I partially knew what was going to happen, and to an extent, I understand why it happened, but that does not mean that I am not still mad. In fact I am actually a little infuriated; Knocked out of both domestic Cup competitions at the first hurdle. When I saw the starting lineup, I knew unless we played quite well, or were very clinical, that we were going to exit the cup in the 3rd Round and it being by Wolves for the second time in three seasons. I mean, Liverpool only just beat them 2-0 at Molineaux just before Christmas, so going there with a weaker side than that game, suggested that a defeat may be on the horizon.
When the teams came out, Wolves named seven of their usual starters in the 2018/19 campaign; they are not in a relegation battle so it made sense to give the Cup a go, in search of a memorable day at Wembley for the fans. Liverpool on the other hand, were stretched. Jurgen Klopp had already announced before the game that two much maligned figures Simon Mignolet and Alberto Moreno would be starting. This of course meant no Alisson and no Andy Robertson. Robertson's wife was getting closer to giving birth when Liverpool played Manchester City last Thursday, so he was never going to be in the squad for this Cup match. Mignolet in goal has done my blood pressure no favours in the last five and a half years, so I was not expecting much unfortunately. I was excited for Camacho and Jones making their debuts, but with all the injuries in the defence, I was skeptical about whether we could win this tricky tie. With Matip and Gomez out injured, only van Dijk and Lovren were our fit centre halves, van Dijk had played with a heavy cold against Wolves in the league game. So with the injuries he was never going start this match, however I thought there was a small chance he could make the bench. It is clearly bad luck with the injuries and hopefully this is the nadir when it comes to injuries to our centre backs. Let us be real though, some fans thought we needed a centre back in the summer, and since then we let Ragnar Klavan go to Cagliari. So, therefore we always needed another centre half didn't we? Worst case scenario, Clyne could have filled in there for this game and until we decided whether we would take action in the transfer window or not, but he was loaned out to Bournemouth after requesting to leave.
So when not even ten minutes into the game Lovren got injured, Klopp had the choice of bringing on Alexander-Arnold who clearly Klopp would like to rest with the amount of football he has played in the last 18 months, or look to Dutch 16 year old Ki-Jana Hoever. Hoever was the man who got the nod and he ended up doing well. It was surprisingly the senior players who were to let themselves down over the 90 minutes as Liverpool lost 2-1. Mignolet could have done better on both goals if we are to be honest, and it showed once again why Liverpool had to break the bank to bring Alisson in. However, Mignolet should not have had to make a save anyway. Milner could not control the ball and when running back he decided to not run over to Raul Jimenez,which was very unlike the experienced Milner. This meant with Fabinho running back also, there was no one closing down Jimenez who duly slotted in the opener. Hoever was near Diogo Jota, so why Milner felt the need to not try to close down Jimenez is beyond me. Mignolet should have made himself bigger, giving Jimenez less of the target to shoot at, the goal reminded me of the one he conceded to Demba Ba in the 13/14 season. Sturridge, Origi and Shaqiri looked like they could not be bothered in the first half, and as they were Liverpool's main three goal threats, it mean that they did not look anywhere near as if they could breach Wolves' backline.
In the second half, we were given false hope as Origi woke up and fired in an equaliser. Milner's shot was blocked and Origi controlled the ball, turned Boly and then drove a shot past John Ruddy. The joy was short lived though, as a few minutes later, Ruben Neves known for scoring spectacular goals hit a shot from 25 yards. Liverpool clearly did not get the memo as no one closed him down, Mignolet will not have seen the shot straightaway, but a better keeper at least gets a hand on it. Neves will hit better shot and not score. Mignolet is not a solitary scapegoat, I will make that clear, however harsh some of my words may come across. Liverpool, just were not good enough and got what they deserved. They tried to bring on Firmino and Salah near the end to save the game, but it was too late. Shaqiri was savagely unlucky as his free kick hit the post, but apart from that, considering the circumstances, Wolves seemed comfortable.
The reactions of the defeat are mixed. Some people are actually happy Liverpool lost believing that it means a lighter schedule almost guarantees Liverpool will go on to win the title, but I am not one of those people. Liverpool have not won a trophy since 2012, and they have not won the FA Cup since the 'Gerrard Final' in 2006. A winning mentality is contagious and only some of this squad have won things. The 3rd round just came around at a bad time for Liverpool and they were marred by injuries, if they were in a better state in regard to numbers, then a stronger xi would have been named. Liverpool have now not got past the 4th round of the FA Cup since Klopp has been at the club and regardless of their lack of fortune in the early draws, this is not good enough. Timing and fortune are the key elements here and Liverpool will hope for more luck in domestic Cups in the future, having drawn Premier League sides in the League Cup (Chelsea) and the FA Cup.
@DubulDee
Comments