After watching Liverpool beat Bournemouth, at Bournemouth, I have a few thoughts.

  1. 3 clean sheets in a row in the Prem. Jacquet and Araujo got us defending so solid that it's making me believe. And by believe, I mean believe. I didn't think the defense would be this strong under Iraola, I thought it would be more offensive. Yo Slot, who knew? Turns out pushing your opponent to think fast all the time actually works as a defensive tool too. I'm genuinely looking forward to the City match. Can't wait to see how good we've gotten against a true contender.
  2. Szoboszlai and MacAllister are the starting double pivot until bad form. And ending with Nyoni + MacAllister + Gravenberch was like the old days of bringing on Endo and just knowing that's the scoreline, no need to watch the rest of the game. I think Iraola is actually going to use Nyoni the way I was hoping for and described in my last article. It almost went exactly the way I wanted aside from taking Wirtz off to set up the Triple Rashōmon midfield.
  3. Isak looked HUNGRY. This might be the fastest / most committed I've seen him to what I want to see out of our Number 9. Even without the goal, I was very pleased with his overall effect on the game.
  4. Yo Slot, is this why you kept playing Gakpo all them games? I guess Gakpo just needed to do something OTHER than cut inside and shoot. Who knew Gakpo could be this effective if he actually did stuff other than that? (answer: EVERYONE except Slot apparently).
  5. Wirtz had the vital touch to get the ball to Isak for the goal, but overall he really does need to step it up. I've been a staunch Wirtz supporter. Even in the face of my own father giving up on him and telling me we'll be lucky if we can even get Ozil numbers out of him. And after today's performance, especially on the back of McConnell, of all players, looking better for the team than him, I'm starting to lose some faith. He was dreadfully inaccurate today. And not just on forcing through balls or other difficult passes. No, there were a ton of unforced error passes. He had the lowest accuracy of all the starters on the pitch and it wasn't even close. I know 10's probably always tend to have the lowest accuracy but this was scary bad. At this point, I'm just hoping Klopp has some magic for him during the International break so he can come back on fire. I want Wirtz to consistently be our best player (or at the very least our best creator). Right now I'd have to say it's Gakpo, then MacAllister, then Szoboszlai. And we can't have it like this.
  6. Alisson is still the BEST goalie. Sign him until he's 40.

This seemed like a really straightforward, repeatable plan that we could implement against almost every team and at the very least squeak out a 1-0 victory due to our better than stable defense. The future is looking very bright for once in a very long time.

POLL · CLOSED

Do we have what it takes to beat Man City at Anfield after the International Break

Yes
100% 4 votes
No
0% 0 votes
4 total votes 🔒 Closed 2 weeks ago

The Stats — Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool (Isak 57')

Liverpool: 54% possession · 12 shots to 9 · 474 passes at 81% · Bournemouth held to 0.84 xG on target · clean sheet.

Goalkeeper

  • Alisson (90') — 2 saves (both inside the box) · 0 conceded · 3 high claims · 2 punches · 9 recoveries · 78% passing

Defense

  • Ronald Araujo (90') — 9 duels won / 2 lost · aerials 6/7 (86%) · 6 recoveries · 2 tackles · 1 interception · 16 line-breaking passes · 72% passing
  • Jérémy Jacquet (90') — 89% passing (54/61) · 2 interceptions · 3 tackles · 8 defensive actions · 1 block · 6 recoveries · 14 line-breaking passes
  • Virgil van Dijk (90') — 90% passing (71/79) · 12 clearances (7 headed) · 13 defensive actions · aerials 5/7 · 21 line-breaking passes
  • Miloš Kerkez (90') — 6 clearances · 7 defensive actions · 21 sprints · 73% passing · 4 fouls

Midfield

  • Alexis Mac Allister (90') — 88% passing (43/49) · 13 defensive actions · 7 recoveries · 14 passes into final third · 19 line-breaking passes · 2 tackles · 4 clearances · 6 duels won
  • Dominik Szoboszlai (81') — 87% passing (33/38) · 10 passes into final third · 9 line-breaking passes · 6 defensive actions · 2 tackles · 0 chances created · yellow card (46')
  • Florian Wirtz (71') — 70% passing (26/37) — lowest of any starter · 3 chances created · xA 0.05 · 8 defensive actions · 3 tackles · 6 duels won · 2 shots (0 on target)

Attack

  • Alexander Isak (81') — ⚽ Goal · xG 0.75 · 3 shots (1 on target) · 6 touches in the box · 13 sprints · top speed 32.5 km/h · 1 chance created · yellow card (58')
  • Cody Gakpo (90') — xA 0.49 (team-high) · 3 chances created (team-high) · crosses 1/1 · dribbles 2/4 · 8 duels won · 2 shots · 77% passing (0 goals, 0 assists)
  • Bradley Barcola (72') — 82% passing · 1 shot (1 on target) · 14 sprints · dribbles 0/3

Substitutes

  • Trey Nyoni (19') — 82% passing · 3 clearances · 1 interception · 1 block · 5 defensive actions
  • Víctor Muñoz (18') — 1 chance created · 78% passing
  • Ryan Gravenberch (9') — 6/6 passing · 1 recovery
  • Lewis Koumas (9') — 1 shot (1 on target)

Note: the goal is logged as unassisted — Wirtz had a touch in the buildup, but Gakpo was the game's chief creator (xA 0.49).