Ipswich Town 0 – 2 Liverpool
Ipswich: N/A
The Reds: Isak 6’, 9’,
Pre-Match
Well, after the first two matches I get to bring this meme back. And umm, hey, we might get to see new signing Bradley Barcola today, so that’s exciting. A win sure would be nice. No pressure, Liverpool.
First Half
Scoring an early opener? In this economy? Well, Liverpool started the match brightly and got their rewards in just the seventh minute. Gakpo did well to keep possession of the ball in midfield, beat a defender, and played a ball through to Isak, who beat the offside
trap and just leathered it off the keeper’s outstretched arms and into the back of the net.
Gakpo and Isak combine again! Just minutes after scoring the opener, Gakpo once again plays Isak in, and the striker once again found the back of the net (with a shot that once again probably should’ve been saved by the keeper, but fuck it, still counts).
Liverpool have now gone 20 whole minutes without scoring, which feels intolerable after the first couple of goals. However, they’ve largely remained in control, and Szoboszlai seems determined to score a screamer from range. Considering the goalkeeping efforts from Ipswich so far, I’d say keep firing assholes.
The half ends in a bit of a whimper, but aside from a few half-chances, Liverpool have largely kept the hosts at bay. And nice to be playing with scoreboard pressure rather than against it, for a change.
Second Half
Not a lot has happened in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. It is, however, getting a bit chippy out there. Either a fight or a goal would add some excitement. Or Barcola, who is about to make his Liverpool debut. He comes on with Gravenberch, with Munoz and Isak making way.
Szoboszlai nearly wins a penalty, but VAR intervenes to deny the shout because he was in an offside position. No complaints here, it was a shockingly competent moment from the officiating crew (other than sending the ref to the monitor before actually checking whether it was offside first).
Final Thoughts
Well, after the first two, early goals, the rest of the match ended up being a bit of a snooze. But a win! And a cleansheet! Not a vintage performance, but something to build upon.
