Football, bloody hell. I feel like I've just aged ten years.
Finaly, a match that lives up to the hype. Incredible energy and skill from both sides. Klopp's "Heavy metal" football vs Pep's English-adapted Tiki Taka 2.0.
Liverpool have taken down City without Coutinho, without van Dijk - and with Karius between the sticks. Unbelievable. Oxlade-Chamberlain showed up big today as well.
Man City bossed possession, but Liverpool stole the ball repeatedly in key areas. I think this match demonstrates that "traditional' approaches to defending against City are not always the best way to deal with them. Liverpool forced them to react to the match, rather than allowing them to control the tempo. This approach pretty much gurantees that City will score goals - but it also creates the opportunity to put Pep's men under serious pressure, and in such circumstances the defense can come out looking very average.
Karius will be blamed for conceding Man City's first goal, but I don't think Mignolet would have necessarily saved that.
The thing is, this was a classic Klopp performance - Mou wins matches 1-0, Klopp wins them 4-3. The result is exactly the same, but the latter strategy is much more exciting (and stressful) to watch. Nothing is more exhilarating than seeing the lightning speed with which Liverpool can force turnovers and turn them into scoring opportunities. But the counter-pressing style places huge demands on individual players, leading to errors and conceding goals. It is the inherent weakness in Klopp's approach - though I hasten to add it is not a fatal flaw. When Liverpool went 4-1 up I knew, after having watched them all season, that we would need every bit of that 3 goal lead if we were to win the match, and so it proved.
Few managers are willing to adopt such an intense, risky tactical approach against a Pep team - but Klopp has shown that the idea has merit, given the right squad.
Liverpool's problem is that they tend to close out matches looking shaky, and today was no exception. Man City looked sharp and focused late in the match and responded to going 4-1 down by closing out the game really strongly, putting Liverpool under pressure and nearly bringing the match level. It wasn't a question of physical energy - Liverpoool were running hard and frankly still outworking Man City right to the end - but more mental fatigue; the players were mentally exhausted and losing focus.
Anyway, that is how you do it, Jose....
Finaly, a match that lives up to the hype. Incredible energy and skill from both sides. Klopp's "Heavy metal" football vs Pep's English-adapted Tiki Taka 2.0.
Liverpool have taken down City without Coutinho, without van Dijk - and with Karius between the sticks. Unbelievable. Oxlade-Chamberlain showed up big today as well.
Man City bossed possession, but Liverpool stole the ball repeatedly in key areas. I think this match demonstrates that "traditional' approaches to defending against City are not always the best way to deal with them. Liverpool forced them to react to the match, rather than allowing them to control the tempo. This approach pretty much gurantees that City will score goals - but it also creates the opportunity to put Pep's men under serious pressure, and in such circumstances the defense can come out looking very average.
Karius will be blamed for conceding Man City's first goal, but I don't think Mignolet would have necessarily saved that.
The thing is, this was a classic Klopp performance - Mou wins matches 1-0, Klopp wins them 4-3. The result is exactly the same, but the latter strategy is much more exciting (and stressful) to watch. Nothing is more exhilarating than seeing the lightning speed with which Liverpool can force turnovers and turn them into scoring opportunities. But the counter-pressing style places huge demands on individual players, leading to errors and conceding goals. It is the inherent weakness in Klopp's approach - though I hasten to add it is not a fatal flaw. When Liverpool went 4-1 up I knew, after having watched them all season, that we would need every bit of that 3 goal lead if we were to win the match, and so it proved.
Few managers are willing to adopt such an intense, risky tactical approach against a Pep team - but Klopp has shown that the idea has merit, given the right squad.
Liverpool's problem is that they tend to close out matches looking shaky, and today was no exception. Man City looked sharp and focused late in the match and responded to going 4-1 down by closing out the game really strongly, putting Liverpool under pressure and nearly bringing the match level. It wasn't a question of physical energy - Liverpoool were running hard and frankly still outworking Man City right to the end - but more mental fatigue; the players were mentally exhausted and losing focus.
Anyway, that is how you do it, Jose....
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