The Thirteenth Hour
Remember Kloppage Time? Yeah. Many of us, I imagine, hired first response medical teams to be on standby back then, on top of the blood pressure meds and stroke specialist hanging around. I think Aren Slot is trying to rewrite this whole system to be even more precise and down the wire. Liverpool is now the only team with four from four, with a full game in hand (already!) and every single one of these has been achieved in the new Overscore Window. Like the Overton in politics, Liverpool seems to have shifted the concept of when it is normal to score in a game of football.
Heck, Arsenal last week got it early.
Hannibal knew it the moment it happened. I feel for him, even as I remember the hatchet job he tried on our players a couple of years ago. Burnley fans showed class when they sang his name at the end, so respect for that. Ultimately, their team was outclassed and outmatched the entire game, but put in a downright heroic shift in defense, and almost got away with a point. Turf Moor is a tough place to visit, and this was never going to be easy, regardless of table positions. So when Mo – it had to be Mo – converted so emphatically, it was all I could do not to scream “now just GTFO of there!”
There isn’t much to say about the game itself apart from that mad moment in the end, but there are some things to note. First of all, I think Robbo deserves a run in the left. Kerkez is playing with verve, but often without purpose, and it’s hurting our transition game. Once Robbo came on, we started creating at least some real movement on the left, and it was fitting that the Reds’ only shot on target in the first half came from the Scot. Similarly, Bradley coming in on the right upped the energy a lot, both because Bradley just takes everything so goddamned personally every time, but also because it freed Szobo to move into the midfield.
Rio showed his quality instantly, sending a downright genius pass across the box to an unmarked Frimpong who, were he not so surprised (like the rest of us) and inclined to hit it on the first touch, would have caught Dubravka (and everyone else) stranded. This kid is going places, and we just have to hope it isn’t anywhere other than Anfield. Wirtz is getting there, slowly but surely, and he is becoming slightly more effective with each game, but we’re not there yet. But in reality, no one was particularly good today, except for two players: Ryan Gravenberch, who looked like the guy who opened last season on fire, and my man-of-the-match, Virgil, who didn’t have tons to do and yet did everything so well. It’s so easy to lose your head in frustration in this kind of game, but a good captain keeps things from falling apart, and Virgil was there to both neutralize the possibility of a dangerous counter (including the one that got close) and to push the lads forward once and again.
Also, did you catch Alisson playing the ball beyond the halfway line?
It would have been entirely reasonable to drop points here, just as it would have been in every other game so far. But the mighty Reds have managed to find a solution to every problem so far. That, in the end, is the sign of champions and of serious title contenders. Looks like Liverpool is going to be hard to deal with this season, for anybody and using any system. I’m just happy my heart had been fortified back in those Kloppage Time days.