And the 2 Liverpool players wasted more time trying to retrieve the ball off him instead of just getting back into position in their own half If the referee then thought they were wasting time taking the kick off then he could have taken action
'Trent' might need to move into midfield the way things are going at Liverpool. He didn't really need to do much defending when Salah, Mane and Firminho were pressing teams to death and Wijnaldum was covering a lot of ground in midfield. Seems a bit of a contradiction now, of having players like Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliot in midfield, while still playing in a way that expects your full backs to be the most creative players.
They look unbalanced and threadbare even without injuries. Can see them sliding into midtable this season unless they get the cheque book out.
How exactly is Trent a defensive liability? He plays almost every game for a side that reaches the latter stages of the champions league every season & has achieved 90+ points in 3 of the last 4 seasons. If he was a defensive liability they’d never get near them points totals & that far in Europe. England don’t play a right back normally. They play with a back 5 most of the time, Walker & Trippier used to play that system regularly for Spurs & James plays it for Chelsea. Trent’s played it a couple of occasions in England friendlies. It’s far easier to be an England wing back than a Liverpool full back. England play a back 5 & have two holding midfielders. At Liverpool they play a really high line which is why occasionally they’ll get done on the counter & it will look bad. As the points total & trophies won prove, the good far outweighs the bad. Teams tend to attack Liverpool down that side more as well because Salah doesn’t track back as well as Diaz (or Mane previously) does & Van Dijk plays as the left sided centre back. As much as I love Trippier, he couldn’t play for a Liverpool or City. He hasn’t got the pace to play a high line.
Fans are way too critical these days. In the last couple of days I’ve read Dias, Stones, Walker, Van Dijk, Trent all getting slated on here & Twitter. They’re all brilliant players. I still don’t think a lot of fans understand how much harder it is to defend in a Liverpool / City side & to play a high line like they do than it is to play the cautious 4-5-1 systems that Mourinho & Benitez brought over here in the 2000’s. Your full backs that were seen as solid because their teams rarely conceded goals had the benefit of sitting deep & having a winger constantly helping them out & often one, if not two defensive midfielders protecting them. Just imagine players like Neville, Ivanovic, Carragher etc playing at full back in a team playing a high line. They’d get destroyed. Playing further up the pitch gets both sides far more goals than it costs them. They’re getting 90+ points in a league far more competitive than it was 20 years ago. They’re incredible sides.
Always thought this when the team who have just scored try to get the ball and take it to the centre circle. Just get back in your own half ready for the kick off.
They have, they’re well off the pace. No Matip, Konate, Thiago, Keita, Nunez & Jota last night. Presumably neither Henderson or Fabinho fully fit as they would’ve both done the full game over Milner & Elliott. They must have our fitness staff from last season!
One thing that always winds me up when teams are chasing a game is when it gets to the last few minutes they lose their heads and start pumping up diagonal or going long. Invariably the ball goes straight to the defending team. That's why Man City will always hold the upper hand when in these situations. They stick to their laurels and carry on trying to eek out that last opportunity. Liverpool didn't last night. They looked less of a threat at 2-1 than they did at 2-0.
I don't see goals from their midfield. Thiago, Fabinho, Milner, Henderson are all plodding midfielders. No cut and thrust.