11th March

Wow. Just wow.

Liverpool Thrash Woeful United

Of all the low points in Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United career, this has to be the lowest. And for Klopp's Liverpool, it feels like one of the highs. 

There's a second leg to come, so I shouldn't be counting my chickens before they've hatched, but to be quite honest, after a night like last night, not only is it impossible not to be overwhelmingly positive, but it's also important to note that I can't see a way back into this tie for Manchester United. Yes, it would have been nice to get a third or even a fourth, and United certainly couldn't have complained if we did, but at 2-0, all we need is an away goal and the tie is over. The best United can hope for is an early goal and to hold out at 1-0 for most of the leg, before nicking another to take it to extra time. But frankly, I can't see that happening. 

I said yesterday that if we played at our best, there was a possibility that we could crush United. I was being slightly sensational for the sake of it, sure, but nevertheless I wasn't wrong. I didn't get the chance to watch the match, but between the constant updates from my loving friends, the full time analysis I was given by other friends, who were entirely neutral, not to mention watching the highlights and reading five or six different summaries of the game, I have a pretty well formed opinion of what happened. We played them off the park. 

Klopp got every big decision right and LVG got everything wrong. The triumvirate of Lallana, Firmino and Coutinho finally hit top gear, buzzing around United like flies, stealing possession at every opportunity, pulling off outrageous pieces of skill to humiliate two or three United defenders at a time. Not that the United defenders did themselves any favours. Some of the pieces of defending I saw on the highlights reel were nothing short of embarrassing, schoolboy errors from the likes of Carrick and Smalling, whilst the likes of Blind and Mata seemed not to care as they lazily went into 50/50s or made lame attempts to tackle, only to be surprised when the brilliant Firmino or the sensational Lallana made them look stupid a second later. This was a performance of the highest class, against a team that looked like a shadow of its former self, a smoldering wreck of a club. I said earlier in the season that United were an average club with a world class goalkeeper and that we were a very, very strong team with an average goalkeeper, and that was obvious last night. 

And it was that world class goalkeeper who was Man United's, if not the best player on the pitch (although it's hard to look past the likes of Firmino, Lallana and the exceptional Nathaniel Clyne, who had his best game in a Liverpool shirt), as he made a string of excellent stops to keep the scoreline manageable. If it wasn't for De Gea, United might as well have not bothered turning up next week, so dominant were Liverpool and the fact that Coutinho didn't get on the scoresheet is nothing short of astonishing. 

But the men who did get on the scoresheet were Daniel Sturridge, through a very tight but correctly awarded penalty after Clyne was felled by the increasingly hapless Memphis Depay, and Roberto Firmino, who made all comparisons between him and Depay seem laughable as he once again turned in a stunning performance to rack up his 8th goal in 13 appearances, alongside 4 assists in that period. Firmino is turning rapidly into one hell of a player, whilst Depay's impact on this game was to concede a sloppy penalty. 

Looking at United's players though, De Gea aside none of them come out with any glory. Rashford was hijacked at half time, replaced by Michael Carrick who had one of his worst games in a United shirt, compounded by his horrific error that led to Firmino's goal. Not a center back or not, that was a horror show. Blind and Smalling looked inept, Martial was once again wasted out on the left and totally unable to get into the game, as United had absolutely no control over central midfield and the main reason for that was arguably the jewel in the United crown of awfulness, Fellaini, whose sole contribution to this game was that he could have been sent off multiple times, and may yet get a retrospective ban. If I was a United fan, I'd be praying that he's banned before the second leg, because if LVG decides to start him again, and makes the same tactical mistakes he made this week, then the result will be the same. 

Simply put, this was a comprehensive performance, a result and performance as good for us as it was bad for United, but securing that second goal was always crucial, as was the clean sheet. With twenty minutes to go, 1-0 wouldn't have been enough, and an away goal would have given United an undeserved advantage to take to Old Trafford, so to see us put the second away, probably kill the tie after United failed to score and not leave me with any mixed feelings after this match, was terrific to see. 

This is the Liverpool that Jurgen Klopp is building to and we're hitting form and momentum at the right time in the season as others around us start to falter. And as for Man United, I'm not sure that LVG is building anything at all, and how he hasn't been sacked yet is beyond me.  

Spurs Surrender

Meanwhile, a potentially strange decision from Mauricio Pochettino to play only three of his best starting eleven against Dortmund was duly punished, as a superb display from the German side, led from the front by the incredible Marco Reus, put Spurs to the sword. I said that without Dier and Alli, Spurs would struggle, but when Dembele, Kane and Lamela were also all left on the bench, there was a real sense that they would have no control in midfield, and no clinical finisher up front for the rare chances that they got on the break. With only Lloris, Alderweireld and Eriksen first choice starters, Tottenham were ripped to shreds by one of the best teams in Europe, as Aubameyang scored and Reus netted twice to make it 3-0 and secure qualification. 

As a good friend of mine pointed out after the match, there's no telling whether a Spurs team anywhere close to their best team would have stood a chance against a rampant Dortmund side, who are certainly in the top five or six sides in Europe at the moment, but they never got the chance, because Pochettino is putting all of his eggs in the Premier League basket. 

On the one hand, it makes total sense. Dortmund would probably have won anyway, the Europa League isn't a huge competition and Spurs (unlike Liverpool and United) are basically guaranteed Champions League football next season anyway. But on the other hand, it's Aston Villa this weekend and then Bournemouth afterwards. These are not games that Poch cannot afford to rest players in, even if he does prioritize the league. Granted, he couldn't play Dier, Alli or Rose anyway, but Lamela, Dembele and Kane all could have started and the side that he sent out today was more than capable of smashing Villa on Sunday. And if nothing else, the decision to start with the increasingly poor Mason when Nabil Bentaleb was sitting on the bench scratches some heads. 

Nevertheless, with the seasons that these two sides are having, Dortmund were always favourites, and Pochettino has more than earned the benefit of the doubt. It's just a shame that we didn't get to see Spurs give this game a proper chance. 

The Hard and Fast Section

• FA Cup is back tonight. Come on Reading. 
• No EPL for us, so United next up. Fresh.
• And of course, England vs Wales tomorrow. 
• Scotland eliminated from World T20. Disappointed. 
• Tay Swizzle to perform for the F1? Yes please.