Yes, I know that title’s awful… but it was right there! Given that enthusiasm for Europa is still pretty lukewarm on my end because of the overall group of remaining participants and, of course, in comparison to the biggest prize on the schedule (which this weekend will have a huge impact upon), banging away on the keyboard to talk about another win over a continental side that a lot of Liverpool fans will have never heard of isn’t a really compelling factor. So, I was weak and went for the easy shot. Of course, you could only describe one of our open play goals this afternoon as an “easy shot”, as long as we’re discounting Conor Bradley’s spectacular own goal… It took a finish like that to beat the best backup keeper in Europe! That one “easy” one was the last one by newly-returned Dominik Szoboszlai, set up nicely by also newly-returned Mohamed Salah after Dom had extended him the similar favor a few minutes earlier only for the goal to be waved off by an offside call that clearly wasn’t. Yay, football officiating. No, I’m not getting into it.
But, despite the weak title, due credit has to be extended to Sparta Praha for not hesitating for one second to bring their style of play right at us from the opening kick and extending through to the last one. Even before we took the lead on a good(!) call by the official for a penalty, the Maroons were determined to press the issue and try to win the game, not by waiting for a counter, but simply by charging in and scoring. This is the kind of game I’d like to see from every overmatched side we play. Yes, it’s probably not wise, given that Sparta also demonstrated what happens when most teams choose to run with us, but it’s so much more exciting. This went from a routine European win for Liverpool to an exciting match, even when we were leading 3-0. These guys, quite literally, came to play and it made every minute worth the watch. They decided they could show Jürgen Klopp how real heavy metal is played on the continent. That’s real football, so many thanks to them for sticking to their principles and giving the crowd a show at both ends of the pitch. I’m sure they’ll do the same thing at Anfield, which means that even though the tie is effectively over, since the idea of them beating us by five goals on Merseyside is akin to me beating Magnus Carlsen, they have absolutely nothing to lose by going out of the competition with a bang. Bring it on.
There were largely similar results in three of the other six matches today and all of them in favor of the “big clubs” (Roma, Milan, Marseille), which you think would kind of further highlight the growing chasm between the haves and the have-nots, even in the second-tier competition. Of course, two of the clubs that lost were from the European “Super League”, which is the Premier League, at present; one of which was West Ham because Moyes and the other of which was Brighton which was on the receiving end of that hiding (4-0) delivered by Roma. So, maybe not as clear a defining line as popularly assumed? Regardless, we remain in pole position to win the only trophy that we haven’t won with Jürgen which will be at least a nice companion to the one piece of hardware already won and/or a duplication of the “treble” from 23 years ago under Gérard Houllier, even if the real prize escapes us yet again. But this weekend will be about trying to put the opposition in check and that may have been where everyone’s attention actually was, despite Sparta’s best effort to exercise the zugzwang against us.
Sparta Praha 1 – 5 Liverpool
So, yeah, xG tells the story, but look at that xT-! Again, Sparta was making things happen. They were largely taking the game to us in the first half and creating chances, including big chances, with three to our five over the whole game. Their problem, of course, is that they missed all three of those big chances. The other problem is that the really successful high press that they employed takes a lot of energy. They held us to all of two shots in the first half hour and it was difficult moving the ball out of our defensive third. By the end of the first half, we were controlling the pace and had taken another 10 shots. Of course, in terms of those big chances, we only hit on one of ours but then created goals out of not much to speak of in the other instances; the primary magician in said instances being Darwin Núñez, who put in two spectacular goals that once again had the Redditors marveling at his ability to complete those and not the seeming tap-ins. I think that label will be hung around his neck for the rest of time because it’s easy, lazy (like my title), and creates something to talk about; mostly for the uninformed. But you’re presumably reading this to be informed, so let’s talk about information.
As noted, Steve Hunter steps right into it (e.g. “Can miss from two yards…”) You can argue that Peter Jensen should’ve done better in term of positioning, but his defenders did him no favors, since they basically backed up to give Darwin space to take that shot. That was Liverpool’s 1000th goal under Jürgen, which is a pretty impressive haul in a little over nine years.
And that was the 1001st because, why not? This one is even more impressive than the first because he not only has a defender taking up position in his shooting lane, but Jensen has position on him, too, and he just wraps it around the defender and past the keeper and, yeah, we’re on our way. That’s his 12th goal involvement (eight goals, four assists) in 12 games in 2024, matching him with Kevin DeBruyne for the best output of any PL player. That’s also 16 goals and 11 assists on the season, which puts him only three behind another Man City player/android for goal involvements on the season, with far fewer minutes and matches played. Anyone still thinking he’s a “flop” is no longer worth listening to, if they ever were in the first place.
Speaking of players who can no longer be doubted… Yeah, man. That’s a Sicilian defense if I’ve ever seen one and Caoimhin Kelleher ain’t even Sicilian. He got way more work than I think anyone expected tonight, but that’s kinda what you want for your keeper on the eve of an even bigger game, right? Joe Gomez was part of that whole picture, as well, and if you question how much he and the rest of the back line allowed Kweev to take the heat, you have to acknowledge his ability to get back to assist in preventing what was otherwise a certain goal.
That’s 450 minutes in the last five matches for Harvey Elliott, which is the best run he’s had in the senior squad since he got here. It’s been paying off, too, as we’ve collected five wins in those five matches and Harvey has been at the center of much of it; just like tonight with two assists. I still think his best position is at one of the 8s, but he’s done well playing right wing. If he can start producing more in terms of goals, I have no problem with him staying there whenever Mo isn’t playing. Before this season, that last statement would have been superfluous, since Mo had only missed three games through injury in the previous six years. But age happens.
Alexis Mac Allister is another player who’s been turning it on in this, our hour of need, just like Harvey. Now that’s Dom’s back, the “ideal” midfield of Mac, Dom, and Wataru Endo seems to be in place for the weekend. That we’re lacking Curtis Jones is still a regret, but Mac has been playing so well that it would be absurd to leave him off the pitch right now.
And since we’re on the topic of reliability, I have to mention Luís Diaz again. His numbers weren’t spectacular (2 chances, 1 big chance created, 2 recoveries, 3/5 ground duels, 1 tackle. And a goal, of course.), the constant threat he’s providing from the left side helped cover for the couple of times in the first half that Andy Robertson and Mac just weren’t on the same page as to how to progress. Luís has slipped into the Sadio Mané role by dint of position and by effort that often goes overlooked. But defenses notice him and defenses react, which is part of what’s been creating opportunities for Darwin in the middle.
And, yeah, I mean, come on. Even with VAR this was somehow determined to be offside? Whatevs. The official, José Sanchez from La Liga, was fine. He let the game flow but didn’t do so by ignoring obvious and stupid fouls. He also made the correct call on the penalty which I thought really wasn’t one in real time.
So, yeah. Sunday. Win and we have a one game cushion that allows us one slip (and only one) against the sportswashing machine. Draw and we, as the link cites, need only the edge of the seat for the rest of the season. Lose and we end up depending on others to help out and we saw how well that worked in 2019 and 2022. It also puts us within reach of the Gooners. Not losing would obviously be the best thing. It is at Anfield, so I’m expecting the sold-out crowd to turn out in some force (which doesn’t need to be applied to City’s bus, FFS.) This is the biggest step toward completing the send-off that we want for Jürgen. Let’s do this.
Extra Time 
[…] hard to criticize when he does things like that which is something that happens pretty regularly. I wrote on Thursday about him assuming the Sadio Mané role of just being too hot to handle on that side. Right now, […]
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