw a quote today that sums it up "
football used to be 7 hours with lots of mates, now it is 90 minutes with one
other person"
Dave
On Sunday, 13 September 2020, 08:57:30 BST, Richard Walker via Leedslist
<[email protected]> wrote:
What a day, what a game. Everything I write here should be taken in context of
around 6 pints of Ilkley Pale Ale. I haven't watched the goals back and refuse
to watch Lineker and co with their dull 'expert' opinions.
The main question for me is, was Liverpool's defence shit or was it that the
way they play completely suited our play ? At times it was like watching the
Arsenal defence from the 80s in the way they pushed up nearly to the half way
line to play the off side trap. I haven't seen that for a while and I wonder if
other PL teams play this way ? Hope so.
We started nervously and it looked like we were on for a hiding as we didn't
appear to know how to mark them. Not surprising given we had a young lad making
his central defensive debut and Koch making his debut. We couldn't get our game
going at all but then all of a sudden we broke free and scored with a great
goal from Harrison. Philips pass was good but Harrison still had to control it
and beat his man which he appeared to do with one touch. Fantastic.
After that, we seemed to pass through them as if they weren't there. They
seemed to allow us to play, we had loads of space and when we didn't, we made
space with simple one-twos. They seemed bewildered. They didn't appear to know
how to handle us which I found incredible. We could have scored more in that
first half. Harrison, after scoring a blinder, then reverted to type when all
he had to do was square the ball to an unmarked Bamford but hit the first man.
Frustrating. Costa had a goal disallowed which was a very tight decision and
then Bamford was put through and I shouted "dink it over him with your right
foot' but in typical Bamford style he didn't and lost out after taking the ball
wide. 10 mins later he was in exactly the same position. I didn't bother
shouting at the TV cos I knew what was going to happen however, unbelievably he
dinked the keeper with his right foot into the net. Great goal which reminded
me that Bamford, despite his poor performances last season, is a decent player
and maybe this division will suit him more than when he was up against the 6ft
2" hoof it central defenders in the championship.
The next big question is are we going to struggle big time this season with set
pieces ? Liverpool's set pieces were on a different level and it looked like
they would score every time. I think there's a load of work to do there and I
can't help think we need another centre back.
Overall, I thought this was a great performance. They got lucky with 2
penalties and we definitely deserved a point. I'm fascinated to see whether a
lot of games will be like this in the PL or will games against the bottom teams
be more cagey ? Early days. Fulham will tell us more
Scores:
Meisler - 7. I'm not sure he did anything wrong and he did make a couple of top
drawer saves. Maybe he could have come and attacked the ball for their headed
goal but I think that was Koch's man.
Ayling - 8. Again, I'm not sure he did much wrong and actually contributed lots
going forward. His performance surprised me because he was one of several
players who I thought would struggle in the PL.
Dallas - 8. Had a really tough time defending at times but he stuck at it and
did well. Going forward he was energetic and fast moving.
Koch - 5. I've seen worse central defensive debuts (Fairclough and Rio) bt in
those early minutes he did look lost. I thought he was unlucky with the pen but
should have ensured he stuck with his man for their goal from the corner. I
thought he grew into the game and he looks to me like he's got the ability. We
will see.
Struijk - 5. It's the first time he's played with Koch (now that's a funny
sentence) so it wasn't surprising to see a lot of uncertainty in that first
half but like Koch he grew into the game and he won a lot of headers and made a
lot of clearances. He can also play a bit. Whether he's ready for the PL as a
central defender ? Not sure.
Philips - 7. I thought he did well overall with some good passing,link up play
and freekick but like we saw in the England game he lost possession a number of
times mainy due to his lack of acceleration over 10 yards when the ball seems
to get away from him.
Klich - 8. Great goal, lots of running but he didn't do an awful lot in the
first half for me.
Costa - 7. Great pass for Klich's goal (if he meant it ?) Had a couple of runs
and he did put the ball in the net but as usual at times he didn't make the
most of his possession.
Hernandez - 5. I could be wrong here but did Pablo struggle ? It looked like it
to me. I can't remember a significant contribution ?
Harrison - 8. I'm giving him 8 mainy for the goal but after that he was quiet.
Bamford - 8. Great goal, should have got one earlier but looked lively and
seemed to enjoy his extra time on the ball
Subs:
Rodrigo - I think he might have been involved in the build up play for Klich's
goal but his only real contribution was to stick out his leg and give away a
pen. Stupid.
Roberts - looked lively
Shack - typical terrier , running to the last minute.
Liverpool were there for the taking. We didn't but we definitely showed that we
can survive in this league .... hopefully
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