chesterfan2 Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Saturday September 28th 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (3rd) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (1st) So the League leaders are our visitors for this, our first home league game in a month. Spurs have not only started well they seem to have been a bit of a bogey side over the years so that’s something we need to put right today. We were without Paredes who had broken an arm in training midweek and would miss as much as 6 weeks football. Omrani would be the guy to step in, with Lopez, the man in form, taking the lone strikers role, consigning Salva to the bench. We started the game poorly, playing ponderous football, showing very little ambition. It was no surprise when on 8 minutes we gifted Spurs possession deep in our half and no surprise either when their centre forward, one of the leading scorers in the country, dispatched the ball home. 8 minutes gone and a goal down. This brought us to life though and on 27 we were level. Our wide men were causing chaos by now and this time it was Romani who ghosted past two and crossed for Lopez to control the ball on the edge of the six yard box, turn and shoot. The keeper got a hand to it but not enough of one and the ball went in. Just five minutes later and we were ahead, Yarmolenko and Salazar this time, working the ball down the left flank, with Yarmolenko providing the final ball in that Lopez converted with a diving header, a wonderful goal. At half time I told them they could do even better, but asked them to play a little more of a contained game. But we were put under pressure from the off in the second period, and we gave up an equaliser in the 83rd minute, a defensive calamity again, though the persistence of the Spurs forward deserves some praise. We managed to hit the post late on, but on this performance a draw was a good result. Final Score: Liverpool 2-2 Spurs Scorers : Lopez 2 League Position: 3rd Man Of The Match: Alfredo Lopez Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, Lagator, Ishikawa, Lucas, Crisetig, Yarmolenko, Omrani, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdoyle9293 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Ticking along very nicely here, great work and results as usual. Champions League group seems to be fairly simple with only Atletico to worry about. As much as FM is realistic, it might cave in as you win a European treble with Liverpool this season! Although the FA Cup will be hard to juggle with more important league and European fixtures in March and April. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Thanks for keeping up with this jdoyle, much appreciated Tuesday October 1st 2019 Champions League – Group H – Matchday 2 Venue: Vicente Calderon Athletico Madrid(1st) vs. Liverpool (2nd ) Our biggest rivals in this group are certainly this lot and I didn’t expect an easy game as a result of that. It wasn’t easy by any means, in fact it was a bit of a lesson in football. They passed around us, we were chasing shadows most of the time. They only managed one goal, a Falcao strike in the first period. They only needed one. We really didn’t get close to them at any point. Any shot we had was speculative at best and whilst I couldn’t fault the effort of the lads we were second best. Final Score: Athletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool League Position: 2nd Scorers : Man Of The Match: Martin Dance Team: Lezcano, Yarmolenko, Dance, Lagator, Ishikawa, Salazar, Crisetig, Enriquez, Omrani, Lopez, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Saturday October 5th 2019 Premier League Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium Southampton (7th) vs. Liverpool (3rd ) Back to league action and a tricky away game at Southampton, lose today and we could have a full blown slump on our hands, and I was quite determined for that not to happen. We started well and went one up on 8 minutes with a bit of a fluke. Drage took a free kick midway into the Southampton half and swung the ball in looking for a head. The ball went over Ishikawa’s head but his run put the keeper off and the ball went straight in. Lucky, but they all count. We continued to have the better of the exchanges without really troubling their keeper much. Not until the 31st minute when Romani skipped down the right and put in a low cross that Drage reached first and turned in from only five yards out, another good goal. Two up at half time but the second period was a different prospect. Southampton came out stronger and pulled a goal back on 57, a cross turned in, it was much like our second;simple, but very hard to defend against. They had us under pressure for the next ten minutes and with a bit more composure in front of goal they might well have been level. But we slowly re-established our dominance, and on 77 we re-established a two goal cushion as Yarmolenko took the ball on the left on halfway, took the ball down the line, then cut in, powered to the edge of the box where he lasered a shot between keeper and post, a contender for goal of the season in my book. Brilliant. That took the fight out of Southampton and we were able to make it four on 83 as Drage latched onto a half blocked shot and flicked the ball home for his hatrick. That was it for the scoring, and as this was the Saturday lunchtime kick-off we were for a few hours at least, back on top of the table. Final Score: Southampton 1-4 Liverpool Scorers : Drage 3, Yarmolenko League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Thomas Drage Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, Lagator, Ishikawa, Lucas, Gandola, Yarmolenko, Drage, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthreeleader Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Really enjoying the long-term aspects of the save, cf. They're hard to do and you deserve praise for it all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Many thanks 10-3, your kind words are very much appreciated. Friday October 11th 2019 European Championships Qualifying Group H Venue: Ramat-Gan Israel(2nd) vs. England(1st) This is Israel’s final group game, though we have one more left against France, and as such they need a win to stand any realistic chance of progression. Our only injury issue is at left back where U21 player Phil Walker will play for the injured Robbie Schiffman. The game was end to end, the cup final it really was for our hosts. We took the lead on 25 minutes a cross from the right knocked in by Wilshire arriving at the back stick. Our lead lasted just a minute as Israel struck back immediately, shock and awe overwhelming our defence. Half time, level at one. I reminded the lads we could guarantee our own place in the finals with a win here, though to be honest a draw wasn’t a bad result for us. I didn’t tell them that, of course. We pushed forward in the second half but shot from distance or wasted possession even earlier than that. Our frustrations were compounded when Israel scored, on 76, on a swift counter-attack, We redoubled our efforts and pushed for an equaliser but in doing so left ourselves light at the back. On 89 they broke away again and scored again. The final score a disappointing 3-1 reverse. Final Score: Israel 3-1 England Group H Position : 1st Scorers : Wilshire Man Of The Match: Jack Wilshire Team: Hart, Dance, Walker, Jones, Tomkins, Rodwell, Cork, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshire, Rooney, Rodriguez This particular cloud did have a silver lining though. France unexpectedly lost at home to Austria and so we are confirmed as having qualified for the 2020 European Championships with a game to spare. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Tuesday October 15th 2019 European Championships Qualifying Group H Venue: Wembley England(1st) vs. France (3rd) Rodwell was injured in training so missed this one, and Rooney had totted enough yellow cards for a one game ban, which he served here. Henderson and Finley came in as did Mason Bennett of Spurs on the right wing, a debut for the lad, who has been on fire for his club. Only 8 minutes were on the clock when a defensive mix up on the half way line by the strangely nervous French led to Finley having a clear run on goal, from which he made no mistake. He doesn’t get much of a chance for Liverpool, but give him a chance and he’s some player. France soon got a grip of themselves and started playing better. On 20 they put together a sparkling move that brought them an equaliser, they swept up the pitch, not one of our lads got within five yards of any of them, took us apart they did. Some work needed on the defensive aspects of our game perhaps? We were shown another footballing lesson on 29 minutes and went in at half time a goal down. I shouted at them at half time. We played better in the second half and drew level after a period of sustained pressure on 77, Finley one again the scorer with a fine run and shot. That was enough to secure a draw, not a truly satisfying result, but at least we didn’t lose at Wembley. Final Score: England 2-2 France Final Group H Position : 1st Scorers : Finley 2 Man Of The Match: Ian Finley Team: Hart, Dance, Walker, Jones, Tomkins (Shawcross 72), Henderson, Cork, Bennett, Wilshire, Finley, Rodriguez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Saturday October 19th 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (2nd) vs. Reading (13th) Apparently someone has been keeping count and this is my 400th match in football management. Interesting but still, and all, we have a football match to play here. We started well and were two goals up by the 11 minute mark. Yarmolenko set up by Drage for the first, on 6 minutes and Drage set up by Yarmolenko on 11. That was the score at half time too, though to a large degree that was down to our forwards wastefulness in front of goal. The usually reliable Salva and Lopez couldn’t seem to hit a barn door at the mo. I responded at half time by replacing both forwards, with Finley, fresh from England but and young Bertello for his first taste of first team football. The second half saw more wastefulness, some good goalkeeping by the Reading keeper and near total domination by Liverpool. We did add a third goal, Bertello getting his first for the club, snapping home a loose ball in the box on the hour mark. All in all a game won at a canter, but one it seems we should have scored more in. Final Score: Liverpool 3-0 Reading Scorers : Yarmolenko, Drage, Bertello League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Andriy Yarmolenko Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Yarmolenko, Dance, De Felipe, Ishikawa, Lucas, Crisetig, Drage, Salva( Finley 45), Lopez (Bertello 45) So back to first place, and staying there when Spurs lost 3-2 at West Ham the following day. It was tight at the top, but at the moment, we were the ones at the summit. | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Liverpool | | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 9 | +18 | 19 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Chelsea | | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 19 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Man Utd | | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 18 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Arsenal | | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 17 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Tottenham | | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 17 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Man City | | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 16 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Wolves | | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 13 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Tuesday October 22nd 2019 Champions League – Group H – Matchday 3 Venue: Anfield Liverpool (2nd) vs. Maccabi Haifa (4th) Two games and two losses so far for Maccabi, they look like whipping boys, it was just up to us to make sure it happened. We attacked from the off but some early wayward shooting and an increasingly impressive goalkeeping display by the Maccabi keeper kept us at bay. Frustration set in and Gandola was booked for a petulant foul. We had the ball in the net on 27 but Salva was three or four yards offside. Drage then limped off on 34 to be replaced by Omrani, but fortunes did not improve and we went in goalless at the break. A tricky team talk at half time then, it could either turn into ‘one of those days’ or we could buckle down a get the result we deserved. Keeping it calm, I told them to carry on playing as well as they were and the result would come. Would my words of wisdom do the trick ? It was more of the same in the second half, Maccabi tried to change it by being more aggressive but that only succeeded in getting them a couple more yellow cards. Omrani went centimetres wide on 51, the best of a number of chances early on in the half. The goal, when it came, on 57 minutes, had more than a touch of good fortune. Yarmolenko came in off his wing and took the ball up the middle unleashing a drive from 25 yards out that took a wicked deflection off a defender and wrong footed the keeper. The fight went out of Maccabi then and a second goal was added on 72, when De Felipe forced the ball in when a corner wasn’t cleared. On 87 Roberto Gandola shot through a crowd of players to make it three, and Lopez converted a penalty on 89 for the fourth. That completed the scoring, the final score reflecting the dominance we showed throughout the match. Post-match some of the players credited my half time team talk with making the difference, which I guess shows that I might be getting the hang of this management lark ! Final Score: Liverpool 4-0 Maccabi Haifa Scorers : Yarmolenko, De Felipe, Gandola, Lopez (pen) League Position: 2nd Man Of The Match: Roberto Gandola Team: Lezcano, Salazar (Romani 72), Yarmolenko, Dance, De Felipe, Ishikawa, Gandola, Crisetig, Drage (Omrani 38), Salva, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Saturday October 26th 2019 Premier League Venue: Pride Park Derby County (16th) vs. Liverpool (1st) I sensed some nerves going into this one so I told the lads to play their own game and the result would follow. Not in the first half it wouldn’t, chance after chance went beginning, Derby may have looked like scoring on a couple of occasions, but they didn’t do so. Goalless at half time and in my team talk I was a lot less charitable. It took only three minutes of the second period for the half time words to show some results, Salva took a long, hopeful, ball on in the middle of the Derby half, strode to the edge of the box where he steered a low drive beyond the reach of the flailing Derby keeper. A second goal arrived on 76 minutes a wonderful team goal, nine passes from Boldrini on the half way line to Salazar on the end of a final flick by Salva 8 yards out and making no mistake from the narrow angle. Drage added a third on 79, at the end of another flowing possession based move. It finished three-nil, a fine second half performance for the second game running, giving me some imponderables to ponder, if that is at all possible. Final Score: Derby 0-3 Liverpool Scorers : Salva, Salazar, Drage League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Leandro Salva Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Salazar, Dance, De Felipe, Ishikawa, Gandola, Lucas, Drage, Salva, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Wednesday October 30th 2019 Capital One Cup Fourth Round Venue: Zola Park Chelsea vs. Liverpool Undoubtedly the tie of the round, which hides one fact. We haven’t beaten this lot in the last 17 meetings. I hoped, rather than believed, we’d break that sequence here. It was very much uphill work in the first half, they had us under pressure from the start but a top draw goalkeeping display by Lezcano and some excellent last ditch defending from Ishikawa and Lebron we held the scoreline at nil all at the break. The second half looked to be going the same way, but on 55 minutes a hideous defensive mix up saw Salva have the simple task of knocking the ball into an empty net to give Liverpool a thoroughly undeserved lead. It didn’t last Chelsea’s efforts finally resulted in a goal, a slick move, converted, 68 minutes gone. After that chances came and went, more for them than us, but it stayed level to the end of 90 minutes, and thus into extra time. We were very much more in it in extra time and it was no surprise when we took the lead six minutes into the first period of extra time. Grynyshyn, in for a rare start, did well on the left before raking a long ball across to Romani on the opposite corner of the Chelsea box, his control took him past the last defender and his finish was deft and wrong footed the keeper, a very good goal. Chelsea had the ball in the net on 98, but it was disallowed as their forward had used Lezcano as a climbing frame to get to the ball. No such luck on 100 minutes though as they grabbed a second equaliser from a narrow angle. One Lezcano might have stopped, in my view. So, at the break, in extra time we were level at 2. Chelsea pressed for a winner in the second period of injury time but on 117 minutes we grabbed a third goal, a Salva free kick from deep, and offside trap beaten and the want away Grynyshyn there to take it round the keeper and score. Chelsea threw the kitchen sink at us at the end but our defence, in truth magnificent all night, held firm, and we emerged victors of this tie, by the odd goal in five. Final Score: Chelsea 2-3aet Liverpool Scorers : Salva, Romani, Grynyshyn Man Of The Match: Jorge Enriquez Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar(Yarmolenko 117), Lebron, Ishikawa, Enriquez, Lucas (Gandola 97), Crisetig, Romani, Grynyshyn, Salva (Lopez 117) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Saturday November 2nd 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. Stoke City (9th) We got a dream start here, with a goal after only 63 seconds, a Grynyshyn cross, a poor clearance and Salva on hand to tuck it away. Grynyshyn had done well midweek, against Chelsea and deserved another go in the side. We had a number of good chances but failed to make anything of them and were reminded of how fragile a one goal lead is, on 35, as Stoke whistled a free kick centimetres wide. This kick started us again, and in injury time we added a second, the ever industrious Drage getting down the right side of the box and pulling it back for Salva to score his second of the night and his 50th Liverpool goal in total. At half time I took off Romani and Gandola, both of whom had picked up first half knocks. Will Hughes and Giulio Ferraro came on for their first appearances of the season in their place. Not a lot happened in the second half, until the 65th minute when Salazar threw the ball in to Grynyshyn 35 yards out, he turned, ran through three challenges before firing the ball into the bottom left hand corner from just inside the box, a picture goal. Not a lot happened after that either, save for Salva hitting a post late on when it looked easier to finish his hatrick. Stoke were well beaten, and 3-0 didn’t flatter us in the slightest. Final Score: Liverpool 3-0 Stoke City Scorers : Salva 2, Grynyshyn League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Samuel Boldrini Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Salazar, De Felipe, Ishikawa, Enriquez, Gandola(Ferraro 45), Romani (Hughes 45), Drage, Grynyshyn, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Wednesday November 6th 2019 Champions League – Group H – Matchday 4 Venue: Ramat-Gan Maccabi Haifa (4th) vs. Liverpool (2nd) An ideal game for Paredes to return to first team action. That and a couple of other changes from the last match. We’d go into this strong favourites and I expected us to win handsomely. But we got a wake-up call early on as Maccabi took the lead with under two minutes gone. The lad’s shot would have beaten any keeper in the world but we should have closed him down much quicker than we did. We levelled on 27, after a long period of constant pressure,Salazar crossing, Romani heading home. Lopez then gave us the lead, on 38, with a run and shot from distance. The floodgates sure seemed to have opened, as Paredes marked his return with a goal on 40 minutes, converting a Grynyshyn cross. Into the second half and Lopez added a second goal, our fourth, on 50 minutes. Looping a header over the advancing keeper. He completed his hatrick on 53, making the most of a missed challenge as he advanced on goal. Grynyshyn got a second yellow and an early bath on 79, with the result that the scoring stopped, with us, following an early scare, running out the comfortable winners the bookies predicted. Final Score: Maccabi Haifa 1-5 Liverpool Scorers : Romani, Lopez 3, Paredes Man Of The Match: Alfredo Lopez Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, De Felipe, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Gandola, Romani , Paredes, Grynyshyn (off 79), Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdoyle9293 Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Great win at Zola Park! :') This looks like domination of 70s and 80s proportions for Liverpool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Thanks J Doyle, very kind. The win against Chelsea was big, we really hadn't got anything out of the previous 17 meetings so this one was nice. Saturday November 9th 2019 Premier League Venue: DW Stadium Wigan Athletic (17th) vs. Liverpool (1st) Though Wigan are struggling they remain a far better side at home than they are away and were therefore a team we should be wary of. I settled on a 5-3-2 formation, with Lagator, on the road to full fitness, on the bench. What followed was pretty dire. We had the better of the midfield battle but Lopez and Salva, in my view the best two forwards in the division, we unusually wasteful in front of goal. We got to half time goalless, no scares, but no clear cut chances for us either. The second half started much the same as the first, and it looked for all the world like it would be ‘one of those days’. Then, in the 92nd of 92 minutes Drage hit in a long free kick, and Salva, completely unmarked, headed home from 10 yards out. A win, one of those I hope to look back on and say “this is where we won the league”. Final Score: Wigan Athletic 0-1 Liverpool Scorers : Salva Man Of The Match: Lucas Leiva Team: Lezcano, Dance, Ishikawa, Costanzo, Boldrini, Yarmolenko, Lucas, Gandola, Drage ,Salva, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Friday November 15th 2019 International Friendly Venue: Wembley England vs. South Africa A friendly, but against the team ranked 11th in the world, whilst we, are for the very first time, now rated the top international team. I give debuts to Worrell Frankland, the Spurs winger who has been doing great things on loan at Newcastle and Luke Young the Portsmouth midfielder. We gifted the game’s opening goal to South Africa, Tomkins hacking down their forward for a clear penalty. Hart went the right way, but couldn’t get to it. So half time, 1-0 to the visitors, quite disappointing. We equalised on 78 minutes, a Frankland corner, turned in by Smalling. Phil Jones added a second on 81 minutes, volleying home from 12 yards out. That was the final score, not our best performance but a win is a win is a win, and that’s what this was. Final Score: England 2-1 South Africa Scorers : Smalling, Jones Man Of The Match: Chris Smalling Team: Hart, Dance, Schiffman, Smalling, Tomkins, Jones, Young, Henderson, Frankland, Bennett, Wellbeck Tuesday November 19th 2019 International Friendly Venue: Wembley England vs. Slovenia Another friendly, this time against European opposition, in the form of Slovenia. We started well but still took 24 minutes to open the scoring, with veteran striker Wayne Rooney getting it, a header from 15 yards out that still easily beat the keeper. Even at 34, Wayne is still a world class act. In the 41st minute Jack Wilshire was allowed to run in on the box, and his shot from the edge of the penalty area beat the keeper all ends up. The Arsenal man went off at half time on club’s orders, to be replaced by Cork and young Man Utd defender Nicholas Ioannou got his first taste of international football, teammate Phil Jones making way. Not a lot happened in the second period if I’m honest, the game kind of died out. Still a 2-0 win, the ease of which wasn’t really reflected in the scoreline. Final Score: England 2-0 Slovenia Scorers : Rooney, Wilshire Man Of The Match: Chris Smalling Team: Hart, Dance, Clyne, Smalling, Jones (Ioannou 45), Rodwell, Wilshire (Cork 45), Henderson, Frankland, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rooney Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Saturday November 23rd 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (2nd) vs. Everton (9th) Arsenal had already played and won, so sat at top of the table, but only until 5pm if I had anything to do with it. Of course this is the Merseyside Derby one of the great imponderables in football. On form I’d back us to beat Everton, but form doesn’t count for much here. It depends on who wants it more, and I was determined that would be us. The game started much the same as any derby match, 100 miles an hour, but we soon took the game by the scruff of the neck and pressed forward. Our reward came as early as the 6th minute as Grynyshyn got to the byline, crossed and lone striker Lopez rose to head the ball home from just inside the six yard box, a goal that was as simple as it was effective, just the start I would have, and did, ask for. Save for one break that Dance broke up with some ease it was all Liverpool we hit the bar and the post before we doubled our lead in the 26th minute, a Drage free kick from the left wing found Lucas unmarked and the veteran Brazilian made no mistake in steering it home from somewhere around the penalty spot. Everton came back into the game a bit, but we still held the upper hand, but it was on a break following an Everton free kick that we added a third goal. Two minutes into injury time and Salazar picked up the loose ball just outside our box, he raced down the left wing, the length of the pitch almost, and his cross was knocked down by Drage to be swept in by Lucas for his second of the game. Half time came, we were three-nil up and cruising in a fashion that suggested the game was going exactly to the form book. The second half saw Everton get their act together defensively, and for our lads to shoot from too far out. No further goals ensued, but it didn’t take away from what was a very satisfying win. Final Score: Liverpool 3-0 Everton Scorers : Lopez, Lucas 2 League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Lucas Leiva Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, De Felipe, Ishikawa, Gandola, Lucas, Grynyshyn, Drage, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Tuesday November 26th 2019 Champions League – Group H – Matchday 5 Venue: Mercedes-Benz-Arena, Stuttgart Vfb Stuttgart (3rd) vs. Liverpool (2nd) Simple this one, avoid defeat here and we are assured of qualification through to the knockout stages. I still however, want to top this group so a victory is what I want. It seems as though victory is what the lads want too as it only takes 71 seconds to take the lead, a smooth passing move puts Yarmolenko, in the side because of Grynyshn’s problem with yellow cards in this competition, into the box, and he tucked the ball neatly past the keeper. But try as we might from that point on we couldn’t extend our lead, chances went begging, shots were sent well wide and it was no real surprise when, in the 85th minute Stuttgart grabbed an equaliser. Athletico Madrid won their match so we will, whatever happens in the last game, finish second in the group and qualify for the Knockout stages. Final Score: Stuttgart 1-1 Liverpool Scorers : Yarmolenko Man Of The Match: Lorenzo Crisetig Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Gandola (Enriquez 78), Romani , Drage (Paredes 78), Yarmolenko, Lopez(Salva 78) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Looking really good in the League and champions league mate. Cant beat a long term career save. Have u been tempted to move to another club yet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hi Mark, thanks for the kind words. I didn't go for any other jobs actively, I was, as I recall, enjoying success a bit !, and the jobs tended not to be offered to me when they became available, so for the mo at least, I remain Liverpool boss. Saturday November 30th 2019 Premier League Venue: Zola Park Chelsea (6th) vs. Liverpool (2nd) In our last 18 meetings we had won a grand total of one. The last one, the Capital One Cup Tie. That being the case I was hopeful of getting something out of this match, the case being, as with the last league match, that we were one game and one point behind Arsenal. Chelsea had gone three games without a win, was that good for us ? or bad ? Actually as it happened Chelsea were poor, but we were worse. The first half was goalless, a dire display by both sides, no shots on target from either side. In the second half Chelsea took the lead in the 59th minute, a fine strike from their superstar forward Gavrilov. It was the best point in a very bad match, we couldn’t find a way back and we ended up losing. To be honest, it’s exactly what we deserved. Final Score: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool Scorers : League Position: 2nd Man Of The Match: Lorenzo Crisetig Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, Lagator, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Enriquez, Lucas, Drage, Grynyshyn, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Wednesday December 4th 2019 Capital One Cup Quarter Final Venue: Anfield Liverpool vs. Reading Drama from the off as we were awarded a penalty with less than five minutes on the clock. Lopez was going down a blind alley, down the right flank of the box, moving away from goal, when the lad took his legs from under him. He can have no complaints about that one, in front of The Kop or no. Anyway, Lopez brushed himself down and then sent the keeper the wrong way. Gandola then found Salva in the box on 13 minutes, the striker having the time and the space to pick his spot, giving the keeper no chance. Two became three only two minutes later as Yarmolenko beat his man on the wing and then slid the ball in for Salva to tuck it home for his second in as many minutes. Salva turned provider on 22 minutes as he fed Lopez in for his second of the night. Paredes then played in an inch perfect free kick from the left wing, onto the right boot of Ishikawa and we were five goals up, 35 minutes gone. So five up at half time, a really good reaction to the disappointment if the Chelsea game, I told them to keep it up, though I was expecting some easing off of the pedal in the second half. They did ease off a little, but still added a sixth goal in the 68th minute, Yarmolenko tying his poor full back in knots before crossing the ball in, half cleared, as far as Paredes who smacked it home. Lopez was fouled again on 73, a quite innocuous looking challenge for this one, and once again he stepped up to complete his hatrick from the penalty spot. The keeper didn’t even move for this one. That was how it finished. Lopez was man of the match for his goals but in reality it could have been any one of a number of them. The whole side played brilliantly today, made me very proud. Final Score: Liverpool 7-0 Reading Scorers : Lopez 3 (2 pen), Salva 2, Ishikawa, Paredes. Man Of The Match: Alfredo Lopez Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Yarmolenko, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Gandola, Lucas, Paredes, Lopez, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Saturday December 7th 2019 Premier League Venue: The City of Manchester Stadium Manchester City (5th) vs. Liverpool (2nd) Another difficult game. In my book the dangers of two league defeats in a row can’t be underestimated. The priority was to get something, anything, out of this game. The first half was goalless but I’m not entirely sure how. City forward Aguero hit the bar on 7 minutes, a curling shot from the edge of the box that had Lezcano well beaten. Drage on 14 curled a free kick up and over the wall only to see England’s number one Joe Hart throw himself full length to turn it round the post. Half time though and it was, as I said, goalless. We had picked up a number of yellow cards, as had they, so I asked them to reign in the aggression, just a little. The second half was more of the same, and though City had the better of it we came closest to scoring as Drage clipped the outside of the post with a long drive in the 87th minute. The game finished goalless and though we lost ground in the title race, it was very much job done. Final Score: Man City 0-0 Liverpool Scorers : League Position: 2nd Man Of The Match: Shinta Ishikawa Team: Lezcano, Dance, Yarmolenko, Lagator, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Enriquez, Romani, Drage, Grynyshyn, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Wednesday December 11th2019 Champions League – Group H – Matchday 6 Venue: Anfield Liverpool (2nd) vs. Athletico Madrid (1st) A dead rubber if ever the was one. We would finish second whatever the result, Athletico would finish first in the group whatever the result. Still, I wanted to get one back over on them for the defeat at their place earlier in the group. We had a setback early on as Omrani went off injured on 7, Paredes his replacement. We had the better of the opening exchanges but were wasteful in front of goal. On 23 minutes we took the lead, as a rather generous penalty award was converted by Paredes. On 37 we made it two as Salva scored a wonder goal. Picking the ball up in his own half he took the ball a good 60 yards, evading challenges before firing a well hit shot under the body of the diving keeper. Two up at half time and in complete control, I was so pleased. Two become three on 50 as Salva was the first to react to the rebound of his own shot well saved by the keeper. Paredes added his second and the team’s fourth on 76, as he took a ball from Romani into the box and unleashed an unstoppable drive that flew in. A very pretty goal. An incisive move that culminated in Salva laying the ball off for Yarmolenko to smash the ball home saw us go to five on 82. Dance cleared the ball off the line late on to preserve the clean sheet, and that was it. A very commanding performance, a very good win. Final Score: Liverpool 5-0 Athletico Madrid Scorers : Paredes 2 (1 pen), Salva 2, Yarmolenko League Position: 2nd Man Of The Match: Leandro Salva Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Gandola, Romani, Omrani (Paredes 7), Yarmolenko, Salva The injury news wasn’t great Ahmed Omrani had broken his ribs in the 7th minute incident that saw him come off and he would be out for 4 weeks at least. The news wasn’t great for the Athletico Madrid manager either, he was sacked the day after this match. I half expected my name to be linked with the post, but it wasn’t. I needed more success here for that to happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 Saturday December 14th 2019 Premier League Venue: Craven Cottage Fulham (12th) vs. Liverpool (3rd) Of course I had been manager here, and so visits here for me at least were a bit special. I couldn’t let sentiment get the better of me and sent out an attacking side. I remembered what a good striker Jan Chramosta was, and so we went five at the back in order to man mark the lad. It took a while for this one to get going, a full half hour before any football worth speaking of at all. But once it got going it was ok. We scored first, 36 minutes gone, Lucas finding Lopez on the edge of the box, the Mexican still had a lot to do but he did it anyway, turning inside the last defender and prodding the ball past an oncoming keeper. Half time and a goal up. Good but could do better my half time summary. Five minutes into the second period and we lost Salazar the left wing back to injury. Yarmolenko came on to replace him. On the hour we went two up, Lopez flicking on a long kick out by Lezcano, with Paredes taking the ball on a step before firing a rocket into the bottom left hand corner from a full thirty yards out for a brilliant, brilliant goal. In the first minute of injury time Paredes returned the favour by playing Lopez into the box with a sublime defence splitting pass. Lopez took the ball, spun and shot low into the net, capping off a very routine 3-0 win. We remain third one point behind Arsenal and also one behind Chelsea who have played one game more. Final Score: Fulham 0-3 Liverpool Scorers : Lopez 2, Paredes League Position: 3rd Man Of The Match: Alfredo Lopez Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar (Yarmolenko 50), Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Enriquez, Paredes, Lopez, Salva Not good news on the injury front, Salazar came off in that game with a broken wrist, a 6 or 7 week absence on the cards whilst that mends. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 Wednesday December 18th 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (3rd) vs. Aston Villa (16th) Villa have not had the best of seasons so far and find themselves just a couple of places above the relegation zone. Having said that I was keen the lads didn’t look upon our visitors as cannon-fodder, though that’s exactly what I hoped they would be. Instead I insisted on some respect for our visitors in the pre-match team talk. Respect indeed as Villa took the lead on 7 minutes with a 35 yard goal of the month contender. We laid off the lad a bit too much I fancy. This shocked the lads into action and we pushed forward. The equaliser didn’t come until the 24th minute, Lopez the provider, Salva the scorer. One all at half time and a performance that wasn’t nearly good enough. I told them as much. But in the second period, at least initially things did not improve. Then we got a lucky break, on 65 minutes as a long Lucas ball into the box saw Lopez rise and win the flick on. Unfortunately the Villa keeper had decided to come for the cross, didn’t make it and the ball bounced off Lopez’s head and into the net. Three minutes later and it was 3-1, Gandola winning the ball, thence to Paredes who put Lopez in, and he made no mistake from 8 yards out. Final Score: Liverpool 3-1 Aston Villa Scorers : Salva, Lopez 2 League Position: 2nd Man Of The Match: Roberto Gandola Team: Lezcano, Dance, Yarmolenko, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Gandola, Paredes, Lopez, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 Saturday December 21st 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (2nd) vs. Arsenal (1st) A nice pre-Christmas treat for the dads & lads who didn’t want to be dragged round the shops on the last Saturday before Christmas Day. For both teams a deadly serious battle for top spot in the league on Christmas Day, a moral, if not conclusive, signpost on the way to the title. We lie one point behind Arsenal having now played the same number of games, so a win would send us top, anything else and we remain second. We got off to a flyer in this one. Pushing forward from the off we forced a corner. At the corner the linesman spotted a push by a defender and put his flag across his chest. Penalty !, I have to say I didn’t see it myself, I think their manager will be very upset about this. Any road up, Drage picked up the ball and put the ball into the bottom left hand corner. A goal up, and, by now, 2 minutes on the clock. Arsenal had a good spell but without troubling Lezcano much, and soon enough the game was on an even, well fought, keel. On 31 minutes however, we managed to get a second goal, Drage again, this time popping up in a goal mouth scramble created by Yarmolenko’s run and deep cross. Arsenal this time had no answer and we went in at half time two goals up. At the break I told the lads not let their performance levels drop, as we can expect the Arsenal manager to have been in shouty form. It took less than two minutes of the second period for Arsenal to get a goal back, they looked as fired up as I had expected but we didn’t cope with it well enough. I reorganised the team a little more but the fans didn’t have long to wait for the next goal. It came on 52 minutes and it went to us. Romani was the main creator going on a jinking run down the right flank, his cross was hacked away by the rapidly retreating Arsenal back line, but only as far as Enriquez who’s shot was turned onto the post by the keeper, the ball ran loose and was turned in by Salva. The game went end to end from then on with Arsenal desperate to get back into the game, racking up five yellow cards with their over exuberant tackling. On 81 we made the game safe as Yarmolenko unselfishly set up Drage in a crowded box for his hatrick, lashed home from fifteen yards out. That was the way it finished an emphatic win, against one of our biggest, if not the biggest rival for this year’s title. We leapfrog Arsenal in the table and, by 2 points, go back to the top of the table. Final Score: Liverpool 4-1 Arsenal Scorers : Drage3, Salva League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Thomas Drage Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Enriquez, Yarmolenko, Drage, Romani, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 Thursday December 26th 2019 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. Norwich City (17th) Before the game we had a £15million pound bid for one of our players. Grynyshyn has not settled here, and he wants to speak to the club involved, Paris Saint Germain. The money would give us a bit more clout in the January transfer window it’s true, but I rate the lad so I put off making a decision until after the match. The game is the traditional Boxing Day fixture, the first of two games in three days. At least we start at home against Norwich who lie in 17th spot mainly due to their away form which has been poor. The first half here though was an exercise in frustration, we kept possession, played it about and completely failed to test the opposition keeper. We overplayed attack after attack, allowing Norwich to get men back and bodies in the way. I told them some home truths at half time. It wasn’t good enough and I wanted much, much better. But the second half started off in the same way, shots from distance, too much distance. I jumped up and down on the touchline, which conveyed the message ‘Play much better’ as well as any actual words could have done. Well they did play better and on 64 minutes we took the lead with a slick move that was so far removed from the stuff of the first half that I had to wonder if the first half had been played by a different team. It was created by Yarmolenko who cut in, off the wing and when he got to midway in the Norwich half he split the defence with a pinpoint pass to the edge of the box to Salva who knocked it into the space created and then hammered past the keeper and in off the inside of the post. It wasn’t until injury time that we made the game safe, Yarmolenko capping a fine display with a tap in after Boldrini’s shot had been parried into Yarmolenko’s path by the Norwich netminder. Final Score: Liverpool 2-0 Norwich Scorers : Salva, Yarmolenko League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Andriy Yarmolenko Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Yarmolenko, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Gandola (Crisetig 58), Drage, Lopez, Salva Meanwhile Chelsea drew at lowly Derby and Arsenal lost the derby match at Spurs, so after the Boxing Day games, and at the half way point of the season the top of the table made for very good reading… | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Liverpool | | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 49 | 12 | +37 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Chelsea | | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 18 | +18 | 40 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Arsenal | | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 11 | +21 | 39 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Man Utd | | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 36 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Tottenham | | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 35 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Man City | | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 29 | 13 | +16 | 31 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Man City sacked their manger after this round of games, I guess 8 wins out of 18 just wasn’t good enough for the owners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Saturday December 28th 2019 Premier League Venue: St. James’ Park Newcastle (12th) vs. Liverpool (1st) Dance, Hughes,Parades and, for what may well be his last appearance for the club, Grynyshyn come in for tired members of the squad for the Norwich match. I had accepted PSG’s bid for Grynyshyn after some thought. The money it would give us for the January transfer window would be invaluable, I thought. The first half was dull, to be frank. Two sides who look like they had played a game only two days ago, which they had. I’d like to say more about the first 45, but there just isn’t anything to say. It was forgettable and I have now forgot it. Once again I had a go at them at half time, it seemed to fire them up. This did seem to fire them into life, and on 64 minutes we took the lead, Salva with a beautiful reverse pass that sent Grynyshyn clear, and leaving or no, he finished with aplomb, shooting across the keeper and seeing the ball nestle in the far corner. Four minutes on and it was two as Paredes set Salva clear and he made no mistake from just inside the box. Suddenly it was a rout, as on 71 Hughes broke from the edge of his own box, went unchallenged to the edge of the Newcastle box and the slipped the ball in to Salva who scored his second of the day from a narrow angle. Final Score: Newcastle 0-3 Liverpool Scorers : Grynyshyn, Salva 2 League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Leandro Salva Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Gandola (Drage 78), Grynyshyn, Paredes, Hughes, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Tuesday December 31st 2019 Premier League Venue: Molineux Wolverhampton Wanderers (8th) vs. Liverpool (1st) Wolves lie 8th, in the first group behind the top six, but there’s a five point gap between sixth and seventh, and the top group are beginning to pull away. We, four points ahead of Arsenal in second, would like to pull away from our challengers so a win today would be a very good way of going about that. Yarmolenko returns today, Grynyshyn was the subject of a second £15million bid, this time from Olympic Lyonnais, and so I thought, having decided to sell, I’d protect my investment and rest him for this one. Romani returns after his knock and Lagator continues filling at left back in Salazar’s absence. Lopez starts, with Salva on the bench. In short we use the squad depth for this one. You could say the game started at 100 miles an hour. We had a corner and a shot sharply saved in the first minute, Lezcano made a flying save to deny Wolves in the second minute, and in the third Wolves had their centre forward sent off for a wild hack on Yarmolenko as we broke from the resulting corner, it was in our half, and there was no question of it being a professional foul, but the lad went in studs up and left Yarmolenko in a heap. Wolves fans would probably say it was a forward’s challenge but it was an ugly incident and the boy had to go. From the free kick we worked the ball down the field, in to Lopez on the edge of the box, he reversed it into the box and Drage ran on to it and slotted it home. A wonderful team goal. We were up for this now, and Lagator headed a Drage corner against the crossbar on 15 minutes. Enriquez went down under a heavy challenge on 20, and looked distinctly unhappy on getting up, I brought Hughes on and I guess we’ll wait for the physio’s report before we know how bad that knock was. We kept the pressure up but couldn’t add to the early goal before half time, and we went in a goal up. I told them they were good but could do even better and sent them back out. We wasted a couple of good chances to extend our lead early on in the second period Hughes and the usually reliable Lopez the guys to blame there, and our profligacy in front of goal came back to haunt us as Wolves grabbed an equaliser from a set piece, this one a near post corner on 64. We didn’t get close enough to the runner, and paid the price for that. It’s amazing how quickly time goes by when you are searching for a goal. Lopez failed to react as a Drage effort was blocked and the ball was cleared. Lopez looked out of sorts today and I replaced him with Salva on 75, I replaced Drage with Paredes at the same time in order to try and get something started. It looked for a long time like it wasn’t going to happen but in the last minute Yarmolenko and Paredes combined in the box, laying the ball off for Hughes who passed the ball into the net from beside the penalty spot. Talk about relief ! There was no time for Wolves to come back. Make no mistake, this was an important win. Final Score: Wolves 1-2 Liverpool Scorers : Drage, Hughes League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Carmelo Constanzo Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Enriquez (Hughes 20), Yarmolenko, Drage (Paredes 76), Romani, Salva (Lopez 76) Enriquez had suffered an ankle injury, twisting it under the heavy challenge. He’d be out for 3 to 4 weeks. The following day, 1st January 2020, saw us sign a new player. Rogelio Puga is an 18 year old central midfielder, signed from Argentinean club River Plate for £3.5 million. One for the future he’s added depth to the midfield. He’ll go into the reserves for now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted December 25, 2015 Author Share Posted December 25, 2015 Saturday January 4th 2020 FA Cup Third Round Venue: The Racecourse Ground Wrexham (L1 3rd) vs. Liverpool (PRM 1st) The first Saturday of the year is traditionally FA Cup third round day, the day of the giant killings of the past. Wrexham are going well in League One, and so some might think an upset could be on the cards here. I thought that could happen if we took the opposition lightly, so I didn’t. We put out a strong side with only a couple of changes from the previous match. It didn’t take long for one of those changes to make his mark as in the 7th minute Hughes, playing in the hole behind the front two, played a thirty yard ball that split the home team’s defence wide open. Lopez took the pass on the edge of the box, had time to turn and move into the box before unleashing a drive that the keeper let through at his near post, not a good start for the lad. On 25 it was two as a Lopez effort was parried by the keeper onto the heel of one of his defenders and from there an embarrassing rebound into the net, an unfortunate, but definite, own goal. We had a second own goal disallowed just before the break as the linesman had deemed Lopez’s challenge on the keeper unfair. But two up at half time and cruising. I made a couple of changes at half time and asked the lads to take the game to the hosts a bit more. We piled on the pressure and it was one of the half time subs, De Felippe who got the third goal on 56, being the man in the right spot at the right time in a goal mouth scramble. No more goals came, no more goals were needed. We move onto the fourth round at a canter, not embarrassing our hosts that much. Final Score: Wrexham 0-3 Liverpool Scorers : Lopez, own goal, De Felippe Man Of The Match: Alfredo Lopez Team: Lezcano, Boldrini (Dance 15), Yarmolenko, Lagator (De Felipe 45), Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas (Puga 45), Gandola, Hughes, Salva, Lopez The fourth round draw was quite kind giving us a home tie against Ipswich of The Championship. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted December 25, 2015 Author Share Posted December 25, 2015 Tuesday January 7th 2020 Capital One Cup Semi-Final First Leg Venue: Perryman Park Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool We set out in a defensive formation to try and get to the home leg in a position from which we could win the tie as a whole. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be easy here though. The first half was a tightly fought affair with very little in the way of quality. There was only one goal, coming near the end of the half and it went to Spurs. Once again our inability to defend corners adequately was our downfall. If we don’t get them clear we seem to be terribly vulnerable. I have in recent weeks given young Costanzo a run in the side. Maybe it’s time for that to stop. The second half was a disappointment. We huffed and we puffed, we grazed the top of the bar in one attack but it wasn’t to be and we went back to Anfield and the second leg with a job to do. Final Score: Spurs 1-0 Liverpool Scorers : Man Of The Match: Daniel Lezcano Team: Lezcano, Boldrini , Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Lucas , Gandola, Yarmolenko, Romani, Lopez (Salva 45) The Grynyshyn transfer saga was dragging on with Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon amongst the clubs putting in £15million + bids for him. One player did move on Raheem Sterling, not in the first team picture for a long time, but still worth £1.4 million from Fulham. Meanwhile the board had refilled the transfer kitty and I went hunting for a new player or two. The player I found was a 25 year old attacking midfielder, an Argentinean, and the South American Player of the Year in 2019. He was Luciano Galarza signed from Sao Paolo for an initial £60 million that will rise to £70 million with appearances and goals. Expensive, yes, but quite possibly the best purchase I’d made yet. He was a superb player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Gotta to do something different in the Second Leg, but I'm sure you'll turn it around and get through to the final Its good to see that Man.City are struggling hehehehe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Thanks Mark, is 6th in the table really struggling ???? I guess that's a whole new debate right there ! Saturday January 11th 2020 Premier League Venue: Loftus Road Queen’s Park Rangers (18th) vs. Liverpool (1st) Galarza will start on the bench for this one. He’s been in the country for a tad less than 24 hours so I think 90 mins football might have been a bit of an ask. The first half was disappointing in the amount of chances we managed to make against a team lying in 18th spot, even away from home. QPR managed very little going forward but did manage to frustrate us in our attempts to get on the scoreboard. After what seemed an eternity the half time whistle blew. Goalless. I told them they could win this. I took off Lopez who had been poor, and Paredes who was unlucky. On came Finley and Galarza for the second half. I’d like to say we were brighter, but we weren’t, not really. Galarza was quick, industrious and quite effective, bringing a couple of good saves out of their keeper. On 74 we got the goal our play just about deserved, Salva getting to a loose ball in the box first and tucking it away in a classic goal poacher’s move. That was the totality of entertainment in the half and it soon fizzled out into a narrow one-nil win. But a win’s a win, and none of our rivals will get any more points than us today. Final Score: Queen’s Park Rangers 0-1 Liverpool Scorers : Salva League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Lorenzo Crisetig Team: Lezcano, Boldrini , Yarmolenko, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Crisetig, Lucas , Paredes (Galarza 45), Lopez (Finley 45), Salva After that game Grynyshyn finally made his move, £15 million took him to PSG, he was a bit of a trouble maker and so I was glad to see him on his way Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Thanks Mark, is 6th in the table really struggling ???? I guess that's a whole new debate right there ! You could say for a club like Man.City 6th place and 13 points (at time of writing) behind the leaders is struggling... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Saturday January 18th 2020 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. West Bromwich Albion (15th) It took a while for us to get going in this match and I was beginning to wonder if I had broken the flow of the team by bringing in Galarza, but I needn’t have worried as Lagator opened the scoring in the 26th minute, heading home a Lucas corner. We had a second questionably chalked off a few minutes later as Salva was deemed to have fouled the keeper in the process of bundling the ball home. He needn’t have worried though as Boldrini set him up in the last minute of the half, Salva firing home from eight yards out. Two up at the break, and not much of a sweat broken to get there. But the second half was a different story. WBA came out and played some impressive football cranking up the pressure until they got one back in the 73rd minute. Thereafter they banged on the door of an equaliser being unlucky, I thought, when they had a second and equalising goal disallowed in the 84th minute. The ref spotting a push in the build up that I have to admit I didn’t see. This got our lads rattled and Lopez saw two yellow cards for petulant offences in quick succession, getting his early bath in the 89th minute. We saw the game out with ten men, but I’m still not sure how WBA didn’t leave here with something. Final Score: Liverpool 2-1 West Bromwich Albion Scorers : Lagator, Salva League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Lucas Leiva Team: Lezcano, Boldrini , Yarmolenko, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Crisetig (Drage 56), Lucas , Galarza, Lopez (off 89), Salva Lorenzo Crisetig had come off in that game, a twisted knee was the diagnosis, and a seven week layoff. We'd miss his presence in midfield, but then again, that's why we had a squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 You could say for a club like Man.City 6th place and 13 points (at time of writing) behind the leaders is struggling... I see your point, I think. I have to admit I'd like to see Liverpool as high as 6th though ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Tuesday January 21st 2020 Capital One Cup Semi-Final Second Leg Venue: Anfield Liverpool (0) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (1) Not a huge mountain to climb, but nevertheless still a score we have to overcome. Our shortages in midfield saw Hughes get a start in the slightly unfamiliar spot of central midfield. Drage went in the hole behind the lone striker, and we went with Salva up front on his own as Lopez was suspended. We were right up for this one and got off to a flyer and were a goal up within a minute. A slick passing move saw Yarmolenko through on goal. His shot was blocked but Drage was following up and he blasted it home. A second goal followed on 15 minutes, Yarmolenko again with the assist, this time a run down the left and a cross which Drage controlled then swivelled and shot the ball under the dive of the keeper and into the bottom left hand corner of the net. We were playing some beautiful flowing stuff by now and went three up on the night 3-1 on aggregate when Salva broke clear, had his shot saved, but following up on the rebound was Drage to bundle it home for his hatrick. Drage was on fire at this time, and on 42 he turned provider as his corner was headed in at the near post by Costanzo, for his first ever goal for the club. Four up at half time and I don’t think I could have been any happier at that point. The ‘Well done keep it up’ team talk is not one I use on a regular basis as I think it leads to complacency, but there wasn’t a lot else I could say at this point. I just hoped it could continue. It looked as if it was going to continue. I thought we’d got a fifth on 50 minutes but Romani was marginally offside (having now seen the replay I have to admit it was the correct decision). On the hour the Spurs keeper produce a wonderful double save to deny first Yarmolenko and then Drage. Drage picked up an injury and had to come off on 65, Paredes his replacement. We couldn’t match the performance levels once Drage was off, though we did have half chances to extend the lead. Spurs just weren’t in this, a footballing lesson, and, we were now in the final. Final Score: Liverpool 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur (agg 4-1) Scorers : Drage 3, Costanzo Man Of The Match: Thomas Drage Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Hughes, Gandola ,Yarmolenko, Drage (Paredes 65), Romani, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Saturday January 25th 2020 FA Cup Fourth Round Venue: Anfield Liverpool (PRM 1st) vs. Ipswich Town (CH 15th) It took a thirty yard screamer on 15 minutes by Yarmolenko to kick this one into life. He pulled in off the wing and unleashed the drive from a full 30 yards that flew into the top right hand corner of the net, a brilliant goal. On 23 it was 2-0 as Romani crossed the ball into Yarmolenko who slipped it inside for Galarza to power the ball home for his first goal for the club. 34 minutes gone and it was three-nil, Lopez the scorer this time emphatically powering in the loose ball in a goalmouth scramble. Into the second half and a fourth goal on 54. A Lopez penalty after Romani was tripped in the box. Ipswich got one back on the break on 57, a well taken goal. Lucas Leiva got a fifth for us on 68 minutes, a low drive from just inside the box beating the keeper all ends up. And that was it for the scoring. We’d booked our place in the fifth round with an emphatic win. Final Score: Liverpool 5-1 Ipswich Town Scorers : Yarmolenko, Galarza, Lopez 2, Lucas Man Of The Match: Alfredo Lopez Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Gandola ,Yarmolenko, Galarza, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Tuesday January 28th 2020 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. West Ham (9th) Even though West Ham are doing well enough in the league to be ninth this is a game I would expect us to do well in. We do indeed start very positively and come close on a couple of occasions early on. On 15 mins we do open the scoring, as Galarza takes the ball on the edge of the box, makes and opening and shoots powerfully home. This turned out to be the high point of the half and we went in at the break a goal up. Credit to West Ham they didn’t lay down and die and made a real effort to get back on terms. But Lezcano was on good form and their shooting wasn’t that straight. We were similarly inaccurate peppering the Kop End with near misses until we did manage to get a second. 82 minutes on the clock a Lucas cross, a Galarza volley, two-nil. And that’s how it finished. An effective performance, maintaining our five point lead on Arsenal in second place. Final Score: Liverpool 2-0 West Ham Scorers : Galarza 2 League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Luciano Galarza Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Gandola ,Yarmolenko, Galarza, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Saturday February 1st 2020 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. Manchester United (6th) The transfer window had closed the previous evening with the only addition being a backup keeper, Sam Walker, from Sheffield Wednesday, brought on for £500k, as I felt we were a little vulnerable to injuries in that area. He’ll join as third keeper, and will be lucky to see any game time. Having said that I’m sure if he’s called upon he’ll do the job well, otherwise there would have been no point in getting him. Our oldest and greatest rivals Man Utd were the visitors today, and whilst we have an 18 point advantage over sixth place in the league (they do have a game in hand, mind) they cannot be underestimated. A lively opening to the game was marked by a yellow in the first minute to United star Mesut Ozil and was characterized by our lads, most notably Galarza making the most horrendous misses, all in the first ten. But on 15 a piece of individual brilliance put us ahead. Romani cut inside, beat three defenders before tucking the ball under the keeper’s body. It’s taken him some time, but that’s exactly what I bought him for, to be the catalyst, the blue touch paper, and that’s exactly what I hoped would happen here. United as expected roared back but saw their best effort, a free kick, ping back off the bar on 22 minutes. At the other end Romani was causing all kinds of issues, getting three United players booked at different times for trips and hacks at him. On 40 a combination of a good save and a post prevented us from extending our lead and we went in just a single goal to the good. The second period saw a concerted onslaught from United searching for that equaliser. The defence stood strong though and Lezcano was rarely tested in nets. When he was he was equal to the task. Near the end Dance limped off to be replaced by Boldrini, and United were reduced to ten men when their full back tripped Romani just once too often. We saw the game out successfully, creating another win over United to satisfy our fanbase for a while longer yet. Final Score: Liverpool 1-0 Manchester United Scorers : Romani League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Jorge Enriquez Team: Lezcano, Dance (Boldrini 79), Salazar, Lagator, Ishikawa, Enriquez, Hughes ,Drage, Galarza, Romani, Salva Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 A good fluky win their Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 That's the best sort, Mark. Saturday February 8th 2020 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. Southampton (8th) We didn’t get off to the best start here and were, in fact, a goal down on the 20 minute mark. It quickly got worse and it was two on 23 as we struggled to deal with the visitor’s quickness on the break. It was three on 26. We were losing heavily to a mid-table side, with only a quarter of the game gone ! Shell shocked is the phrase for this, I think. We improved slightly towards half time, but despite hitting a post late on in the period it couldn’t hide how poor we had been. I asked them if they actually wanted to win the match at half time, actually I shouted it at them whilst throwing teacups. I haven’t done that in a while. I haven’t had to. Three minutes into the second period we got a goal back, a Drage corner headed in by Lagator. We were then frustrated for some time by some obstinate defence. Then just as it seemed to be getting out of reach on 76 minutes Galarza popped up to score. But though we threw the kitchen sink at them late in the equalising goal wouldn’t come. We didn’t deserve it to really, but with a bit of luck this might be the wakeup call the squad needed to push them towards getting a second Premier League title. Final Score: Liverpool 2-3 Southampton Scorers : Lagator. Galarza League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Sime Lagator Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, Lagator, Ishikawa, Enriquez, Hughes ,Drage, Galarza, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Wednesday February 12th 2020 Premier League Venue: Perryman Park Tottenham Hotspur (4th) vs. Liverpool (1st) A very difficult game to follow our unexpected defeat, an easy place to lose some more momentum towards the title, that’s if we weren’t careful. We got the better of an evenly contested opening, and we even got the benefit of an opening goal. It had the touch of good fortune about it a firm challenge by Gandola saw the ball squirt to Lopez on the edge of the box and he made no mistake despite being a full 20 yards out, the placement of his shot was nothing short of exquisite. We were getting a lot of joy out of playing on the counter attack, on 24 minutes we got a second on another breakout, Romani crossing for Yarmolenko to thump a header home. On 33 minutes it was three-nil, with central defender Ishikawa breaking from the edge of his own box as a Spurs free kick rebounded off the wall and racing the length of the field before firing it past the keeper, for one of the most memorable goals you’ll ever see, a thing of wonder. Three up, away from home, at half time, I only had good words for them, this was some way to bounce back from the defeat against Southampton. On 53 we got a rare corner. Lucas took it and Costanzo rose above everyone and headed the ball in off the underside of the bar. Emphatic. 56 minutes and Spurs incessant pressure finally told as the bundled in a goal. But that was as good as it got for Spurs, we realised we had put one over on them, and we sat back and enjoyed the victory for what was, a getting back on track moment. One we wanted to savour. Final Score: Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Liverpool Scorers : Lopez, Yarmolenko, Ishikawa, Costanzo League Position: 1st Man Of The Match: Lucas Leiva Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Ishikawa, Costanzo, Lucas, Gandola, Galarza, Yarmolenko, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Saturday February 15th 2020 FA Cup Fifth Round Venue: Anfield Liverpool (PRM 1st) vs. Aston Villa (PRM 11th) We started the stronger and took the lead in the 13th minute as Ishikawa headed in a Lucas corner, a simple goal, poor defending really, but who cares about that ? But Villa came back into the game as the half went on. They had a goal inexplicably disallowed on 33 but then scored one that counted on 36, well applied pressure rather than a failure to clear. Level at half time then, and I told them they could win the game in the second half, all they would need is one goal. And that is all they would have needed, but it didn’t come. Neither did it for the visitors. The game petered out into a draw, and another game, back at their place. Final Score: Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa Scorers : Ishikawa Man Of The Match: Lucas Leiva Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Salazar, Lagator, Ishikawa, Costanzo, Lucas, Hughes, Galarza, Finley, Lopez The draw for the sixth round saw the winners of this tie as the hosts of the victor of the Blackburn/Fulham fifth round tie. We were still in with a chance of four competitions at this stage of the season, so that tie would seem to offer us a way towards the semi-finals, if only we could get through the replay of this one. In the tie, which happened straight after the draw for the TV companies benefit saw Championship Blackburn edge Premier League Fulham by 2 goals to one. If I’d have had to pick a winner to face in the next round out of that tie it is Blackburn I would have chosen, so I can’t be unhappy with that. But first up was our next step in another one of the competitions we were in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Tuesday February 18th 2020 European Champions Cup First Knockout Round First Leg Venue: Anfield Liverpool vs. Juventus I grew up on hearing about ‘European Nights’ at Anfield. The might of Liverpool against one of the European greats, battles that invariably The Reds won. And now it was my turn to be manager for one of those nights against The Old Lady of Italian football, Juventus. Yarmolenko was a little fatigued after the last match and so I selected Hughes to fill in on the left. A bright opening by Juventus but Lezcano wasn’t troubled any of it. We weathered the early storm and on 12 minutes got on the scoresheet ourselves with the opening goal. Dance overlapping down the right crossed from the byline, and Galarza was on hand in the middle to steer the ball home. Juventus tried to get back into the game, hitting the post with one effort as we continued to try and get on the front foot. What resulted was some entertaining football but very few clear cut chances. We went in ahead by a single goal. The second half was one we controlled a bit better than the first, Juventus saw a lot of the ball but were reduced to shooting from distance as our organised defence held firm. It looked as if the only team that would score would be us on the break, and on 82 minutes that’s exactly what we did, a long clearance by Lezcano was taken down by Lopez he sped into the box and steered the ball under the advancing keeper under a lot of pressure, a very well taken goal. Juve roared back at us, desperate to get that elusive away goal and they should have scored on 84, but hit the post again. Galarza missed a glorious chance to make it three at the death but I was still happy with the two-nil win that we got. A respectable scoreline to take to Turin, a chance of progression exists. Final Score: Liverpool 2-0 Juventus Scorers : Galarza, Lopez Man Of The Match: Martin Dance Team: Lezcano, Dance, Salazar, Lagator, Costanzo, Enriquez, Gandola, Hughes, Galarza, Romani, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Sunday February 23rd 2020 Capital One Cup Final Venue: Wembley Liverpool vs. Stoke City One of our four competitions would come to its conclusion today in North London, at Wembley Stadium. A lovely day out for the fans but I want to win it all this year, starting here. This attitude was only enhanced by a war of words that flared up during the preceding week between me and the Stoke manager Mark Hughes. It should be noted that he started it, but having said that I don’t like him and want to win this one pretty badly. Walker was cup tied and Kavala injured so we went with no keeper on the bench, a risk for sure, and given Stoke’s physical reputation it might be a foolish one. I’d thought long and hard about the formation. Stoke strung five across midfield and this was a battle we’d need to win, so I went with the 4-1-2-2-1 formation, which gives us three across the middle of midfield and wide men to give them something to think about. . I told the lads that the fans had come for a day out and they should give them something to celebrate. With that I sent them out. We started fantastically well, Romani beating the full back down the wing and then swinging over a cross which Lopez ran onto to head the opening goal, 97 seconds gone. On 7 minutes Romani released Dance, charging into the box, but his shot was well saved by the keeper and hooked clear by the defender. At this stage we were all over them. The game settled down after ten minutes and Stoke came back into it getting mighty close in a goal mouth scramble on 14 minutes to an equaliser. It was a relief for me then when we got a second on 24 minutes, Lopez with a mazy run, drawing the defence so when he flicked the ball across the face of goal, there was Yarmolenko with a diving header to score from three yards out. Two-nil. Stoke tried to make a game of it but our defence and midfield were awesome and Lezcano didn’t have a single save to make up to the half time whistle. I told the lads at the break that they had one hand on the cup, now they should go out and make sure it was ours. They seemed motivated as they went out. Motivated they were as we added a third goal only three minutes into the second period. Once again Romani, who now seems to be understanding what I want from him, burst past the full back, got to the byline and crossed deep for Yarmolenko to volley the ball home at the far post six yards out, a lovely goal, you’ll be seeing that one on highlights of The Capital One Cup for years to come. Stoke, if I have to give them credit, did not give up and they roused themselves enough to test Lezcano on a couple of occasions. Then on 82 minutes, just as I was on my feet protesting an agricultural challenge on Romani that left him limping they got on the scoresheet, a cross and a thumping header. I wasn’t happy about what I considered a foul in the build-up, but you have to say the finish was good. I took off the limping Romani and brought Drage on in his place. Omrani came on at the same time for a bit of experience in place of Gandola. Stoke hit the bar late on, but that’s as good as it got for them and we ran out very comfortable winners. One of four titles this year, in the bag. Final Score: Liverpool 3-1 Stoke City Scorers : Lopez, Yarmolenko 2 Man Of The Match: Andriy Yarmolenko Team: Lezcano, Dance, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas, Gandola (Omrani 82), Galarza, Yarmolenko, Romani (Drage 82), Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Congrats on the Capital One win always good to get a trophy in the bag. Also a 2-0 win over Juventus is a damn good result and no away goal to worry about Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 Thank you Mark, onwards an upwards though, and onto the next competition... Wednesday February 26th 2020 FA Cup Fifth Round Replay Venue: Villa Park Aston Villa (PRM 11th) vs. Liverpool (PRM 1st) We were on the back foot for much of this game and though we made a few chances the busier of the goalkeepers was Lezcano. Having said that, though kept busy, he was not severely tested throughout the goalless first half. I told them I thought one goal would win it at half time and we played a little better in the second period. We didn’t score though, and neither did they. I don’t think either keeper was truly tested in the second half, neither let in any goals. Extra time was just as dour. Two 15 minute periods, neither side willing to risk everything and as a result the game went to penalties. Villa scored their first, but Lezcano saved the second and third and they missed the fourth wide left. We scored our first three penalties, and so went through 3-1 on pens. The cup dream lives on. Final Score: Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool (Pens 1-3) Scorers : Man Of The Match: Roberto Gandola Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Salazar, Lagator, Costanzo, Ishikawa, Lucas (Enriquez 90), Gandola, Galarza, Salva, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 Saturday February 29th 2020 Premier League Venue: The Madejski Stadium Reading (17th) vs. Liverpool (1st) Fatigue was beginning to play a part in selections and as a result this was a much changed team from the midweek game. Our hosts today, Reading had been on an awful run of form, 12 games without a win, so whilst it wasn’t a game to take lightly, it was one I felt we could use the squad a bit. A good start, ahead after 5 minutes, Yarmolenko with a fine solo goal where he cut in off his wing and inside to the corner of the ‘D’ at the edge of the box where he shot, the ball going across the face of the keeper to end in the bottom corner of the net, a lovely goal. On 10 it was two as Omrani, relishing his chance, bravely won the ball well into the Reading half, he fed Finley on the edge and the England man fired an unstoppable drive that the keeper got his hands to, but couldn’t keep out. On 29 Omrani, who was playing well, had the misfortune of picking up an injury and had to come off. Paredes came on in his place. Meanwhile Reading had overcome their bad start and were putting together some good play. They got one back on 32, it had been coming for a few minutes, constant pressure finally telling. We survived the onslaught until half time, where I had some choice words for them. This had some effect as we were far more effective in the second period. On 66 Enriquez picked up a booking and a slight knock in the same incident. I though discretion the better part of valour and replaced him with Drage. The rest of the game was end to end stuff, but without the added enjoyment of any more goals. Reading missed a glorious chance to equalise at the death, real hearts in mouths stuff, and we managed to scrape out a win. Ugly? Yes. Three points ? Yes. Final Score: Reading 1-2 Liverpool Scorers : Yarmolenko, Finley League Position : 1st Man Of The Match: Juan Carlos De Felippe Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Yarmolenko, Dance, Lebron, De Felippe, Hughes, Enriquez (Drage 66), Omrani (Paredes 22), Finley, Lopez Of the two injuries in the game only the one, an elbow injured in an awkward fall suffered by Enriquez would see the player out for a spell, 2 weeks in this case. On the field, second placed Arsenal lost the day’s big match at Man City, so our lead at the top extends to seven points, the value of today’s win could be immeasurable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Saturday March 7th 2020 Premier League Venue: Anfield Liverpool (1st) vs. Derby County (20th) I told the lads that if they played their own game then they would win. Even against the bottom side, Derby that may have been a mistake as we were lethargic to the extreme early on. Lopez was responsible for shaking us out of our torpor, shooting from distance and forcing a top draw flying save from the Derby keeper. My guess is he gets a lot of practice. On 20 minutes we took the lead, a Lucas corner, Lagator met it, and fair thumped the header home. Another assist for Lucas. He’s been our most consistent player this year and to save off interest from PSG I had offered him a one year extension, which he had accepted. PSG’s manager is in the stands today even so. On 33 we made it two from the spot. A desperate challenge when a goal looked a likelihood was the cause of the kick, I don’t think they can complain about that one. Lopez scored with very little in the way of difficulty. Half time came and went, and we kept playing good stuff. A third goal came on 65 minutes a snap shot by Lopez from the edge of the box. Salva made it four on 69, good work by Lucas and Galarza to set him up. He’s been on a bit of a goal drought recently but he placed that shot very well. With the job done we sat back a bit for the last twenty. Derby came close to scoring only one in that time, right in the last minute, but Lezcano was up to the task. That done we saw out a very comfortable, regulation, win. Final Score: Liverpool 4-0 Derby County Scorers : Lagator, Lopez 2 (1 pen), Salva League Position : 1st Man Of The Match: Lucas Leiva Team: Lezcano, Boldrini, Yarmolenko, Ishikawa, Costanzo, Lagator, Lucas, Gandola, Galarza, Salva, Lopez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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