Football News: Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - A Liverpool Perspective
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Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion A Liverpool Perspective
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Was it a case of after the Lord Mayor's Show? Or was it just that the number of chances the team were giving up to opponents caught up to them? I am leaning towards the latter, while Brighton were very good, they were being made to look better by woeful play at the back. If van Dijk and Konate are the long term partnership for Liverpool, they are going to need to develop some kind of understanding. Secondly Konate needs to realise he is part of a back four, not a back three, and so cannot just go charging up field at every opportunity, especially if he is going to give the ball away.
Finally, they have to be braver and hold the line higher so that a press can be effective. The defensive line was dropping so early and so deep that the midfield was getting caught between dropping with them and backing up the forward line's press. As the game went on the whole team ended up just dropping and allowing Brighton to play, when the goals came from putting them under pressure. It was an odd choice to back off and cost the team badly.
Overall it was a very poor Liverpool performance that left the team lucky to get away with a point in the end. If there has been any complacency creeping in that should put paid to it. It should not be a surprise to anyone though, as no team can maintain the level of the last few games indefinitely, there is always a dip. Not even Paisley's team won every game.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Initially they were far too open and played it around too slowly, allowing themselves to be pressed high. As the game went on they changed and adapted, keeping three up top to take advantage of Liverpool only holding the two centre-halves back and it paid off for them. It was a brave choice, as it could have seen them overrun and beaten, it is good to see bravery rewarded to be fair to Potter. Yes they had a bit of luck with the first, Alisson getting caught out by the sun in his eyes, but it was still an excellent finish and they could, should even, have scored more.
They have a fast improving team and the return of Bissouma made a major difference to them while he was on the pitch. They have missed him badly at times this season and he was once again excellent, as was Mwepu alongside him. The pair of them were able to physically dominate the midfield with their exceptional energy and ability to break up play. That was the key to BHA pushing Liverpool back, after their initial slow start.
Liverpool
Klopp - a poor game by Klopp and his staff, he failed to find a way to change things for the better once Brighton started to take over. At the start chances were being created by the high press which caused BHA so many problems, but he allowed the defence to drop off and that killed the press. I know there were issues defensively due to Brighton taking a risk and leaving three up, but the LFC defence is still getting caught flat by simple through balls. I am sure the pace of Konate is meant to help deal with that, but more work needs to be done on reading of the game, so that the defence knows when to drop and drilling the midfield on dropping in when a defender is dragged out of position.
Moving Salah central and Mane to the right was never going to make any genuine difference as Liverpool were not getting enough possession of the ball to make use of the attacking trio. The correct move, to bring in Minamino's energy and drive into midfield, was done far too late to affect the game.
Alisson - one of the best players on the pitch and made a number of good stops. He was caught out by the sun in his eyes for Brighton's first but he was also the reason the game ended in a draw rather than a defeat for Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold - not his best game, he was not able to get forward as much as normal and ended up getting caught between two stools. He was trying to get forward but not get caught out up field, which is impossible. The marauding full-backs are a case of risk v reward, if the risks are too high then they need to stay back and play like old-style full-backs. If the risk is seen as worth it, then they need to keep driving forward at every opportunity and it should be up to others in the team to fill in the gap.
Unfortunately for Alexander-Arnold, the gap behind him was not being filled effectively and so he, in my opinion anyway, should have sat back, ensured there was no space for Brighton to break and tried to help the team gain domination of the ball and took the sting out of the game. He did show some flashes of great play, but he just needed to stay on the front foot more.
Konate - I have read a lot of whining about his performance, some of it has substance, but a lot of it is unfair and is as much down to his partnership with van Dijk not working yet as it was down to Konate. There is no understanding between the centre-backs, plus a lack of cover from midfield, which meant his attempts to win the ball high and carry it forward ended so often in near disaster. The pair were being dragged all over the place and there was little communication between them, the blame for which should be laid at van Dijk's door for that as the senior man.
Until some kind of understanding develops between the two, Liverpool are going to be vulnerable at the back, though there were a number of signs that Konate can defend as an individual. He won a number of duels to take the ball off forwards, Konate showed he has the edge in strength over anyone he has faced so far. He also played some very good threaded forward passes. The return of Fabinho to provide protection cannot come quickly enough.
van Dijk - a terrible game by van Dijk, who failed to organise the back line at all, was often lax defensively, particularly on the first chance for March. He allowed himself to be dragged right out onto the right wing and then strolled back while Brighton used the gap left to create a chance. There was plenty of time for him to get back but he never even tried. He still showed flashes of his brilliant best, but far too often he was lackadaisical and was not aggressive enough closing down, such as when Bissouma broke through and was able to get off a shot because van Dijk stood off him.
At times his presence is enough to make an opponent give up and that is a real gift, but if he continues to play like this that will no longer be an advantage to him, as players will stop being in awe of him. It has often been a problem with him throughout his career that he drops his level for the lesser teams, which van Dijk seems to struggle to lift himself for.
Robertson - I really do not know how Robertson is keeping his place this season, he is still giving it everything, I still love his attitude and his willingness to chase everything but his form is awful. He was caught way out of position, 5 yards behind the rest of the team, on the equaliser and was easily done by Lamptey after he came on with a very weak piece of play. Added to that his delivery has been terrible this season. Beloved as he is by us Liverpool fans, it is clear Tsimikas has been better than him this season and deserves a run of games.
Jones - it seems Jones has become the whipping boy for the morons in the support, when van Dijk plays him into trouble and fails to give him a shout to even warn him about it that becomes his fault. It was not the best performance, but he was far from the worst player on the pitch and it seems unfair that he is being singled out. He was being forced to play from deep, rather than high up the pitch where can be a real threat, and struggled to get any of the ball in the offensive third.
Keita - started well, but once again another injury. How much longer can this go on before LFC have to accept his injuries are too disruptive to make his presence worthwhile?
Henderson - despite an excellent goal, Henderson was poor, at best. He never reacted to the changes Brighton made to put an extra body forward and provided very little protection to the defence at all. Normally the one thing you can never criticise is his leadership, but it was sorely lacking in this game and he did not do enough to deal with the threats from Brighton. He just carried on playing his normal game and failed to adapt at all. When up against a midfielder as exceptional as Bissouma, you cannot just simply pretend it is no different than facing, for example, Crystal Palace. You have to adapt to deal with him. Henderson did not do so, nor did he organise anyone else to adapt to deal with the threat.
Mane - he was one who did play well. Not only was he a constant threat, when given service, Mane was also working back well and was probably Liverpool's best defender. He fully deserved his goal for his all-round performance.
Salah - in the early part of the game he was destroying Brighton as the press kept the ball high up the pitch and he was seeing plenty of it. Then the press started to break down in midfield, with the defence in disarray, and he was no longer getting enough of the ball to cause the Seagulls problems. Moving him to the centre in the second half made no difference as he was not seeing enough of the ball to make a difference.
Firmino - not a good game for Firmino, though he did show flashes of quality, such as good strength to hold onto the ball under pressure and his part was key in the success of the press early on. However his link up and finishing was poor, with passes often going astray. Once the press fell apart, his game floundered, as he is unsuited to playing on the back foot and really needs to be getting after opponents, rather than dropping off and waiting for the ball.
Oxlade-Chamberlain - came on after another injury to Keita, in the 19th minute. Made some excellent runs and played a beautiful ball in for Mane's goal, but his end product other than that was poor. His runs often went nowhere or led to wild shots. Defensively he was of little to no help and allowed Brighton space to attack at will.
Jota - was brought on in the 78th minute to take Firmino's place. Worked hard but did not see enough of the ball to make a difference.
Minamino replaced Jones in the 87th minute. He should have come on much earlier, his industry in midfield made a genuine difference. His willingness to get stuck in and battle was needed badly.
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Written by Tris Burke October 31 2021 05:36:20
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