{"id":878,"date":"2017-04-08T18:17:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T18:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=878"},"modified":"2024-03-27T17:22:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T17:22:55","slug":"stoke-1-liverpool-2-match-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/stoke-1-liverpool-2-match-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Stoke 1 &#8211; Liverpool 2: Match Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This match had &#8216;banana skin&#8217; written all over it. Stoke hadn\u2019t scored a goal in open play for weeks before kick-off. They hadn\u2019t won a game against any member of the top ten since December 2015. They\u2019d also been in a poor run of form lately, managing just one win in their previous five and losing their last three. If Liverpool were any other side in the top five then you\u2019d have them down for a nailed on win. But Liverpool aren\u2019t any other side in the top five. That\u2019s why, despite the opponents we\u2019ve got left to play, our top four finish is anything but guaranteed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Stoke&#8217;s past 4 league games:<br \/>\n1 draw, 3 defeats.<br \/>\nScored 1, conceded 5.<\/p>\n<p>That should fill us with confidence, except it doesn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joel_archie\/status\/850644802853109762\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal have become something of a top four machine. They simply know what they need to do to get into those Champions League places and they may well still do it; they\u2019ve got three games in hand on us and if they win them we\u2019ll be level on points. One of the things that Wenger\u2019s team has been able to do so well over the years is pick up the three point against teams who aren\u2019t as good as them. That was why it was absolutely crucial that we win today and get over a few mental blocks that have been dragging us down. So what are the major talking points from our 2-1 win?<\/p>\n<h2>Re-Writing The Narrative<\/h2>\n<p>In my pre-match betting piece ahead of the game I talked about how important narrative is to football. The narrative of former players coming back to haunt you, for example. For Liverpool at the moment there are also sorts of narratives that have been hanging like an albatross around our necks and that could have been given more fuel if today\u2019s result had gone how it was looking to go for a time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Stoke haven&#8217;t won a league match against a team in the top 7 since October 2015<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dan Kennett (@DanKennett) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanKennett\/status\/850731131246968832\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Before kick-off, we hadn\u2019t won a game without Man\u00e9. We also &#8216;struggle against the lower teams&#8217;. Another favourite of some pundits and supporters is that our team is mentally weak. The easy joke to make is that Liverpool are the Robin Hood of the Premier League, taking points from the top to give to the bottom. Our home draw against Bournemouth did little to dispel any of these narratives, even if we deserved to win the game quite comfortably on the balance of play. Our defensive frailties reared their ugly heads once more in the week and a bottom ten side benefitted, as though so often appear to have done.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_620\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-620\" class=\"size-large wp-image-620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Sadio-Mane_EUO_Photo-Works-Bigstock-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Sadio-Mane_EUO_Photo-Works-Bigstock-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Sadio-Mane_EUO_Photo-Works-Bigstock-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Sadio-Mane_EUO_Photo-Works-Bigstock-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Sadio-Mane_EUO_Photo-Works-Bigstock.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-620\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo-Works \/ Bigstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Today\u2019s three points weren\u2019t just crucial for our top four ambitions, but also to be able to put some of these narratives to bed. In a way, the manner of our victory was almost as important as the victory itself. If we\u2019d merely strolled to a 2-0 win it would have been refreshingly different, yet it also wouldn\u2019t have given the players the confidence to know that they can dig deep when they need to. On their day Stoke are a side who can cause a team like ours all sorts of problems. They have fast, tricky lads such as Xhakiri, as well as big tall groks all over the pitch. We could very easily have collapsed mentally when we went 1-0 down and the team deserves a lot of credit for its mental fortitude when we didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">18 &#8211; Liverpool have won more points from losing positions than any other Premier League team this season (18). Recovery.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OptaJoe\/status\/850739781344559105\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Yet is the idea that this is a mentally weak squad fair? We have won more points from a losing position than any other team. Six times so far this season we\u2019ve been losing, only to come back and win the game. That doesn\u2019t suggest mental weakness, it suggests a strength and belief that not all sides possess. It is crucial that the starting XI shake off this idea that they\u2019re perennial losers when the going gets tough, for the stats do not reflect that as true. Likewise we need to do so as supporters. Which brings me neatly to my next point\u2026<\/p>\n<h2>Our Supporters Need To Have More Belief<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s been a strange changing of the wind in recent years. It used to be that Liverpool fans would believe in the impossible. We were mocked by supporters of other clubs for believing that &#8216;this would be our year&#8217;, yet that same belief has seen us achieve things that other sides could only dream of. Would we have been able to come back from 3-0 down against AC Milan in a European Cup final and go on to win it if the players and the supporters didn\u2019t have a shared belief? What about coming back from 3-1 down against Borussia Dortmund?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The worst thing about all this is that I literally know LFC have lost. Not even reverse pyshcology.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HenryJackson87\/status\/850723940649644032\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s because people are afraid of stating a firm belief, only to be made fools of later on if it doesn\u2019t pan out. Even now, as I type, I\u2019m having a WhatsApp argument with a Liverpool supporting friend of mine because I sent through a photo of the Grand National winners with Manchester United in sixth. &#8220;Bit early to be crowing about sixth place&#8221;, they said. Perhaps we will collapse and surrender our top four spot. Maybe we will be so poor in our final six games that United sneak above us. But isn\u2019t winding up United supporting mates of ours exactly what it\u2019s all about?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_879\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-879\" class=\"size-large wp-image-879\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-225x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-225x400.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-113x200.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender.jpg 1242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-879\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WhatsApp Snapshot<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019m also a little bit tired of people forgetting that football matches last for 90 minutes. Some of the tweets I saw at half-time were a little bit cringeworthy. Slating the manager for his starting XI and the players for their performance. Convinced that we\u2019d lose because that\u2019s what we do. Panicking about the remaining fixtures we have before the game we were playing was even over. I\u2019d be the first to admit that I\u2019ve lost my cool at full-time on more than a few occasions. I try to wait until the end of the ninety minutes, though, because I\u2019ve seen this Liverpool team achieve far more difficult things than coming back from 1-0 down against Stoke.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Remember when everyone, me included, thought our run-in was full of easy, winnable games that would power our title challenge?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Hewitt (@ChrisHewittLFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisHewittLFC\/status\/850722792903462912\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I also think it\u2019s worth pointing out that we weren\u2019t actually that bad in the first-half. No we didn\u2019t play with the same free-flowing football that have made us irresistible at times this season, but we grew into it as the half wore on and if Wirral-born Mike Dean hadn\u2019t been desperate to prove that he doesn\u2019t favour Liverpool and had given us a stonewall penalty, then we go in at the break 1-0 up not 1-0 down. Football is very rarely as black and white as we all want to make it, with few performances <strong>actually<\/strong> &#8220;dreadful&#8221;, &#8220;disgraceful&#8221; or &#8220;a joke&#8221;. If I could ask one thing of our fanbase it would be to have a little more faith in the team and a little more willingness to wait until the end of the game before throwing toys out of prams.<\/p>\n<h2>Credit Where It\u2019s Due: Mignolet Was A Match Winner<\/h2>\n<p>Anyone who has ever read anything of mine will know that I\u2019m not a fan of Simon Mignolet. I will not be even remotely heart-broken if we decide to sell him this summer. In fact, I think it\u2019s vital to the progression of the team that we do. Yet I am not so blind to his abilities that I refuse to give him credit where it\u2019s due. The Belgian produced two sublime saves today that as good as won us the football match. The first came when we were already 1-0 down and the other when we\u2019d reversed the score to be 2-1 ahead. Both were equally as important and equally as impressive.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Klopp knew who saved Liverpool today. Mignolet with two incredible saves. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f2fRPuvkRc\">pic.twitter.com\/f2fRPuvkRc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LFChistory.net (@LFChistory) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFChistory\/status\/850744170264358912\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>For the record, my problem with Mignolet has never been that he\u2019s not good at the shot-stopping side of his game. I would argue, were you to press me on the issue, that he\u2019s not necessarily that much better at it than most decent goalkeepers, but that\u2019s wandering off topic. He can and has produced some tremendous performances when it comes to the &#8216;saving things&#8217; side of his game. My issue with him is that he puts doubt and uncertainty into his teammates and is too often bang-average at the other parts of his game, such as distribution. Even today, for example, after he had made a brilliant save, he kicked the ball straight out for a Stoke throw-in under no pressure whatsoever.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_258\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-258\" class=\"size-large wp-image-258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">mooinblack \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Everyone is quick to criticise Liverpool\u2019s defence, with some asking whether it\u2019s improved at all under J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s guidance from the days of Brendan Rodgers. That\u2019s a totally fair question, but what I would say is that Simon Mignolet, Dejan Lovren and Nathaniel Clyne were all present in the defence across both managers. It is not unreasonable to suggest that the personnel at the back might be a big part of the problem. That is why I think we need to upgrade on Mignolet in the summer and it\u2019s why I believe it\u2019s a crucial part of any improvement we\u2019re likely to make to our defence. Is Karius the answer? I don\u2019t know, but those who watch the Bundesliga say his reaction saves are one of his strengths. If that\u2019s the case then we\u2019re not going to lose the one strength in Mignolet\u2019s game by having him as our number one next season.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">What a save again from Mignolet. Incredible<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 AttackoftheKop (@AttackoftheKop) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AttackoftheKop\/status\/850733068273029120\">April 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Having said all of that, today the man deserves all the plaudits he is getting. His saves were absolutely top-drawer and we would unquestionably have lost the game without them. When a goalkeeper is able to produce saves like that it is as good as a striker scoring a worldie. We are fortunate that today we had both. It has been said of Liverpool that since we last won the league the one thing we haven\u2019t been is deadly in both boxes. Between Mignolet at one end and Roberto Firmino at the other, today is one day where we were simply better than the opposition in the two places where it mattered the most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This match had &#8216;banana skin&#8217; written all over it. Stoke hadn\u2019t scored a goal in open play for weeks before kick-off. They hadn\u2019t won a game against any member of the top ten since December 2015. They\u2019d also been in a poor run of form lately, managing just one win in their previous five and losing their last three. If Liverpool were any other side in the top five then you\u2019d have them down for a nailed on win. But Liverpool aren\u2019t any other side in the top five. That\u2019s why, despite the opponents we\u2019ve got left to play, our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258,"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\/878"}],"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=878"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2556,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions\/2556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}