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Does anyone already know the rules of soccer? No, me neither.
I am not writing about that as it currently has a greater chance of ruining Christmas in my home than a terrible health pandemic. Liverpool were decent against FC Midtjylland, decency in the end was all that was required. The Reds were raw at times in Denmark, but the full context of the night will tell the story of nothing damaged (not until we know the fate of Kostas Tsimikas’ injury, anyway).
It would have been easy to find a way to lose, it is important to register. It would have been easy to go out onto the field and treat him like a dead rubber. They didn’t, and that’s why they made sure they didn’t lose because this is a disinterested team in the company of losing any games today. Here are some of my post-match thoughts:
• Jürgen Klopp clearly has a promise for himself and for this club not to lose matches in December. That has to explain the strength of the team and the substitutes. He sees it as his month of momentum, in which things are won and lost in the grand scheme of things.
• You get to see why Mohamed Salah and Fabinho start in what they give the team. Fabinho for his reading and Salah for his outball. The Egyptian’s fondness for goals, which now places him first among Liverpool’s scorers in the Champions League format, may also have influenced his selection. They would have lost tonight without those two in the lineup.
• The game is a fight from start to finish, as always with Klopp in Liverpool, you must earn the right to play. He is very aware of this side of the game. This Liverpool team thrives on information, so what did they see in Anfield’s game against this opponent to target them here? On a second look, take a look at the diagonal ball arched from the defending areas to get behind the high Midtjylland baseline. Also in general how they tried to avoid playing a game in the center of the field.
• Leighton Clarkson and Billy Koumetio fight at times, and that’s absolutely fine. They are in a helping team setup that has developed Curtis Jones and Neco Williams before them, and they will learn enormously from the experience. They are a case of nothing lost, all gained in the sense of the evening.
• Liverpool are visibly and more vocally organized when introducing Jordan Henderson. Looking for the reasons the team had lost momentum after the break, Fabinho’s loss of safety nails it. But don’t underestimate the influence and impact of the boss, whose goal-saving block towards the end of the game also helped enormously towards the result.
I’ve gone a whole piece without mentioning that decision. I deserve the gold on Joel’s podium, I think.
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