Smal

it’s amazing how much better he looks physically compared to the start of the season more than anything imo.

Bruno: …and I took that personally.

this guy is my football knowledge litmus test

this Ritchie performance is proper soccer aid competition winner material

haha, come off it ref

Murphy is a classic 4-4-2 winger, who knew

This is a really good pressing team. Hope that's how we approach it. When Wilson and Isak played together in the last match they both were fluid in swapping between #9 and a more withdrawn role. Callum was dropping deeper just as much as Isak was.

Be a massive shame for him if he misses the Euros as a result, like. Might have been his last tournament.

their new ownership seems incredibly infantile

only halfway through it, but it's clear from match cam that Anderson brings leadership qualities. He's constantly trying to encourage.

Mbuemo would be a good fit for a direct Almirón replacement depending on the fee, but I think we need a wide option with more guile and creativity to be honest. Someone who can play between lines and thread passes for Isak/Gordon/Barnes. Not Bernardo Silva himself obviously but that kind of profile is something we're missing.

I think their online fans are mostly fine when their team is shit, but they are absolutely horrific when they’re good.

I'd be interested to see what De Zerbi could do with better players, but to be honest it doesn't feel like his brand of manufacturing counter attacks whilst in possession would really suit top club management. His Brighton team is all about coaxing out an opposition press in order to gain numerical advantages further up the pitch. If you're Liverpool manager you're probably not going to coax a press out of 70% of teams you face whatever you try.

we shouldn’t have to sit tight and hit lesser teams on the counter. We tried to do it against Palace and didn’t have a shot on target until the 87th minute. Get at them. They are shit.

that passing data is more reflective of the role of the number 8s in our system though. They aren't involved in build up deliberately. It's important to bear stuff like that in mind when looking at fbref charts. They aren't going to be high up for the amount of passes taken (and therefore will be low for all pass types too) because our possession either goes through Bruno/Trippier whilst the 8s occupy defenders. Willock 22/23 (not enough data for this season): Joelinton 23/24:

Longstaff does have strengths. Even now in poor form he's the best at making 3rd man runs into the opposition's box. He's also our best midfielder at finding space in the box. His tactical execution is generally very good. At his best he's great at covering space defensively too. He has not been as good at that this season compared to last, but it can be put down to his injury.

Walker is knackered. You could tell the other night he's been playing too much recently.

Drury even gets City player names wrong. Useless.

ah, the Chris Wood we all know has returned.

I like Murillo for our left back role rather than CB. He can cover both.

Bournemouth up into the top 10. Iraola is a serious guy.

eeesh, what on earth was that from Raya

man, this is absolutely pathetic stuff from Spurs. Incredibly feeble.

wonder if we can still catch Spurs. Ange has been found out.

hahaha. Surely Maddison should get a yellow for that awful dive down the other end too?