Player Ratings: Norwich 0 – LFC 1
As Storm Dennis sweeps across the country, the red machine arrived in Norwich and didn’t quite sweep them aside but once again, this team always seems to find a way to get it done. Let’s see how the lads got on.
Alisson (9) – Very little to do throughout the game but his main involvement showed why he’s the best in the world. If you watch Alisson when an attacker runs clean through against him, before he comes out he does a little dummy, as if he’s about to come, steps back and then comes and it throws the attacker who’s bearing down on him. In this instance, he shepherded the Norwich striker away from goal in a manner Van Dijk would have been proud of, forced him to pass and then pounced on it. Truly world class goalkeeping. Another solid save in the latter stages and showed nice distribution throughout.
TAA (7) – Heavily involved but guilty of some sloppy play at times and his delivery wasn’t quite as on point as usual. Played some lovely cross-field balls though, especially given the conditions. Oozes confidence these days.
Gomez (7) – Solid for the most part but I noticed he just allowed a Norwich attacker to run away from him and create a chance second half which I didn’t like. Good recovery pace throughout and is obviously working on bringing the ball out in training as he’s trying it more and more often. If he can add that to his game – Joel Matip style, he’ll be a very complete CB. Nice first touch too, confident enough to bring a high ball down and retain possession if he has the time, instead of just heading it back the way it came.
Van Dijk (7.5) – Cruised through the game in third gear and limited Pukki to one snap shot from distance. Such is his presence, Pukki knew he had no chance of getting past him and had to hit it early but you’d back Alisson every time when dealing with that type of shot. Should’ve had a penalty when group hugged by Norwich players at a corner.
Robertson (7) – Started slow and lost the Norwich forward in the build up to their big chance although he may have been offside. Second half however, Robbo was our main attacking outlet until Mane came on as he found space to cross again and again. Better all round display from him, hopefully the break has allowed him to put his injury niggles behind him.
Henderson (9) – One sloppy pass that got us into trouble aside, I thought Hendo was absolutely brilliant today from start to finish. Made countless interceptions, passing was by and large superb and his game intelligence is flawless these days. I feel his passing has gone up a level in the past 12 months, Hendo’s passing used to frustrate the life out of me but since Christmas last year, it’s been excellent. If Hendo wins PFA player of the year, it will be some achievement but if he can maintain his form, there’s no reason why he can’t. Other players had big moments in the game but over the course of the while 90 minutes, Hendo was my McMOTM.
Keita (5) – Fairly woeful display from Keita if I’m honest. Every time he comes back from injury it’s like we’re back to square one and he looks like a new signing again. So often today he wasn’t on the same page as his team mates, his decision making with his passing was horrendous and sometimes downright bizarre. Somehow missed an absolute sitter from about three yards out and when he got booked I screamed ‘Get him off’ at the TV. Klopp duly obliged. As is Keita’s way, showed some nice touches and good feet on occasions but it was fleeting. Disappointing display. He has to make an impact at the club soon or he’ll likely be replaced.
Wijnaldum (6) – I’m a Gini fan but he has too many games like this, where he’s playing on the periphery of the game. If there’s one criticism I’ve always levelled at Gini is he should take more attacking responsibility more often than he does. The fact he was subbed and Keita stayed on however, told us who the midfield three Klopp has in mind for Wednesday is.
Salah (7) – Lively and unlucky that Keita made such a hash of the rebound from the chance Salah had created for himself but for the most part today, his first touch and control let him down. Salah’s not often guilty of passing when he should shoot but he did that twice today and guilty of running down blind alleys too often. He’s constantly there though, never allows the opposition defence to switch off and never stops trying for his goal.
Firmino (8) – Bobby was fantastic today, showed some outrageous skill in the opening stages of the game, almost creating a volley for himself with some ridiculously good control and one reverse pass to Ox that made Carra gasp in commentary. What makes Bobby special though, is that along with the Brazilian magic he possesses, the hard graft he puts in is incredible, he was tracking back fifty yards at times to help with the defensive side of the game. Ran Hendo close for MOTM but the sitter he missed in the closing stages sealed it for Hendo.
Ox (6.5) – Not a bad display from Ox but not great either. I don’t like Ox in a wide position, he can do a job there but he’s much better playing centrally and driving forward from centre midfield in my opinion. It’ll be interesting to see if he starts against Atletico.
Subs:
Mane (9) – The minute he came on the pitch, we looked like a completely different animal. Our pressing kicked up a gear and suddenly, we went from huffing and puffing to blowing Norwich’s house down. As soon as Mane was introduced, a goal looked inevitable and it was the Senegalese himself who grabbed it with an absolutely sensational first touch and wicked finish. Has Mane been Europe’s best attacker this season? He’s got to be in the running for the Ballon D’or this year, what a player.
Fabinho (7) – Looked much more up to speed than he has in his last couple of appearances since returning from injury. Does he start on Wednesday? I suspect he will, alongside Hendo and Gini. The subs were telling in that regard I thought.
Milner (N/A) – Great to have him back. Helped solidify the midfield in the closing stages of the match.
Klopp-watch (10) – When a managers subs have the kind of winning effect on a match that Klopp’s did today, you have to give him credit, even though they were most likely planned from before kick off, regardless of the result at the time. He’s got this team scaling heights never before seen however and you can see his influence in the players after the game – no wild celebrations, just another case of job done and on to the next game. The manager instils the mentality in the players and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team with this kind of mentality.
Summary:
Difficult conditions then but the boys found a way once more and somehow, even as the game wore on, I was confident they would… because they always do.
We wear teams down and eventually, they all crack. It will be very interesting to see how we perform against Atletico. We’ve not done particularly well away from home in Europe these past couple of years, a couple of standout results aside and there are few harder away games in Europe than Atletico Madrid. Still, I have no fear of them, they’re not the force they were and are having their injury troubles at the moment. As with everyone, if we just play our normal game, I think we’ll have too much for them.
Anyway, another win chalked up and we’re TWENTY FIVE points clear, at least until tomorrow. Unbelievable.
That’s it for this week then, recover and then time to show Simeone’s boys how it’s done on Tuesday. Walk on troops!
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