Liverpool F.C. – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Gameweek 9

The forgotten man who, rescued a point against Manyoo. A could-be win is marred, when Sadio Mané was VAR’d. Despite the small setback, the Reds still lead the pack. The Good, The Bad, and The down right Smugly. Another week reviewed at the world’s favourite football club Liverpool F.C.

The Good

Coming from a goal down to rescue a point against the old enemy in their own back yard.

A goal from the once heralded Adam Lallana was sufficient to cancel out Marcus Rashford’s opener late in the first half. The atmosphere in the ground somehow showed how far the mighty have fallen as Rashford’s goal sparked wild celebrations in the stands. The home crowd demonstrated how expectations have changed in recent years.

This wasn’t the most fluid Liverpool performance you’ll ever see, but nonetheless, they remained a definite threat to this United side. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set his men out with “damage limitation” in mind. The once invincible men in red and white rarely ventured forward and were content to defend and wait for opportunities to arise.

In any case, this is still Manyoo and as such need to be treated with a modicum of respect, along with any other dangerous (or, for that matter, out of date) substance.

With the clock ticking away in the second half and the home fans pinching themselves at the thought of an unlikely win, Jürgen Klopp brought on Adam Lallana in place of Jordan Henderson, who wasn’t having the best of days to be fair.

The result is OK. It’s not what we wanted but we have to be happy given how the game developed

With five minutes remaining and a number of chances missed, the forgotten man from St. Albans was on hand to tap in Andy Robertson’s cross. The home fans quiet, the visitors relieved. The Reds got out of jail to be fair. However, at the same time, their resilience and “never say die” attitude saw them over the line.

1-1 LALLANAAAAAA!!!!!! Klopp tactical masterclass sub. #LFC #MUNLIV

— TheKop.com (@TheKop_com) October 20, 2019

The Bad

With the introduction of VAR this season, there has certainly been more to talk about. Not that there isn’t already in your average 90 minutes of football. Yesterday’s game was no different.

With Manyoo having taken the lead with a VAR assisted goal, Liverpool on the other hand were denied an equaliser as half time approached. Sadio Mané’s “goal” was chalked off as the VAR replay showed the ball had hit his arm before sliding the ball past David De Gea from close range. Correct? Not 100% in my opinion. Dubious? At best.

At the end of the day, the goal didn’t stand and took the injury-plagued Lallana to save the Reds’ blushes on the day. What a thing this VAR is turning out to be. The human element of the game is slowly, but quite surely, being removed from the game.

the man behind VAR tonight 🤦🏻‍♂#MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/wlJYOZ5s9Z

— Rio Alfonso (@GoldenBoyRB) October 20, 2019

The Smugly

The Reds remain top after 9 games and look good value. Despite being mugged by Manyoo, Liverpool have won every game so far this term.

Mohammed Salah was missing in the United game and the Egyptians absence was felt as there was a clear lack of his energy in front of goal. Despite that, Divock Origi was able to come in and do a reasonably good job. Not to mention of course, the goal scorer.

Adam Lallana is without a shadow of the player who left the feeder club Southampton for a reported £25m in the summer 2014. However, when for, he remains an important part of Klopp’s squad.

Despite the fact that many fans – myself included, think he’s past it, he made an incredibly valuable contribution in this game to ensure a valuable point. A point which may well be needed when with the likes of Manchester City lurking in the background, come to the fore later in the season.

Again, for the two of you that read this blog regularly, you’ll know I don’t place too much weight on the opening games. Usually I use 10 matches as the point where the league really starts to take shape. That comes next week against Tottenham.

However, Liverpool look very convincing this season so far. Should another three points come their way next week, then it’s fair to say, Klopp may be in to something this season.

FT: Man Utd 1-1 Liverpool. Goal: @officialAL20. We were robbed of our victory, but did well to get the draw given the circumstances. The referee and VAR has a lot to answer for. But up the top of the league Reds! #LFC #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/owgO0h2EMR

— LFC Photo (@LFCphoto) October 20, 2019

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