The comeback kings still got it!!

For the second week in a row, we’ve had to come from a goal and man down to win but win we have. Let’s look at how Saturday unfolded.

We had a fairly subdued start, which has become a feature of our game in the last 12 months, Chelsea aside on the opening day of the season. It’s understandable at the cauldron that was St James park on Sunday (no such excuse for Bournemouth at Anfield the week before) but we were weathering the early storm until the weekly defensive howler from Trent and we’re a goal down. To be fair to him, what happened on Sunday can happen to any player, take your eye off the ball for a split second and it rolls under your foot. It’s just the latest mistake from Trent however, that’s caused us to concede. It literally happens every week, either he leaves his runner, doesn’t know he’s there or something daft like Sunday’s effort. I love Trent, he’s a wonderful footballer but an absolutely horrible defender. I won’t labour the point as everyone knows my feelings on the subject but for the love of god just move him into midfield permanently.

In truth, he was lucky to still be on the pitch when it happened, even if his first booking was ridiculous. He was clearly fouled by Gordon and threw the ball away in frustration, however was very lucky to escape a second booking after cynically body checking Gordon minutes later. Whether the ref felt himself that the first yellow was a bit harsh or just bottled such a big decision so early in the game, we’ll never know. It’s not what you’re looking for from your vice captain though. I said at the time he was given the position that if he wasn’t a local lad, he wouldn’t have been made vice captain and I stand by that. He’s still got a bit of growing up to do.

Anyway as if it wasn’t bad enough to concede such an early goal, it was compounded shortly after by a very clumsy challenge from Virgil that resulted in a red. It was one of those that was a very harsh red for the tackle itself, however we must admit that by the letter of the law he was last man and denied a clear goal scoring opportunity so had to go and is in fact a lucky lad to not have had his ban extended for abusing the officials. To be perfectly honest, he only has himself to blame, it was lazy defending plain and simple. I don’t know whether Virgil believes his own hype or it’s because the game was so easy for him for a while that he’s become complacent but that lackadaisical style of defending has crept into his game since he came back from injury and Sunday wasn’t the first time it’s cost us.

After that I held out little hope of getting a result I must admit and while Darwin was the hero in the end, if it wasn’t for Alisson it would’ve been game over long before Nunez came on. He pulled off a string of fine saves and one that defied physics as he managed to tip a thunderous volley onto the crossbar that looked a goal all the way. We’re far too reliant on Alisson these days though. A couple of seasons back he could’ve watched half our games from the stands but that seems a long time ago now.

Our new signings continue to impress, I really enjoy watching Mac Allister, he’s a very understated but effective player, everything he does is neat and tidy and his passing range is excellent. A year playing with Thiago will be excellent for his development as well I feel and he looks a natural successor to the Spaniard. Szoboszlai also continues to look an absolute diamond of a player, his work rate and physicality, mixed with his excellent technical ability make him a fearsome weapon in our arsenal and he’ll only get better.

The real story of the day was Darwin however. He finds himself 5th choice at the moment and a lot of players would be sulking, giving interviews or moaning on social media (looking at you Carvalho) but we haven’t heard a cheep from Darwin and when he has come on, there can be no faulting his effort and he got his reward on Sunday with two absolutely brilliantly taken goals, the latter proving to be the winner in what seemed the most unlikely of comebacks. He could have actually been in on goal earlier had his touch not let him down, as a tactical masterclass from Klopp in the final 15 minutes turned the game in our favour. The manager can only do so much however, the players still have to deliver and damn, did Darwin deliver on Sunday. I’m really pleased for him and hope this can be a springboard for him to push on now. I really hope Klopp starts him in the next game, a player has to feel there’s a reward for their efforts, if you want to keep them motivated. One thing is for sure though, he terrifies defenders and is a handful for anyone if he can just polish his game a little and cut out the erratic nature of his play at times.

Anyway, 7 points from our opening 3 games is more than respectable, considering we’ve had Chelsea and Newcastle away and played the majority of two of our games with 10 men. I do feel we’re slightly papering over the cracks however. I’m struggling to see a real identity in the team at the moment and our defending is reactionary and chaotic the vast majority of the time. We can’t expect Alisson to bail us out every week.

Job done however which is all you can ask, especially in the difficult circumstances. Whether we make any last minute signings remains to be seen, I suspect we won’t which is a pretty poor show to be honest and only going to ramp up the pressure on FSG, who’s popularity amongst the fanbase is very much in decline.

Our difficult start continues however as we host Villa on Sunday and will need to do it without our captain. It’s a chance for Gomez or Matip to prove they still have what it takes to play for Liverpool though. Possibly both of them if Konate hasn’t recovered by that time. Three points is a must however, as we need to build some momentum which we never managed until the last 10 games or so of last season.

Thoughts then troops? Promising signs, results papering over the cracks or a bit of both? Walk on!!