LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB - 2020/21 Defending The Title

[Xers007]

Mo still need to score... gogogo

[Xers007]

Mo dont want the blink blink boot.. 

[Xers007]

7 minutes ago, Jamesc said:

Thank you Salah for not being selfish

and winning CL for us.

if next season they do win the CL is because of this post... 

[Xers007]

yes... CL next season.... Lei go home crying.. losing 4-2 ...

[Akula]

Wrapping up the season with a 2-0 win over CP and with both Chelsea n Leicester losing, we actually finished 3rd.

From being 8th in April, it is nothing short of sensational. With the fans back, it was a good way to sign off the season.

Mane with 2 goals (seems to love playing and scoring against CP), but Salah din get the Golden Boot.

Day started when Leicester first took the lead, was keeping track on all the games and score line, but once Mane puts us ahead, where we moved up to 3rd, we never looked back.

Other notable events, ManC puts 5 past a hapless toffee, with Aguero coming off the bench to bag a brace.

Thus Leicester and WHU goes to Europa League whole Spurs go to the newly created Europa Conference League. 

Signing off what was a difficult season, with our horrendous injury (courtesy to the thuggish and violent plays of our blue neighbor), once when we have 3 of our first choice CBS out so early in the season, it would be near impossible to retain the title.

Even our makeshift CBs, Fab, Hendo and the 2 signed in Jan were injured for periods of time. 

Liverpool’s injuries in the Premier League this season:

Van Dijk (33 games missed)
Gomez (31)
Matip (28)
Keita (28)
Jota (19)
Henderson (17)
Thiago (14)
Fabinho (8)

We will come back stronger, we will be back!

YNWA.

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Akula

[Picnic06-Biante15]

Liverpool 20/21 season was not that disappointment after all. With so many injuries to Pool key players. Pool managed to stay in third position and a UCL spot is really excellent and cannot ask for more.

This season backline, we saw so many combinations of CB to hold oppo attacks and the lads did a fine jobs. Kudo to them

If only our front three more sharp in their shooting skill, we won't be in nail-biting finish till the last match of the season.   Pool could be second and only 6 points away to ManU.

Farewell to Gini and wish you success in your next club. Can never forget your 2 goals against Barca in the UCL Semi-final and Pool proceed to win the Champion League for the 7th times.

German Press inteview with J. Klopp last month and he express that he will bring another success to Pool before he retires in 2023. So it either UCL or Premier League champion.   

Till next season 2021/22, we meet again (August 2021 ) .

Y N W A

Edited May 24, 2021 by Picnic06-Biante15

[Hamburger]

So many reports of Nat Phillips to be sold and I really hope he stays. 

 

Matip or gomez can go imo,. 

How many times we see gomez day dreaming and was caught off guard. Nat is more focused but let down by pace. 

[Fooblack]

pool can hold their heads high at the conclusion of a most extraordinary season. Finishing 3rd was better than most expected. To lose all 3 of the 1st team CBs will set back most other teams..  Just ask City last season where they lost Laporte and in the few games which United played without Maguire and Leceister without Evans, they hardly clicked well without their main CB commander. 

Pool's defensive records isn't that poor either. They are probably 4th or 5th best defensive record in the EPL despite playing makeshift CBs for almost the entirety of the season. We should give Klopp and his coaching staff real credit here. He was particularly concerned about throwing Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams into the deep end earlier on when there were no CBs available. He explained that it took time for these young players to get adjusted into the 1st team and hence, they only started to play alot more towards the end of the season. This paid dividends handsomely. 

The defensive adjustments did took a big toll on the attack  though. When they didnt had Fabinho and Hendro in the middle of the park, they had Gini and Thiago who wasn't comfortable playing the deepest anchor midfielder.  We doubted Thiago quite a fair bit then.  Now that Fabinho has returned to the DM position, we saw how Thiago effectively controls the possessions and tempo of the game with his range of passing.  I believe we will see even better things from Thiago from next season.

For the front 3, I think they will come back firing from next season. All of them had finished this season with a slight uptick in their form esp Mane with 2 goals. Expect all 3 to stay on for another season at least, given that they have 2 seasons remaining and no real suitors for them has emerged. 

All in all, 26 pts from a possible 30 in the last 10 games to end the season tells the story of how strongly Pool finished the season. We also remembered that the 2 draws in this run came right at the death of those games vs Leeds and Newcastle.    Pool is well poised to rebound from this season to challenge again next season. I expect Klopp to spend a bit to get a decent CB and a midfielder to replace Gini. Upfront, if Shariqi and Origi are both shifted out, I think Klopp will invest in another young forward. 

[Fooblack]

8 minutes ago, Hamburger said:

So many reports of Nat Phillips to be sold and I really hope he stays. 

 

Matip or gomez can go imo,. 

How many times we see gomez day dreaming and was caught off guard. Nat is more focused but let down by pace. 

both Gomez and Philips are actually of the same age... in terms of developmental potential for the style which Klopp plays... he will keep Gomez all day long.  But if Philips is game to stay on and continue as a squad player, I believe he has already earned his place in Klopp's mind.  

[Raymondism]

We lost to Burnley, Brighton, Man city, Everton, Chelsea and Fulham at home this season. 

We end the season 17pts behind Man City. 

Imagine if we won these 6 games at home....

[Hamburger]

And also the poignant memory of drawing the 2 games towards the end of season. 

 

Well, let's not cry over spilled Soya bean drink.. Look forward to new exciting signing. 

[Raymondism]

5 minutes ago, Hamburger said:

So many reports of Nat Phillips to be sold and I really hope he stays. 

 

Matip or gomez can go imo,. 

How many times we see gomez day dreaming and was caught off guard. Nat is more focused but let down by pace. 

I think Phillips will have a better career elsewhere. His skill sets will be more appreciated in another team. Plus his current value is higher than ever... good time to cash in since he is not the best fit for us

[Raymondism]

Think we need to buy 1 forward, 1 CB and at least 2 midfielders

 

[Beregond]

Congrats  to pools.

Still can get number  3. Unbelievable. 

 

[Fooblack]

56 minutes ago, Raymondism said:

Think we need to buy 1 forward, 1 CB and at least 2 midfielders

 

tend to agree.  1 CB and 1 MF is a must. 

Whether we get the additional forward and midfielder is probably down to the offloading of the current squad players at the right place. Players who are at higher risk of being sold to raise funds are:-

- Ben Davies

- Ox

- Keita

- Shariqi

- Origi 

[Fooblack]

I was actually gutted for Leciester as they should have hung unto the the lead in their game with Spurs. they led 1-0 then 2-1. In the last 20 minutes, they ran out of legs and conceded 3 goals as they were too open. A bit typical of Brendan Rogers' risks taking mentality as they probably wanted to score more to improve their goal difference.    

In the end, they paid the price.  It's a tough pill to swallow as they spent the entire season in the top 4 only to slip out in the last week.  

Chelsea slipped into the UCL by the skin of their teeth. They are abit like Pool... create chances after chances but just can't take them at all.   Their form heading into the UCL final with city in 6 days looks low.

Man City handsomely defeated Everton 5-0. Their form is good and they are odds-on favourites to beat Chelsea for their 1st UCL win.  Unless Pep starts to overthink his tactics and formation, I can't see why City cannot win Chelsea. 

 

[Atrecord]

9 hours ago, Akula said:

Liverpool’s injuries in the Premier League this season:

Van Dijk (33 games missed)
Gomez (31)
Matip (28)
Keita (28)
Jota (19)
Henderson (17)
Thiago (14)
Fabinho (8)

Apart from what you've listed, there were others injured too.

Allison was out for a few games, where Kelleher took over from Adrian who lost confidence after trashing by Villa.

TAA was also out for a few games, which caused an extended dip in his form leading to being dropped from England team.

Even the usually fit Robbo was injured playing for Scotland at one point, but fortunately, only for a short while.

Milner was also out maybe twice in the season.

And then there were forced absence becos of Covid... to Salah, Mane, Thiago...

It was a wretched season on all accounts, in terms of player availability. I hope we have used up all the bad luck this season, and can go injury-free for the next 4-5 seasons at least...

[Atrecord]

1 hour ago, Raymondism said:

Think we need to buy 1 forward, 1 CB and at least 2 midfielders

If Nat Phillips is not good enough to be challenging for regular starting spot, i.e. become a senior CB, then I would suggest getting 2 senior CBs instead. Don't forget that Lovren was never replaced, and Matip and Gomez are MC kings. Seriously I am not confident Gomez will be able to play at the highest level - for prolonged/sustained period - again given his injury record. I hope to be proven wrong, though, but it's a big risk to depend too much on him, alone.