Well done Liverpool. A well deserved win.
I wonder what odds you’d have got on that result!
I wonder what odds you’d have got on that result!
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The 2018-2019 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
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Fantastic result for Liverpool; they took it to Barcelona and won comprehensively, overturning a three goal deficit against one of the best teams on the planet (what does that make Liverpool?).
Bear in mind that this is the second consecutive year that Liverpool have made it to the CL final, and they still snapping at the heels of Manchester City in the PL.
Bear in mind that this is the second consecutive year that Liverpool have made it to the CL final, and they still snapping at the heels of Manchester City in the PL.
Okay: I am willing to wager that Pep Guardiola (very privately) would love to be in Liverpool's shoes, and those of Mr Klopp; namely, chasing the PL, snapping at the heels of the team in the lead, (rather than narrowly in front, fully stretched but eliminated from the CL), yet having reached the final of the CL so dramatically and with such belief, conviction, ambition, verve and confidence.
I've been saying (writing?) for weeks not to write off Liverpool.
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I believed Liverpool could do it, but I confess I did not believe they would. Origi has stepped up in some very big moments this season. Not the player I would have predicted for that!
Agreed. When you see Salah missing from the starting line up, you don’t think a four goal thriller is coming.
Unlike - let us say, by way of comparison and contrast - Manchester United - Liverpool play as a team, - meaning that their collective strength is enhanced - rather than as a group of gifted individuals - with flair and vision and passion.
If anything, they allowed themselves to be too overawed by the wonders of the player Salah was last season - this season he has been nowhere nearly as good, - and while he is still superb at times, he does not need to be treated as a talisman.
Liverpool have the strength in depth and a fantastic team spirit to win against top teams without Salah, or feeling that they were in some way handicapped by his absence.
In fact, his absence may have liberated them - and he may not have felt able to rise to the challenge of - and taken on the responsibility of - performing at such a level in such an important game (as Messi did last week).
I take your point, though perhaps I could flip that and say that Origi, despite his previous heroics this season, did not strike me as having the tools necessary to get the job done against Barcelona in Salah's absence.
And he proved me wrong.
Fair comment, but Liverpool played as a team, a team with a common vision, goal and ambition - not a bunch of gifted individuals - which means that their respective individual strengths have been enhanced and amplified and increased and that their collective strength is greater than their individual gifts.
In a way, not having Salah, and not having to rely on him and hope that he rose to the occasion, liberated them.
From the very beginning, Liverpool played as though they thought they could win, and win, not just the leg, but the tie overall. They weren't overawed by Barcelona, by the three goal deficit, or by the fact that they had lost two players considered key to their attacking efforts.
...and the credit for that goes to Klopp. Pundits like to laugh at his energetic antics (and he does occasionally step over the line), but his approach pays dividends. I would never have gone into this match believing I would win. Klopp was able to instill that belief in the players, and without that you’ve lost before a ball is kicked.
I see the transfer ban on Chelsea has been affirmed. It will make things difficult for them next season.
Well it’s good they struggle for a bit. Everyone else has to at times.
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He has done well. Can’t deny that.
Agreed.
Again, privately, (very privately), I am prepared to wager that Pep Guardiola would love to be in Jurgen Klopp's position, and would swop their respective places, namely, to be in charge of a team that is still ferociously challenging (and hasn't let up challenging) for the PL, but that has also made it to the final of the CL for the second consecutive year.
If Liverpool actually win the CL, while Manchester City (eliminated from the CL) retain their Premiership crown, privately, Guardiola will regard that with - I suspect - considerable frustration.
Pep could still do the domestic treble remember. No mean achievement.
Candidly, I don't see it happening. Perhaps two out of the three, but hardly all three.
But, notwithstanding that, I would wager that he would swap any or all of those for success in the CL.
Liverpool have the pedigree and tradition (and now, a tried, and tested and tempered team) in Europe.
Elsewhere, re Chelsea, yes, this confirmation of the transfer ban will present problems, but they have those anyway with an absent owner, and an unloved manager.
Ajax went into this leg of the tie leading Spurs by one goal to nil.
Despite the fact that Spurs are actually playing well, Ajax have added a further two goals, meaning that the aggregate score is 3-0 to Ajax as half time approaches.
That means that Spurs have 45 minutes in which to score three goals (at a minimum).
Despite the fact that Spurs are actually playing well, Ajax have added a further two goals, meaning that the aggregate score is 3-0 to Ajax as half time approaches.
That means that Spurs have 45 minutes in which to score three goals (at a minimum).
Notwithstanding the resurrection of last night (and despite the three nil defeat of the previous week against Barcelona, Liverpool and actually played very well on that night), I somehow cannot see Spurs managing something similar.
At the end of the day, for all of their tainted team, Spurs lack strength in depth, and it may be that Pochettino has achieved all that is possible to achieve with this group of players.
Two transfer windows with no arrivals and a big stadium to pay for has probably put a dampener on their season. But the semi finals of the CL and 3rd in the league is still a pretty good season. Just no one ever remembers who came third!
1985/86 a great team came third in the league!
The year when Leicester won the Premiership, 2016, a certain team more prone to self-destruction these days (ten defeats this season! - we are exactly where we deserve to be, although, mind you, Spurs managed to lose 13 matches in the PL this season) actually came second.
Not that anyone remembers such (relative) success even though it occurred relatively recently.....
Well as a historian you should know that history only really remembers the winners! Those that came second are a mere footnote in history!
[doublepost=1557346906][/doublepost]Spurs mounting a come back? 2-2 on the night.
There is truth in what you write - although, as an historian, I must confess to an addiction to footnotes.
My mother - who played at just under international level in table tennis in the 50s, (and was also an excellent tennis player and pretty handy at hockey at school) used to say, with a gimlet eye, "it's the scoreboard that counts."
Spurs pull one back.
Game on - to some extent.
[doublepost=1557347135][/doublepost]Spurs score a second; 2-2 here at the second leg, although Ajax still lead 3-2 on aggregate.
Sensational come back from Spurs.
How did that not go in? Spurs denied a victory by the woodwork and 3 minutes plus stoppage time remain.
[doublepost=1557349130][/doublepost]Amazing! What a come back! Spurs have scored again. What were the defenders doing?
[doublepost=1557349130][/doublepost]Amazing! What a come back! Spurs have scored again. What were the defenders doing?
Well, what can I say? Only that I must now consume, digest and eat my words.
While I always thought Liverpool had (and have) it in them to beat anyone, I will candidly and freely admit that I never thought that Spurs could pull matter back in 45 minutes.
Ajax - having scored two in the first half, and with a one nil lead from the first round - must have thought that they were secure and that this was too much of a hill to climb for an exhausted and stretched Spurs.
Stunning victory for Spurs.
Again, (Manchester United and others take note) they play as a team.
While I always thought Liverpool had (and have) it in them to beat anyone, I will candidly and freely admit that I never thought that Spurs could pull matter back in 45 minutes.
Ajax - having scored two in the first half, and with a one nil lead from the first round - must have thought that they were secure and that this was too much of a hill to climb for an exhausted and stretched Spurs.
Stunning victory for Spurs.
Again, (Manchester United and others take note) they play as a team.