Liverpool: Back to the Top - February Update

FA Cup, Swindon, H, W, 2-1
We kick off this month with a visit from Swindon in the cup. While we were hoping for a good cup run, I was conscious of the fact that we only had a day’s rest before playing Bournemouth in the league. So I decided to make some changes to the team. Lovren, Roberto, Meyer, Pulisic, Asensio and Morata all came into the side for Giménez, Clyne, Coutinho, Mané, Grujic and Aubameyang. We were hoping for a good win here and I was confident we could get it. But we couldn’t afford to underestimate them like we did in our first leg against Nottingham Forest last month.
43 min: Asensio has the ball in the box and loses it to a crunching but fair challenge. The referee let’s play continue before calling a halt so Asensio can receive treatment. He’s subbed off for Coutinho. 0-0
49 min: Meyer makes a fantastic run into the centre of the pitch. He spots Sturridge running into the box and plays a through ball to him just inside the box. Sturridge takes it to the corner of the 6-yard box and strikes it across the keeper, off the post and in. 1-0 Liv
51 min: Sturridge wins the ball in the Swindon half and we counter quickly. He plays the ball across to Meyer, who plays a through ball into the path of Morata and puts him through on goal. He takes it into the box and calmly places it past the advancing keeper. 2-0
80 min: Thompson picks up the ball about halfway into our half. He goes on a good run and fires it home from just inside the D, the ball seeming to brush off Lovren as it passes him. 2-1
After the match: It was a good game. Very even in the first half, especially. But we played well and I’m delighted with the result. Disappointed not to keep a clean sheet but the main thing is that we won and progress to the next round. I’m hoping Asensio’s injury isn’t too bad but we just have to wait and see what the physio’s say after they’ve done whatever tests need to be done. MOTM: M. Meyer (Liv).

 

During the week: We received some bad news on Asensio. He’s after suffering a broken ankle and will be out for the next 3 months. He might make it back for the last few matches but his season is pretty much finished. I think we have enough cover with Grujic, Meyer and Sanson, though. So hopefully it won’t affect us too much.

 

Bournemouth, A, W, 2-0
With barely any rest time, I was forced to make a number of changes for this game. Gomez, Giménez, Clyne, Wijnaldum, Sanson, Mané, Grujic and Aubameyang all came into the team for Moreno, Lovren, Roberto, Henderson, Meyer, Pulisic, Asensio and Sturridge. I was confident about this game as well but we couldn’t afford to let our form in the league drop at this crucial stage of the season.
11 min: Mané swings in a corner but it’s cleared back out to him. He passes it back to Matip outside the area with his first touch. Matip takes a touch and passes it to Sanson on the edge of the area, who flicks it up and volleys it home low into the bottom left. 1-0 Liv
45 min: After winning the ball in our half, we go on a quick counter down the left with Sanson. He plays it across to Morata, who takes it into the box and plays the ball into the path of Mané. Mané fires it home off the underside of the crossbar first time. 2-0
After the match: Absolutely delighted with that result and performance. We were by far the better team and never looked like conceding. It could easily have been more than just two as well, with Grujic, Giménez and Morata all hitting the post. But we got the win and all three points. MOTM: S. Mané (Liv). Thanks to that win, we remain 13 points ahead of Spurs.

 

West Brom, H, W, 3-0
After almost a full week, pretty much everyone was in good shape for this game. I decided to bring Lovren, Moreno, Coutinho and Sturridge into the side for Gomez, Matip, Sanson and Morata. With Spurs having already won this game week, a win here was vital as I wanted to keep a solid before between us both in case we slipped up in the bigger matches. But West Brom were doing well this season, lying in 4th with 2 games in hand. So we knew it wouldn’t be an easy game.
10 min: Grujic plays a through ball into Aubameyang in the box. He cuts inside his man and strikes it across the keeper. 1-0 Liv
32 min: Aubameyang floats a free into the box. Clyne jumps and knocks it down to Coutinho, who is completely unmarked in the box. He takes a touch and fires home. 2-0
45 min: A good passing move and Grujic plays a through ball into Aubameyang in the box. This time, he pulls it across to Sturridge. Sturridge hits it first time, under a defender that’s diving in and just out of reach of the keeper. 3-0
After the match: An absolutely fantastic result. We played very well and, again, never really looked like conceding. By far the better team. But West Brom really performed a lot better in the second half and we found it difficult. I think we didn’t try as hard as we had been in the first half, as we were already 3-0 up at half-time. MOTM: P. Aubameyang (Liv). With that win, we remain 13 points ahead of Spurs for another week.

 

Swansea, A, D, 0-0
With a good break since the last match, everyone was back to fully rested. So I decided to make only one change to the team, bringing Matip into the side for Lovren. I was confident we could get the win but we knew it wouldn’t be an easy game. However, the next two weeks were going to be pretty packed with the 3 cups so a win here was absolutely vital, in my view.
18 min: Sturridge tries to break quickly after a Swansea corner. He takes the ball into the opposition half and is challenged. He goes down injured and the referee stops play after a minute so he can be subbed off for Morata. 0-0
After the match: A very tight game. We really piled on the pressure in the 2nd half but we just weren’t able to score, with Morata hitting the woodwork twice. But plenty of positives to take away from the game. Defensively, we were solid. Swansea had a lot of the ball in the first half but were unable to make anything of it. We’re waiting on news for Sturridge’s injury. Hopefully everything’s alright but we’ll wait and see. MOTM: S. Mané (Liv). With that draw, we go 14 points ahead of Spurs but they have a game in hand.

 

During the week: Sturridge only suffered a bruised shoulder in the last match and will be back in 9 days. This is a relief as we’re coming into a packed few weeks and, with Immobile still out, we don’t have much depth in that position.

 

Europa League, FC Kobenhavn, A, W, 3-1
I decided to make only one change for this game, bringing Morata in for the injured Sturridge. Immobile re-joined us in training during the week and, while he wasn’t fully match fit, I decided to put him on the bench for this game. I was hoping we could get a big win here to take back to Anfield next week. But we knew it would be a difficult game.
16 min: A cross is punched clear to Mané outside the box. He plays it across to Coutinho, who takes it to the edge of the box and sends it into the top right. 1-0 Liv
27 min: Kobenhavn swing a corner in. Rico saves the header but the ball bounces off Matip and looks like it’s going in. Moreno gets in the way of it and it bounces off him, falls to a Kadrii and he buries it into the empty net. 1-1
58 min: Mané floats a free into the box. Clyne and his marker compete to win it and it falls in the box. Matip is the first to react and he gets there and swings at it. The keeper gets a hand to it but can’t keep it out. 2-1 Liv
83 min: Coutinho makes a good run and plays a through ball into Aubameyang. He takes it into the box, cuts onto his right and fires it across the keeper into the top right. 3-1
After the match: Absolutely delighted with that result and performance. Obviously frustrated at how they scored. It was a very open game and both teams created plenty of chances. We were just the more clinical. But we got the win and we’re taking 3 away goals back to Anfield. We’re in a fantastic position for the second leg, in my opinion. Immobile came on for the last 20 minutes and played well. He had one good chance but I wasn’t expecting him to be straight back in the form he was in before his injury. MOTM: P. Coutinho (Liv).

 

FA Cup, Sunderland, H, W, 2-0
I was forced to make a number of changes to the team after the last game. Lovren, Roberto, Henderson, Sanson, Pulisic, Meyer and Immobile all came into the side to rest Giménez, Clyne, Wijnaldum, Coutinho, Mané, Grujic and Aubameyang. I was hopeful of a win here and to progress even further into the FA Cup. But we knew it wouldn’t be an easy game. Sunderland were a good team and, even though we got a good result in the first leg, we had to think about our upcoming Europa League fixture.
14 min: Pulisic makes a great run down the right before cutting into the centre of the pitch. He plays a through ball into the feet of Meyer in the box, who just needs to get a touch on it and direct it into the bottom right. 1-0 Liv
53 min: A quick counter and Morata plays a through ball into the path of Immobile. He manages to stay just ahead of his man for long enough to take the ball into the box and fire it across the keeper. 2-0
71 min: Pulisic is taken down with a crunching challenge just outside the Sunderland box. The referee plays on, no foul and seems to let play continue for a long time before finally calling it to a halt so Pulisic can be subbed off. He’s replaced by Mané. 2-0
After the match: Absolutely delighted with the result. It was a very tight game for long periods in the match. Both sides played well. But we were very good and managed to finish our chances. We’re waiting to hear on news of Pulisic’s injury. But hopefully it’s nothing to serious. The worrying thing is that Roberto and Immobile both also picked up knocks in that game. So we’ll also be waiting on the physio’s reports on those two as well. MOTM: C. Pulisic (Liv).

 

During the week: We received news from the physio on Pulisic’s injury. He sprained his knee and will be out for the next 4 weeks. This might be a problem, as we have some big games coming up. But Alexander-Arnold has played RM before and impressed so I’m hoping he can slot in when Mané needs to be rested.
We also received news on Immobile and Roberto. Both players sprained their ankles and will each be out for the next 3 weeks. This means Alexander-Arnold may be asked to fill in at the RB position as well as RM in the coming weeks. We’ve been stretched thin on that right side with these injuries. It’s also annoying about Immobile, as this was his first full game back after that long injury he picked up at the start of the season. So hopefully both will come back in top shape.
Meyer also picked up a yellow card in that last game. This means he’s now suspended for our next domestic game, which is the EFL Cup Final on the 1st of March. So he’ll be a big loss but hopefully we can manage it without him.

 

Europa League, FC Kobenhavn, H, W, 2-0, 5-1 Agg
With the EFL Cup final coming up in a few days, I decided to make a number of changes to the team for this game. Caldwell, Gomez, Giménez, Clyne, Wijnaldum, Coutinho, Mané, Aubameyang and Sturridge all came into the side for Rico, Moreno, Matip, Roberto, Henderson, Sanson, Pulisic, Immobile and Morata. We got a good result in the first leg but that didn’t mean we were just going to sit back and defend for the whole game. Kobenhavn would be coming out fighting and it was crucial we got the first goal and try to dishearten them.
37 min: Sturridge picks the ball up just inside the Kobenhavn half. He goes on a fantastic run, weaving in and out of defenders. He takes it to the edge of the area and blasts it home into the top right. 1-0 Liv
44 min: A corner is cleared for a throw in. The ball is thrown to Mané, who takes a touch and swings it in to the box. Sturridge gets in front of his man and powers a header in off the underside of the crossbar. 2-0
After the match: Absolutely delighted. We were by far the better side, creating more chances and using the ball well. But Kobenhavn played well and were unlucky not to score, hitting the crossbar. It was a good game and I’m delighted we progress through to the next round. MOTM: D. Sturridge (Liv).

 

Growth Report
Caldwell +1 (85), Alexander-Arnold +1 (74), Rivero +1 (65), Chirivella +1 (64), Marino +1 (51)

 

End of the month: Yet another brilliant month. Delighted with how things have gone. Obviously disappointed to have dropped points against Swansea but that’s the only disappointment for this month. We have a tough enough month coming up this month, however. After only 2 days’ rest, we face Spurs in the EFL Cup Final. And then we have 1 day off before facing Chelsea in the league. We also play Arsenal the following week, as well as Watford, who we already dropped points against this season, and Villa. Hoping to pick up the majority of points from this month but it will be a tough one.
We also face CSKA Moscow in the Round of 16 in the Europa League. Both those legs are next month. The first leg is away so, like in the last round, we’ll be hoping for a good result there to take back to Anfield.
Not sure who we’ve drawn in the next round of the FA Cup but I assume that game will be taking place next month as well. So it’ll be a busy month. But hopefully we can continue performing the way we have been and continue getting results as we’re reaching the home stretch of the season, with only 13 league games left.