Appreciating the squad and the importance of the system
Job done then and despite the heavy rotation of the squad, we still totally dominated the game and really should have killed it off earlier but there was something that struck me from very early in the game. Despite an absolute raft of changes and missing the vast majority of our starting 11, our playing style is still instantly recognisable as Liverpool. The team is so well drilled in the style of play that it doesn’t matter who comes in or in what position, we’re still instantly recognisable and that is such a credit to Klopp and the staff.
I’m sure many, like myself can remember many a turgid Europa league or domestic cup tie, be that under Rafa, Hodgson, Brendan, where we would rotate the squad and become utterly disjointed and devoid of quality. Almost the entire time I’ve watched Liverpool, if you took a couple of important players out the team, we couldn’t cope. From Fowler and McManaman to Gerrard and Torres to Sturridge and Coutinho, when our key players weren’t playing, we would totally lack identity and generally not be able to score. No more however, identify is booming out this club right now. What the manager has done here is nothing short of incredible.
That brings me on to our squad depth now. When you look at some of the performances tonight – Curtis was absolutely superb first half, yet never made the match day squad for the cup final. Who could have looked at Joe Gomez performance tonight and guess that he’d barely had a sniff all season?
I want to make a special mention to Minamino (McMOTM) however. The lad arrived from relative obscurity out with Austria and his homeland, into a pandemic, lockdowns etc and it must have been extremely difficult for him. His exposure as a player will have exploded pretty much overnight when he signed for Liverpool, he couldn’t speak the language and was isolated from his new team mates and couldn’t build those bonds the way he should have been able to.
The early days when it was obvious his team mates weren’t passing to him seem like a distant memory now. Another huge difference and this is something I bang on about with players, is his upper body strength has vastly improved. He wasn’t strong enough for the Premier league when he first arrived and it’s always something I look for in players to improve, as upper body strength is the easiest thing to work on from an exercise perspective, so if you’re a committed player, that should quickly improve if its holding you back and he’s obviously done just that. He’s now able to hold off a challenge and press effectively and it’s making all the difference to his game.
What we’re seeing now is a settled, physically ready and confident Minamino and the benefits, as well as the goals, are there for all to see. Two well taken goals tonight, the second an excellent finish and I enjoyed his all round game. He has an excellent attitude and seems to love playing for Liverpool so he may well carve out a bit of history for himself at the club yet. He’s at the very least proving to be a very useful squad player.
What a time it is to be a Liverpool fan. I really hope none of the front three move on this summer, I’m not even massively fussed if we make any signings, I’d just love to see this squad with the addition of Diaz have a full season together. It’s a golden age and a far cry from those turgid Europa league nights. Enjoy it while it lasts Reds. Walk on!!
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