The final whistle blew on the first leg of Liverpool’s Champions League qualifier against Hoffenheim yesterday, and the aftermath started. The aftermath starts as it always must do, and as always feels like an inevitable wave pouring cold water on what, on paper, was a very good night for Liverpool. Say what you want about Dejan Lovren, about Alberto Moreno, about the owners. On the pitch, doing the things that matter, Liverpool got their result.
The first team in 15 months to go to Hoffenheim and win a competitive game of football. 15 months. That’s over a year. Competitive. This wasn’t a case of a depleted and youthful squad being more up for a friendly than their usually strong opposition. This was Liverpool’s chosen XI on the night beating Hoffenheim’s chosen XI, away from home, where they do their best work.
I know a lot of people yearn for the days of Rafael Benitez, a glorious time when Liverpool ruled Europe and the prospect of playing us terrified the giants of the game. Rose tinted memories can be deceiving, of course. I mean, Liverpool would never face European football with a questionable left back such as Alberto Moreno, of course. Such a thing would never have happened in the past. Think back to 2005, and would you be ‘happy’ with the team selection pre-game, is that the team you’d have wanted? I can assure you Djimi Traore was happy afterwards.
I can already hear the furious spluttering, of how it’s only Hoffenheim. I mean, the argument could be put forward that this a Hoffenheim team that very rarely loses home games, but what would be the point? Everyone knows that, it’s easy to find out. There’s a meltdown in place, triggered by the draw to Watford. An interesting question is whether half of these debates see the light of day had Watford not grocked in that 92nd minute corner. A big game of pinball in the Liverpool box last minute, that could end up anywhere. It ends up behind the goal, everything looks rosy and we’ve performed an impressive opening day comeback. Cross the line, as it did, and suddenly we’re finished for another season. It sounds simplistic, but on such thin lines these things rest. One bounce either way completely changes the perspective of a fanbase.
Of course, the current squad isn’t of the same level in 2005, and I’m not pretending it is. That also isn’t to say it can’t taste success, because of course it can. The 2005 days saw Liverpool dominating the big games, especially in Europe, but often in the league being stumped when it came to midtable sides. As far as I can see, that’s where we’re at now. Last season saw us beat everyone with a ‘better squad’, only to lose to the likes of Burnley and Hull. For all the talk of summer transfers and how to build the perfect squad, football is very simple when it comes down to it. 11 vs 11 each week, and do you think your 11 is better than theirs? Blips happen, teams win and teams lose, and that seems ot have been forgotten in the furore of yet another transfer window. When Liverpool kicked off against Watford, all thoughts of potential moves for Naby Keita and Virgil Van Dijk became obsolete. It didn’t matter. They weren’t coming on at half time, the 11 players and seven subs were the ones who mattered. And so it will go on. Let them surprise you.
Speaking of surprises, spare a thought for Simon Mignolet. Nearly replaced last summer by Loris Karius, the Belgian seized his second chance due to injuries and came through with flying colours last season, and played his part in helping Liverpool secure Champions League qualification in the first place. Yesterday, he may have just forced them through into the group stages. The penalty save aside (his 11th out of 24 faced for the Reds, by the way), he came up trumps on several other occasions to deny Hoffenheim, earning his luck when one such save rebounded to an on-coming attacker only to ricochet off the post. That he doesn’t walk away with a clean sheet was due to a defensive error, partly from another hugely impressive performer on the night, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Anyone not hugely impressed with Trent’s performance yesterday needs to take a step back and really wonder- what are you hoping for from football? He was an 18 year old starlet doing what starlet’s do, and an 18 year old starlet doing what 18 year old’s do. His performance was the epitome of the ‘glass half empty or half full’ conundrum. Did he merely make up for a defensive error with the rest of his performance, or can a little naivety be forgiven and even expected from an 18 year old putting in an otherwise sensational performance on his European debut? For me, he was Liverpool’s second best player behind their goalkeeper.
How can this be? Everyone said Liverpool have a joke of a back five and this will be their downfall. How can it be that they have won away in Europe and two of their standout performers are part of this back five? Could it be an overreaction on a sensational scale?
There can never be a definitive answer to questions based on opinions, of course, but one thing is certain; a bad football team doesn’t win that game of football yesterday.
A team with no defence doesn’t win that game away in Europe.
Liverpool did.
Crisis stricken Liverpool.
The Rock Bottom Reds.
