Ipswich Town v Liverpool
An interesting start to the season for Liverpool’s new manager Arne Slot, with the kind of game that really is a difficult game for him to bed in with. It is a difficult one to launch a career with, as he was on a hiding to nothing. If he had not led the team to a win, he would have been slaughtered in the media, as Ipswich are newly promoted. But a win, no matter how impressive, is just what is expected. Perhaps the manner of the victory is the best way to impress? A first half with Ipswich showing their battling qualities and Liverpool looking like the same laboured team that threw away the lead in the title race very late in the season, followed by an absolutely dominant second half after he made a tactical change and gave a team talk.
It was good to see that Slot was willing to make a half-time change, rather than wait until 60mins or so into the game, even if it did leave Quansah in a bit of a sulk on the bench following being hooked. The change worked and contributed to a much improved second half performance from the Reds. It did still leave me with the continued worry that Quansah and van Dijk are far too similar to build an effective partnership in the Premier League. The more aggressive defending of Konate is often needed to counter the physicality of teams, though the ball-playing ability of Quansah is much more important in European competition. Against the power and pace of Delap, Quansah was struggling, whereas Konate was able to handle him very easily.
There are questions that need to be answered about the first half though, as it was not all down to Quansah at all. Almost the entire team were poor, which is a worry as it has been a constant theme with Liverpool and the early kick-offs. The crowd should have pushed them on, as it was very vocal, unlike the usual ones in these early matches, which are usually muted. So that can certainly not be used as an excuse this time. I wonder if the constant moaning about them that Klopp did has got into their heads a little? The first half was certainly reminiscent of the last two seasons, with most of the passing sloppy and the players looking like they were only half-awake. It is a conundrum that Slot will need to solve if he is to get anywhere near a title challenge this season. And make no mistake about it, this team is good enough to challenge for the title, whether there are any signings or not, but they will not be able to stumble through the first 45 minutes too many more times. One thing that can easily improve the team is set piece delivery. It was woeful against Ipswich. An improvement there will make a big difference.
My only real gripe was the lack of minutes for Elliott, who ended the season as the standout player for Liverpool and has stood out in preseason too. He has surely earnt the right to play a part in the match, especially as there was an unused substitute available? But Slot has his reasons I am sure, I am just not convinced it is a good piece of man-management to just have him sat there twiddling his thumbs when he has been in such a rich vein of form. Actually no, I have one other gripe – wastefulness. This has been a problem for Liverpool for a few years now and it reared its head once more. That really should have been a much bigger win than 2-0, there were plenty of opportunities to score which were passed up.
It was interesting to see Ipswich back in the Premier League, after such a long absence, and their crowd were certainly up for it. Though questions must be asked of their football knowledge when they were chanting to ask who the Scouser was in the black. Surely everyone knows Alisson Becker by now? Despite the Ipswich fans very vocal complaints about any decision made by the referee, they really had little cause for it. The only really controversial decisions involved their player Burns escaping what should have been a second yellow in the first half, for a blatant hand ball. It was clear the pressure from the crowd weighed on the referee when he made the decision to ignore the most clear yellow card of the entire weekend.
Overall, Ipswich work extremely hard and gave their all, but they lack quality, other than Greaves at the back, who looks a steal. They are really going to have to get the most out of their team if they are to have any chance of survival. Even then, they will struggle. There just is no cutting edge. Delap has pace and power but offers little in the way of goal threat. There is little real goal threat in their squad, which makes it amazing they won promotion on the back of outscoring opponents most of last season. The step up looks a bit much for them this time though. Especially as they are so poor defensively, with Greaves needing to do the work of an entire backline almost on his own. If they are not careful they will be on the end of a few thrashings this season, as teams work out how to beat their high press. The defenders are extremely aggressive with the press, pushing up into midfield to apply pressure.
Quick notes on the players:
Alisson – was never really troubled. In the second half, he could have put up a hammock in the goal mouth and caught up on his sleep it was so easy for him. For all Ipswich’s effort, they never looked like scoring.
Alexander-Arnold – had a decent first half, one of the few Liverpool players who did, defending well, but not able to get enough of the ball to create enough. In the second half, he was able to get on the ball and create more.
Quansah – he was taken off at half-time as he showed the same weaknesses in his game as he had last season. One of the big problems with Liverpool’s defence was his inability to deal with a simple ball over the top and being constantly caught out by a runner in behind him. It is an issue that he really has to address. Also worrying to see his demeanour on the bench after being pulled out – to not even react to his team scoring a goal is a worrying attitude.
van Dijk – he was extremely sloppy in the first half, one of the worst players in red. The second half saw him play a lot more like he can, with his long passes out from the back causing a few problems for the Tractor Boys.
Robertson – a truly terrible first half, he looked miles off the pace and like a player who was just not ready yet for the season. He turned it around in the second half, in part helped by the tweak in tactics which allowed him to play the way that suits him, rather than the more conservative way he was asked to play initially.
Gravenberch – stood out in the first half as Liverpool’s best player and continued to impress in the second half. It was not just his contribution when he had the ball that stood out, but his work in getting it back when the team lost it. Ipswich are a physical side, who tried very hard to turn the midfield area into a battle, but he was able to just turn away from trouble or shield the ball and lay it off. He just needs to keep up this level of performance now.
Mac Allister – extremely poor in the first half, sloppy and looking like a player who is not ready yet for the season. Improved slightly in the second half, but still looks like he needs a few more games to get up to speed this season.
Szoboszlai – mixed game from him, some really bright moments of incisive passing but also a fair few moments of sloppiness. He did seem a bit more suited to this role, as always his workrate is unquestionable and he worked back well to help out when needed, while still able to get forward as well.
Diaz – he always works hard, he always causes problems, but he also struggles to have any end product. It is so frustrating as he is on the verge of being something special, but he needs that end product to get there.
Jota – it was a typical Jota performance. One minute he shows a piece of brilliance to break clear, only to play a loose pass and give away possession. Then he is missing an easy header, only to score a few minutes later. The important thing though is that one simple thing – he gets himself into positions to score and often does so. If only he can stay fit, he can be a huge difference to the team.
Salah – not a great first half performance but much better in the second and took advantage of Leif Davis’ switching off defensively twice to create and score a goal. He has looked up for it since the moment he returned to training. Finally having a summer to put his feet up and relax could be a huge thing for him this season. He looks fresh and dangerous.
Konate – brought on at half-time for Quansah. It is hard to tell how much effect his arrival had, though he did defend much more aggressively than Quansah had, however Liverpool dominated the ball much more. It did seem to help, he did seem more suited to dealing with Delap, who had Quansah in trouble, but Delap was much more isolated, which helped.
Bradley – replaced Alexander-Arnold after 76 minutes. The game was over by this point so he had very little opportunity to impress, but he did get forward well.
Gakpo – took Jota’s place in the 78th minute. Tried to make a mark, but there was little real intensity in the game by the time he came on. He did get himself booked for a silly challenge though, which was unnecessary but I think was a symptom of him trying a bit too hard to impress.
Tsimikas – came on for Robertson, also in the 78th minute. Similar to Gakpo, there was not a lot really for him to do to make a mark.
Written by Tris Burke August 21 2024 03:49:45