Liverpool FC Forum

[bunglemark2]

I just saw that Micheal Oliver is VAR official

Not blaming the ref or var for our gutless display today.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

2 of their 3 goals had an element of luck about them but lets face it the best team won, we weren't at the races today. Perhaps most worrying was our body language, the players looked like they were going through the motions to me.

What sort of body language do you expect our players to have with that sort of refereeing yakka? What sort of body language would any of us have in this situation? It's hard enough to play at the Etihad against City in normal terms, your spirits are bound to go down when you're playing against the refs as well. The players are only human too.

Right from the start today mate we looked tired, nervy and passive, the ref's weren't great but trying to palm that performance off on them is a bit of a stretch imo.

[bunglemark2]

https://x.com/Limericktaximan/status/19 ... KO13A&s=19

[redshade]

Putting officials aside, City were more hungry, they are after the title this season. Peno missed and it didn't phase them, they kept at it. We looked nervous, no fluidity with the ball. We got done by a better team end of. We have to admit we've gone a bar down from City/Arsenal. Looks like it'll be an up and down season. 5 losses this early in the season with 17 goals conceeded is poor. Well at least we've got 0 draws lol.

[damjan193]

Look we can fault the team for previous games like Man U, Brentford etc. for losing but this one just wasn't an example of us being poor this season. We're playing Man City at the Etihad, of course we're not going to look like prime Barcelona against them on their own ground. The game was decided by ref decisions not in line with any rule in the book. Some of you are acting as if momentum isn't a thing and as if poor decisions going against you not only affect the result but also the mental state of the players during the game. Had Virgil's perfectly good goal been given, as it should have been, people would have been singing a different tune right now I am certain.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Look we can fault the team for previous games like Man U, Brentford etc. for losing but this one just wasn't an example of us being poor this season. We're playing Man City at the Etihad, of course we're not going to look like prime Barcelona against them on their own ground. The game was decided by ref decisions not in line with any rule in the book. Some of you are acting as if momentum isn't a thing and as if poor decisions going against you not only affect the result but also the mental state of the players during the game. Had Virgil's perfectly good goal been given, as it should have been, people would have been singing a different tune right now I am certain.

This City team are more than beatable mate, besides i don't think Virgil's goal was quite the robbery some are trying to make it out to be, it was a 50/50 shout that went against us no more than that.
Robbo was standing in an off-side position, that's just a fact, and although he didn't block or impair the keeper's view of the ball he must have caught the keepers eye given he had to duck to get out of the way of it. If Robbo wouldn't have ducked Virgil's header would have hit him so he must have been a factor in the keepers decision making process, he must have been. It was a tight call and on another day it might have went our way but in no way,shape or form was it a Diaz away at Tottenham job.
Blaming our cowardly performance on that header not being given is clutching at straws imo, right from the off all our passing moves went backwards, we looked absolutely terrified of them. Don't get me wrong anyone can lose a game of footy but there's ways to lose, go out on your shield don't capitulate like we did yesterday.
In truth that was the type of performance that gets managers the sack, that did not look like a group of players playing for their manager, i don't think he can afford many more of those

[Reg]

We've changed the manager and coaching team and let go/lost many regular players who were part of the DNA. Last season was the remnants of Klopps philosophy and team that Slot just had to fine tune to win games - wining the league was an unexpected miracle. Slot is coming in for a lot of criticism in The Times and Telegraph today for naivety. I feel today is the first day of his management at Liverpool, his first test. He has to show that he has plans, ideas, alternative ways to reinvent the side and style of play. Otherwise the team will just keep producing the same display and get the same result.

Slot has to show he's good enough for the job and the new signings have to show they're good enough to be in the first XI. It's normal.

[red till i die!!]

I thought we where shyte yesterday tbh. One fooking shot on target to compliment a spineless performance as they barely put a foot in. Beginning to think Slot is out of his depth as we still look poor and disjointed. His love affair with Salah is so obvious and imo its causing problems so the sooner he goes to AFCON the better.

Hopefully we get Ali & Frimpong back after the break along with Isak being ready to start games. Tactically we need to be much better where we look to win games.

[Doeboy]

Look we can fault the team for previous games like Man U, Brentford etc. for losing but this one just wasn't an example of us being poor this season. We're playing Man City at the Etihad, of course we're not going to look like prime Barcelona against them on their own ground. The game was decided by ref decisions not in line with any rule in the book. Some of you are acting as if momentum isn't a thing and as if poor decisions going against you not only affect the result but also the mental state of the players during the game. Had Virgil's perfectly good goal been given, as it should have been, people would have been singing a different tune right now I am certain.

This City team are more than beatable mate, besides i don't think Virgil's goal was quite the robbery some are trying to make it out to be, it was a 50/50 shout that went against us no more than that.
Robbo was standing in an off-side position, that's just a fact, and although he didn't block or impair the keeper's view of the ball he must have caught the keepers eye given he had to duck to get out of the way of it. If Robbo wouldn't have ducked Virgil's header would have hit him so he must have been a factor in the keepers decision making process, he must have been. It was a tight call and on another day it might have went our way but in no way,shape or form was it a Diaz away at Tottenham job.
Blaming our cowardly performance on that header not being given is clutching at straws imo, right from the off all our passing moves went backwards, we looked absolutely terrified of them. Don't get me wrong anyone can lose a game of footy but there's ways to lose, go out on your shield don't capitulate like we did yesterday.
In truth that was the type of performance that gets managers the sack, that did not look like a group of players playing for their manager, i don't think he can afford many more of those

Absolutely spot on. In these big games, usually the oppo always know they've been in a game when they play us. Yes we can lose but at the very least,we leave everything out on the pitch.

That first half, genuinely was unrecognisable from us. Everything seemed half arsed and honestly outside of Doku (even he had a free reign along with O'Reilly at Bradley with Salah not helping out on that side), I don't even think City were that great.

[damjan193]

Everyone and their dog said that it was a wrong call to disallow our goal including known haters of Liverpool. There's even montages on social media showing City scoring almost in the exact same circumstances but their goals stand. Even the penalty was ridiculously soft and that kunt Oliver was even looking for reasons to have it retaken. I really can't understand anyone saying the decisions were "50-50" when this is the umpteen time we've been at the receiving end of bad decisions with City and Michael Oliver.

After playing Real Madrid off the park just a few days prior I'm really surprised by some of the comments on here, calling the team spineless, gutless and what not, calling for Slot's head etc. Personally I saw signs of improvement against both Villa and Madrid and I'm definitely not changing my opinion because we lost against 12 players. At this point the league might be gone but Champions League there's all to play for.

[red till i die!!]

Everyone and their dog said that it was a wrong call to disallow our goal including known haters of Liverpool. There's even montages on social media showing City scoring almost in the exact same circumstances but their goals stand. Even the penalty was ridiculously soft and that kunt Oliver was even looking for reasons to have it retaken. I really can't understand anyone saying the decisions were "50-50" when this is the umpteen time we've been at the receiving end of bad decisions with City and Michael Oliver.

After playing Real Madrid off the park just a few days prior I'm really surprised by some of the comments on here, calling the team spineless, gutless and what not, calling for Slot's head etc. Personally I saw signs of improvement against both Villa and Madrid and I'm definitely not changing my opinion because we lost against 12 players. At this point the league might be gone but Champions League there's all to play for.

Everyone suffers from bad VAR and ref decisions Mate. You see one thing given in one game but the same thing goes unpunished in 10 others. They are consistent in nothing other than handing out yellows for taking your shirt off. Yes the pen was soft and another ref might have let VVD,'s goal stand but it is what it is. The referees aren't out to do us.

1 shot on target yesterday and the lowest tackling stats we had in years. We look clueless trying to break teams down, the kind of stuff you would expect in September but not now. Im not saying bin him but he has got to smarten up as it looks like he doesn't know what to do with the players he has. His tactics are also reminiscent of a Burnley or Brentford from 5 years ago. How do you go from the levels against Madrid to that passive performance in 3 days. Where is the motivation or is there an issue with fitness/training. Is it that they find the motivation only when its a big game at Anfield. It just reminds me of the Rodgers days where we where taking 5 steps backwards to go one step forward.

[damjan193]

]
The referees aren't out to do us.

Never said they are after us but you're refusing to see the constant pattern of Man City ALWAYS getting the rub of the green with decisions and usually it involves Michael Oliver as well. It has happened before many times and I'm certain it will happen again. If City hit form, Arsenal will definitely be the next victims of this.

Regardless, let's assume it was an honest mistake. It's still bad enough to alter the entire match and definitely a good enough reason for players' heads to drop. We weren't great in this game by any means but I wouldn't jump on the players and manager after this game considering everything that happened. Next few games will be a better indicator of our form IMO.

[devaney]

The refereeing was awful but omg we were absolutely dreadful. Very, very difficult to understand how a team can look so incredibly impressive against one of the best teams in Europe only a few days earlier and then look like a clueless Sunday league team when we needed to be at our best. Something has definitely gone seriously wrong after our start to the season even if we weren’t at our most convincing.

[red till i die!!]

I do see the mistakes Mate but again I think all clubs suffer from them at different times. Its just that we focus more on City or Arsenal because they are our rivals. Unfortunately most big games involves M.O. Those decisions shouldn't be happening with VAR but they sometimes do and it sucks to be on the end of it but then sometimes you get the rub of the green. It levels itself out over the course of the season imo.

Going a goal behind because of a bad call shouldn't mean heads drop. Not with the experience in that side. We never looked like winning that yesterday at all. When we went behind the best we could have hoped for was a draw but at 2.0 you knew it was over with no way back.

Our form has been terrible since the end of September and up till that point we where getting lucky with late wins. We lost to Palace, Chelsea and then Utd. We turned it around with a good win against Frankfurt and then went straight out and lost against Brentford. Out of the cup then to palace before 2 wins in front of a home crowd where we played better and brilliant. Then served up that yesterday. We are very inconsistent in performances and results. Thats our form.

Hopefully a few absentees return and give us better options after the break.

[kazza]

Everyone and their dog said that it was a wrong call to disallow our goal including known haters of Liverpool. There's even montages on social media showing City scoring almost in the exact same circumstances but their goals stand. Even the penalty was ridiculously soft and that kunt Oliver was even looking for reasons to have it retaken. I really can't understand anyone saying the decisions were "50-50" when this is the umpteen time we've been at the receiving end of bad decisions with City and Michael Oliver.

After playing Real Madrid off the park just a few days prior I'm really surprised by some of the comments on here, calling the team spineless, gutless and what not, calling for Slot's head etc. Personally I saw signs of improvement against both Villa and Madrid and I'm definitely not changing my opinion because we lost against 12 players. At this point the league might be gone but Champions League there's all to play for.

This

Goals change matches and at 1-1things would have been different, even that penalty was soft as Konate was obstructing the view of the camera and it was a stretch to say that angle they used was definitive. Last year was the first time I saw decisions go against city as a posed to always getting unfair decisions go their way and look where they ended up. It looks like they cleared the air with PL (ie greased the wheels) and I’d predict they will win the PL this year. Some will laugh at me but we will see at the end of the season. The Abu Dhabians will by buying refs again this year and unless the PL disallows refs reffing in countries that own PL teams it will continue. Premier league refs are consistent…. They consistently side with City for reasons that are not football.