Liverpool 1-1 Everton : Big Sam takes a point away from a fluid Liverpool
by Chris
Welcome to the tenth day and first edition of the day of the Sporting Lowdown advent calendar! This will be continued until the 24th December so any requests for my opinion will most likely be included in the 24 and in the future.
Also, this will be the first of another triple-header today, due to the fact I forgot to click post on this when it was written on Sunday evening and as Blogger was playing up yesterday I couldn't post it then, so once again and hopefully for the final time you will see a SL Triple Header!
79% possession, 23 shots, 3 on target. The stats all favour the men in red. But it's the derby, and they count for nothing. After a superb Salah solo effort on 42 minutes, and a domineering first period, there seemed to be an element of complacency around Anfield. After singing the victorious chant, 'Mane scoring, all around us' (to the tune of 'Merry Christmas Everyone' by Shakin Stevens) after only around 65 minutes, almost completely disregarding the opportunity that Everton might get back in to the match, rung alarm bells in the ears of slightly more pessimistic fans like me. Of course, Liverpool had dominated the game, the ball, and pretty much sat around Everton's 18 yard line the whole game. But one moment of quality from Wayne Rooney to thread through Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was then unquestionably shoved by Dejan Lovren, resulted in the ex-England skipper converting the spot kick and Everton plucking a remarkable point from the grip of Liverpool and they will be filled with optimism for the time that the adrenalin lasts.
Question marks were raised at Jürgen Klopp's selection of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andrew Robertson and Dominic Solanke. All of which, in my opinion, justified their selections. Although the Ox put a few poor deliveries in to the box, he pressed and ran for the entirety of his time on the pitch and worked so hard to create chances for his teammates, something which excites any fan who values effort and determination. Robertson was also very hard working, playing left wing most of the time, and although his crossing was a mixed bag again, the Scotsman certainly posed more threat offensively than Alberto Moreno in recent weeks. Young Solanke also did very well, feeding off scraps I may add. Although he didn't have too many opportunities at goal, the u20 World Cup winner did some fantastic lay offs and flick ons which were a foundation of some of Liverpool's attractive play.
For me, there were two key moments in the game. The Mane miss was the first one, and obviously he will be ruing that chance to square to Mo Salah, and this needs to be highlighted a lot more than it is. The 'Fab four' was split apart for this game, but even then the fundamentals of why they're so good is the fact that they are unselfish and they bring others into the game. If Mane had been unselfish, It would have been 2-0 at half time, Everton would've had to attack a bit more and this would've given these flair players the time and space to destroy Everton. Dejan Lovren's push on Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the other key moment. Was it a penalty? For me, yes. The way I judge it is if it wasn't given for me, how angry would I be. If this wasn't given for Liverpool. I would be fuming, and that's why I think it was. It was a needless push and Lovren, although the miss from Mane would've possibly finished the game, cost the Reds a point. Here are the 3 key men for both sides for the right reasons.
Liverpool
Joe Gomez - a silver lining for Liverpool was a stunning performance from young England international Joe Gomez. After assisting the Mo Salah goal and threading through some absolutely stunning through balls, as well as being remarkably solid defensively, Joe Gomez was my man of the match. If there was anything to say to Gareth Southgate, 'put me on that plane', it would be that performance.
Andrew Robertson - Another way to make your mark in a derby. What impressed me about the ex-Hull man was his sublime control, and vision both inside and outside. Although nowhere near the finished article, he certainly shows a lot more promise than Moreno, and I expect him and Milner to be rotated in the left-back role over the period of Moreno's absence.
Mohamed Salah - After a poor 40 minutes without any end product, look no further than the scintillatingly in-form Egyptian, who whipped a scrumptious effort in to the top corner of Jordan Pickford's net. After being substituted, I expect he will play a full part in Wednesday's match with Alan Pardew's Baggies.
Everton
Jonjoe Kenny - For me, Everton's best player. Dealing with Salah or Mane is no easy task for top class defenders, but the young scouser really proved his worth to Big Sam. He will sure be tough competition for the returning Seamus Coleman, and it would be good to see him gain a lot of minutes this season.
Wayne Rooney - Didn't do much until around 75 minutes, where he lofted a ball in to the path of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in which brought a penalty for Everton. He calmly converted it down the middle to earn Everton a point.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Although the ex-Sheffield United man isn't a goal scoring machine, he does work hard off the ball for his teammates offensively and defensively. He won the penalty which saw Everton snatch a point from Liverpool's firm grasp.
I hope you enjoyed the first of three pieces today. The next will be on several thoughts about the Premier League season so far!
Chris
Welcome to the tenth day and first edition of the day of the Sporting Lowdown advent calendar! This will be continued until the 24th December so any requests for my opinion will most likely be included in the 24 and in the future.
Also, this will be the first of another triple-header today, due to the fact I forgot to click post on this when it was written on Sunday evening and as Blogger was playing up yesterday I couldn't post it then, so once again and hopefully for the final time you will see a SL Triple Header!
79% possession, 23 shots, 3 on target. The stats all favour the men in red. But it's the derby, and they count for nothing. After a superb Salah solo effort on 42 minutes, and a domineering first period, there seemed to be an element of complacency around Anfield. After singing the victorious chant, 'Mane scoring, all around us' (to the tune of 'Merry Christmas Everyone' by Shakin Stevens) after only around 65 minutes, almost completely disregarding the opportunity that Everton might get back in to the match, rung alarm bells in the ears of slightly more pessimistic fans like me. Of course, Liverpool had dominated the game, the ball, and pretty much sat around Everton's 18 yard line the whole game. But one moment of quality from Wayne Rooney to thread through Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was then unquestionably shoved by Dejan Lovren, resulted in the ex-England skipper converting the spot kick and Everton plucking a remarkable point from the grip of Liverpool and they will be filled with optimism for the time that the adrenalin lasts.
Question marks were raised at Jürgen Klopp's selection of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andrew Robertson and Dominic Solanke. All of which, in my opinion, justified their selections. Although the Ox put a few poor deliveries in to the box, he pressed and ran for the entirety of his time on the pitch and worked so hard to create chances for his teammates, something which excites any fan who values effort and determination. Robertson was also very hard working, playing left wing most of the time, and although his crossing was a mixed bag again, the Scotsman certainly posed more threat offensively than Alberto Moreno in recent weeks. Young Solanke also did very well, feeding off scraps I may add. Although he didn't have too many opportunities at goal, the u20 World Cup winner did some fantastic lay offs and flick ons which were a foundation of some of Liverpool's attractive play.
For me, there were two key moments in the game. The Mane miss was the first one, and obviously he will be ruing that chance to square to Mo Salah, and this needs to be highlighted a lot more than it is. The 'Fab four' was split apart for this game, but even then the fundamentals of why they're so good is the fact that they are unselfish and they bring others into the game. If Mane had been unselfish, It would have been 2-0 at half time, Everton would've had to attack a bit more and this would've given these flair players the time and space to destroy Everton. Dejan Lovren's push on Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the other key moment. Was it a penalty? For me, yes. The way I judge it is if it wasn't given for me, how angry would I be. If this wasn't given for Liverpool. I would be fuming, and that's why I think it was. It was a needless push and Lovren, although the miss from Mane would've possibly finished the game, cost the Reds a point. Here are the 3 key men for both sides for the right reasons.
Liverpool
Joe Gomez - a silver lining for Liverpool was a stunning performance from young England international Joe Gomez. After assisting the Mo Salah goal and threading through some absolutely stunning through balls, as well as being remarkably solid defensively, Joe Gomez was my man of the match. If there was anything to say to Gareth Southgate, 'put me on that plane', it would be that performance.
Andrew Robertson - Another way to make your mark in a derby. What impressed me about the ex-Hull man was his sublime control, and vision both inside and outside. Although nowhere near the finished article, he certainly shows a lot more promise than Moreno, and I expect him and Milner to be rotated in the left-back role over the period of Moreno's absence.
Mohamed Salah - After a poor 40 minutes without any end product, look no further than the scintillatingly in-form Egyptian, who whipped a scrumptious effort in to the top corner of Jordan Pickford's net. After being substituted, I expect he will play a full part in Wednesday's match with Alan Pardew's Baggies.
Everton
Jonjoe Kenny - For me, Everton's best player. Dealing with Salah or Mane is no easy task for top class defenders, but the young scouser really proved his worth to Big Sam. He will sure be tough competition for the returning Seamus Coleman, and it would be good to see him gain a lot of minutes this season.
Wayne Rooney - Didn't do much until around 75 minutes, where he lofted a ball in to the path of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in which brought a penalty for Everton. He calmly converted it down the middle to earn Everton a point.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Although the ex-Sheffield United man isn't a goal scoring machine, he does work hard off the ball for his teammates offensively and defensively. He won the penalty which saw Everton snatch a point from Liverpool's firm grasp.
I hope you enjoyed the first of three pieces today. The next will be on several thoughts about the Premier League season so far!
Chris
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