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Football News: Liverpool v Sheffield United - A Liverpool Perspective

Liverpool v Sheffield United - A Liverpool Perspective
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Liverpool v Sheffield United A Liverpool Perspective

 


Not the best watch and again marred by a VAR controversy, this season is really sapping my love for the game right out of me. Personally I do not believe it was even a foul, though Fabinho took a big risk by attempting the tackle, it looked an excellent tackle to me. I am not sure that I want to watch a contact sport where any contact is deemed to be a foul! Putting that aside, there is no way that VAR could reliably judge whether the contact was in or outside of the box, so why did they rule on it? They constantly miss clear and obvious mistakes (just watch Harry Maguire bearhug Cesar Azpilicueta in the Man Utd box earlier in the day for one such blatant error), yet now they feel they should rule on marginal decisions. I just have no words that can be printed!

At least it was just one moment in this match, which is an improvement on some of the others I have seen recently. There were other moments it could have stepped in and made rulings, but decided they were not clear and obvious errors. It just showed how inconsistent the use of VAR is. I do not understand why the referee is no longer using the monitor to have a look, rather than just trusting the judgement of the idiot 300 miles away in Stockley Park. These judgement calls should be made by the referee on the pitch, VAR's job should just be to spot incidents he might have missed and bring them to his attention or to bring up footage on close calls so that he can look at it and make the decision.

 


Sheffield United

 

They looked like the Blades from last season from the kick off. They ran themselves into the ground in the first half, pressing hard and leaving no space for Liverpool to play. Of all the teams in the Prem, it is difficult to begrudge Sheff Utd a bit of luck with decisions, as they have been one of the clubs that have most suffered at the hands of the ineptitude of officials. Though I doubt I would be saying that had they held on to win! They do still have issues up front, Brewster has not settled in properly and is struggling to link up, he was also playing far too deep, so that most of the time it was McBurnie who was chasing the loose balls, rather than the much quicker Brewster.

They did tire in the second half and could not maintain their press, which led to the game getting away from them. Their big worry has not yet been solved, nor did there look to be any signs that Brewster could be the answer to their goalscoring problems just yet, so this could be a long, hard season for them. One player who did stand out for them was Ampadu, he was regularly in position to break up play in the defensive midfield role and did really well.

What I like most about them is that they never stop trying to attack. When they get the ball, they go forward and look to score. If they can get Brewster firing, they should get themselves out of danger quite easily.

 


Liverpool

 

Klopp - I am not convinced he picked the right system to begin the game, it is more suited to playing against a team that utilises the low block and is happy to sit deep and defend. Despite being in poor form, Sheff Utd were certainly not happy to just sit back and look to snatch a goal on the break. In the second half Klopp's half-time tactical changes and the Blades' tiring legs combined to give Liverpool a bit more control over the game. I would like to know the thinking behind the in-swinging corners, as it was clearly a planned tactic, with every corner seeing the opposite full-back go over to swing it in. Possibly because their goalkeeper is seen a weak link, but the deliveries failed to really put him under any pressure.

 

Alisson - looked very rusty but still pulled off a decent save or two. He did nearly get caught napping, taking too long to clear the ball but that just woke him up and Alisson made sure to kick the ball long before he could be closed down again.

 

Alexander-Arnold - a superb free kick right at the start seemed to set the tone for him and he was much more like his old self. Defended well and provided a good bit of attacking threat too.

 

Fabinho - looked like a makeshift centre-back here. Apart from the bad clearance which led to him rashly challenging and giving the opportunity to Sheffield United to take the lead, his overall game was not as good as it has been. Positionally he struggled, he never gave himself enough space when faced up with Burke, which saw the Scottish forward just run round him easily. It just shows you can only get away with playing a player out of position for so long before someone figures out how to take advantage. It did lead to our defending seeming a bit panicked at times but Gomez did ensure to be on the cover as much as possible.

 

Gomez - played well, covering for Fabinho as much as he could, though it was not that easy as Sheff Utd play two up top, so he mostly had to worry about his own man. Never really got many chances to get on the ball and play out from the back, but did play one magnificent van Dijk-esque diagonal ball to the right flank.

 

Robertson - he has started the season like a house on fire and is still playing well. My worry is that he will run out of steam with the games coming so thick and fast.

 

Henderson - had a decent first half, but struggled to cope with the numbers running at him from the Sheff Utd side. In the second half he took charge of the midfield and played a lot like the Henderson we saw last season.

 

Wijnaldum - like Henderson he struggled a little in the first half but as the game went on he got better and better. Some of his forward runs in the second half were lungbusting, right up until the final seconds. His stamina and workrate was exceptional.

 

Jota - he works hard, keeps going and is always a pest for the opposition, his goal was well taken too. However his runs are still too often tripping over teammates. It is going to take some time for them all to understand each other, especially if they are playing in an unfamiliar set up as they were in this match. There is enough to suggest he will be a good fit in the team when he does develop an understanding, though he does need to take less touches at times.

 

Salah - if he could have added a goal, or final pass when the chance came, his performance would have been excellent. As it was Sheffield United did very well against him, constantly ensuring there were always extra men there to cover any breakthrough he did make. Such a shame that his beautiful goal was disallowed.

 

Firmino - could not get into the game in the first half, mostly due to Ampadu being right on him, though he did finally get his Anfield goal. In the second half he got on the ball and made things happen, which resulted in a much improved half for Liverpool as well. It is worrying how reliant Liverpool are on him for creativity.

 

Mane - while he never got a goal himself, he was a constant source of menace and movement. The Blades really could not get to grips with him at all.

 

Minamino - replaced Firmino in the 83rd minute. Worked hard but never really got into the match as the Blades lifted their game to try and snatch an equaliser. He was more involved in helping the defence than he was in getting on the ball and making stuff happen.

 

Milner - took the place of Jota in a double substitution with Minamino. Despite coming on late, he was immediately heavily involved and, as usual, was here, there and everywhere breaking up play and creating too.

Written by Tris Burke October 26 2020 17:11:48

 

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