When I walked out of the ground yesterday, I was obviously disappointed with the result. That goes without saying. However, I was also very pleased with what I saw. Having witnessed the capitulation at Burnley, I thought we started to show our potential and had some really promising elements to our play. So I was surprised (and also not) to see so much negativity on Twitter last night. Yes, we made mistakes and didn’t take our chances, and I will come onto those, but sometimes you need to look at what we did do well, especially considering the team we were against. This post shall consider the good and the bad, to see whether I was right to leave feeling optimistic.
I’ll start by saying, before the game, would you have taken a narrow 2-1 defeat against the European Champions, during which we shaded a half and on another day could’ve won? I think you would have especially taken that when they were 4-0 up at half-time against Norwich in the opening game.
Now I’m not going to sit here and fawn over Liverpool. They were underwhelming yesterday and as much as I will remain positive, there is no denying that the game was a missed opportunity. We will never have a better chance to beat them in the foreseeable future, and it pains me to say that most other teams would have come away with something yesterday. At times they were visibly tired, having played 120 minutes in Istanbul on Wednesday night, eventually coming out Super Cup Champions over Chelsea on penalties. This sparked wild celebrations, in which a fan slide tackled Adrián, injuring his ankle in the process. Signed on a free in the summer, Liverpool’s second choice keeper made a surprise debut against Norwich when Allison went off injured. On Thursday, reports came out that Adrián was now a doubt, and that thirty-five year old journeyman keeper Andy Lonergan was set for his debut. I have my suspicions that this was mostly Klopp spinning the media to make us look like the favourites, appeasing pressure for them. Regardless, Adrián started, to our disappointment, but let’s not forget that this is someone who was dropped and released by West Ham, playing only five games in his final season there. We shouldn’t have been disappointed and he went on to vindicate that.
That leads me onto our team sheet, which as expected, had alterations following the Turf Moor shambles. Ralph had cancelled the squad’s day-off, put them through high intensity training and took each player involved aside for a one-to-one meeting. Let’s break this team sheet down:
GOALKEEPER:
Angus Gunn retained his position, despite some fans clamouring for Alex McCarthy to be recalled to the starting lineup. They argue he had done nothing to warrant being dropped in the first place, but I do remember his performance levels had significantly dipped from when he came in, and Ralph didn’t hesitate in replacing him. Whilst Gunn didn’t cover himself in glory at Burnley, he was left very exposed by our defence. Angus is younger with the higher potential, isn’t that what Ralph’s all about? More notably however, was the inclusion of Forster on the bench, despite being linked in midweek with a move back to Celtic. Is Alex injured, on the way out, or is Ralph just going to rotate them each week? Seemed a strange decision.
DEFENCE:
Someone was always going to fall after last week’s chaos at the back, and that person turned out to be Jack Stephens. Jack made a string of errors last season that consistently cost us points, however he was our best defender at Turf Moor, and could hardly be held accountable for goals conceded in the way Vestergaard and Bertrand could (he got lucky with the disallowed one admittedly). I thought he played well and made some important interceptions, so was somewhat surprised when he didn’t even make the squad. Instead Kevin Danso was on the bench, with him expected to make his debut next weekend at Brighton. It was good to see Yoshida back starting though, his experience is invaluable.
MIDFIELD:
We missed Højbjerg badly last week, who sadly was left out due to illness, bar a shaky cameo where he almost assisted Barnes to a hat trick. It was a relief to see him fully fit and back in the starting eleven this week however. On Thursday night, he featured in the Club’s Fans Forum and was put on the spot about a contract renewal, to which he was unsurprisingly non-committal. I took from his and Martin Semmens’ comments that he’ll only commit to the club if we get back to being the progressive club he signed for in July 2016. I’m sure we didn’t promise him seasons of relegation battles… Against Burnley, we were overrun, so Ralph packed the midfield by including Ward-Prowse and Romeu with our captain. Sofiane Boufal was a surprise omission from the bench, with Stuart Armstrong coming in to replace him. Boufal had looked lively against Burnley, so it was disappointing to see him dropped altogether.
ATTACK:
With the 5-3-2 formation, an attacker had to be dropped. Danny Ings failed to have any impact last week, so he was the one who made way. On the bench, Obafemi kept his place, which signals an uncertain future for Shane Long, who has not yet featured in a match day squad. Obafemi seems to have replaced Long in the pace quota. Though Saints’ youngest ever scorer did excite until his injury last season, I had hoped to see Long push-on after his purple patch. Dare I say it, Long could offer us more than Ings?
At first glance, the team appeared quite negative, however when I took my seat in Block 42 for the first time this season, I had belief that we would get stuck into them and give it a real go. I had promised my girlfriend an entertaining game; she’d only previously attended two dead ones:
Saints 0-0 Hull City (16/17)
Saints 1-0 Watford (17/18 FA Cup)
Regardless to say, yesterday was her most exciting Saints experience yet.
How good it was to be back at St Mary’s. I didn’t feel the benefit of the FanZone or the free ice cream, as the queues for both looked too long, but they seemed popular. I don’t remember there being such a crowd outside so early before a game for a long while. It was an enjoyable match day experience, and I have to admit the flame throwers looked effective blowing red and white smoke. Not sure about the flags in the Northam though, did nothing other than block views. (As for Sammy and Mary Saint having to wear our third kit, tragically hilarious) The atmosphere was amazing and that continued through the game. Only once did it turn sour, cued by Bednarek playing the ball back to Gunn, during a spell of Southampton pressure. When I say that, I mean as a collective. There were isolated incidents around the stadium, mainly due to Liverpool supporters being in the home end, yet again. A fight broke out in the Itchen North, I guess the club’s warning letter didn’t work. And then there was the horrible incident involving a smoke bomb being thrown at a seven year old’s face, by Liverpool fans, during the celebrations of their second goal. Whoever’s responsible is an absolute disgrace.
However, I don’t want to tarnish all Liverpool fans with that brush as they were very respectful in joining in with the applause for Justin Gladdis in the eighteenth minute. That was a touching tribute, well observed for a man who will forever remain within the DNA of St Mary’s. We came so close to poetically scoring for him in that moment.
To break down the game, I am now going to go back through each position and assess how each part of the team performed:
GOALKEEPER:
I can’t believe I have seen criticism of Angus Gunn’s performance after the game. In my opinion, he proved all the doubters wrong yesterday. He had no chance for Mané’s strike, and was unsighted for Firmino’s goal. Meanwhile, he stood firm and blocked a Salah shot 1v1, and had a couple of vital saves at his near post, including a one handed one from a Robertson effort. What more he could’ve done, I’m not sure.
DEFENCE:
I would say our defence was far more comfortable than up at Burnley. We looked as composed as you possibly can playing against one of the most potent strike forces in Europe. That being said, we were undone a few times, and did get lucky that they didn’t score more – how Firmino directed ‘that’ effort wide, I have no idea. You can’t blame them for the first goal, sometimes you just have to put your hands up and admit you were beaten by something special. Neither Bednarek or Højbjerg really committed to a challenge, perhaps understandable as Mané was just inside the box. That being said, it was a wonderful shot from a player we still miss. His words after the match a reminder of just how much of a class act he is, still loved by the Saints faithful.
The second goal was slightly more gift wrapped. This time, it was Jan Bednarek who made the fatal error at the back – being robbed of possession by Mané. Sadio slotted the ball to Firmino in the box and Vestergaard failed to get a foot in, leaving him lumbering around. This gave the crucial space for Roberto to get the shot away, slotting the ball past six of our outfield players. We’d already had a warning about not closing sufficiently when Milner dragged an effort narrowly wide.
It all came from Bednarek being dispossessed though, and suddenly he’s drawing criticism. First things first, he has been our most reliable defender since he came in – a video has circulated online in the last couple of days of all his vital blocks and touches. Now people are claiming ‘he’s just as bad as the rest’. I see it conversely, and that the other’s could be as good as him. Let me explain myself. Everyone makes mistakes, that’s just life, even van Dijk isn’t immune. The more important thing is the response. I thought Stephens came out last week, put aside last season and performed. Vestergaard put aside his horror-show at Turf Moor yesterday and seemed more aerially dominant. Yoshida used to be an accident waiting to happen, now he’s a solid option that fans were calling for all week. What I’m saying is there’s no point jumping on players after a poor game. Of course, we hope Danso will come in and be a dominant leader at the back, but the lad is twenty and WILL also make mistakes. But he’ll learn from them and be better for it. As will Bednarek. Centrebacks often don’t hit their prime until their late twenties, ours are just cutting their teeth. They’re raw, but the potential is evident. They’ll improve and confidence will grow with time. Overall though, there was a marked improvement in the space of just a week.
Valery and Bertrand were pretty anonymous defensively. Valery did seem to be targeted and struggled against such strong opposition. I would say he made up for it with his balls into the box though.
MIDFIELD:
I’m going to take this opportunity to make a wider point about refereeing and VAR. Oriol Romeu was having an impressive game in defensive midfield, really putting a shift in and protecting our back-line. He put in a strong tackle on Robertson, won the ball, and got booked for it. From then on, he was less imposing in order to avoid another yellow card, and lo and behold, Liverpool began threatening.
Now, it would be ridiculous if VAR assessed every decision the referee makes and of course that will never happen, nor should it. But unfortunately that’s how big teams will still get the advantage, and, most likely, results. Andre Marriner (of EFL Cup Final 2017 fame) was up to his old tricks, and every fifty fifty was given Liverpool’s way; the bias undeniable. The point I’m going to make though is Oriol’s yellow ended up being a game changing error, because his play was then restricted having done nothing wrong, allowing Liverpool to capitalise. It was hoped that VAR would level the playing field, and yes offside goals and the like will be ruled out, but sadly little refereeing decisions like this can still be a big influence on the match. Regardless, Oriol was the star performer in our midfield and deserves his starting place.
ATTACK:
Our first real chance fell to Maya Yoshida, who beat van Dijk in the air to win a header from a corner. It was well saved by Adrian, but was right at him. Either side and it’s a goal. Maya is of course a defender, and not someone to rely on to score. Sadly, our attackers weren’t much better with their shot taking. Actually, they were arguably worse.
Soon after Yoshida’s effort, Adams found space between Matip and Alexander-Arnold. A cross from Romeu found him, and he headed agonisingly over. I must say though, I’ve been impressed with Adams, and think when he get’s one, they’ll come regularly. Just needs to get off the mark. His strength on the ball is impressive and as an option he compliments our other strikers well. He needs service though, and I wouldn’t say he received a lot of that.
Ings came on and was gifted a goal by Adrián. After accepting a pass back from van Dijk, the keeper played a short pass to the foot of a pressing Ings, who tapped the ball into the net. His first goal of 2019. Our first goal of the season. Adrián had just spared Matip’s blushes when preventing an own goal, but no one was sparing his. Rather more embarrassingly was that he had done this in the first half, but Ward-Prowse’s interception only went out for a goal kick.
The former Liverpool player then went from hero to villain. Valery played a delicious ball across the face of goal, which met Ings in the centre, only for him to get a poor connection and put it wide. It was harder to miss. A point was there for the taking, and yet again Liverpool got lucky.
A bright spark in our attack was Moussa Djenepo, who left a big impression in his small cameo. He clearly sparked fear into Liverpool as he drew multiple fouls from them; a debut not dissimilar from Mané’s. I look forward to seeing more of what he can do against Brighton and Fulham.
Overall though, our attack was frustrating. A surprise, given how potent we were during preseason. It’s better to be missing chances though, than not creating them in the first place. In that regard, we did well against the current league leaders.
Looking back, I remain encouraged after yesterday’s display. There are positives to take:
- Improved defensive display.
- Gunn, Romeu, Armstrong, Djenepo all impressed.
- Djenepo and Danso still to have a real impact. Yet to see Adams in full swing.
- Good chances created against one of the best defences in Europe.
Play like that against weaker opposition and I think we comfortably win. However, those fixtures tend to incur Burnley-esque performances. Now we need to get a result at Brighton, who are unbeaten after two games. It’ll be tough, but we really need to get off the mark, especially with Man United at home to follow. I am not worried about facing relegation this season, but we are in danger of lagging behind if we don’t get some points on the board. Hopefully we’ll introduce a more attacking formation that doesn’t invite as much pressure. Then we really will start to cause issues with our pace and power.
Yesterday was a frustrating missed opportunity. But we can’t lose heart, we have to take the positives and build on them. I would argue that this is a transitional season about patience and progress. Our squad are very young and learning each game. We’ll feel the true benefit of this philosophy in a couple of seasons time. For now, we have to support them as much as possible, and not lose faith. They’re going to make mistakes and miss chances, but they’ll learn from them and we will see improvement across the field. We’re not going to suddenly go from 16th to world beaters. However, as was mentioned multiple times at the Fans Forum, we need to stabilise ourselves as mid table team, before we can push on. Ralph’s working hard, as are the players. We are moving in the right direction. Yes we’re in the relegation zone currently, but that means nothing yet. I still think this season can be a fun one. Yesterday was fun, and on another day we could’ve drawn, and on another we could’ve won.
Not many teams are able to say that after playing Liverpool.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. If you have, make sure you subscribe to the blog so you never miss a post, and follow my Twitter @Owen_The_Saints. Exciting things are in the pipeline so watch this space…
I shall leave you with a couple more photos from a good day at St Mary’s.
Owen The Saints 