Ipswich Town v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective
Ipswich Town v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective
A difficult performance to really judge properly as the early goals killed the game and it was just a case of being careful not to give them hope in the second half. The first half showcased some really good football and you can see the signs of what Iraola wants the players to do. It is not there yet, but it is starting to come together and at times it was great to watch. Liverpool won at a canter and fully deserved the win and the clean sheet. It also looked very much like a penalty to me at the end of the first half, when Gakpo was wiped out in the box. Certainly as much of a penalty as the one Liverpool conceded against Forest. It was a very similar incident, except a clearer cut foul after the ball had gone, which should have made it an easier decision for the officials. Unfortunately there is never any consistency, which is fine without VAR, but when you have it and you still get different decisions week by week for the same incidents, I think we need to ask questions of the officials.
One thing that really does need a lot of work on for LFC is the press. It is so disjointed, when it is working well the triggers should be seen by all, rather than one or two as currently happens. Then you sometimes have more reacting to the one or two, but that second or so can be all the difference in a press. It just gives the opposition a chance to find an out ball. It is improving though and, even with the team being a work in progress, Iraola is unbeaten as LFC manager in competitive matches, in fact he is unbeaten since 3rd January in competitive matches with both Liverpool and Bournemouth. A remarkable run of 21 games.
Ipswich Town
They were Europe's 9th highest spenders in the summer, but it is clear that it is still not enough to bridge the quality gap between themselves and the top Premier League teams. Lukic was a good signing for them, and a huge loss for Fulham, but he was overrun in the middle and they need to give him some help in there, instead of having Enciso tackle him when he gets the ball! They have a manager who has so far managed to avoid relegation from the Premier League, so maybe they will be able to survive, but he will need a lot of luck. They have so many weaknesses that they are trying to overcome by hard work but they need better players most of all. They were outmatched completely.
The one tactic they did seem to have, other than hitting and hoping from range, was to get it out on the right and whip crosses in deep and overload the back stick. I assume they had decided to go that way expecting Frimpong to be at right-back and were looking to expose his lack of height. In the event it was a workable tactic as Araujo is not a natural full-back and kept drifting too far in towards the centre to cover, leaving a big gap at the back post for them. They did get some joy because of that, but failed to make the most of it. It will be interesting to see if any other team copies that tactic, after watching this match, as it was clear that it could be a problem if Araujo does not hold the width a bit more.
Liverpool
Alisson - at one point he showed good pace to beat Enciso to a loose ball but he had a few iffy moments, including a failed punch that dropped between his legs luckily. There were also a number of poor kicks, when put under pressure, but that is more of a symptom of a bigger issue, something that has plagued the team for a while - the lack of movement to play the ball to. When the ball is played around at the back, the forwards rarely make runs, the one time Isak did, the ball never came but he created space, which helped lead to one of his goals. Alisson used to have Firmino, Mane and Salah pulling the defence all over the place, creating options for him to pick out, but now he has nothing when he has the ball. The question has to be whether or not his kicking has been compromised by his injury problems, which might explain the lack of movement, but it does just seem like they are expecting the ball to be slowly shuffled between the keeper and back four and so just stand around watching and waiting until Alisson is forced to launch it. A bit of movement when the ball is at the back and it could also release pressure as it creates gaps. I am sure Iraola will be looking at that too, but he can only coach so much into the players at a time.
Araujo - had a very good game, got forward a little but mostly he supported the attack, rather than becoming the focal point like a more attacking full-back often can do. That created a more solid platform for the team to work from, with less space left for Mac Allister to cover from the middle.
Jacquet - once again looked good, strong defensively but also is beginning to show an impressive level of ability to play out from the back.
van Dijk - has stopped just running away and is looking all the better for it. His defending has returned to being front foot and it is contributed massively towards the clean sheet.
Kerkez - I am not sure why he is taking so much heat for his performance, Fatawu struggled against him all game, and it was him winning the ball back and playing it to Gakpo which led to the first goal. His link up, rotation and movement with Gakpo and Wirtz down the left was very good and where all the quality play was coming from. Yes, he can be rash and he makes mistakes defensively and his delivery can be very inconsistent, but all of that could be said about Robertson, even at his peak, it did not stop Robbo becoming (probably) the best left-back in the world. Kerkez will improve as the team begins to play more of a style that suits him, I would expect.
Szoboszlai - does great things at times but also has a tendency to be incredibly sloppy with his passing under no pressure at all. He really needs to cut that out and learn to focus.
Wirtz - another who is getting pelters far beyond any reason. His movement and pressing is excellent, in fact the second goal came about because of his off the ball movement creating the space for Gakpo to get on the ball and take the time to pick out Isak. Without his movement, Gakpo is under pressure and that pass almost certainly does not happen. He just needs the team to rise up to his level and make the runs for his passes.
Mac Allister - was very good, used his body well against Enciso when he would otherwise have been through and his positional discipline is providing a much more solid midfield. If he was just a little more mobile, he could make himself the answer in there. And he is even reducing the time he spends rolling on the floor pretending to be hurt now referees are ignoring it.
Munoz - started well but his failure to ever get his head up and look at what is around him meant he faded out of the game as they learnt to just close him out with numbers. Because he just puts his head down and runs, they could afford to just get bodies around him, without worrying about spaces elsewhere, as he had no intention of picking a pass to a teammate that could have utilised the space.
Isak - looked much sharper and faster after his goals, as the confidence flowed. Still looks weak at times, which suggests he is still not mentally fully over his injury. Overall a very good game, though the keeper did not cover himself in glory, he did his job by putting the ball on target.
Gakpo - two excellent assists and an all-round good game. He is having an excellent season so far. He showed strength, skill and vision, plus he should have had a penalty.
Gravenberch - came on in the 64th minute in the place of Isak. He looks so far off it right now, he is playing higher up as he cannot be trusted to hold position and that just exposes his slack passing.
Barcola - took the place of Munoz in the 64th minute. Did enough to excite the Liverpool fans but he does need a little more end product. His pace, movement, work rate and skill look exceptional.
Nyoni - subbed on for Mac Allister in the 84th minute. Looks so composed and natural in there, plus he has that added mobility that Mac Allister lacks.
Koumas - replaced Wirtz in the 91st minute. Puts himself about and works hard but was unable to really do much in the time he was on.
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