I had hoped to go to Dublin and watch the game in the cozy atmosphere of the Tolka House, sipping neat whiskey in the company of my friend Andrew, but he is heading to Scotland in the morning, and had other things to do.
Last time we were in the Glasnevin pub for a 1230 kick off was the Merseyside derby from which Liverpool emerged winners even if they made hard work of it then too.
Andrew's post match message this afternoon was scant consolation: "the good sides always win Ugly, like Ferguson's Utd teams did." Ferguson's sides were generally a lot more convincing than the current Liverpool one despite the considerable improvement in their standard of play this season.
After this afternoon's undeserved 2-1 away win at Crystal Palace, followed by the defeat of the leaders, Arsenal, to a rejuvenated Aston Villa, Jurgen Klopp's side now lead the pack. But the German knows just how different things could have been:
Today's game was a nervy one. I watched it alone. My wife was out with her friends for lunch and my son was at the gym. Too early in the day to be raising a house glass, everyone was spared the grunts and grimaces plus the expletives. For most of the match Liverpool had no shots on target. What is the point in having a supposedly devastating forward line if it fails to even force a save from the keeper or hit the woodwork? Only after a Palace player was shown red for a second bookable offence did Liverpool seem to sense that the game was theirs if they could only step up a gear. Until that point Allison was arguably the best player in a Liverpool shirt. Never a good sign when the top performer is a keeper.
After this afternoon's undeserved 2-1 away win at Crystal Palace, followed by the defeat of the leaders, Arsenal, to a rejuvenated Aston Villa, Jurgen Klopp's side now lead the pack. But the German knows just how different things could have been:
For 76 minutes, it was a really bad performance... The last 10 or 15 minutes, we deserved it. Before that, we deserved nothing.
Today's game was a nervy one. I watched it alone. My wife was out with her friends for lunch and my son was at the gym. Too early in the day to be raising a house glass, everyone was spared the grunts and grimaces plus the expletives. For most of the match Liverpool had no shots on target. What is the point in having a supposedly devastating forward line if it fails to even force a save from the keeper or hit the woodwork? Only after a Palace player was shown red for a second bookable offence did Liverpool seem to sense that the game was theirs if they could only step up a gear. Until that point Allison was arguably the best player in a Liverpool shirt. Never a good sign when the top performer is a keeper.
Even here the sending off for a pretty tame challenge was harsh, particularly so given that the original booking incurred by Jordan Ayew hardly seemed justified either. At worst the two infringements combined might just have merited a booking, but only just. Liverpool rode their luck and it was hard not to have sympathy for the former Reds boss Roy Hodgson as he took a yellow card for protesting too vigorously. That a 77 year old still has the passion to vent vigour is an admirable trait: one that should earn him something better than a yellow card.
Complain as they might the penalty that put Palace in front was a fair call by VAR and the referee. Jarell Quansah played the man, not the ball, and duly paid the price. The first good penalty call came in the first half when Van Dijk made a similar tackle but the penalty decision - along with Van Dijk's yellow card - was rescinded after VAR confirmed an earlier Palace foul.
Complain as they might the penalty that put Palace in front was a fair call by VAR and the referee. Jarell Quansah played the man, not the ball, and duly paid the price. The first good penalty call came in the first half when Van Dijk made a similar tackle but the penalty decision - along with Van Dijk's yellow card - was rescinded after VAR confirmed an earlier Palace foul.
With Manchester City off the pace, Arsenal never more than a stumble away from failure, Spurs faltering, Chelsea and Newcastle underwhelming, Manchester United addicted to embarrassing themselves, Liverpool should be well placed to take advantage of the general malaise. Yet, watching how they performed today compared to Villa, don't rule out a repeat of 1981.
 |
| ⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre. |
No comments