Football News: Liverpool v Chelsea Review 6 May 2018

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Chelsea vs Liverpool - in a game lacking in real quality this is how I saw things.

Karius - I thought he was poor to be honest. Looked very tetchy, unsure of himself, didn't really dominate his area and didn't dive at all for Giroud's header (which was not that far away from him) . Maybe I'm being harsh, but I was not impressed. His distribution was also poor.

Clyne - anyone still think we should keep this guy? Another game of doing the minimum defensively, doing nothing in attack, with the ball etc, he is a bad player and I can only think that fitness issues for others lead to him starting.

Robertson - probably one of the poorest games he has had for us. Looked rattled and uncomfortable defensively and did little going forward. It was no surprise he was substituted as he was blowing hard and looked really tired. Hopefully he is back to better form against Brighton.

Van Dijk - unimpressed by him for the goal today. Did he usual of pointing at a player for someone else to mark without actually checking whether that player was his responsibility. He should've been on Giroud, instead he left it to Lovren who had two players to cover. Another game were he strolled far too much.

Lovren - was OK and didn't do much wrong in the game. Still looks panicked and flustered at times but he was OK today, one of the few players who don't deserve a tongue lashing for that performance.

TAA - shockingly bad. Was really poor in midfield getting caught out countless times in possession, a few times in dangerous areas. His passing was poor all game long and, whilst he improved when at right back, it was at a stage of the game when Chelsea were sitting deep for the most part. His crossing was off today, in fact everything was. A game to forget for the lad.

Wijinaldum - a weird game for him. In the first half he was horrific on the ball, so slow to make a simple pass that it slowed down our play to a crawl every single time. In the second half he was acting as a holding midfielder - this was an especially bizarre choice as he never once made a decisive tackle. He got too close to Hazard a few times and was easily turned, made few tackles on either Bakayoko or Kante, did the bare minimum 5 yard passes. In short he was awful and as good as invisible. I thought he was good in both legs vs Roma - he was dreadful today.

Milner - another player who had a poor game. Positionally he was all over the place, even before substitutions and being shifted to the left he was on the wings more than he was in the middle and this gave Chelsea control in that area of the pitch. He was clearly tired and seemingly playing with a knock in the first half but he simply did so little well that I don't understand why it took so long to bring him off.

Salah - another player who had an awful game. Heavy first touch, almost zero link up play with his team mates, few if any opportunities and an embarrassing dive that earned him a deserved yellow card. Is going through a bit of a slump at the moment which is worrying.

Mane - easily the best player on the pitch (for us), excellent work rate and energy and the only player who looked like he might make something happen. Had a few decent chances but his finishing wasn't quite good enough to beat Courtois. He is the only player who can have his head held high, he did well. Will say though that his distribution, like many, was wayward too many times.

Firmino - a poor game from Bobby Dazzler as he really failed to get enough space to link up and pull the strings. Was crowded out continually and seemed unable to fashion some magic. When he did have a chance he made the wrong choice at the wrong time and it disrupted what could have been positive moves. He is not alone though - this was a poor team performance.

Subs:

Henderson - did OK but never really got going with his passing, too erratic at times and lacked any sort of killer instinct. Was at a point were Chelsea were mainly sitting deep but, whilst better than TAA there, was far from good.

Solanke - it might just be me but I cannot see the value of having a player come off the bench who looks like he is never going to score. He does get himself into dangerous positions and he can use his physicality but he does not score, not assist, his team mates and hasn't done so this season. Surely we need someone with a bit more quality in front of goal from the bench? He had two chances today - they were tough, by no means gimmes, but both failed to even hit the target. I don't see what others see in the lad.

Moreno - should've been brought on way earlier as Milner was clearly fatigued. He wasn't great but his quick direct crosses at least lead to more threat on Chelsea's goal near the end - a threat that had been lacking for much of the game. Ultimately too little too late and he didn't have enough time to do all that much.

Klopp - think he got it wrong in terms of team selection. Wijinaldum is never a holding midfielder - why play him there? It was ridiculous, Wijinaldum operates best making runs from midfield into the box, and those runs create space. Instead he was hamstrung into the holding midfield position and had a predictably awful game. Clyne may have only been selected for fitness reasons but damn he was bad, he shouldn't be getting games again. TAA is not ready for midfield, not against this level of opposition, it was a mistake to play him there (though injuries meant our options were not exactly limitless) . Perhaps it is harsh to criticise the manager with the injuries and previous games only a few days earlier but I hoped and expected for more. I at least expect the subs to be made in a more timely fashion, its a real weakness for us - I cannot think of a game where a substitution made by the manager positively effected the result.

Conclusion:

All to do against Brighton now - we need, demand 3 points. Nobody wants to be heading to the final needing a win to qualify for next year. Not sure what we have learned from this game except that our midfield is weak (which we already knew), that our defence still has problems (which we knew) and that Salah Mane and Firmino are human (which we kind of knew) . Not happy viewing, I imagine a number of fans are feeling similarly peeved. Probably worth noting, for the sake of balance, that the players were noticeably fatigued, that Chelsea sat incredibly deep for most of the game (akin to United such was their negativity), that the ref seemed to give them more than us (though nothing that unduly affected the result - how Rudiger never got booked I will never know though), and that we all know that we still need additions to improve both the starting XI and the squad. Hopefully the players can rest up, mentally prepare themselves for Brighton, and get the 3 points we need. It shouldn't have come down to this, but we do not do things the easy way, it is part of the chest-tightening charm of supporting our club. Onwards and upwards - 2 games left, 2 wins please.

Written by Seano_ May 06 2018 21:51:21