Winners and Losers
Liverpool did not play well but they almost did. Liverpool did not attack well but they almost did. Liverpool did not rely on Dominik Szoboszlai but they almost did. Rio Ngumoha did not play well, but then he did, in the second half.
Liverpool had to solve problems and they solved them. In the first half the teenager was pressured effectively and looked a bit out of his depth. It’s to the credit of both him and the boss that the second half looked different.
Our expectations (and pessimism) did not
win but they almost did. The Reds looked great and almost lost…what mattered was the halftime team talk, because after the break there was nothing Atletí could do to stop the Reds. It was an onslaught.
Atletí had nothing interesting, nothing creative, nothing new to say. It’s interesting that we always open hoping they do.
Talking Tactics
What was interesting is how they tried to call the bluff on Liverpool. They pressured the ball into Florian Wirtz so he would have nothing into feet. They almost won bar Wirtz being alright in his own job: the press. We’re meant to spend today talking about how he’s not good enough. I’m here thinking that it’s a good approach. He’s who Liverpool hope to feed, and if you hate him you have not been paying attention. Wirtz looked bad in the first half and Liverpool looked okay. I’m here to tell you that’s the Reds winning the tactical battle.
This is so much a game where they had nothing and Liverpool had everything. The first half saw Rio Ngumoha crowded and with nothing, and the second half saw Rio — a teenager solve the problem. You’re telling me I’m meant to respect a new-look dark arts program that can’t beat a kid? get out of here.
Dissecting the Narrative
Miloš Kerkez played today. Many would call him a weakness, myself included. I think it’s hard to watch the game as a whole without looking at Kerkez, and it’s hard to watch the opening 20 minutes and not ask where he lives. Look.
The referee was more of a liability than Liverpool’s left back was, and a much biggest query is entrenched in his offensive numbers. If there’s no offensive payoff, what’s the point?
The choices the Reds made were tactically the right ones. Kerkez did his best and was not at all poor for his position. This is what we do from here on out or we rethink the position.
I miss Andy Robertson myself but he wouldn’t help.
