LFC 21/22 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly – Gameweek #25
The men that can, stun Inter Milan. Nothing mellow against the men in green and yellow, but cracks begin to show as champions are dealt a blow. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Another week reviewed at Liverpool Football Club.
The Good
The backs against the wall performance that saw Liverpool defeat Inter Milan 0-2 in their own backyard.
For most of the game, it seemed as if it was just a matter of time before Inter scored. They seemed to have the lion’s share of possession and chances. They came closest when Hakan Calhanoglu struck the bar with Alisson well-beaten.
However, as we know football is a game of two halves and this one was no exception. A triple substitution on the hour saw Harvey Elliot, Fabinho and Sadio Mané make way for Jordan Henderson, Naby Keïta and new boy Luis Diaz.
The changes left the hosts all at sea and Liverpool got to grips with the game. Fast forward 15 minutes and it was pretty much game over. Goals from Roberto Firmino, and Mo Salah settled the tie.
Taking a lead into the #UCL last-16 second leg 🙌
Enjoy the full match replay, highlights and reaction from #INTLIV on @LFCTV GO!
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 17, 2022
The pair meet again in a couple of weeks for the second leg of the stage. If Liverpool play to their capability-along with the 12th man Anfield crowd, the second leg should be a formality. Having said that, nothing can be taken for granted at this stage in the competition.
The (Not) Bad
Not a huge surprise, but still a great result. Coming from a goal behind to beat Norwich 3-1 at Anfield on Saturday.
Dean Smith – the architect of Liverpool’s 7-2 stuffing at Aston Villa a couple of seasons ago, came to Anfield with a very different team and proposition. His rock-bottom Norwich side perhaps felt like lambs to the slaughter with little or no chance of a repeat of that fete.
Having kept the score to 0-0 at the break, things weren’t looking too bad for Norwich. Especially when they took the lead through Milot Rashica’s deflected effort three minutes after the restart.
“It’s a coaching team effort in that we bring the boys on but change the system as well,”
As seems to be the case with Jürgen Klopp these days. His substitutions are becoming key. Enter Thiago and Divock Origi. To be fair, Liverpool had simply been unlucky up to this point. The resulting 4-4-2 like formation gave the visitors a problem they couldn’t solve.
81' – A lovely finish from Luis Díaz, scoring his first for the Reds in front of the Kop 😍
[3-1]#LIVNOR https://t.co/SbaovmeYtb
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 19, 2022
Twenty minutes later Liverpool we’re 3-1 up and well on their way to three very precious points. Goals from Mané, Salah and a first for new boy Luis Diaz finished the comeback. The points were made all the more sweeter because of…
The (Sm)Ugly
In the late kick off at the Etihad, Manchester City faced Tottenham Hotspurs. The (largely expected) win would have maintained City’s nine-point advantage over Liverpool.
Spurs however had other ideas. A stoppage time winner – to cancel out a stoppage time equaliser minutes earlier – secured Tottenham an unlikely but, by all accounts deserved victory.
The brace scored by Harry Kane added to the irony considering the hotly anticipated England captain’s move to City over the summer that eventually didn’t work out.
If you can’t join them, beat them. #MANTOT pic.twitter.com/Pn4ZukfXXF
— Skhanda World🇿🇦 (@VuyisileMavesta) February 19, 2022
The result means the six-point gap can be halved if Liverpool win their game in hand. “If” a small word with a massive, massive meaning. There are 14 games left to play for this season. Hold on to your hats, folks. This is shaping up to be a super finish to the season.
YNWA
