Mane also missed a sitter right before to make it 5-2 and missed another sitter right after. could’ve scored 10 tonight.
Play a reserve/rotated 11 in the semis, if we lose, great. If we win play the starters 60 mins in the Final and get ready for Leicester.
Was just thinking about how good Origi was playing in 2016 when Funes Mori stomped on his ankle and ended his season during the derby. Here we are 3 years later and Champions League winner Divock Origi is still crushing Everton and Funes Mori is sitting on the bench at Villarreal. Delicious
Can't wait to see the titanic semifinal we play against a team from New Caledonia, a country I just learned existed. (I know, we'll probably play Monterrey who are 8th in the Mexican league)
They gotta play a semifinal against Necaxa on Saturday before they fly out. If they win I can't see them prioritizing the CWC over their league championship Either way I hope the team just treats this shit as a couple mid season friendlies
“It’s all about surprising the opposition” - second string’s win over Everton stems from Melwood atmosphere James Pearce - The Athletic Spoiler Not bad for a B team. Jurgen Klopp gambled and hit the jackpot on another record-breaking night at Anfield. This will be remembered as the demolition derby after title-chasing Liverpool stunned their struggling neighbours. What a way to register the longest unbeaten top-flight run in the club’s 127-year history. It now stands at 32 matches dating back to January after Liverpool stuck five past Everton for the first time since 1982. For Klopp, there was the honour of accumulating 100 league wins faster than any of his illustrious predecessors at Anfield. He has reached that milestone in 159 matches — eight fewer games than Kenny Dalglish, who previously held that accolade. For Liverpool, their stranglehold on English football’s most-played derby now stands at 20 meetings. Everton’s pursuit of an elusive victory across Stanley Park will enter a third decade. The gap between the clubs is now a chasm — 29 points after just 15 matches. Yet this triumph for the Premier League leaders was worth so much more than simply re-establishing their eight-point lead at the summit and heaping more misery on Everton. It was a night which set the perfect tone for a potentially season-defining December — the first of nine matches across four different competitions in the space of 25 days. Klopp put his faith in the depth of the squad he has assembled at Anfield and his trust in those who have been on the fringes to deliver was handsomely repaid. Liverpool were without six of their starting line-up from June’s Champions League final triumph over Tottenham in Madrid. With Alisson banned and Joel Matip and Fabinho both injured, Klopp opted to rest Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. If it had backfired, Klopp would have stood accused of being reckless and jeopardising the club’s pursuit of glory with his tinkering. Instead, he looked like a genius after Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri emerged from the shadows to help the sensational Sadio Mane light up Anfield. A year after grabbing a dramatic 96th-minute derby winner, Origi extended his impressive record against Everton with a classy double. Shaqiri, who hadn’t started for Liverpool since the Champions League semi-final second-leg miracle against Barcelona in May, was equally influential. “We have to use the squad, especially at this time of year,” left-back Andy Robertson told The Athletic. “We’ve got such a good squad that we all believe that whoever comes in will do a great job for us. The boys who came into the team were magnificent. They really stepped up to the plate. It pushes everyone on when players come into the team and perform like that. “It was a big performance. I’m sure there will be more rotation over the coming games — there has to be with the number of games we’ve got. [The performance] showed how deep the squad really is.” Klopp sprung a surprise by making five changes and switching to 4-2-3-1. Adam Lallana performed admirably after being handed only his second Premier League start since March. Evergreen stand-in skipper James Milner led by example with his combative edge. However, it was the manager’s decision to shake up Liverpool’s established front three which truly injected some much-needed dynamism and energy to their attack. Salah and Firmino, who both dropped to the bench, have been some way short of their blistering best so far this season and the stats prove it. Having scored a Premier League goal every 91 minutes in 2017-18, that figure for Salah climbed to 148 last season and 169 so far in 2019-20. He produced a goal or assist every 70 minutes in 2017-18 but that was 109 minutes in 2018-19 and 113 so far this campaign. It was 47 minutes per chance created in 2017-18, edging up to 48 minutes in 2018-19 and 56 in 2019-20. As for Firmino, he scored a league goal every 185 minutes in 2017-18 but that figure climbed to 218 minutes in 2018-19 and 296 minutes so far this season. He provided either a goal or an assist every 126 minutes in 2017-18, every 145 minutes in 2018-19 and every 148 minutes so far in 2019-20. In terms of chances created, it was every 49 minutes for the Brazilian frontman in 2017-18, every 61 minutes in 2018-19 and every 66 minutes so far in 2019-20. Fatigue has undoubtedly played a part. Having both played at the World Cup in 2018 and then either the Africa Cup of Nations or the Copa America last summer, neither has had a proper break for two and a half years. Salah has also been carrying an ankle injury since early October when he was hacked down by Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury and has been on a specially-adapted training programme. Yet the fact he only has six Premier League goals to his name, two of which were penalties, has to be cause for concern. Having missed only two league games across his opening two seasons at Liverpool, the Egyptian has already sat out three this time around and has been subbed off in seven of his 12 league outings. Two years after scoring the majestic goal against Everton which earned him FIFA’s Puskas Award, Salah remained rooted to the bench throughout. It will be intriguing to see if Salah and Firmino are recalled for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth. Origi and Shaqiri have certainly given Klopp food for thought. How Everton must be sick of the sight of Origi. Since Ramiro Funes Mori was sent off for an X-rated challenge on the Belgian striker in this fixture in April 2016, which inflicted serious ankle ligament damage and derailed his career, Origi has been making them pay. He now boasts five goals in six outings against them. The former Lille frontman tormented Marco Silva’s fragile back line. He held the ball up expertly and darted in behind intelligently. The 24-year-old opened the scoring by tucking away Mane’s pinpoint pass and then, his second from Dejan Lovren’s lofted through ball almost raised the roof. His first touch was impeccable and Origi’s lifted finish over Jordan Pickford was even better. His name was chanted vociferously and there was a standing ovation when he was replaced by Firmino late on. “Div was brilliant and he gave us a different dimension,” Robertson says. “We know what Bobby gives us — he’s world class. But sometimes even Bobby needs a rest, especially with the amount of work he gets through. “The manager looked at it, decided to give Div a shot, and he gave us something a wee bit different. Maybe we caught Everton off guard as maybe they prepared for Bobby dropping into the No 10 position. “Div gave us that option in behind and I don’t think they knew how to deal with that. It’s all about surprising the opposition and I think we did that. The composure he showed for both goals was outstanding. He’s a big-game player.” Shaqiri’s contribution was all the more eye-catching considering that he had played just 11 minutes of Premier League football so far this season due to a troublesome calf injury. The Swiss attacker, who has been back in full training for a fortnight, had no right to look so sharp and menacing but he caused Everton a stack of problems with his creative spark and bag of tricks on the right flank. In firing home Liverpool’s second goal, Shaqiri scored in the top-flight for the first time since last December. What a huge asset he will prove to be for Klopp if he stays fit over the coming weeks and months. “We train at a high intensity and that was why Shaq was up to the level he needed to be,” Robertson explains. “For Shaq to last 90 minutes after such a frustrating start to the season was amazing and fair play to him; he grew into the game. He’s got so much quality and it was a big step forward. “It all comes from the environment the manager has built. Credit to all the staff as well for helping to create that atmosphere. Melwood is a great place to work just now. Everyone loves coming in every single day. That’s the kind of environment the manager has created. That’s why it was so easy for the likes of me, Virgil (van Dijk) and Mo to step into it. “We all love coming into work. Sometimes, you see Melwood more than you see your own house with the way the schedule is but it feels like a home from home.” While Salah and Firmino had their feet up, it was no surprise that Klopp unleashed Mane from the off once again. The Senegal international is in the form of his life. Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi was on to something when he cast his vote for Mane to win FIFA’s World Player of the Year. Like Salah and Firmino, Mane has also had a relentless schedule since the summer of 2017 but somehow, he appears to be getting stronger. Recently asked about the demands being placed on him, he replied: “Tiredness is all in the head.” Having contributed a goal every 221 minutes in 2017-18, that was reduced to 140 in 2018-19 and 137 so far this season. In terms of chipping in with either a goal or an assist, it was 130 minutes in 2017-18, 134 minutes in 2018-19 and just 95 minutes so far this season. As for chances created, it was every 45 minutes in 2017-18, 69 minutes in 2018-19 and down to every 41 minutes in 2019-20. Mane’s battle with Everton wing-back Djibril Sidibe was such a mismatch that the blundering Monaco loanee was hauled off inside 35 minutes. Having created goals for Origi and Shaqiri with inch-perfect passes, Mane scored Liverpool’s fourth himself with a clinical finish from the edge of the box. Trent Alexander-Arnold had led a devastating breakaway — his 18th assist since the start of last season, more than any other Premier League player. If there was a blot on the night it was the fact that Liverpool’s wait for a first clean sheet since September continues. At 2-0 and then 4-1, Michael Keane and Richarlison then punished some hesitant defending. But when Klopp’s men attack with this kind of flair and intensity, the occasional slip at the other end isn’t going to cost them points. If Mane hadn’t squandered two gilt-edged chances in the second half, Liverpool would have been well and truly out of sight before Georginio Wijnaldum bagged their fifth late on after being teed up by the substitute Firmino. By then, it was party time. The jubilant Kop goaded their neighbours with chants of “going down” before breaking into a booming rendition of “Liverpool, top of the league”. Their relentless march continues. How does it feel to put together the longest unbeaten league run in the club’s history? “It’s amazing, especially when you consider all the great teams this club has had over the years,” beamed Robertson. “We’re trying to make our own history at a club with a huge history. But I’d rather the 32 games without defeat were all in the same season because then, we’d undoubtedly be champions! “It’s all about trophies rather than records for us but this is another step in the right direction.” It was an ominous sign for their rivals.
I am torn between it being a trophy we don’t have and a meaningless trophy that doesn’t matter but Klopp has been pretty straight forward in these situations. He will play the XI with 1 or 2 changes in both games and just have to hope we cruise in both games and can sub VVD and Mane off after 60-70 in each.
The Men in Blazers were analyzing our Derby victory and came up with this gem (after Origi’s second goal): “Everton, their zero-four-six formation clearly not working”
I think we'll see more like a team we did against Everton in the semis. We'll either be playing a team from a country I didn't know existed, Qatar, or the 8th place team in Mexico. We should be able to win that with our U-23's. I'm interested to see what the rotation is this weekend. Might be a good time to give Mane the day off and let Shaqiri start on the left or maybe move Firmino over there and let Origi play up top. Wouldn't mind seeing Hendo-Keita-Ox since we know we're getting Gini-Hendo-Milner on Tuesday.
can’t get over origi scoring one of the biggest goals ever scored at anfield and he starts jogging back to the halfway line until he realizes he should celebrate because everyone is running at him
I Hope Mo’s lack of emotion today is a sign of a man on a mission to get back to his best. Hope he gets another today. Let’s keep a clean sheet now.
“Rugby Football League accepted Liverpool’s right to ban Sun journalists, but the FA appear to be unwilling to get involved in what they regard as a private dispute.” Sounds like they got themselves involved by siding with the sun
Nice easy game before Tuesday. Keita just does things none of our other midfielders do. He should be an automatic starter against teams that want to sit back. Sounds like lovren isn’t too bad but surely there’s a 3rd choice CB sitting on a mid table team somewhere in the world that we could buy or loan in January as insurance
Its likely he leaves at some point, law of probability says as such, but I will still be very sad to see him go.