Liverpool F.C. – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Gameweeks 24 – 25
Wins against the Hammers and the Saints, leave fans with no complaints. Relying on VAR is becoming hard, as it’s as much use as a chocolate fire guard! A rival boss piped up, accepting he can only win the cup. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Another week reviewed at the world’s favourite football club Liverpool F.C.
The Good
Back-to-Back wins against West Ham United and Southampton and netting six goals in the process. At this point in time, Liverpool are simply too good. Too cool for school. They are passing every test that is put before them, but boring? Lord, no!
The victory against West Ham was what one would call “efficient”. Nothing dramatic. Just clinical football. No waste. The team just done what they needed to do. Goals in either half from Mo Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were sufficient to give Jürgen Klopp’s team their 23rd win of the campaign.
Southampton provided a sterner test. In fairness the 4-0 score line was perhaps a little harsh on the Saints. Especially seeing as they had the better of the first half and were unlucky not to go into the break ahead – instead of the 0-0 that it was.
Second half goals from Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and a double from Salah have Liverpool a record-breaking win. The current winning streak is the longest of any team since Bob Paisley’s Reds team of 1972.
A scouse colleague of mine said to me recently “It’s getting boring now…” which I laughed at. Only to realise that he was being serious! Perhaps he has a point but to be honest, I wouldn’t change this for anything. Liverpool are making a bold statement in every game. Setting the benchmark and saying: “Come and have a go of you think you’re hard enough!”
Today's programme cover ❤️#LIVSOU pic.twitter.com/Hp6b1atbo9
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 1, 2020
The Bad
The continuing chaos caused by VAR. In the Southampton game, there was a clear penalty against Shane Long as he hauled Roberto Firmino to the ground in front of goal.
Referee Kevin Friend certainly didn’t live up to his name as he failed to award a blatant penalty. One has to question what the actual value add for VAR actually is. It certainly seems to be causing more problems than it was intended to solve.
In the past, I was all for using video replays to spot penalties, hand balls etc. What we seem to have ended up with however, is a system where blatant decisions are overruled.
I thought it was a penalty. He knows exactly what he is doing, he brings him down
Dermot Gallagher
Former Premiership referee Dermot Gallagher was also critical of Friend’s decision “I thought it was a penalty. He knows exactly what he is doing, he brings him down” said the 62 year-old who has overseen more than 300 games in the top flight.
In any case, the decision proved to be a non-pivotal event as Liverpool finished with a convincing, albeit hard-fought victory.
Former Premier League referee confirms Liverpool were denied a clear penalty against Southampton: Referee Kevin Friend waved away Roberto Firmino's claim that Shane Long had dragged him to the floor in the first half with the .. https://t.co/TMSlj2m9za pic.twitter.com/Qrd0yd6oAY
— Soccer Talk (@soccertal) February 3, 2020
The Ugly
Pep Guardiola having a dig at Liverpool as he boasts about wanting to win the cup, unlike others who “win a lot”
The Manchester City Manager was back to his cantankerous best last week claiming he was happy to be at Wembley with a historic team like Aston Villa. It’s clear the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach sees this as his only chance to win something this season. And, wants everyone to know it.
Isn’t that nice of him? Good old Pep. So nice of him to want to uphold these ancient English traditions. Aren’t we so (un)lucky to have him.
https://twitter.com/iliverpoolapp/status/1222817022813319169?s=21
On This Day
In 1994, a former member of the old Boot Room called Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (yes, that really is his name), took over as Liverpool manager following the departure of Graeme Souness.
The popular, Bootle-born Evans took charge of the team. His 270 games for Liverpool, saw him win 133 of them. He was finally replaced by Gerrard Houllier in November 1998. after an unsuccessful attempt to have the pair as a joint management team.
Up next we have a review of the F.A. Cup tie that saw the Under 23 squad reaching the F.A. Cup fifth round with the 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town. Well done boys!
On a final note, remember The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 2018/19 season summary is available now on Amazon. Click here for your store.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @TheLFCFile
Facebook: @thelfcfile
And now on Instagram: thelfcfile
