The Curtis Jones breakout game. Wow. He’s not even quietly solidifying a role in this team now, he’s adding goals! That second goal was obviously stunning, but the first goal should equal attention. Jones made it look easy, but the accurate, side foot finish is nothing to overlook…with his LEFT foot too! What a ball by Salah by the way, for that first goal.
The biggest sign of Curtis Jones’ progress for me is that is his swagger is back. That cocky attitude. He was even pulling off a couple of confident, tricky touches on the field. It’s been a long road and to be honest I thought he might be done as a Liverpool senior player with the injury setbacks and the fact that we’ll probably have multiple new midfielders this summer. What a come back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick will make the ultimate highlight, and why not? I don’t know about you, but I just had a strong feeling he was going to score that as soon as the foul was called and him and Salah lined up behind the ball…Gareth Southgate: are you watching? Actually, he was. Shown in the stands taking in the game in person, I wonder what Southgate makes of Alexander-Arnold’s new midfield role. That free kick certainly can’t hurt TAA’s chances of getting a second thought about his England place.
- The opening moments were INTENSE. A real dog fight and either side could’ve scored to be honest.
- Henderson started and looked really energetic. He stayed on longer than I thought he would and never slowed down.
- Luis Diaz got another start, and he was rusty as hell. It really showed; his passes were misplaced, runs were a bit off, it was all a bit messy, but important for him to get the minutes. You can never fault him for not trying though.
- Gakpo continues to impress in the Firmino role. He is super smooth.
- Don’t look now but: Fabinho is almost back to his best. His positional play is back, and made some vital, crunching tackles. So good to see. He also took a couple of long range shots – another good sign of his confidence oozing back.
- A word on Leicester City. I still can’t believe they’re probably going to get relegated. I know they’ve been down here before in recent seasons, but it seems pretty likely this time. Jamie Vardy looks washed up. Maybe that’s mean, how about he just looks like he’s at the very end of his career. What a striker that dude was in his prime. I still remember when he smoked Dejan Lovren with a thunder goal from distance.
- Speaking of Leicester: if they do go down, Liverpool should look at acquiring James Maddison, as I’m sure most other teams will. On the other hand, I don’t care for Youri Tielemans anymore (as a possible transfer target).
- Fabio Carvalho sighting! A collector’s item.
- Quote of the day: take your pick between the commentators describing Liverpool vs Leicester in this game.
Jim Beglin: “Formidability vs Fragility”
Martin Tyler: “Rampant in Red vs Brittle in Blue” - Moment of the game: almost the entire second half, the away Liverpool fans serenading Roberto Firmino with his song “Si Señor”. Just beautiful. Firmino appreciated it and clapped the fans after the game with his trademark beaming smile. His teammates were all over him too.
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