Slojo

I actually thought the referee did a good job.

Many people said this but it was Kante who had control of it in my eyes. I thought Bakayoko was extremely wasteful that game, don't get me wrong he had a few times where he just skipped through United's midfield like it wasn't even there, but what he did with the ball afterwards was another story. I don't think I'm being too harsh on this one either but I genuinely don't think Bakayoko was that impressive against United, watch his highlights again if you can, and if you watch the full match you'll see the pressuring coming from everyone, especially Kante. Mikhi was invisible.

He put down Chelsea having a bad season during 15/16 was due to Matic not playing enough games... Yeah, the Matic who wasn't injured and got benched by John Obi Mikel.

Unless we somehow landed Lionel Messi. But even then, I would choose Hazard because of his age alone.

I love Christensen don't get me wrong, he looks better than Cahill & Rudiger, but Luiz is going to be hard to replace. I don't think he's suddenly gotten sh*t, the whole defence has had a hard time this season, Azpiliceuta hasn't been amazing besides this game. Luiz's ball distribution for a defender is vital to the way we play, his long range and diagonal balls can reach Hazard in perfect positions and turn the game instantly. I think that helped a lot last season and we'll miss that without him in the side. Although Christensen is a better defender yes, but I wouldn't say by a large margin, Luiz was superb last season in every area.

So eloquently put, Phil Neville posts #ThankYouForMatic after every United game they win, and he's supposed to be an impartial pundit.

Wouldn't he have worn an armband or a prop or something though?

Crazy, I still think Spurs are a very good side, NLD can go either way, and it’s a cup game to Arsenal at the moment. (Power shift effect) The Tottenham w**kfest is annoying but it’s understandable because it just wasn’t likely to happen, they developed a lot of good talents too. Selling Bale seemed to be a good decision in the end, so credit where it’s due in my eyes. Still hate the c**ts though. Spurs are an odd team they drop silly points like this in the first stage of the season then they’ll jump back up. I fully expect them to be in top 4 this season, no doubt about it.

f**k you Stim Alright maybe I’m pissy at Luiz, but why isn’t he playing in these games? He’s our best defender... It’s clear he’s been in a row with Conte and was more than happy to sit out of games. Important games.

Terrible isn’t it, god forbid I turn on a player who refuses to play for the club he’s contracted to.

I literally just said that in the match thread that he reminds me of Ramires lmao He has those bits of flair where he's quick on his feet and creates a moment of brilliance, then his final ball is 4/5 bad.

Also, respect to Salah for choosing not to celebrate, he had a short time & impact here while being benched and sidelined for whatever reason, he could've easily just have celebrated. Not that it means a great deal but it says a lot about the players' character and sportsmanship, unlike a certain arse hole we have in our ranks who is currently sidelined.

Matic didn't need replacing, he was a completely average player and a passenger who never returned to his old form. He's only spoken about in high regard because he's heavily protected and praised by fools like Phil Neville. I don't think I've seen a more basic player praised for the most simple things. Fabregas is not a CM, the only choice was to play Matic.

Can he really just become more intelligent overnight though? His playing style seems to be set in stone, he's very athletic but his discipline is awful. He doesn't know how to react to the tempo of the game, look how reckless he is when it isn't necessary. I like his bursting runs in midfield, makes him less one dimensional because at Monaco he was known to be a solid defensive player. But even then he's very sloppy, many people praised him against United but I thought he was very sloppy, seemed to get himself in the right position then trap the ball between his feet, zero technique, didn't know what to do with it.

Bakayoko lacks extreme discipline, he also reminds me a lot of Ramires in his technical ability, has bits of flair and can be very quick with his feet now and then but his consistency sucks. Should I give him the benefit of the doubt for his age and new signing? Yeah perhaps. But I wasn't big on this signing to begin with, so I'll be a critic who hopes he improves.

Love the guy, fantastic player, we need him back to his best. He's an impact player and he wins this club a lot of points, I would be gutted if we sold him to our rivals, or even sold him at all for that matter.

Fully disagree with that actually, Hazards issue is not consistency, he's actually a consistent player. I don't recall Hazard consistently putting in Jekyll and hyde performances in games. Hazards issue is his end product, his decision making in front of goal, he looks for the pass rather than the shot and often overplays it, that's what has been stopping him from going to that level.

To be fair I love Willian and he's one of my favourite players but even this season he's frustrated the hell out of me, nice to see him get the goal. He seemed up for it to be fair, was taking the ball forward when he got the ball instead of sideways. Also, I'm disappointed with Zappercosta's end product, had plenty of good opportunities to put in a good ball, Moses has better delivery.

It would have been harsh to lose that, probably the best performance I've seen at Anfield in a while tops our 2-1 under Jose there. A lot of positives to take away from this game despite not winning and missing a lot of chances. I hate Liverpool more than anything but I'll admit they are no pushovers in the big games while they're at home, we made them pushovers for a lot of that game, we just didn't make it count. Also, I want to see Drinkwater start over Bakayoko from now on.

Fair enough Stark, I didn't read the rest of the thread where you elaborated I just saw that post. But yeah Costa was a machine in front of goal, Morata has been wasteful in front of goal for me, and I highly rate him.

My stream is about 7 years behind, f**kIN GET INN!!!

Be a big shame if we don't score today, also Bakayoko, I'm still not really fussed on that signing. Still enough time to play for so I won't give up just yet guys.

I'm going for a 1-1 draw today, I think they'll cause us some problems at the back, they'll raise their game against and test our width. But that defence of theirs is a big problem, we should be able to punish it but I think both teams will perform good enough to see it out. Sadly not so optimistic about this one, Anfield is very hit and miss, it's usually a game I like to get out the way.

Can't agree with this at all, Morata is far better at playing with his back to goal than Costa ever was and a much better footballer. Costa was incredibly frustrating to watch on the ball, even Torres was far better than Costa on the ball. But Costa's attitude on the pitch was sublime, he always gave it 100% even through the rough patch. I would say he's our best goal scoring striker we've ever had at the club since Roman arrived, Morata could surpass if he keeps consistency in front of goal. But I don't think he's as clinical as Costa is in front of goal sadly. But with the ball to his feet, incomparable absolutely, Costa was way behind.

I don't want to start an argument about Salah but he was only bad when Mourinho completely shunned him to Cup games. The times he did play when he first signed he looked promising, watch his start vs Stoke away. I don't think he just became crazy good overnight, the potential was always there, even at the club we signed him from. It's rare a player finds his feet after he's been shoved to cup games suddenly, what must that do to your confidence.