Arne Slot’s Reds traveled to Spain on Tuesday night to take on Girona in Matchday 6 of the Champions League. The Reds came into the game top of the table with 15 points from 5 matches, looking to grab three more points and all but guarantee automatic qualification to the tournament’s round of 16. Girona found themselves at the opposite end of the table, with only 3 points from the first 5 matches, and 3 points adrift of the pace needed to make the playoff rounds.
After the cancellation of the Merseyside Derby last weekend due to storm Darragh, Slot’s men were afforded a rare and welcome opportunity to rest—particularly important ahead of the busy holiday fixture schedule over the next month. This meant that Liverpool could play their strongest XI, having had 5 days of rest, with nearly 4 full days before we’re back in action against Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.
Disclaimer: This will be a shorter-than-usual review, purely because not a great deal happened in the match.
Our beautiful, big Brazilian Bastard returned for the Reds between the sticks for his first appearance in nearly two months. Trent and Andy Robbo started the game at full-back, with Joey G and Virgil in the centre of defense. The suspended Alexis Mac Allister made way for Curtis Jones in midfield, alongside Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai. The front three consisted of the Egyptian King, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez through the middle. The 490 fans who made the trip from Merseyside made their way into the Girona away end, which resembled a makeshift prison, Virgil led the lads onto the pitch, the Champions League anthem was played, and away we went.
The Reds started brightly, winning an early corner, and Joe Gomez had the first chance of the evening. Andy Robbo whipped the ball in, Joey G found himself free in the 6-yard box, and made great contact with the header, but Gazzaniga was equal to the effort, tipping it over the bar. And so, the wait for Joe’s first goal continues.
The two sides traded chances throughout the opening 45 minutes, with Alisson reminding us on several occasions why we’ve come to love him so much over the years. In terms of shot-stopping, he’s amongst the best I’ve ever seen, and probably will ever see, in a Liverpool kit—though I do hold my breath in fear of his hamstrings every time he kicks a ball. Darwin had several chances, all of which he certainly should have done better with, but I think the exasperation is played out at this point. We know who he is, what he’s going to give us, and what his limitations are. If you’re going into these games expecting Darwin to be clinical, I have some hard truths for you. We went into the break at nil-nil, and it was probably deserved.
The Reds never got out of first gear in the first half, and within the first 30 seconds of the second half, it appeared we hadn’t left the dressing room. A careless giveaway from Trent in his defensive half led to a shot from Everton reject Danjuma, with Alisson again equal to the effort. The balance of play remained firmly in the grasp of the Reds, dominant in possession, and controlling the game for long stretches—just without anything to show for it. Girona, credit to them, worked extraordinarily hard out of possession, and with the game still at nil-nil approaching the hour mark, you wouldn’t have been completely mad to imagine a Girona goal against the run of play.
Luckily for us, another Everton (and United) reject was about to make his mark. Donny van de Beek (yes, he’s still alive) took off Luis Diaz’s boot inside the Girona penalty area. Despite it costing a small piece of the referee’s soul—who seemed to have a vendetta against the Colombian for the entire 90 minutes—he was instructed to go to the monitor and give a penalty for the foul on Diaz. You know the rest: up stepped the King. His winding run-up saw Gazzaniga dive the wrong way, and the Reds found themselves leading 1-0 on the night. Was it deserved? Maybe. Did I care? Not at all.
The Reds were able to see out the final 30 minutes without too much fuss. We genuinely never got out of second gear and conceded a load of chances—but I won’t complain. It’s 3 points away from home on a Champions League night with no injury problems. We sit on 18 points from 18 available in the group and have conceded just one goal in those 6 games. The day I’m not happy with that is the day I need to stop watching football. We’re back in action on Saturday afternoon for the 3pm kickoff against a Fulham side that’s been in great form as of late. Getting out of second gear will undoubtedly be required to take 3 points at the weekend. Until then: rest, regroup, make it through the workweek, and get ready to go again.
Up the Pissboiling Reds,
Cole
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