Got away with it… despite those pesky kids!
Well that was a strange game. Probably the strongest FA Cup side Klopp has named during his tenure and it was against a Villa team that would still get on the bus for a half fare. Five of whom weren’t even born when Milner made his debut!
I actually think Klopp may have fielded a weaker side had Villa been able to field a stronger team, in a strange roundabout kind of way. The fact we’ve never gone past the fifth round in Klopp’s time with us is testament to the fact the manager has clearly seen the FA cup as an unwanted distraction, rather than a priority but the media furore that would have surrounded anything other than a convincing win last night didn’t bear thinking about.
When Mane scored after a couple of minutes, I actually feared for their youngsters but by halftime, the same problems that have been plaguing us in recent weeks had reared their ugly heads again. If you can be organised in a low block defensive set up, we’ll find it difficult to break you down. That that’s still the case against a load of kids who have never played together however, is something of a worry.
The introduction of Thiago however, changed all that. They couldn’t cope with his passing and dribbling and within five minutes of being on the pitch, he had Villa looking more ragged than they had in the entire first half and his class stood out an absolute mile.
On the flip side, some players I fear won’t be with us much longer. Neco Williams is never a Liverpool player, despite how much we may wish he was and Rhys Williams isn’t ready to be playing CB at an elite club, as very few 19 year olds are. They need to do something about that awkward, languid running style as well. Can’t ever remember someone so young to be so bad at running, it’s almost comical.
Job done in the end then, even if harder work was made of it than should have been. Positives are Thiago looking sharp again and it’s good to see Mane and Salah back amongst the goals from a confidence perspective. All is still not right however in an attacking sense but there is some hope. If we can keep Thiago fit, he’ll be massive for us. Trent surely has to improve at some point and hopefully Ox can have an impact in the second half of the season. Jota should be back by the end of the month as well so not all doom and gloom. Still can’t help but feel we’ll be hard pushed to retain the title with the CB options currently at our disposal, though we can but try.
Over a week to prepare for the big one next and although that hasn’t always been best for our form in the past, you do feel like the players could do with some time on the training pitch, so hopefully a week of drills in training and an opportunity for Thiago to further build an understanding with the team will lead to a better performance against United than we’ve seen in recent games.
Onwards and Kloppwards. Walk on!
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