LA Galaxy have dropped two in a row and in both cases their defense was the culprit. As a result, they go into the MLS playoffs in fifth place. Which team will show up? The team that took three straight wins or the one that then gave up two straight losses? As it is, they could get bounced in the first round or make a run all the way to the finals!
Meanwhile, their crosstown rivals LAFC are on the top of the standings and the odds on favorite (53% according to 538) to win the whole thing. They have the most points ever with 72 and Vela has the single season goal scoring record with 34.
In the Swedish top league, the race for the championship is close among the big city clubs Malmo and the three Stockholm teams (Djurgardens, Hammarby, and AIK).
My family teams Elfborg and Falkenberg have their goals. Elfborg is in eighth and realistically the gap to seventh is too far. However, they could slip down so finishing eighth would be satisfying at this stage. As for Falkenberg, avoiding outright relegation is the goal. They have 19 points in 15th place. They are close enough to Sundsvall (20 points) to move up into the playoff relegation spot.
Over in England, Liverpool is off to a 8-0-0 start outpacing traditional top dog Man City and venerable top-6 Arsenal. Leicester City and Crystal Place are surprise top-6 right now. Chelsea sit in 5th. Shockingly, typical top-6 Man U is 12th and Tottenham is 9th. LFC's eight wins include some nervey one goal wins. Will this be the year they finally win a EPL championship after so many decades?
Defending the Champions League title would be a bonus but having gotten it last year I think they would not be too disappointment if they don't win it again. However, I think they would like to at least get out of group stage. Thus far Liverpool's champions league performances have been shaky with a loss to Napoli and a too close for comfort win against Salzburg.
QPR is doing stunningly well! They are ninth! However, will they be able to hold it together in the marathon 46 game season that is the Championship. They only have one draw as they give up goals but score them as well. They have managed to come out on top more than not.
Showing posts with label Liverpool FC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liverpool FC. Show all posts
Liverpool 4 Barcelona 3 (agg)
Screen grab from the Liverpool Echo.
Messi's magic gave Barcelona the 3-0 lead in the semi-finals.
But the atmosphere of Anfield brought what could be considered one of the biggest comebacks in European football history!
It was truly a team effort by LFC.
Two goals by Origi who started in place of Firmino who was injured.
Two goals by Wijnaldum the sub who came in at half-time for the injured Robertson.
Two assists by the youngster Alexander-Arnold.
One assist by Shaqiri who started in place of the injured Salah.
Mane didn't get on the score sheet but was a threat.
Becker got some big saves in goal to preserve the clean sheet.
Henderson and Milner, the quiet midfielders were where they needed to be on offense and defense.
Center backs Matip and van Dijk and D-mid Fabinho patrolled the field - you can't stop Barcelona from getting their chances but you can attempt to limit them so they don't completely over-run your club and these guys made Suarez and Messi earn their chances.
See the amazing highlights at Bleacher Report!
#YNWA
Messi's magic gave Barcelona the 3-0 lead in the semi-finals.
But the atmosphere of Anfield brought what could be considered one of the biggest comebacks in European football history!
It was truly a team effort by LFC.
Two goals by Origi who started in place of Firmino who was injured.
Two goals by Wijnaldum the sub who came in at half-time for the injured Robertson.
Two assists by the youngster Alexander-Arnold.
One assist by Shaqiri who started in place of the injured Salah.
Mane didn't get on the score sheet but was a threat.
Becker got some big saves in goal to preserve the clean sheet.
Henderson and Milner, the quiet midfielders were where they needed to be on offense and defense.
Center backs Matip and van Dijk and D-mid Fabinho patrolled the field - you can't stop Barcelona from getting their chances but you can attempt to limit them so they don't completely over-run your club and these guys made Suarez and Messi earn their chances.
See the amazing highlights at Bleacher Report!
#YNWA
Wide World of Soccer February 2019 - the six teams I follow
Time for the expectations round up!
QPR and Liverpool are now in the second half of their seasons.
QPR is constrained by the FFP sanctions so I had forecasted: "At the low end for QPR is the practical goal of AVOIDING relegation [.....] There are 24 teams in the Championship so the bottom half is 13-24 and the upper half of that is 13-18. If they get to 18, they should throw a parade around Loftus Road!"
QPR stands at 18th but have been on a losing streak of late. They are 10 points clear of the relegation zone but the Championship season is 46 matches. Come on you R's, you gotta stay in the Championship!
As for Liverpool FC, my forecast: "a lively race for the title (win or lose) would be wonderful for the long disappointed Liverpool fans. Winning a title of any kind would be nice as well (League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, or Premier League)."
They are in a close contest with Man City and Tottenham. They crashed out of FA and League Cup. Tonight, they play in leg one of the Champions League against the mighty Bayern Munich! Can they bring home Premier League title? Can they win the European Cup? It is going to be tough as injuries have started to deplete the team. But I'm calling for them to win the Premier League!
As for the other four clubs:
QPR is constrained by the FFP sanctions so I had forecasted: "At the low end for QPR is the practical goal of AVOIDING relegation [.....] There are 24 teams in the Championship so the bottom half is 13-24 and the upper half of that is 13-18. If they get to 18, they should throw a parade around Loftus Road!"
QPR stands at 18th but have been on a losing streak of late. They are 10 points clear of the relegation zone but the Championship season is 46 matches. Come on you R's, you gotta stay in the Championship!
As for Liverpool FC, my forecast: "a lively race for the title (win or lose) would be wonderful for the long disappointed Liverpool fans. Winning a title of any kind would be nice as well (League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, or Premier League)."
They are in a close contest with Man City and Tottenham. They crashed out of FA and League Cup. Tonight, they play in leg one of the Champions League against the mighty Bayern Munich! Can they bring home Premier League title? Can they win the European Cup? It is going to be tough as injuries have started to deplete the team. But I'm calling for them to win the Premier League!
As for the other four clubs:
Falkenberg - They got promoted to the top league! The goal is to stay in the top league!
Elfsborg is in trouble. They finished 12th just 4 points out of the relegation zone. Hard to keep track of the club via English language media. But the expectations of the venerable old club is low at avoiding relegation. They have always punched above their weight considering that their home town of Boras (pop. 66K) is small compared to the big boys in Stockholm (960K), Gothenburg (572K), and Malmo (312K) so they really should be a solid mid-table team (7-10 place) occasionally challenging for European play.
Elfsborg is in trouble. They finished 12th just 4 points out of the relegation zone. Hard to keep track of the club via English language media. But the expectations of the venerable old club is low at avoiding relegation. They have always punched above their weight considering that their home town of Boras (pop. 66K) is small compared to the big boys in Stockholm (960K), Gothenburg (572K), and Malmo (312K) so they really should be a solid mid-table team (7-10 place) occasionally challenging for European play.
LAFC is an expansion club with a high ceiling and they are living up to it! Last season they got bounced in the knockout round of the playoffs. This season the minimal expectations has to be one playoff win and perhaps even making it to the conference finals (2 playoff wins). They finished 3rd last year so they need to move up to at least 2nd for the season to be considered a success.
LA Galaxy finished last season in seventh place out of the playoffs. Thus, this season they need to make the playoffs and win at least one game. Finishing 4th in the table would be a reasonable goal. There are a lot of question marks for this team as it is largely the same as last year's team plus/minus a couple of players. The key additions are Polenta (centerback) and Antuna (speedy midfield wing) and if they live up to their billing the Galaxy could be competitive in every game. Zlatan is another year older. Will he continue to be a force to be reckoned with? As for the rest of the team, will the pieces fit together and they stay healthy in particular the rather thin defensive line.
Expectations: FFF, Elfsborg, Liverpool FC, QPR, LA Galaxy, LAFC
Time for the expectations round up!
Starting up their seasons are QPR and Liverpool FC.
At the low end for QPR is the practical goal of AVOIDING relegation. Given their financial limits due to FFP fines, they aren't going to be bringing in pricey players or even non-pricy players. They will need to make do with their in-house talent of which there are some promising young ones. So if they stay up in the Championship, the season would have to be called a success!
If the young players bloom, the high end of the expectations would be to finish in the upper half of the bottom half. There are 24 teams in the Championship so the bottom half is 13-24 and the upper half of that is 13-18. If they get to 18, they should throw a parade around Loftus Road!
As for Liverpool FC, after all the big spending, the low end is closing in on the high end of expectations. Man City is still the biggest fish among the big six and remains the favorite to win the Premier League. Thus, a lively race for the title (win or lose) would be wonderful for the long disappointed Liverpool fans. Winning a title of any kind would be nice as well (League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, or Premier League). The only cup that would be considered a disappointment would be Europa League Cup because that would mean the team crashed out of the group stage in Champions League!
For teams nearing the end of the season that I follow:
Falkenberg - they are one the brink of pulling off automatic promotion back to the top league! They have 11 games to go and eight points ahead of third place Eskilstuna that would qualify for the promotion playoff. Promotion or bust!
Elfsborg is in trouble. 13 games to go and they are in 13th place. 14th place leaves them in relegation playoffs and 15/16th place is automatic relegation. In summer business, they did extend some people (Frick, Kaib, Ronning, Dresevic) but they did sell on (Jebali, Horn) and added (Obasi, Holst). Their defense isn't bad as there are plenty of teams that give up more goals but their offense is anemic with a paltry 15 goals, second worst in the league.
LAFC is an expansion club with a high ceiling and they are living up to it! They are solidly in the playoffs (3rd place in the west) and are aiming for seeding. Winning the west is not impossible but second is within reach. Aiming very high would be a MLS Cup final appearance. More likely is an appearance in the western conference finals.
LA Galaxy has been playing better but have been hit with the injury bug (all three DPs are out!) and are a question mark. Their near term goal is to stay afloat. Currently 4th in the west, they need to hang on while the DPs recover. Six teams make the playoffs per conference so finishing 6th is the goal. Hopefully, the DPs come back late in the season and they can get back into form and pull of a surprise and reach the western conference semi-finals.
Real Madrid 3 Liverpool 1
It was a good run for the Reds. My feeling was that Liverpool would only have a chance if they could smash and grab an early lead and hang on for dear life.
When Mo Salah went out in the middle of the first half, the air was out of the balloon. But the team hung tough and got to halftime 0-0. However, you just had the feeling that Real Madrid would eventually breakthrough.
Sadly, the break came off an error from Liverpool goalkeeper Karius. Yet, Liverpool had one last gasp left as they gamely got the equalizer. However, goal number two for Real Madrid was a top 10 all-time highlight goal from Bale. Goal number three was icing for Real Madrid and sadly came off another error from Karius.
As a Los Angeles Dodger fan, the 2017 World Series was lost for a variety of reasons but the most public face of the defeat was the pitching collapses of Darvish (game 3 and 7), Kershaw (game 5), and Jansen (game 2, 5). Pitchers get the outs or give up the runs and are easily defined as heroes or scapegoats. However, in looking up and down the roster, you can also point to the poor hitting by the Dodgers.
It would be too easy to blame Karius for the loss. In the end, the Liverpool mid-field was overmatched. Also, you have to look at the bench of Liverpool. When Salah had to come out, there really was a very steep drop off in capability. No one on that Liverpool bench would probably make the B-team of Real Madrid.
Some people say Klopp can't win the "big game." I think that is a somewhat an unfair charge. Real Madrid was playing for its third Champions League Cup. They had the talent on paper and the experience. I don't think anyone had Liverpool making the finals when the Champions League campaign began. I remember listening on internet radio the road game Liverpool played in Moscow in the group stage. It was 1-1 and people had serious doubts about what Liverpool was capable of.
Good season for the Reds! Hopefully, they can add a few more pieces in the summer and make a serious run at the Premier League title in 2018-2019 and another strong showing in the European Cup!
When Mo Salah went out in the middle of the first half, the air was out of the balloon. But the team hung tough and got to halftime 0-0. However, you just had the feeling that Real Madrid would eventually breakthrough.
Sadly, the break came off an error from Liverpool goalkeeper Karius. Yet, Liverpool had one last gasp left as they gamely got the equalizer. However, goal number two for Real Madrid was a top 10 all-time highlight goal from Bale. Goal number three was icing for Real Madrid and sadly came off another error from Karius.
As a Los Angeles Dodger fan, the 2017 World Series was lost for a variety of reasons but the most public face of the defeat was the pitching collapses of Darvish (game 3 and 7), Kershaw (game 5), and Jansen (game 2, 5). Pitchers get the outs or give up the runs and are easily defined as heroes or scapegoats. However, in looking up and down the roster, you can also point to the poor hitting by the Dodgers.
It would be too easy to blame Karius for the loss. In the end, the Liverpool mid-field was overmatched. Also, you have to look at the bench of Liverpool. When Salah had to come out, there really was a very steep drop off in capability. No one on that Liverpool bench would probably make the B-team of Real Madrid.
Some people say Klopp can't win the "big game." I think that is a somewhat an unfair charge. Real Madrid was playing for its third Champions League Cup. They had the talent on paper and the experience. I don't think anyone had Liverpool making the finals when the Champions League campaign began. I remember listening on internet radio the road game Liverpool played in Moscow in the group stage. It was 1-1 and people had serious doubts about what Liverpool was capable of.
Good season for the Reds! Hopefully, they can add a few more pieces in the summer and make a serious run at the Premier League title in 2018-2019 and another strong showing in the European Cup!
Liverpool back in the Champions League
Today, Real Madrid v Liverpool, in the Champions League Final in Kiev!
Check out the wonderful promo video from Liverpool FC recapping the entire campaign through Europe.
Part of following sports is the scores and stats but its pleasure is the narrative. In this case, as a Los Angelino on the west coast of America, I'm rooting for the team from the northwest of England, a place I've never been and likely will never visit (it is a bucket list trip though!). Liverpool's story of past glories and mostly middling results in recent memory now trying to reach one of the high mountains of the soccer world is a compelling one. The team is composed of players who are almost exclusively outside the realm of the A-listers but a passionate and capable coach has helped them play as a team. Combined with the on field work with a fanatical home fan base and international following, this is the stuff of great screenwriting and novelistic storytelling. Win or lose it has been a great ride this season. Go REDS!
Check out the wonderful promo video from Liverpool FC recapping the entire campaign through Europe.
Part of following sports is the scores and stats but its pleasure is the narrative. In this case, as a Los Angelino on the west coast of America, I'm rooting for the team from the northwest of England, a place I've never been and likely will never visit (it is a bucket list trip though!). Liverpool's story of past glories and mostly middling results in recent memory now trying to reach one of the high mountains of the soccer world is a compelling one. The team is composed of players who are almost exclusively outside the realm of the A-listers but a passionate and capable coach has helped them play as a team. Combined with the on field work with a fanatical home fan base and international following, this is the stuff of great screenwriting and novelistic storytelling. Win or lose it has been a great ride this season. Go REDS!
Wide World of Soccer - weekend April 28-29
Liverpool FC 0 Stoke City 0. Nuff said.
High drama on Wednesday for leg 2 against Roma. 5-2 lead looks good but Barcelona collapsed to Roma and were eliminated so Roma is not to be underestimated.
QPR takes care of business with a 3-1 win over bottom of the table Birmingham City.
LA Galaxy woes continue coming out on the short end 2-3 to NY Red Bulls. A couple of questionable calls went against LA Galaxy that took a goal off the LA tally and added a PK that was the Red Bull's winner.
LA Galaxy got some more offense but unfortunately their defense cost them. One of the MLS analyst says that LA's 4-3-3 might be better for them. I speculated about that possibility back on April 13 though at that time I didn't anticipate Zlatan would start which he did.
LAFC in dramatic fashion defeat Seattle 1-0 with a stoppage time free kick!
Elfsborg falls 2-1 to Sundsvall.
Falkenberg plays on Tuesday on the road at Halmstad.
High drama on Wednesday for leg 2 against Roma. 5-2 lead looks good but Barcelona collapsed to Roma and were eliminated so Roma is not to be underestimated.
QPR takes care of business with a 3-1 win over bottom of the table Birmingham City.
LA Galaxy woes continue coming out on the short end 2-3 to NY Red Bulls. A couple of questionable calls went against LA Galaxy that took a goal off the LA tally and added a PK that was the Red Bull's winner.
LA Galaxy got some more offense but unfortunately their defense cost them. One of the MLS analyst says that LA's 4-3-3 might be better for them. I speculated about that possibility back on April 13 though at that time I didn't anticipate Zlatan would start which he did.
LAFC in dramatic fashion defeat Seattle 1-0 with a stoppage time free kick!
Elfsborg falls 2-1 to Sundsvall.
Falkenberg plays on Tuesday on the road at Halmstad.
Wide world of soccer: weekend of April 21/22 2018
Hats off to LAFC for rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat Montreal on the road. If you had said that LAFC would get 4 wins against 2 losses to open season entirely on the road, fans would take it. They have their home opener next weekend.
Liverpool was on the road at West Bromwich cruising with a 2-0 lead only to surrender 2 goals late. The problems of defense reared its head once again!
QPR lost to Brentford 2-1. Not surprising for a road game at a team at the top half of the table.
LA Galaxy fall at home to Atlanta 2-0. Saw the second half of the match on TV. Atlanta had the lead so they were probably not as aggressive on offense. Nonetheless, it seemed they were always more threatening to score while LAG only got weak "half" chances at goal. LAG simply looked inferior to Atlanta.
Falkenberg (FFF) is off to a 4 game win streak with a 3-1 victory over Frej Taby.
Elfsborg plays Monday against Stockholm based Djurgarden.
Liverpool was on the road at West Bromwich cruising with a 2-0 lead only to surrender 2 goals late. The problems of defense reared its head once again!
QPR lost to Brentford 2-1. Not surprising for a road game at a team at the top half of the table.
LA Galaxy fall at home to Atlanta 2-0. Saw the second half of the match on TV. Atlanta had the lead so they were probably not as aggressive on offense. Nonetheless, it seemed they were always more threatening to score while LAG only got weak "half" chances at goal. LAG simply looked inferior to Atlanta.
Falkenberg (FFF) is off to a 4 game win streak with a 3-1 victory over Frej Taby.
Elfsborg plays Monday against Stockholm based Djurgarden.
"We are Liverpool: this means more" LFC's latest promo video
Sports is partly about scores and stats but it is mostly about narrative.
"We are Liverpool: this means more" is LFC's latest promo video with great moving images of past and present and the narration of current manager Jurgen Klopp.
Fantastic and moving and I've only been a fan since 2014 and have never been within a hundred miles of Liverpool.
Wide world of Soccer - how the six clubs I follow did
Friday April 13
LAFC beat Vancouver 2-0 on the road
LAFC bounced back from two prior defeats and continue to show the acumen of signing Rossi and Vela who got the goals in the victory.
Saturday April 14
Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 3-0
The three headed front line get a goal apiece in a taking care of business win.
Elfsborg downed by Sirius 1-0 at home
That is now three straight losses for the boys from Boras but no time to panic yet as there are still 27 more matches. For historical context, Elfsborg have been in the top league since 1998. From that time onward, they won the league in 2006 and 2012. They finished second in 2008. They won the Svenska Cup in 2001, 2003 and 2014. Hopefully, they can get their season going real soon!
QPR lost at home to Preston 2-1
Preston is higher up in the table so a loss isn't too surprising.
Chicago 0 LA Galaxy 1
Zlatan has appeared in 3 games and now has 2 game winning goals! Wound up watching the match on the phone via the live stream on Twitter for the first half and then the LA Galaxy audio stream for the second half. With the crazy wind, LAG had the wind with the in the first half and Chicago had the wind with them in the second half. The much maligned (and often with good reason) defense and goalkeeper came through a steady steam of attempts by Chicago in the second half.
Sunday April 15
GAIS 0 Falkenberg 2
The team by the sea have started off with 3 wins!
LAFC beat Vancouver 2-0 on the road
LAFC bounced back from two prior defeats and continue to show the acumen of signing Rossi and Vela who got the goals in the victory.
Saturday April 14
Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 3-0
The three headed front line get a goal apiece in a taking care of business win.
Elfsborg downed by Sirius 1-0 at home
That is now three straight losses for the boys from Boras but no time to panic yet as there are still 27 more matches. For historical context, Elfsborg have been in the top league since 1998. From that time onward, they won the league in 2006 and 2012. They finished second in 2008. They won the Svenska Cup in 2001, 2003 and 2014. Hopefully, they can get their season going real soon!
QPR lost at home to Preston 2-1
Preston is higher up in the table so a loss isn't too surprising.
Chicago 0 LA Galaxy 1
Zlatan has appeared in 3 games and now has 2 game winning goals! Wound up watching the match on the phone via the live stream on Twitter for the first half and then the LA Galaxy audio stream for the second half. With the crazy wind, LAG had the wind with the in the first half and Chicago had the wind with them in the second half. The much maligned (and often with good reason) defense and goalkeeper came through a steady steam of attempts by Chicago in the second half.
Sunday April 15
GAIS 0 Falkenberg 2
The team by the sea have started off with 3 wins!
It is Big-ly: Man City v. Liverpool, Leg Two
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 10, 2018
The starting XI is pretty much as expected. Admittedly, the bench is depleted; however, hopefully, they won't be called into service other than to provide some fresh defensive energy to close out the match. If they have to call up on the reserves to chase the game, then it would mean Liverpool is in serious trouble!
And here is the starting XI and the bench for Manchester City.
How we're lining-up tonight! 🙌— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 10, 2018
City XI | Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva (C), Sane, Sterling, Bernardo, G Jesus
Subs | Bravo, Aguero, Kompany, Foden, Gundogan, Zinchenko, Delph#cityvlfc #mancity pic.twitter.com/rdWCEYwniX
Currently, LFC has a three-goal edge.
If at the end of regulation the aggregate is:
3-0 LFC advances
3-1 LFC advances
3-2 LFC advances
3-3 goes to Extra-Time
3-4 Man City advances
4-4 LFC advances on away goals
4-5 Man City advances
Let's Go Liverpool!
IT. IS. A. FINAL!!!
Liverpool advance to the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory in leg two with a 5-1 aggregate!
Man City came out on fire and got a very quick goal and put LFC on their heels and came at them in waves. Some disputed calls went against Man City and the half ended 1-0 in favor of Man City but still down 3-1 on aggregate. Coach Pep was hot at the referee and was sent to the stands.
Man City continued to press but LFC continued to parry and you guessed it, MO SALAH got the goal at 56.
Man City had to push forward even more down 4-1 on aggregate and needed 4 goals to win. Liverpool defended and got the insurance goal from Bobby Firmino at 77.
Man City gamely fought on but Liverpool began to sub in some fresh legs to finish off the match.
Here are the highlights from Fox Sport. Fantastic goals by Salah and Firmino.
The weekend in soccer
Saturday started with the Merseyside Derby.
Everton v. Liverpool 0-0 (draw)
The Reds with an eye toward the second leg of the Champions League semi-final played a weakened side so a draw was a reasonable outcome.
Hull v. QPR 4-0 (loss)
Ugh. QPR isn't a top level team so don't expect them to win all the time but they are usually at least competitive and they weren't today.
Falkenberg v. Eskilstuna 2-0 (win)
Off to a good start with two wins. Can they keep it up and get back to the top tier? "Laget vid havet!"
Atlanta v. LAFC 5-0 (loss)
Did the stunning loss against LA Galaxy last weekend leave the team still out of sorts? Or perhaps Atlanta is simply too much for LAFC to deal with? In either case, Bob Bradley and the brain trust will need to look at their situation after the glossy start.
Sunday provided two matches for me to follow
Kalmar v. Elfborg 1-0 (loss)
Ooofff .... off to a bad start with two losses. 28 matches to go. Hopefully, they will get their feet under them soon!
LA Galaxy v. Sporting Kansas City 0-2 (loss)
SKC dominated possession of the ball in the first half but LAG defense was up to the challenge for much of the time in the first half. But there was one bad patch early in the second half when LAG surrendered two goals. Those were not outrageous world class goals. However, they were clinical finishes to the opportunities granted by some poor defending from LAG.
The first goal was off a weak clearance off a corner kick that got pounced on by SKC.
The second goal was essentially a 1-against-3. Give the guy credit for taking it to the LAG defenders Steres and Cole and after ditching them, he got it past the goalkeeper Bingham. Any one of Steres, Cole, or Bingham could have prevented that goal but none did rise to that occasion.
LAG had shots of which three hit the woodwork. Jonathan Dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini were back in the line-up but did seem a little rusty: pace and passing was just a little off.
The defensive group does seem a bit slow and teams that have speed will cause problems for LAG. Cole is astute but his 37 year old legs sometimes let him down. Skjelvik looks promising and don't recall him getting overwhelmed against SKC but he clearly got outpaced on goal #3 that LAFC scored. Steres has the physical tools (he made a couple of good tackles against SKC) but over his time at LAG errors seem to crop up. Perhaps it is focus and decision making that will improve with experience? Feltscher seems to be settling in but am concerned that without smart positioning and situational awareness he might not have the speed to catch up if he gets up too far forward on the attack. Kitchen has been very helpful to the defense but it seems the sum of the parts haven't gotten to where LAG needs to be to be consistently competitive.
Meanwhile, the Zlatan phenomena continues but no Hollywood ending tonight. He got in for about 30 minutes and put some shots on goal with one or two of the chances that got the crowd hopeful.
From the General Admission side of the stadium, it was hard to tell how good were his shots on goal. Judging from video replays I saw after the game, two of them looked like good efforts that if the goalkeeper has shut-off for a moment would have yielded a goal.
Sigi and company have a lot to chew over.
Defending put them in a three-goal deficit against LAFC and a two-goal deficit against SKC. Don't see Ciani or Romney as a better option than what they have out there now. So they may simply have to live with what they have. Do wonder how much upside does youngsters Hilliard-Arce and Arellano have?
As LAG offensive players advance in fitness returning from injury, it will be interesting to see which players will get the minutes upcoming and whether they will stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation - probably. It seems that when Zlatan is in they switch to 4-4-2. Will he go on the road to Chicago? And how many minutes will he get?
Tough loss that could easily have been a draw. No time to panic as the team is still a work in progress with the arrow facing in the up direction.
Everton v. Liverpool 0-0 (draw)
The Reds with an eye toward the second leg of the Champions League semi-final played a weakened side so a draw was a reasonable outcome.
Hull v. QPR 4-0 (loss)
Ugh. QPR isn't a top level team so don't expect them to win all the time but they are usually at least competitive and they weren't today.
Falkenberg v. Eskilstuna 2-0 (win)
Off to a good start with two wins. Can they keep it up and get back to the top tier? "Laget vid havet!"
Atlanta v. LAFC 5-0 (loss)
Did the stunning loss against LA Galaxy last weekend leave the team still out of sorts? Or perhaps Atlanta is simply too much for LAFC to deal with? In either case, Bob Bradley and the brain trust will need to look at their situation after the glossy start.
Sunday provided two matches for me to follow
Kalmar v. Elfborg 1-0 (loss)
Ooofff .... off to a bad start with two losses. 28 matches to go. Hopefully, they will get their feet under them soon!
LA Galaxy v. Sporting Kansas City 0-2 (loss)
SKC dominated possession of the ball in the first half but LAG defense was up to the challenge for much of the time in the first half. But there was one bad patch early in the second half when LAG surrendered two goals. Those were not outrageous world class goals. However, they were clinical finishes to the opportunities granted by some poor defending from LAG.
The first goal was off a weak clearance off a corner kick that got pounced on by SKC.
The second goal was essentially a 1-against-3. Give the guy credit for taking it to the LAG defenders Steres and Cole and after ditching them, he got it past the goalkeeper Bingham. Any one of Steres, Cole, or Bingham could have prevented that goal but none did rise to that occasion.
LAG had shots of which three hit the woodwork. Jonathan Dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini were back in the line-up but did seem a little rusty: pace and passing was just a little off.
The defensive group does seem a bit slow and teams that have speed will cause problems for LAG. Cole is astute but his 37 year old legs sometimes let him down. Skjelvik looks promising and don't recall him getting overwhelmed against SKC but he clearly got outpaced on goal #3 that LAFC scored. Steres has the physical tools (he made a couple of good tackles against SKC) but over his time at LAG errors seem to crop up. Perhaps it is focus and decision making that will improve with experience? Feltscher seems to be settling in but am concerned that without smart positioning and situational awareness he might not have the speed to catch up if he gets up too far forward on the attack. Kitchen has been very helpful to the defense but it seems the sum of the parts haven't gotten to where LAG needs to be to be consistently competitive.
Meanwhile, the Zlatan phenomena continues but no Hollywood ending tonight. He got in for about 30 minutes and put some shots on goal with one or two of the chances that got the crowd hopeful.
From the General Admission side of the stadium, it was hard to tell how good were his shots on goal. Judging from video replays I saw after the game, two of them looked like good efforts that if the goalkeeper has shut-off for a moment would have yielded a goal.
Sigi and company have a lot to chew over.
Defending put them in a three-goal deficit against LAFC and a two-goal deficit against SKC. Don't see Ciani or Romney as a better option than what they have out there now. So they may simply have to live with what they have. Do wonder how much upside does youngsters Hilliard-Arce and Arellano have?
As LAG offensive players advance in fitness returning from injury, it will be interesting to see which players will get the minutes upcoming and whether they will stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation - probably. It seems that when Zlatan is in they switch to 4-4-2. Will he go on the road to Chicago? And how many minutes will he get?
Tough loss that could easily have been a draw. No time to panic as the team is still a work in progress with the arrow facing in the up direction.
Wide world of soccer - LFC v Man City, leg 1
Champions League quarter-finals!
Am guessing Man City is favored but leg one is at Anfield.
The KOP should be loud tonight!
In reading around the various media outlets in the build up, there is concerns at LFC about injuries.
The Echo reports that Gomez, Matip, Klavan, and Can are not available for selection.
Line-up guesses:
GK: Karius
Defense: Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson
Midfield: Henderson, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Frontline: Mane, Firmino, Salah
Liverpool take a 3-0 lead in leg 1. Here are the highlights!
Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane score in the first half!
Am guessing Man City is favored but leg one is at Anfield.
The KOP should be loud tonight!
In reading around the various media outlets in the build up, there is concerns at LFC about injuries.
The Echo reports that Gomez, Matip, Klavan, and Can are not available for selection.
Line-up guesses:
GK: Karius
Defense: Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson
Midfield: Henderson, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Frontline: Mane, Firmino, Salah
Liverpool take a 3-0 lead in leg 1. Here are the highlights!
Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane score in the first half!
Liverpool FC: what is next for them?
If you had said LFC would be in the Champion's League quarterfinals before the season started, fans would take that.
If you had said LFC would lose Coutinho and still be competing for a top four finish in the Premier League, fans would take that.
But of course, now that expectations have been raised, fans want more!
The Champions League showdown against Manchester City will be interesting as the two teams split their meetings in the Premier League with Man City winning the first time 5-0 but LFC taking the second meeting 4-3. Am figuring the odds makers have Man City as favored in the two-legs of the quarters. If I had to guess, I would say 60/40 in favor of Man City. A check on the stat heads at 538 says 57/43 (as of 6:12pm March 18, 2018) for Man City.
The remainder of the Premier League schedule looks favorable to LFC. The difficult matches: Everton (away) and Chelsea (away). Liverpool should beat relegation zone Crystal Palace (away), West Brom (away), and Stoke (home). They should also beat mid-table Bournemouth (home) and Brighton (home). With 5 wins, they gets them to 78 points. If they can scratch out draws at Everton and Chelsea, LFC can finish with 80 points which should get them a top-four finish. But even with 78 you have to go back to 2013/14 where that isn't enough to finish top-four.
But you got to play the games and injuries and crazy stuff happens.
For this fan of recent vintage (started in 2014), it has been a very good year. Hope it finishes off strong!
Go Reds!!
Below is the 5-0 win over Watford with Mo Salah getting four goals and one assist.
If you had said LFC would lose Coutinho and still be competing for a top four finish in the Premier League, fans would take that.
But of course, now that expectations have been raised, fans want more!
The Champions League showdown against Manchester City will be interesting as the two teams split their meetings in the Premier League with Man City winning the first time 5-0 but LFC taking the second meeting 4-3. Am figuring the odds makers have Man City as favored in the two-legs of the quarters. If I had to guess, I would say 60/40 in favor of Man City. A check on the stat heads at 538 says 57/43 (as of 6:12pm March 18, 2018) for Man City.
The remainder of the Premier League schedule looks favorable to LFC. The difficult matches: Everton (away) and Chelsea (away). Liverpool should beat relegation zone Crystal Palace (away), West Brom (away), and Stoke (home). They should also beat mid-table Bournemouth (home) and Brighton (home). With 5 wins, they gets them to 78 points. If they can scratch out draws at Everton and Chelsea, LFC can finish with 80 points which should get them a top-four finish. But even with 78 you have to go back to 2013/14 where that isn't enough to finish top-four.
But you got to play the games and injuries and crazy stuff happens.
For this fan of recent vintage (started in 2014), it has been a very good year. Hope it finishes off strong!
Go Reds!!
Below is the 5-0 win over Watford with Mo Salah getting four goals and one assist.
Liverpool at a Crossroads
Liverpool FC plays Southampton (Liverpool South!) on Sunday and then Porto on Wednesday in Champions League.
LFC wants to stay in the hunt for a top 4 spot in the Premier League and beating a relegation zone Southampton would be very helpful. On the other hand, you want a fresh squad for the Porto match on Wednesday.
So one suspects Klopp will not play his strongest 11 on tomorrow but how many of the usual players will get the start? How many will be available on the bench? How many won't even be named to the 18 to rest them entirely?
Karius now appears to be the #1 goalkeeper for Premier League matches and for Champions league games.
As for the back 4 for Sunday?
Probably Virgil van Dijk and Lovren are in to face their old club?
At left back? Moreno? With Robertson for Porto?
At right back? Alexander-Arnold
What about midfield?
Is Can, Henderson, Milner the "A team" for Porto?
Thus, Wijnaldum, Chamerlain, Can for tomorrow?
And what about the front three?
No question Mane, Firmino, Salah are the "A team!"
Anyone gets a break tomorrow? Solanke and Ings start with Firmino?
Go Reds!
LFC wants to stay in the hunt for a top 4 spot in the Premier League and beating a relegation zone Southampton would be very helpful. On the other hand, you want a fresh squad for the Porto match on Wednesday.
So one suspects Klopp will not play his strongest 11 on tomorrow but how many of the usual players will get the start? How many will be available on the bench? How many won't even be named to the 18 to rest them entirely?
Karius now appears to be the #1 goalkeeper for Premier League matches and for Champions league games.
As for the back 4 for Sunday?
Probably Virgil van Dijk and Lovren are in to face their old club?
At left back? Moreno? With Robertson for Porto?
At right back? Alexander-Arnold
What about midfield?
Is Can, Henderson, Milner the "A team" for Porto?
Thus, Wijnaldum, Chamerlain, Can for tomorrow?
And what about the front three?
No question Mane, Firmino, Salah are the "A team!"
Anyone gets a break tomorrow? Solanke and Ings start with Firmino?
Go Reds!
Soccer - LFC fans and QPR fans
Haven't been blogging about soccer as much as I had hoped to but do get the occasional tweet fired away.
This captures what it is like to be a Liverpool FC fan .....
For QPR fans, one can pay five British pounds to get a streaming feed of Queen Park Ranger matches unless there are international broadcasts of the match in which case QPR is not allowed to video stream the game. They can still audio stream but not video. Anyway, if you are a USA R's fan, you can see this week's contest on ESPN3. Go QPR! How many Ranger fans are their within the sound of this blog? How many in Los Angeles?
This captures what it is like to be a Liverpool FC fan .....
This is the life LFC fans have chosen: beat #1 ManCity one week lose to #20 Swansea the next ... oooofffff ..... https://t.co/wFO17h3SBF— RF Chun (@a4theroad) January 23, 2018
For QPR fans, one can pay five British pounds to get a streaming feed of Queen Park Ranger matches unless there are international broadcasts of the match in which case QPR is not allowed to video stream the game. They can still audio stream but not video. Anyway, if you are a USA R's fan, you can see this week's contest on ESPN3. Go QPR! How many Ranger fans are their within the sound of this blog? How many in Los Angeles?
For US fans the match is on ESPN3 10AM eastern 7AM Pacific #COYRS ! https://t.co/4YsG9ijng3— RF Chun (@a4theroad) January 24, 2018
Its Liverpool - the incredibly obvious comments about the latest against Everton
When you see a 1-0 scoreline you get nervous that LFC would give up the equalizer. And indeed, it happened in the second half. It was so Liverpool!
The incredibly obvious comments:
Magnificent goal by Salah.
Mane should have passed the ball for the tap in and a 2-0 lead.
LFC dominated but didn't get the second, third, fourth goal they needed to put the game away.
Klopp probably switched up the team too much. With Coutinho or Firmino in they probably get those second, third or fourth goal.
Lovren should NOT have pushed the guy for the "soft" penalty. Just don't even give the ref the chance to make that call.
The incredibly obvious comments:
Magnificent goal by Salah.
Mane should have passed the ball for the tap in and a 2-0 lead.
LFC dominated but didn't get the second, third, fourth goal they needed to put the game away.
Klopp probably switched up the team too much. With Coutinho or Firmino in they probably get those second, third or fourth goal.
Lovren should NOT have pushed the guy for the "soft" penalty. Just don't even give the ref the chance to make that call.
Liverpool FC Group E Champion's League Scenarios
Liverpool defeats Spartak = LFC advance as group E winners.
Liverpool draw with Spartak
Sevilla defeat Maribor = Sevilla wins group with 11 points and LFC advances as second place with 10 points.
Liverpool draw with Spartak
Sevilla draws with Maribor = LFC advances as group winners with 10 points and Sevilla advances as second place with 9 points.
Liverpool loses to Spartak
Sevilla defeats Maribor = Sevilla wins group with 11 points, Spartak advances as second place with 9 points, LFC has 9 points but finish third on tiebreaker (head to head scores with Spartak).
Liverpool loses to Spartak
Sevilla draws Maribor = tiebreaker scenarios!
LFC would have 9 points
Sevilla would have 9 points
Spartak would have 9 points
First tiebreaker = points in matches among tied teams
Spartak wins the group with 7 points
Sevilla finishes second with 5 points
LFC finishes third with 3 points
Liverpool should advance to the round-of-sixteen. But then again, the USMNT should have qualified for the World Cup!
Hopefully, LFC will put the game out of reach early. Go Reds!
Liverpool draw with Spartak
Sevilla defeat Maribor = Sevilla wins group with 11 points and LFC advances as second place with 10 points.
Liverpool draw with Spartak
Sevilla draws with Maribor = LFC advances as group winners with 10 points and Sevilla advances as second place with 9 points.
Liverpool loses to Spartak
Sevilla defeats Maribor = Sevilla wins group with 11 points, Spartak advances as second place with 9 points, LFC has 9 points but finish third on tiebreaker (head to head scores with Spartak).
Liverpool loses to Spartak
Sevilla draws Maribor = tiebreaker scenarios!
LFC would have 9 points
Sevilla would have 9 points
Spartak would have 9 points
First tiebreaker = points in matches among tied teams
Spartak wins the group with 7 points
Sevilla finishes second with 5 points
LFC finishes third with 3 points
Liverpool should advance to the round-of-sixteen. But then again, the USMNT should have qualified for the World Cup!
Hopefully, LFC will put the game out of reach early. Go Reds!
the Curse of Sevilla 3-3
UGH.
3-0 at the half and LFC could have had more.
Second half 3-0 and Sevilla grabs a draw.
UGH.
This is what it means to be a Liverpool fan the last few years. An offense that makes you stand up and cheer. A defense that makes you want to hide under the table.
3-0 shutout of Southampton and onto Sevilla
Liverpool fans are singing happy days are here again with another easy win!
With Salah, Mane, Firmino, and Coutinho running and passing Southampton had no chance and so LFC is on a roll.
Big test this Tuesday on the road at Sevilla, a team that has been beat Liverpool in the Europa League final in 2016 and snatched a draw in 2017 in the first half of Champions League Group play.
LFC would benefit psychologically with a solid win to prove to themselves they can beat a team they haven't beaten recently.
Who do you put on the line-up card knowing Chelsea is coming up on the weekend - an even bigger test?
The front three fills in itself: Salah, Mane, Firmino.
The midfield three: Coutinho is the only definite starter.
Who do you pick to take the other two spots?
I'd go with Milner and Can to provide some rotation with instructions to be defensive minded jumping into the offensive flow cautiously.
As for the back four: Alexander-Arnold, Klavan, Lovren, Moreno.
Karius in goal.
Subs likely to be used: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum, Sturridge.
Am guessing Lallana might used as a 70th or 80th minute substitute if the game is well in hand. Or perhaps he will be held out until the match against Chelsea this weekend.
Go Reds!
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