Henderson so bitter 😆

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

I think Liverpool had several big chances, one of them hitting the crossbar, and that Oblak had at least two great saves. Not that it matters much, just glad they're gone.

I forgot the one onto the cross bar tbf!

Who cares though, as you say, they're gone! Let's be glad about that. 🙂

With both this, the FA Cup and not being invincible, they'll never be remembered as one of the greats. Such a relief.

In the future Old Quincy will pull up a rocking chair next to his grandchildren and be all: "Have I ever told you kids who won Premier League back in 2020?" and the wee wide-eyed children will reply: "Wasn't that the year of corona when everyone lost, grandpa Quincy???" And Quincy, busying himself with a mega pack of Werthers Original with a satisfied look on his face, will say: "That's right, that's right" while softly rocking back and forth.

I’m going to watch this game again on weekend.
I thought Atletico were lucky early on. So many good Pool chances. The low Ox shot, Robertson header off the bar, Salah dancing through the crowd and sending it just wide, and the two Mané overhead kicks in quick succession. They had lots of territory but were never able to intimidate Atletico

Very impressed with Felipe tonight. I thought he was solid in the center of their defense.

Even former Man City flop Stefan Savic has looked competent under Simeone.

Claudius wrote:

I’m going to watch this game again on weekend.
I thought Atletico were lucky early on. So many good Pool chances. The low Ox shot, Robertson header off the bar, Salah dancing through the crowd and sending it just wide, and the two Mané overhead kicks in quick succession. They had lots of territory but were never able to intimidate Atletico

yeah but how many times were Pool in a similar position in the league this season? They can't complain.

Watching PSG game. Hakimi just let Neymar glide loose for the first headed goal
Tough for PSG to have to start Cavani ahead of Mbappe after the latter’s throat infection. Cavani isn’t half the player Mbappe is now. Defense can push up and not overly worked

At least there's justice in football. I think they will go on to lose more matches in PL as they struggle to recover the hurt. Didn't realise this is the first time Liverpool is not in the final of a European competition since Klopp took over though, pretty impressive stat.


😆

PSG is embarassing though, putting up fireworks and celebrating like they won the UCL.

Liverpool just played cross and hope all night. Does Klopp think his team are prime Barca?

Clrnc wrote:

Didn't realise this is the first time Liverpool is not in the final of a European competition since Klopp took over though, pretty impressive stat.

They didn't get to a final in 2017, so that stat is wrong.

62 crosses apparently 😆 Moyes would be proud yet Klopp says he doesn't understand why Atletico play like this while they have so many great players. Used to be such a pleasant man but just shows Liverpool is not a club but a mental illness

Two goals in 210 minutes of raging impotent attacks yet their fans think it's all Adrian's fault.

Pathetic from Klopp in his post-match interview last night, and he knew it too.

I saw a stat last night that Alexander-Arnold gave the ball away 41 times! His defending was an embarrassment whenever Atletico went anywhere near him; for Llorente's first goal and Morata's right at the end, the kid shows he has no defensive awareness whatever; he might be able to see a forward pass/cross but he is thick as a brick defensively. Very lucky he plays at a time when there is such an inbalance between the biggest clubs and the rest.

Even then he has 5 measly open play assists in 40 games this season! You would think he's prime Dani Alves the way some of you (and other fans) talk about "Trent". It really bugs me that when he is judged as an attacking fullback his set-piece assists are just thrown into the mix as if they are relevant in any way to his attacking play as a fullback. Yes, he takes a decent to good dead ball, but Liverpool are a good team to take them for because they get an awful lot of them and have some very big guys to hit; van Dijk is almost a cheat code player. There are numerous other players who have better delivery in this league that would get superior numbers if you swapped them in to take them; James Maddison would have about 20 by now!

No one talks about his defending because everyone knows it's shit: even Atletico's turtle paced players were dancing round him on the rare ocassions they got up the pitch, but as an attacking fullback the reason he only has 5 assists in 40 games despite playing for such a dominant team is because he has average pace, very poor acceleration and agility, dodgy close control (which is why a lot of his good passing and crossing comes from deep positions where he gets the time and space on the ball he needs: he'd be completely ineffective if he played as a winger or in midfield where many think he'll end up; he won't), and he couldn't beat a man from a standing start even if said defender was a clone of himself!

I really like his forward passing from deep areas and he is very good at quickly sensing the right area to hit a cross into; those are his great strengths, but the downsides to his attacking game are there and when you stop conflating his overall assists with his open play assists, the numbers bear that out.

Nasty dickhead too. Only reason he isn't regarded as an Alli clone is because Liverpool haven't lost enough for his nastiness to be more in display

In Trent's defense, if he keeps putting in the hard work in training he could be at least half as good as Saka one day.

Trent had a good game. Ran out of juice in the end and didn’t defend well in extra time. He’s the key creative for that team. They leaned too much into him and their lack of midfield spark showed. I would kill to have him on our team.

jones wrote:

Nasty dickhead too. Only reason he isn't regarded as an Alli clone is because Liverpool haven't lost enough for his nastiness to be more in display

What the fuck was he doing when he stood over Joao Felix shouting abuse for literally no reason? Maybe it was because for the first time this season he made a successful sliding tackle and the adrenaline rush was too much for him? Like when you finally beat a boss on a videogame after 100s of attempts. He's utter trash as a human being you can see it in him so clearly. A terrible mixture of stupidity, arrogance and chaviness.

Also van Dijk is such a big fairy. He's a quality defender, don't get me wrong, but he would be the last one into a fight. I especially liked the way he shoved the smallest player on the pitch around in Correa, but had his eyes fixed firmly on the floor whenever Diego Costa came near him. He wouldn't last a second in the era of Campbell, Vieira and Keane. The big pansy.

Ricky1985 wrote:
Clrnc wrote:

Didn't realise this is the first time Liverpool is not in the final of a European competition since Klopp took over though, pretty impressive stat.

They didn't get to a final in 2017, so that stat is wrong.

Stat is correct, every european competition they entered under Klopp they reached the final. They weren't in europe in 2017.

There's a reason why Liverpool is so hated around the world. Just hear this joker


Whenver these cunts lose all the excuses start coming out from their players, managers, ex players, fans etc and it's utterly embarrassing. It's really enjoyable to see them crash and burn. Their fans don't deserve any happiness

Claudius wrote:

Trent had a good game. Ran out of juice in the end and didn’t defend well in extra time. He’s the key creative for that team. They leaned too much into him and their lack of midfield spark showed. I would kill to have him on our team.

He didn't defend well whenever he needed to defend. It just so happens there wasn't an awful lot of it to do until the 75th-80th minute. Watch him for Llorente's first goal: it's staggering. He walks away from him and gives him a completely free shot; no one says a word.

As for being the key creative, I think you really need to watch Salah more closely if you think that. He was incredibly wasteful last night, but every metre of space both Arnold and Chamberlain got was because Salah is so hard to stop one-v-one; pretty much every single dangerous moment Liverpool had involved the Egyptian in a signifcant way.


Liverpool reminds me of the United under Fergie. Crosses galore and plenty of pressure

Watch Pool games and then pick up StatsBomb and look at the stats as the games develop. The leading creator of progression and chances created is this guy. You’re right about Salah, but that’s also indicative of a functioning motion offense. Firmino was also doing what you describe, coming out to the right to attract defensive attention of Lodi and Saul, freeing Alexander-Arnold and Ox to go wide right. They kept doing these plays over and over, eventually pulling Partey out there as well.

Clrnc wrote:

Didn't realise this is the first time Liverpool is not in the final of a European competition since Klopp took over though, pretty impressive stat.

Ricky1985 wrote:

They didn't get to a final in 2017, so that stat is wrong.

Stat is correct, every european competition they entered under Klopp they reached the final. They weren't in europe in 2017.

So Klopp gets credit for finishing 8th in his first season and therefore not making it to Europe at all in his second season?

Ricky1985 wrote:
Clrnc wrote:

Didn't realise this is the first time Liverpool is not in the final of a European competition since Klopp took over though, pretty impressive stat.

Stat is correct, every european competition they entered under Klopp they reached the final. They weren't in europe in 2017.

So Klopp gets credit for finishing 8th in his first season and therefore not making it to Europe at all in his second season?

A bit petty. This guy arrived in October or November to find a disheveled team. Let’s also blame Arteta for not getting into Champs League this year with the remnants of Emery’s gruel. 

TAA is obviously good, but gets ridiculously over rated. In due course it will simmer down. The other week getting compared to Mbappe, and I heard a commentator yesterday say he was the best technician in European football, because he knows how to ping in a cross.

Ray wrote:

TAA is obviously good, but gets ridiculously over rated. In due course it will simmer down. The other week getting compared to Mbappe, and I heard a commentator yesterday say he was the best technician in European football, because he knows how to ping in a cross.

Anyone who compares him to an Mbappe needs a re-up of their prescription. The Owen-Ferdinand crowd fluff up these kids egos too much. He’s an excellent player. I wouldn’t put him in Alves class. Not yet in Cole class even because he’s not a great two way defender, but he’s an incredible attacking fullback. 

Claudius wrote:

Watch Pool games and then pick up StatsBomb and look at the stats as the games develop. The leading creator of progression and chances created is this guy. You’re right about Salah, but that’s also indicative of a functioning motion offense. Firmino was also doing what you describe, coming out to the right to attract defensive attention of Lodi and Saul, freeing Alexander-Arnold and Ox to go wide right. They kept doing these plays over and over, eventually pulling Partey out there as well.

Yes, but the chances created stat is a misnomer as far as the point you're trying to make is concerned; look at any team where there is one player that takes >80% of a team's set-pieces and you will see him at the top of the chances created list too.

Firmino may have pulled out to the right at times, but the difference between he and Salah is Firmino was absolutely appalling whenever he did; it's not about just being out there, it's about how that player impacts the game. Salah drew 2 over because the only way you could get the ball from him was if he messed up (which he did frequently last night tbf), but his driblbing, passing and link-play was a constant threat. He was the difference maker, the creative spark, it was absolutely not Alexander-Arnold, or Chamberlain, or Firmino for that matter. It's crazy talk to say otherwise. It's like calling Bellerin our key creative player because he played a few passes into Pépé, who then attracts 3 guys to him because that's the only way to stop him.

How many dangerous crosses did Alexander-Arnold put in last night? Because I only remember one: midway through the first half when Firmino failed to connect and Oblak made a half decent save. Chamberlain and Wijnaldum both put in crosses that led to goals from that right side, but the first was Salah playing a clever pass and the second was Wijnaldum outrunning Saul on the break, not because of any overload.

I really think set-pieces make Arnold appear more important and prominent than he is. Rio Ferdinand said at half-time that Arnold had "put on a clinic": it's absurd. The reel they then played showed a couple of hopeful long passes, one didn't find its target, a couple of good up the line passes, his one dangerous cross, and then shock horror; corner after corner that Liverpool's dominance had led to them getting. And they got no joy from those all night.

In my opinion, you're seeing something that isn't there. Arnold was not constantly getting in on the overlap: I'm not sure that even happened once in the 120 minutes. He was part of a coordinated attempt to overload the right hand, I agree with that, but he was a minor player; Salah was the key that made that effective, as he pretty much always is.

He lost the ball 41 times in one game and was mainly at fault to two of three goals conceded. That's not a good game Claude.

Claudius wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

So Klopp gets credit for finishing 8th in his first season and therefore not making it to Europe at all in his second season?

A bit petty. This guy arrived in October or November to find a disheveled team. Let’s also blame Arteta for not getting into Champs League this year with the remnants of Emery’s gruel. 

He was appointed at the beginning of October, but that's not the point: I'm not blaming Klopp as such, I'm simply saying the stat makes no sense.

jones wrote:

He lost the ball 41 times in one game and was mainly at fault to two of three goals conceded. That's not a good game Claude.

Did you see him lose the ball 41 times? 

Reading some of the analysis this morning having watched the game last night and pundits and commentary seem completely at odds with what I witnessed. Normally downplay it, but an extraordinary amount of bias on display, whether intentional or not, and seems to have permeated all outlets. Liverpool played at tempo in territory ceded by Atletico, but over 90 minutes they really were ineffective. Was not a battling display or particularly unlucky.

DK Gooner wrote:

Reading some of the analysis this morning having watched the game last night and pundits and commentary seem completely at odds with what I witnessed. Normally downplay it, but an extraordinary amount of bias on display, whether intentional or not, and seems to have permeated all outlets. Liverpool played at tempo in territory ceded by Atletico, but over 90 minutes they really were ineffective. Was not a battling display or particularly unlucky.

It's mind numbing isn't it?

Atletico had a couple of hairy moments, but mostly it was them dealing well with crosses, pot shots from distance or half chances like overhead kicks. This is what they do, it's their bread and butter.

Michael Owen seems to genuinely believe Atletico didn't want the game to go pretty much entirely as it did.

I disagree. Liverpool had an xG of 3, Atletico wanted the game to go as it did in the first game where Liverpool barely had any shots. When the opposition has a high xG it's always safe to say that the tactic didn't go as planned, because the goal will always be to keep xG low and by extension the actual goals against will usually be similar.

https://www.footballcritic.com/features/michael-owen-was-right-about-atletico-but-he-doesnt-understand-why/738

Even with their basic tactics, Liverpool's execution of crosses was really poor. Salah was too greedy with only one real dribble and shot of any real consequence. Mane had limited service and Firminho was a man with Laca amount of confidence. No way they can hold their heads up high after that performance.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

I disagree. Liverpool had an xG of 3, Atletico wanted the game to go as it did in the first game where Liverpool barely had any shots. When the opposition has a high xG it's always safe to say that the tactic didn't go as planned, because the goal will always be to keep xG low and by extension the actual goals against will usually be similar.

https://www.footballcritic.com/features/michael-owen-was-right-about-atletico-but-he-doesnt-understand-why/738

But Atletico would have presumably had a greater xG than Liverpool?

Everyone knew exactly how this game was going to go; Atletico camped deep, cross cross cross from Liverpool, and Atletico, for the most part, defending their box well. Liverpool had one great chance when Robertson/Trippier headed onto the bar, but I stand by what I said last night: Oblak did not make any incredible saves, just a couple of good ones, and he defended his 6 yard box well when crosses and set-pieces came on.

Liverpool had lots of pressure, but that didn't translate into clear-cut chances. Whereas Atletico created 6 or 7 very good openings, took 3 of them and had a goal disallowed. It was hairy in certain moments but that is the same in every single game Atletico play when the result is on the line (a second leg or a final) against a superior team. When they're ahead and the finishing line is in sight, they drop deeper, get narrower and defend their box like Jones' old loveable but demented American Staffordshire Bull Terrier.