Summary
A disastrous opening 10 minutes, twice dispossessed, led to two
Liverpool goals. Propper and Webster gave the ball away in their own half,
Liverpool made no mistake taking advantage of our sloppiness. We would be
dispossessed a few other times throughout the match, but
fortunately did not come to grief.
Just before halftime we would pull one back thanks to a clever flick from Gross, who found Lamptey in space. His cross was an accurate one that found its way to Leandro Trossard, who finished the half-volley superbly.
Just before halftime we would pull one back thanks to a clever flick from Gross, who found Lamptey in space. His cross was an accurate one that found its way to Leandro Trossard, who finished the half-volley superbly.
There was continued pressure on Liverpool, but we could not get level in
the second half. Big Dan Burn had a glorious chance in front of goal, but
he couldn't find the net. Later on, poor marking and not covering the near
post led to a third Liverpool goal, courtesy of Mo Salah.
The Good
This game was reminiscent of our performances early in the season against top-class opposition. Early matches against Chelsea and Manchester City yielded heavy defeats with constant errors. Potter said before the game that he wanted to 'see how far we've come'. What he meant was early in the season, we tried to play a certain way. But, we gave the ball away, didn't have the confidence to play forward, and couldn't really generate attack. Now, Potter wants to see, are we any better since then?
The answer, in my opinion, is yes. We certainly generated more attacking opportunities than before, managed the ball somewhat better, and utilized possession to generate some good chances. However, of course, the mistakes were still present. Not as frequent, but in order for us to play this way, there were too many mistakes, just like early in the season. Decision-making from midfield was also suspect at times. We did handle counter-attacks considerably better, with Lamptey's pace saving us a few times. Dan Burn returned to more of an attacking presence up-field, though at left-back and not third center-back like before. Overall, it was an improved performance from early in the season.
This game was reminiscent of our performances early in the season against top-class opposition. Early matches against Chelsea and Manchester City yielded heavy defeats with constant errors. Potter said before the game that he wanted to 'see how far we've come'. What he meant was early in the season, we tried to play a certain way. But, we gave the ball away, didn't have the confidence to play forward, and couldn't really generate attack. Now, Potter wants to see, are we any better since then?
The answer, in my opinion, is yes. We certainly generated more attacking opportunities than before, managed the ball somewhat better, and utilized possession to generate some good chances. However, of course, the mistakes were still present. Not as frequent, but in order for us to play this way, there were too many mistakes, just like early in the season. Decision-making from midfield was also suspect at times. We did handle counter-attacks considerably better, with Lamptey's pace saving us a few times. Dan Burn returned to more of an attacking presence up-field, though at left-back and not third center-back like before. Overall, it was an improved performance from early in the season.
Also, if you don't understand how this game was different than our
previous ones, let me clarify. In the previous ones, we shot the ball up
and used Dan Burn's head to bring it down and then attack from there. Now,
we are trying to play out from the back, utilizing short passes and clever
movement to exploit gaps and evade pressure. However, when the pressure
forces a mistake, we give the ball away. Kicking the ball long gave us
less chance of losing the ball in our defensive third, and giving them an
easy chance. But, it also meant less chance of keeping the ball, because
we can't win everything aerially. By playing out from the back, we keep
possession with quick passes and have more control over the
game.
The Bad
As said earlier, mistakes were the real culprit. Simple things, such as
covering the near post during a corner, we failed to do. In midfield,
constantly, we were trying to do too much and the familiar duo, Stephens
and Propper, gave the ball away. Propper's early mistake was the only one
punished. Webster tried to step out of defence and into midfield, only to
give the ball away and lead to a second Liverpool goal.
Remarkably, besides those simple errors, we avoided a large portion of
'bad', and during certain times had control over the game. Crazy as it may
sound, we had the upper hand over Liverpool for some spells of play. It
was our own mistakes that gifted Liverpool chances (just like the reverse
fixture).
Looking Ahead
Another tough fixture lies ahead, as we are home to Manchester City. They
recently thumped Newcastle 5-0, so it will be tough to beat them. After
that, we will have our final three fixtures of the season, against
Southampton, Burnley, and Newcastle. It is apparent that Graham Potter
considered Norwich as his final game of 'defensive play' and is now
working to return to his possession-based, attacking football (now that
survival is secured). It will be interesting to see how he rotates lineup
squads and who fits in his fast-paced football scheme. Leandro Trossard
has been in excellent form, in both defensive and attacking styles of
play. He has claimed two goals since the restart, against Norwich and
Liverpool.
They boast players that have excellent vision, dribbling, pace, and a
hightened level of chemistry among each other that allows for deadly
link-up play in the final third. These include David Silva, Bernardo
Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Segio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, and
goalkeeper Ederson. It is said City's number one keeper is so good on the
ball, he could play in midfield.
0 comments: