GulliVAR

[Nottingham Forest 0 – 1 Liverpool].

So…that was dumb.

I mean, seriously folks, the Reds produced a no less than shameful display in the first half, and only improved marginally in the second. Goal hero Macca was downright shambolic, but you can’t take away the presence of mind that allowed him to score not one, but two goals in extra time, even if one didn’t count for…reasons. Yeah, yeah, it hit the inside of his (fully tucked into his body) arm or something, but it was a Forest player who kicked it at him from point-blank range, and what it really hit was his back because he was jumping to block the ball, and we’ve seen this kind of call go the other way in the past in apparently entirely random fashion.

Forest showed why they are in a difficult relegation battle, and in many parts of the game, it was battle of the worst, with the worst free kick takers vs. receivers being a common theme. Konate, Kerkez and especially Ali are the only ones who really escape criticism. In the end, for producing a performance similar to his team mates (that is, terrible,) yet still doing the dirty deed in the last play of the game, Macca gets my nod for man-of-the-match, because screw it, some days all it takes is staying present until the whistle goes. Ali is the one who deserves it, to be fair.

With that out of the way, let’s fan the, uhh, candlelight (flames would be too generous) a bit.

Salah was awful. Like, really, truly awful. He is clearly having huge issues with adjusting his game to his declining physical capabilities, and Neco Williams had him in his pocket the entire game. Rio was a massive upgrade. Macca’s disallowed goal, a precursor to the one that stood, was primarily due to Rio, and one must wonder whether Rio should be featuring more.

Yet as terrible as Mo was, Jones, Macca and Grav were even worse. Szobo improved the midfield dramatically when he switched roles with Jones, and the latter enjoyed the relative anonymity of dealing with The Tricky Trees’ (not sure if I’ll get to use it again ever, it’s now or never) ineffectual left wing. Ekitike kept looking for Wirtz and finding Sangare. Gakpo was comparatively OK which says nothing whatsoever.

Last I come to Virgil. Not for anything particularly notable except the hilarity of the goal; I was well and truly convinced VAR would chalk that one off until they didn’t. Only then did I learn, as I am sure many of you did as well, that like Gulliver, Virgil’s large frame completely hid the player behind him…the one who had played him onside. How the linesman saw that I have no idea.

Three undeserved, utterly crucial points in the race for top-5, and in a grounds where the Reds usually do not have a good time. Arne Slot will surely be smiling quietly to himself, but the truth is this: we were the low-block team today, and this was a smash-and-grab.

Not sure how y’all feel about that.

I didn’t love it.