5 Talking Points from Liverpool vs Leicester City

Klopp has the right lineup

Most wanted to see Gomez instead of Lovren and Keita instead of Milner. The posts I saw online were afraid of Lovren’s lack of game time costing us against Vardy and wanted to see the attacking capabilities of Keita as opposed to the solid but mostly defensive play of Milner. If this game ended as a draw, critics were ready to pounce for taking the safe approach. Lovren had a solid game and helped solidify a defensive line that seemed to be off synch during the week in the Champions League game. Milner also had a great game with a beautiful assist as well as the ice in veins penalty conversion in the last minute. 

Mane the main man…again

Mane is the player carrying this team in attack at the moment. His calmness on the ball combined with his deadly speed is too much for defenses to contain. Mane had a calm and collected finish to grab the first goal and his defensive work on the wing was extraordinary. The front three were not on the same page today but still were able to cause problems and create chances. The speed of Mo and Mane combined with the counter-pressing were enough to create scoring opportunities against the duo of Soyuncu and Evans, who both had a great game. Mane is playing at a very high level and with the injury to Salah in the later stages of the game, Sadio’s form will be crucial to keep the attack going.

A well deserved three points

A week ago, we were discussing how Liverpool were lucky to get three points from Sheffield United. The Reds had not played well and got their goal through a goalie error. As the last minutes of the Leicester game approached, I thought we were unlucky to be in the situation we were. If we were able to take advantage of the counter-attacking opportunities early in the second half and got the second goal, this would have been a much easier win. Leicester City is too good of a team to be left lingering around in the game and they were able to create the chance they needed to get their goal. With the performance we showed up to that point, I felt the ten minutes of the remaining time was enough to give us opportunities to win. We did create the chances but could not take advantage until Albright came to the rescue with an ill-advised move to create the penalty

Clear penalty and a cool finish

Leave it to the media to make the penalty a point of discussion. I would not have even addressed the call if it was not being debated and questioned on TV and Rodgers calling it “soft”. Albright makes clear contact with the left foot of Mane and prevents him from moving it. Mane felt the contact and knew that Albright just doubled up on his error by overcommitting to the tackle even though he did not have to. Trying to stay up does not get you trophies and more importantly three points. VAR could only confirm the penalty and I would still argue that it could have overturned a decision of no-call as there was clear contact being made

While I could barely watch, Milner walked up to it and sealed the game with a well-taken penalty.  While most give him credit for being a great leader, Milly rarely gets the credit he deserves for the player he is and his performances. He might not be physically gifted with speed and agility especially at his age, but his grit combined with professionalism should not be taken for granted. What a player this guy is!!! Boring Milner for president!!

Mo injury is a concern

We rarely see Klopp angry in interviews after the game even after a poor result. His anger in the post-match interview and his overall frustration during the press conference afterward says all we need to know about the extent of Salah’s injury. It definitely did not look good and we can only hope that the international break’s timing will let him not miss any games. Klopp’s reaction definitely makes it sound like it is a lot worse than that though unfortunately and Liverpool fans should be concerned until we get more news on the extent of the injury. Even though Mane has been the main scoring threat so far this year, it is very clear to see that the threat of Mo’s speed and skill enables everyone else to have more space and opportunity. Here is to hoping that the injury is not as bad as it looks and we might find ourselves happy to see an international game break for once.

MOTM: Mane

The streak goes on and no better place to tie the all-time record than to beat United @ Old Trafford. YNWA