Stottie

Russian hackers must have bypassed the awesome security on the Garth Crooks family computer.

Nadacampista? A word to remember! Merino's ability to maneuver in tight spaces is well beyond the basics. His ability to just step in or just ease someone off it also looks uncanny. It's early days and maybe there is a countermeasure coming, like when teams started to hard press Tiote and his influence quickly faded, but Merino looks strong and technically very good, so I can't see a blatant weakness there to be exploited.

I didn't see the Swansea - Palace game but it sounds like they were unlucky to lose that one as well. The expression "sacked four games into the season" has echoes of SBR. That was after two draws and two defeats. One of the draws would have been a win but for JFH blatantly punching the ball into the net with minutes remaining. It's into "what if" territory, but if that goal gets disallowed, we don't get Souness, the SBR team doesn't get dismantled, and maybe we get a more peaceful transition at better timing to a manager who is not a hot-heated fuckwit. If we are playing full speculation, I doubt we end up with Ashley either. Hopefully de Boer gets a big cheque and a chance to rebuilt his rep somewhere less looney, though I guess it might be back in Holland.

They pished all over Burnley yesterday and it was just one of those games when it wouldn't go in.

Yeah, I thought there was some kind of coming together of arms, so the "OMG worst dive evar" punditry sounded like the usual biases. Making the most of any contact is standard practice, remember.

From what I've seen so far, I suspect we may only get to see two seasons' of him in black and white, so let's sit back and enjoy them. There is a "it was only Swansea" caveat, but he was so dominant yesterday that the dream pairing with Shelvey could actually be a goer.

Good performance and great result. Before the game, I saw that Swansea were bottom of the league in shots and crosses per game and so it prevailed. They look very poor in the final third, as you might expect a team suddenly without Sigurddson and Llorente. I thought Clement missed a trick when he took Sanches off for Bony. They were having a good spell, so I think it would have been better to go like for like and bring on Routledge to keep up the midfield pressure. We scored shortly after and were comfortable the rest of the game. The team and system look great, especially when Blob doesn't have to do much. If it takes idiot pundits' eyes off his obvious talent, Merino can do a dive like that every game for me. The lad is a class above.

Lascelles MOTM for the big incidents, but Merino the best player on the park. Joselu did well again, as did the other lads at the back. On that evidence, we can tick Swansea off as a team who'll finish below us.

Get in!

This game is there to be won. Their formation looks like a mess.

Not bad, we've let them have it but not do anything with it, corners aside. They look as dishwater dull as they were way back when under Rodgers, all meaningless possession, and a bit ropey at the back, even to long balls. Joselu looking good and wow, what a save. 50p heed from their CH stopped them scoring though, so honours even is just about fair. Sanches one is a deffo booking.

Hope Mitro is not watching, because he won't get away with it.

2-0 and down to ten men away from home and you sub off Salah who's got in a couple of times, not Wijnaldum.

With the new rules or guidelines on head injuries, isn't the ref supposed to order any player off who looks a bit groggy in case they are concussed? If that is the case, you have to take a much stricter line on fouls to the head because they are more likely to end up with the opponent off the pitch. 3-0

Do it two minutes into a game and you don't even get a yellow card! Fantastic consistency from the refs.

HT. They were both good deliveries for the goals, but there is a big soft center in the middle of the Liverpool defence. They've nearly been badly caught playing it out a couple of times too.

Bruyne does it again. Works the space and puts it on a plate.

Even in the still, the Huddersfield one looks worse.

Hope Bravo's been practising stopping shots. If dangerous play is a red, then I suppose it's a red. It's a shame for the game as a contest, with Mane looking good, but that's just the way it is.

Huddersfield one was much higher and much worse

Both goals from dodgy set pieces. Not a bad shout. A fair bit of set pieces is coaching, not just delivery and finish, so they may still be good at them without Sigurdsson and Llorente. Will whoever we play at LB be up against Routledge? I seem to remember him scoring against us before.

I wouldn't start Shelvey for this. There's too much risk of them winding him up.

The stories about Gayle, the Mitro elbow and ban, and no new keeper are concerning, but with Rafa we won't be in the worst three.

Based on his goal record alone, I'm surprised we'd didn't hear more about other clubs coming in for him during the summer.

Benitez has been consistently undermined to the point where it would understandable for him to actively look elsewhere. If this is now the case, what I don't understand is why he would break the exclusive to Louise Taylor. I need to hear it from someone else first.