European Royalty

Match Recap: Chelsea (N)

I said in the match preview that there is normally drama in the games against Chelsea and last night was no different. But here we are at the end of it all, with another trophy – Super Cup Winners, 2019.

We were really quite poor in the first half and Chelsea deserved their 1-0 lead at halftime. But then on came Bobby Firmino, and it all changed didn’t it? Within three minutes we were level with Sadio Mane knocking the ball in off an assist by Firmino, and we were the much better side for the rest of the half, but couldn’t make anything happen and it was off to extra time. Mane scoring again just five minutes into extra time, with Firmino once again providing the assist.

2-1 up then when the most bizarre penalty decision is given. Tammy Abraham runs onto the ball and is ‘brought down’ by Adrian, prompting the referee to give a penalty – VAR checks it, and, despite the fact that the replay clearly looks to show Adrian pull away and not make any contact with the Chelsea striker, they uphold the penalty decision. Useless.

Chelsea of course go on and score it and eventually, it’s off to the shootout we go, with Adrian in the dream scenario of saving the last penalty to win us the trophy. What a moment for the new lad, his first major trophy at 32, just a few weeks after he was sat in free agency with nowhere to go.

The best part? Winning this puts us right back on our perch and above United when it comes to major honours in English football. Something special is happening with this team right here – we’re getting back into the habit of winning trophies, and the future is looking bright.

Up the fucking reds! x

Match Preview: Chelsea (N)

Here we are, the Reds are back in European action tonight as they take on Chelsea in the Super Cup. I would be in Istanbul for the game, but work comes first apparently, and so I’ll be watching from the sofa instead. It promises to be an exciting occasion though and anyone that acts as if they’re not arsed about the result needs to have a long, hard look at themselves. Regardless of the scale of the competition, it is an opportunity for us to secure another bit of silverware, and add an extra number on to the Champions Wall at Melwood.

We should be coming into this one with a whole load of confidence after beating Norwich 4-1 on Friday, and witnessing Chelsea lose 4-0 at the hands of Man United – our attack should be frothing at the mouth for this one. No doubt Lampard’s side will be looking to make major adjustments to prevent embarrassment in this one, but how much can you really change over a couple of days?

It is a huge opportunity tonight for Adrian to show that he can really perform whilst Allison is out injured, and I am sure he will be fired up and ready to rise to the occasion.

There is always a level of drama and excitement whenever we play Chelsea, and I expect that to be no different tonight. I see a solid 2-0 win coming up for us, and I was only a goal away from being dead on with the Norwich prediction, so get your bets in!

Up the fucking reds! x

Match Recap: Norwich

My view from the Upper Anfield Road stand last night, as the Kop boasted of our European success.

The European Champions were back in action last night, kicking off the new Premier League campaign with a solid 4-1 victory over Norwich. Now with each game I think I am going to try to break down the recap into three sections: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. So here goes..

The Good: Well for starters we scored four goals in one half of football and looked fantastic going forward, especially with Salah and Firmino on the ball. Firmino off the ball too – the man is world class isn’t he? Undoubtedly one of the hardest-working, most consistent players in the squad. Salah got himself on the score sheet too and looks set to prove he is not a one, or even two season wonder. A very promising start to the golden boot race for our Egyptian King. Van Dijk was as solid as ever – an absolute leader on the pitch last night, as always, and bagged himself a goal for good measure. Origi had a decent showing as well, getting himself the fourth goal at Anfield, off an assist by Trent (sounds familiar that one), who was also fantastic last night and always looked a threat when we were on the attack. And the best bit, of course, is that we got an important three points to get the season started the right way.

The Bad: Now I am a pretty optimistic guy, so do not expect me to go on for days moaning about the fact we conceded a goal, or failed to score more, or whatever – overall, there is just not that much to genuinely include in the ‘bad’ section here. I did think at times we were a little sloppy defensively and, despite his attacking ability, there were occasions were Trent got caught out, and Gomez perhaps failed to provide as much cover as Matip did for him towards the back end of last season. And perhaps there were a few moments in the second half where we could have and should have added to our lead, but what matters is we got the three points.

The Ugly: Now this section is going to be a bit random depending on each game – but in this one, the ugliest moment has to be seeing Allison hobbling off the pitch injured. It is unlikely to be anything too serious, but there are murmurings that he could be out for anything between 3-8 weeks. Big opportunity for Adrian incoming! Another ‘ugly’ moment for those of us in the ground (not sure on the tv coverage), was seeing a very excited Norwich fan running onto the pitch butt-naked to cheers from his fellow supporters. Not something I really wanted to witness on my Friday evening trip to Anfield!

Nudity aside though, it was great to be back at Anfield for the start of the new season, and even better seeing us pick up a very important three points. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, or on Twitter, @EthanYNWA.

One league game down, thirty seven to go.

Up the fucking reds! x

Match Preview: Norwich (H)

It’s finally here: the start of the new Premier League campaign.

Our opponents on the opening day are newly promoted, Norwich City, and if we are being honest lads, it really is a game we should win with relative ease. European Champions, against a side that many have tipped to drop straight back down into the championship again – if there is one thing we all know about football though, it is that nothing is ever guaranteed.

We have had a very quiet transfer window (despite the fact John Henry seemed to promise we would have the opposite), and this has left a lot of fans worrying about our depth during the long season ahead. I doubt this will be a factor in this one though, and actually Norwich themselves have had a fairly quiet window too. The Canaries are also missing a few key players, so could perhaps find their own depth an issue at Anfield tomorrow.

Whilst I thought we looked quite sloppy in the first half of the community shield last Sunday, I thought there were some really positive moments, and our second half performance was a real glimpse of the potential showings we could see this year. Some great creativity at times, especially with Salah on the ball, and if we can just become a bit more clinical and take our chances when they arise, I can really see us bagging a few goals to get this league campaign off to a flying start.

Sadio Mane is back in training now too, and there seems to be a 50/50 chance of him making an appearance, which is always a huge boost. James Milner looks set to return too, after he missed out on the game against City last week with a minor injury, although I think it is unlikely he starts the game or plays a major role.

All in all, I am expecting it to be a successful start to the season and I see us getting a comfortable win against a Norwich side that just don’t have the quality required to break us down, or withhold our attacking power. My Prediction: Liverpool 4-0 Norwich, so get your bets in..

Be sure to comment below with your own predictions for the games, and check back here for the recap after it’s all said and done. Now get me to Anfield!

Up the fucking reds! x

About the Blog

Liverpool was made for me, and I was made for Liverpool.
— Bill Shankly

The quote above is one I am sure you have all heard before, and for many of us die hard Liverpool supporters, it is a feeling that I believe we can connect with strongly. There’s no better place to be than Anfield, there’s no better team, and there’s definitely no better group of supporters on this planet.

I am relatively young myself, and did not get to experience the red men when we were at our very best in the ’70s and ’80s, with my first trip to Anfield coming in 2009 (as we eased past Blackburn on our way to a second place finish that year). Having been going to games for ten years now, I have decided to set up this blog to air some of my thoughts on this current Liverpool side, and I will be trying to write previews and recaps of each game, as well as keeping you all up to date with the latest news surrounding the club. I may throw it back to certain memories of past games, or past players, or even get some competitions going at some points. I will be calling upon you, the readers, to help me there – after all, we are going to have to find something to do during those horrendous international breaks.

As I say, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to comment on posts or get in touch with me on Twitter (@EthanYNWA) with your thoughts and suggestions. Be sure to subscribe down below too, and make sure you never miss a post.

Up the fucking reds! x