Liverpool Destroy The Champions
Liverpool took apart Leicester with a display of attacking so visceral and so destructive that it could just as easily have been seven or eight as it was 4-1. The last time I talked about Liverpool I talked about how difficult it was to gauge how the club were doing, and how optimism was shaded by pessimism, and after this display, it's difficult to be anything but positive. Reactionism is rife amongst Liverpool supporters, but on Saturday's evidence, you could forgive them some positive reactions.
Liverpool were awesome. The passing out the back was exceptional, as Lucas and Matip controlled the game, Henderson was terrific in the hole, Wijnaldum and Lallana ahead of him showed brilliant energy and movement, Mane and Firmino on the wings were lively and dangerous and Sturridge turned in a brilliantly intelligent performance. The main question over Sturridge in the last few weeks is whether or not he fits into this team and system as well as some of Klopp's other options. Based on Saturday, the answer is a resounding yes.
It's hard to isolate one or two players who performed well, it feels like the entire team played their part.The first goal was a clever pass by Milner, with Sturridge's run creating space, and Firmino doing the rest. The second was a fantastic ball by Henderson, who once again was exceptional and underrated, Sturridge ran onto it and played a lovely flicked pass to Mane whose chip was too good for Schmeichel. The third was another intelligent pass, this time from Sturridge into Wijnaldum, who did well to hold the ball up and find Lallana, who let rip with a belting finish. And then for the fourth, once again it was Henderson with the through ball, Schmeichel came out and got nowhere near the ball, as Mane tore through and picked Firmino to slide in.
But aside from the goals, there were some brilliant, intelligent passes and moves from Liverpool. Lallana was at the heart of everything, running the show in midfield, and Mane's influence on Liverpool's attacking play was unrivaled. But Daniel Sturridge was arguably the star of the show: involved in every goal before he was brought off, creating several chances of his own, on another day he would have scored a couple himself.
From Leicester's point of view, it was a complete disaster, with Daniel Amartey proving that he is a sorry substitute for N'golo Kante, whose absence was keenly felt as Amartey and Drinkwater were run ragged. But for Kasper Schmeichel making two or three good saves, Liverpool could have run riot even more than they did.
But it wasn't a perfect display from Liverpool, as their defensive achilles heel once again reared its head. With Lucas starting at CB and Mignolet behind him, mistakes were inevitable. Lucas has been a solid servant to the club for many years and his passing out the back was a big part of Liverpool's game but his mistake for Leicester's goal was unacceptable, even if it should have been chalked off, as he was caught in possession and as a result played a sloppy pass to give Vardy an open goal. A few minutes later, Mignolet came out to punch a corner and got nowhere near it, Huth's resulting header hitting the crossbar. Liverpool will be very glad to have Mamadou Sakho and the newly fit Loris Karius into the side.
But overall, this was a very positive display from Liverpool and puts them in a good position, as they go to the Bridge on Friday to face Antonio Conte's Chelsea.
Djokovic Tamed in US Open Final
Last week, I asked whether stamina or form would be more important going into the final Grand Slam of the year. As it turned out, it was the latter. Novak Djokovic never got going against Stan Wawrinka, despite a positive start. Djokovic ended up being both physically and technically inferior, as taking the first set in a tie-breaker, despite being 5-2 up, only delayed the inevitable for the Serb. Despite spending nearly 22 hours on court, Wawrinka looked the fitter player, and the lack of game time that Djokovic has had in recent weeks came back to haunt him in a big way.
Mentally speaking, Djokovic wasn't at the races. A man who six months ago looked unbeatable, who had the edge mentally, physically and technically over all opposition, had none of those advantages over Wawrinka. Lack of match fitness, match play and form all combined as Wawrinka took total control of the match, winning 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, with Djokovic hobbling by the end from a blistered and bleeding toe.
As much as Djokovic struggled, this was all about Wawrinka, who was stunning on route to his third Grand Slam title, and the third year in a row he's won a Slam. Wawrinka claimed that he wasn't yet one of the big four, but with Federer and Nadal aging and injury hit, there's a lot of evidence to suggest that Wawrinka could win big titles in the next few years, and may well be the only man capable of breaking the Murray/Djokovic monopoly.
Either way, this was an excellent result for the Swiss, and definitive proof that Djokovic is nowhere near his best at the moment, both physically and in terms of form. Luckily, he has a few months to recover, and he'll hopefully be back somewhere near his best for January.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Lukaku at the treble for Everton.
- GB up to 29 Paralympic Golds. Magical.
- Terry to miss LFC v Chelsea.
- Sharapova doping appeal set for October.
No comments:
Post a Comment