Manchester City 1-4 Liverpool: Post-Match Thoughts

Today, Liverpool finally showed what fans have been desperate to see since August. When Firmino joined our ranks in the summer there was great excitement – a creative midfielder renowned for perfectly timed runs and a good end product, the yang to Coutinho’s yin. However, until now, this dream of a perfectly balanced Brazilian partnership has been hampered by the poor form of Coutinho and a series of knocks and niggles suffered by Firmino. Against Manchester City, however, it all clicked into place. The two of them ran the show, particularly in the first half; a dazed City defence couldn’t handle the passing and movement of the skilled pair, and were three behind within half an hour. Firmino bagged a goal and two assists, and would have had a hattrick had it not been for the excellent performance of Joe Hart; Coutinho also clocked up a goal and assist. A moment of magic from Aguero following some shambolic defending temporarily put a slight dampener on proceedings, but the party mood was very much revived by a fearsome half-volley from Martin Skrtel of all people.

I was trying to think of a way to work it subtly into the article, but I think I’m just going to come out and say it – I’m feeling quite smug right now. I have consistently defended Firmino against those who have written him off ridiculously early, and I even brought him into my fantasy team recently: I was confident that he could deliver for us, and today he gave us a taste of what he can bring to our team. He was definitely man of the match for me – no mean feat on a day when every single player put in a good shift – and everything good we produced seemed to involve him in one way or another. His link-up with Coutinho was especially impressive: the second goal in particular saw them combine exquisitely, with Firmino slotting a pinpoint ball through to his compatriot who finished coolly. Considering his limited game time up to now, this partnership was particularly impressive – he seems to naturally gel in our team. Indeed, he played well with everyone: he and Emre Can had some nice interplay on multiple occasions, for example. Can’s performance is definitely worthy of note – he pushed forwards a lot, and fulfilled the role of playmaker excellently. He pulled off two or three perfect backheels that bamboozled the defence, one of which led to the third goal. Again, this was extremely pleasing to see: his form has been a little underwhelming so far this campaign and it was great to see him step up for the big occasion.

The feeling of smugness doesn’t just apply to me: the club as a whole must be feeling very pleased with themselves regarding the Raheem Sterling deal. The young Englishman was woefully ineffectual against us, with the highlight being his failure to convert from six yards out. This was made all the more enjoyable by the fact that Firmino, who we bought using some of the Sterling money, was bossing the game – of course we should remember that Sterling is younger, but for today at least it was hugely satisfying to watch our former starlet get so comprehensively outshone. Questions were asked about our investments this summer, but the two big-money signings have not disappointed so far: Benteke, while frustrating to watch at times, has netted four goals, and as already documented Firmino has recently exploded on to the first team scene. Jurgen Klopp, who is a joy to watch in press conferences and on the sidelines during matches, is getting the best out of all of the players: this comprehensive win against arguably the best side in the league demonstrates that under his leadership we have the potential to do big things.

That said, tempting as it is to ride on the wave of euphoria from today and ignore all negatives, expectations should be tempered. Klopp said it himself when he joined – getting Liverpool back to the top will take time. Yes, we’ve humiliated City in their own back yard this week, but our last game was a defeat at home to Crystal Palace. The German has already mastered counter-attacking tactics for away games, but at home we continue to struggle. Our attack is regularly left frustrated, unable to pick apart packed defences, and our own back line lets us down when teams break against us. Sakho’s absence will only accentuate this problem; I am confident that we’ll do a good job with what we have up to January, but there’s no hiding the fact that a new central defender (or two) is ultimately required. Our target now has to be to remain in contention until the next transfer window – if we achieve this, we can strengthen further and then kick on for at least a top four spot. A few more results like this one and that shouldn’t be a problem. This was the most enjoyable Liverpool match for some time: long may it continue. Vamos Brasil!

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

World Cup 2014: Who Will Win the Golden Boot?

I’m back! As you may have noticed from my rather straightforward, pun-free title to this piece, I’m somewhat rusty when it comes to football writing: I’ve been busy with exams. Those are out of the way now though, so I have 10 weeks ahead of writing to my heart’s content.

But enough about me, let’s move on to what you all actually care about- football! I’m taking a break from articles about Liverpool to bring you my views on the World Cup, which, in case you’re reading this having just woken up from a coma, is currently taking place in Brazil. Almost two full rounds of fixtures have now been played, and the question of who might win the golden boot can start to be seriously considered.

First up on the list of potential winners is the man who got the award at the last World Cup- Thomas Muller. No player has ever won back-to-back golden boots, so it would be an extremely impressive achievement. He certainly started the tournament in a way that made many people view him as favourite; he bagged a hat-trick in Germany’s first game, a 4-0 win over Portugal. He also looked bright in their match against Ghana, but failed to find the back of the net, meaning he remains on 3 goals for the tournament. The only reason I wouldn’t look upon him as the out-and-out favourite is because of his versatility. Although he is deadly in a centre-forward position, he isn’t always played there. For example, against Ghana, Muller moved wide midway through the second half to accommodate the 2006 golden boot winner Miroslav Klose. Though undoubtedly still effective from the flanks, he is more likely to notch assists than goals.

Another front runner is Robin Van Persie. He too has found the back of the net three times so far, including one sensational diving header against Spain. The 5-1 win against the world champions flattered the Netherlands somewhat, but there is no denying that they look capable of progressing to at least the quarter-finals in the tournament and possibly further. As such, it seems likely that Van Persie will have plenty more opportunities to score goals, and having been released from the shackles of David Moyes he is free to show just what he is capable of. He will probably fancy his chances of taking home the golden boot, but he faces stiff opposition.

Some of this opposition comes from within his own team. Arjen Robben is another man who has scored 3 in the tournament so far, and frankly he is looking deadly. His one-footed nature has been well-documented, but with his electric pace he can usually make himself enough time to switch the ball to his excellent left foot. For his club, Bayern Munich, Robben is played as a winger. Indeed, this is the position he has played throughout most of his club career. For the Netherlands, he plays a slightly different role. We have seen him play alongside Van Persie as a second striker at this tournament, and he is thriving. The only real question mark over Robben is whether his pace alone will be enough to get him goals at the business end of the tournament, although the fact that it was enough to totally bamboozle the defence of the reigning champions indicates that his pace will serve him well against any opposition.

Reluctantly, I also include Brazilian star Neymar in this list. Personally I don’t think that he’ll win the golden boot, but he’s found the net twice so far and the people of Brazil are pinning their hopes on him to deliver the goods. His two goals so far have been a badly hit but well-placed long ranged effort and a penalty that shouldn’t have been given in the first place- not exactly inspiring stuff, but the golden boot is for quantity of goals, not quality. Still, there’s only so many lucky breaks that one player can get, so if Neymar is to win it he will have to up his game. Add to this the fact that he’s not actually a striker (he plays behind Fred), and his chances of winning the award look slim.

The next two players to come under consideration are very much outsiders when it comes to winning the award, not because of their lack of goal-scoring prowess but because of the teams for which they play. I have written about the wizardry in front of goal of a certain Mr Luis Suarez more than most, but Uruguay have an uphill struggle to get out of the group stage: they have to beat Italy in order to progress. If Suarez does feature in the knockouts, he is sure to keep scoring and has as good a chance as any of winning the golden boot. He has the best goals to games ratio of anyone in the tournament, playing just one game and scoring twice. The other player who gets a brief nod of recognition in relation to the award is Enner Valencia of Ecuador. He is a classic poacher, and has already nabbed 3 goals for his country at the tournament. However, to guarantee their place in the last 16, Ecuador have to beat France, which looks rather unlikely.

One man who the Ecuadorians will be particularly wary of when facing the French is my favourite for the award, Karim Benzema. He too has a goal tally of 3 so far, and has looked extremely dangerous in front of goal. He could have been on 5 by this stage- one of France’s goals against Honduras came from the keeper parrying a Benzema shot into the net, but it went down as an own goal, and he also saw his penalty saved by Benaglio against the Swiss.  He often plays as the lone striker for France, so he gets the lion’s share of the chances, and he is extremely adept at taking them. He is a player who tends to score in bursts, and from what we’ve seen so far he appears to have hit a good vein of form at the perfect time for his country. France have looked formidable so far at this World Cup, and the further they progress the more chances Benzema will get. I think that he is on track to become the first Frenchman to win the award since Just Fontaine in 1958.

The fact that these 7 players can all be considered well and truly in the running for the award shows just how open and exciting this World Cup has been so far. Indeed, there are many huge names I haven’t even mentioned. None of Aguero, Messi and Ronaldo even made the list, though one would have to be a fool to entirely discount such stars of the sport from winning the golden boot. All in all though, based purely on what we’ve seen so far, I think that Benzema is the most likely to score the most goals and take home the award.

-James Martin

Follow me on  Twitter @JamesMartin013

Coutinho vs Oscar

At the age of 21, Philippe Coutinho has already won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with Inter Milan, as well as the U20’s World Cup with Brazil. Fellow countryman Oscar (aged 22) has also won the U20’s World Cup as well as the 2013 Confederations Cup, and has also won the Europa League with Chelsea. There is no denying that they are two of the brightest young talents in the Premier League, but the rivalry between Chelsea and Liverpool fans always sparks the same question: who’s better?

On looking at the statistics, the natural first reaction is to say Oscar is the better player. He has already won a major European trophy, and has been capped 26 times for the Brazil senior team, compared to Coutinho’s 1 call-up. He also has a higher ‘goals per game’ career average, 0.22 compared to Coutinho’s 0.14. However, when non-Premier League clubs are factored out of this, Coutinho’s record is much better. Despite starting double the amount of games Coutinho did in the 2012/13 season (as he signed earlier), he got the same amount of assists and scored only one more goal. Also, Oscar is a year older than Coutinho, and Oscar has only become a regular in the Brazil senior squad in the last year. It is unsurprising that Coutinho hasn’t broken into the regular team yet with the wealth of talent that Brazil has, and at the age of just 21 he will almost certainly break into the national team sooner or later.

It is clear to see that when Premier League goal/assist records are compared, Coutinho comes out on top. However, a player’s talent and worth cannot, obviously, be judged purely on how many goals and assists they get; it is about their contribution to the team as a whole. There is no doubt that Oscar fits into the Chelsea setup extremely well. His combination with Hazard is superb, and he generally links up well with the front man as well (insert Torres/Ba/Eto’o here depending on how the Special One is feeling). Indeed, in the 2012/13 season, he created a chance with more regularity than Coutinho, one every 47 minutes compared to one every 55. His pass accuracy was also higher. However, Coutinho also slots nicely into the Liverpool system. His link-up with Sturridge last season was superb, resulting in an astonishingly low number of minutes per clear cut chance created: just 96! This is compared to Oscar’s 705.2 minutes per clear cut chance created in the 2012/13 season; the difference is astounding, and says a lot about the quality of the chances that the two players set up. Coutinho’s crossing accuracy is also marginally better- 29% compared to Oscar’s 26%.

These statistics clearly show that Oscar and Coutinho are both extremely good young players who have very positive impacts on their club, and it is hard to separate the two of them. However, from watching the two of them play, it is possible to see a slightly different mentality. Coutinho is the epitome of a team player- he receives the ball, looks up, and nearly always makes the right decision (be that a pass, shot or dribble). Oscar, though not by any means a selfish player, does have the tendency to be over-elaborate. For example, I went to see Reading play Chelsea last season at the Madjeski. At 2-0 up, Oscar was presented with a very good chance. Had he gone for the header it would have been an almost certain goal, and at 3-0 the match would have been won. Instead, he opted to go for the bicycle kick. There was absolutely no questioning the technique; his contact with the ball was sublime, and it very nearly ended up in the back of the net. However, it flew just wide, and Reading went on to score 2 late on and force the draw. This one incident sums up Oscar in some ways- his skill is prodigious, but on occasion his decision-making is not.

To sum up, I have huge respect for both Coutinho and Oscar, who considering their respective ages have achieved a huge amount thus far. They both make invaluable contributions to their team, and I am sure they will both go on to be some of the best midfielders in the world in a few years time. However, if I had to say who I thought was better I would have to go with Coutinho. Although Oscar has had more success with the national team (which is to be expected given the fact he is older than Coutinho), the statistics show that Coutinho has had a slightly larger impact in the Premier League. Now Liverpool just need him to return from injury so he can start having that impact again!

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013