{"id":1231,"date":"2018-04-21T15:02:58","date_gmt":"2018-04-21T15:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=1231"},"modified":"2018-04-21T15:02:58","modified_gmt":"2018-04-21T15:02:58","slug":"west-bromwich-albion-2-liverpool-2-match-review-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/west-bromwich-albion-2-liverpool-2-match-review-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"West Bromwich Albion 2 &#8211; Liverpool 2: Match Review &#038; Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It feels like it\u2019s been forever since we got past the middle of April and Liverpool\u2019s season was genuinely still alive. Yet that\u2019s where we currently are, with every decision that the manager makes having plenty of repercussions. Not only is finishing anywhere from second to fifth still possible, but J\u00fcrgen Klopp also has to plan for a European Cup semi-final. How good is that to be able to say? Heading into this game the German had to balance picking a side that he felt could win the match with ensuring that his best players weren\u2019t going to be suffering from fatigue on Tuesday night. It\u2019s a delicate balancing act to muster and one that, perhaps, will help clarify Klopp\u2019s thoughts regarding incoming transfers this summer. Too many of this squad aren\u2019t strong enough to step up, meaning that the excellent first XI is weakened too much when changes are made.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#x1f4cb; The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a> team to face <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WBA<\/a>&#8230;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WBALIV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WBALIV<\/a> &#x1f449;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6XOx3UJ7x7\">https:\/\/t.co\/6XOx3UJ7x7<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BdTIwhw7jF\">pic.twitter.com\/BdTIwhw7jF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Liverpool FC (@LFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFC\/status\/987639346198188032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It remains excellent news, however, that we\u2019ll be heading into May with something still to play for. It\u2019s not the competition we\u2019d all like to be alive for the Reds as the season draws to a close, but it\u2019s definitely a close second. It says something that many Liverpool fans, myself included, still refer to it as the European Cup. We\u2019ve never quite seen eye-to-eye with the shift to the Champions League, perhaps because we\u2019re yet to play in it as the champions of England. We still have more than a slight soft spot for old Big Ears, though, and there\u2019s no question that everyone watching today will have had more than half an eye on the upcoming games against Roma. The manager always talks about taking it one game at a time, about only seeing the match in front of him. It\u2019s the sort of thing that managers have to say, but today\u2019s team sheet belied the truth. What, then, were the major talking points from today\u2019s trip to the Hawthorns?<\/p>\n<h2>Refereeing Matters &#8211; Especially When It\u2019s Bad<\/h2>\n<p>Normally if I\u2019ve got something to say about the refereeing of a match then I leave it until the end of my match report. Indeed, today I was tempted not to say anything at all, such is the extent to which I think talking about refs is boring. Yet today\u2019s game was the perfect encapsulation of exactly what is wrong with Premier League referees at the moment and why so many of us can\u2019t wait for the introduction of Video Assistant Referees. There are two clich\u00e9s about refereeing decisions that I\u2019d like to use today\u2019s match to debunk.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The refereeing in this country just gets worse and worse. And worse. And then worse still. Hard to win away at big-bastard sides when ref ignores punches, elbows, clear penalties, and doesn&#8217;t protect players from bad tackles. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iw6Tn86HPd\">https:\/\/t.co\/iw6Tn86HPd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Paul Tomkins (@paul_tomkins) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paul_tomkins\/status\/987683426022121477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The first is that they\u2019re \u2018swings around roundabouts\u2019, that they even themselves out of the course of the season. The extent to which that is unadulterated twaddle cannot be over-emphasised. We were denied at least one, but probably two clear penalties against Manchester United last month. Are we playing United again in the league this season? We were denied another one today. Are we facing West Brom with four games to go and a seven point lead over Chelsea again this season? If not then the decisions that went against us literally can\u2019t be \u2018evened out\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-353\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/football-referee-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/football-referee-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/football-referee-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/football-referee.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>People say \u2018we get refereeing decisions going our way too\u2019, but how often are they match-defining? To say nothing of the fact that if the decisions don\u2019t occur <strong>in the same match<\/strong>then they most definitely don\u2019t even themselves out. The very saying is just as nonsensical as people who declare that \u2018we shouldn\u2019t need a referee to beat West Brom\u2019 and that drawing attention to poor decisions is \u2018making excuses\u2019. The referee is literally there to ensure that the rules of the game are obeyed. It doesn\u2019t matter who the opposition is, it becomes a lot more difficult to beat them if they\u2019re allowed to smash into players in the box, punch people in the stomach, slap them in the face and kick them without being punished for it.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-cards=\"hidden\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Atwell was demoted as a Premier League referee in 2012 after a series of poor mistakes. He spent 2 and a half years in the lower leagues before returning to the top flight in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thisisanfield\/status\/987674750876037120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Stuart Atwell gave one of the worst refereeing performances I\u2019ve seen today and it\u2019s been a season filled with dreadful refereeing performances. Yet absolutely nothing will be done about it and he\u2019ll be in charge of another high-profile match soon. The reason I\u2019ve put this section front and centre is because it\u2019s impossible to talk about Liverpool\u2019s performance without acknowledging that West Brom should\u2019ve been down to ten men and that we should\u2019ve had a penalty. That\u2019s not making excuses, it\u2019s not turning a blind-eye and it\u2019s not abdicating responsibility. It\u2019s just a fact. If the referee does his job, and I\u2019m not asking him to have eyes in the back of his head here, just deal with the incidents that he actually sees, then it\u2019s a comfortable win for the Reds. Instead we have to deal with morons suggesting that our defence is still dodgy or that we can\u2019t handle the pressure of the season. It\u2019s frustrating, so it\u2019s deserving of a mention.<\/p>\n<h2>Ings Can Still Offer Something<\/h2>\n<p>Seemingly every time Danny Ings has made an appearance so far this campaign, someone somewhere is desperate to write him off and declare his performance to be proof of the fact that he has to go in the summer. Every time that happens I\u2019m amazed at the refusal to acknowledge that the former Burnley man has been tending to get ten minutes or so at the end of a match or, worse, has come into a significantly changed front line. I was delighted, therefore, when I saw the starting line-up and noted that he was being given a chance alongside both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Man\u00e9 in his preferred position up-front. I was intrigued to see how he would work with the first-choice forward line, given that his work-rate and style makes him something akin to a Firmino-lite. That\u2019s not to say that I think he\u2019s anywhere near the level of the Brazilian, of course, but I think he\u2019s one of the best all-round attackers in world football so it\u2019s hardly a fair comparison.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Danny Ings to <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/edMpGfqonH\">https:\/\/t.co\/edMpGfqonH<\/a> last August on scoring his next goal: \u201cI am craving it like you wouldn\u2019t believe. The feeling you get when you score a goal is like no other, there is no better feeling. I cannot wait to feel it again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Get in. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UXHc31OS6F\">pic.twitter.com\/UXHc31OS6F<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James Carroll (@James_Carroll84) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/James_Carroll84\/status\/987663180838113280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The striker did pretty much everything you could ask of a forward today, scoring the opening goal, being denied one of the most blatant penalties you\u2019ll ever see and having a brilliant chance to score his second smothered well by their goalkeeper. Those that have been so quick to write him off will still say nonsense things like \u2018he should\u2019ve scored\u2019 or \u2018it was only West Brom\u2019, but they wouldn\u2019t say the same thing about Mo Salah after his goal. All you can do as a striker is score against the team in front of you and Ings did exactly that today. The manager might well feel in the summer that there\u2019s a better option available to us and decide to move him on, but if that\u2019s the case then his time at Anfield shouldn\u2019t be viewed as a failure in the same way that the likes of Christian Benteke\u2019s might be. He suffered two horrendous injuries and has come back from them both displaying immense strength of character. I was delighted for him today.<\/p>\n<h2>We Gave Them Too Much Hope<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re up against a team that is fighting for their lives then the last thing you can afford to do is give them hope that they\u2019ve got something to play for. I\u2019ve already spoken about how the Reds win this easily with a semi-competent referee and I very much believe that, but too many players were sloppy in possession at times today and it gave the Baggies something to play for. Joe Gomez was one of the worst culprits as far as I\u2019m concerned, constantly playing loose passes to no one in particular. Alberto Moreno will take the brunt of the criticism because people don\u2019t like him, but for me the former Charlton man was a far more guilty party. His lazy attempted pass in the build-up to the equaliser is a case in point, with the youngster just throwing his leg out at the ball more in hope than in expectation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Joe Gomez as casual as usual.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Callum Webster (@Cal190691) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cal190691\/status\/987682589053018112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>We have to take his performance with a pinch of salt, of course, thanks to the fact that he\u2019s only just come back from injury. Yet today wasn\u2019t the first time that he\u2019s switched off in a match or been lazy on the ball. Trent Alexander-Arnold\u2019s progression and willingness to learn from mistakes displays fairly clearly why he\u2019s moved ahead of Gomez in the pecking order. The youngster is being groomed for centre-back according to people who seem to be in the know about such things, but he simply can\u2019t be as sloppy as he was today if he\u2019s going to play in the middle of this Liverpool defence. Not that he was the only one who was casual on the ball, of course. I think that J\u00fcrgen Klopp has been trying to teach his players to be able to win in second-gear, which is something they\u2019re going to need to do if they\u2019re to challenge for the title next season. Today felt like another example of them attempting to do just that, but one that didn\u2019t quite come off.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We tried to stroll through that, as we did at Goodison. A combination of never advancing beyond 2nd gear and a core of players looking extremely rusty. Still, at two-nil it should have been done. Biggest annoyance is it keeps Chelsea interested. Oh, and the ref was dreadful.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Grobbelrevell (@markbrucerevell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/markbrucerevell\/status\/987683581345632257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>the performance against Bournemouth was the quintessential example of what we need to do moving forward, with players never really seeming to feel as though they needed to work their way through the gears but eventually dispatching with the South Coasters easily enough. Today, on the other hand, was an example of what can happen when there are too many changes to the first eleven and those that come into the side aren\u2019t at the level of those that have departed it. That said, I think we\u2019re all more than aware of the fact that we\u2019ve got bigger fish to fry over the next couple of weeks. A win would have been excellent for our Champions League qualification, but the draw takes us one step closer to it and we\u2019ve got a chance of winning it in the here and now. Bring on your Roma by the score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It feels like it\u2019s been forever since we got past the middle of April and Liverpool\u2019s season was genuinely still alive. Yet that\u2019s where we currently are, with every decision that the manager makes having plenty of repercussions. Not only is finishing anywhere from second to fifth still possible, but J\u00fcrgen Klopp also has to plan for a European Cup semi-final. How good is that to be able to say? Heading into this game the German had to balance picking a side that he felt could win the match with ensuring that his best players weren\u2019t going to be suffering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1232,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1231\/revisions\/1232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}