
Liverpool won in Milan but the Italians made it easy, though not easy enough for Darwin Nunez to stay onside.
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Nunez = thick?
I saw a statistic recently highlighting how rarely Haaland is caught offside.
Watching Milan-LFC, Iâm reminded that itâs not the crap finishing of NuÃąez that drives me the most insane, but rather the utterly unnecessary offsides that seem to happen every other counter-attack. Utterly infuriating, and to me surely a very telling sign of how intelligent and disciplined a striker is.
Itâs one thing if youâre fat and immobile, but if youâre already faster than the vast majority of players, what bloody excuse do you have?!
Henry, LFC
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Were Liverpool playing Spurs or Milan?
Not aiming to be overly bantery with thisâĻ but when we scored two quick goals to overturn an early deficit tonight I mightâve fleetingly thought we were facing Tottenham at the San Siro.
A fullback assisting the center half for an easy, towering header from a dead ball, ok. A second fullback assisting a second center half for an easy, towering header from another dead ball, alright then. A willowy opposing goalkeeper with noticeably limited core strength (in this case possibly due to injury) flapping at crosses and set piece deliveries, itâs starting to get uncanny now.
All we missed was a gruff Aussie with hard, perma-sulk expression on the touchline and weâd have completed the full set.
Slight remorse for any bewildered Spurs supporter catching strays on a night their side donât even lace them up, but this is genuinely what I thought in real time as the pictures come through. Maybe in his presser now Fonseca will say he doesnât care about set pieces, then weâll really have something wonât we.
Eric, Los Angeles CA (Tsimikas will never, ever be the Glen Johnson-type fullback capable of cutting in weak foot to opportunistically score. Absolutely atrocious strike on the player but rather inexplicably, left, right or center he does just keep trying doesnât he.)
READ: Liverpool complete greatest ever comeback against Milan in massive dig at White, Jover and Arsenal
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Whatâs the refereeâs role again?
My mind is blown here. Clattenberg literally said the ref needs to give Milan some small fouls to âcalm the crowd down because Milan are getting upsetâ. Is this really the referees role here? To manage the crowd? Not to play the game that is in front of them? And we wonder why fans get so irate with refs! How can we expect impartiality when we have an ex pro ref admitting he makes decisions to control the narrative of the game. Madness.
Matt J Morgan
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Champions League apathy
Does anyone else have absolutely zero interest in this Champions League group stage? Game week 1 last night and I didnât even bother turning on the TV as an avid football fan who literally spends the week reading about football and listening to podcasts.
Jeopardy and novelty is what makes sports exiting, how have the dimwits who run FIFA and UEAFA not realised this? I couldnât give a shit about Inter playing Man City or Arsenal playing PSG in a money spinning exercise where after a load of pointless games the worst that will happen is that you have to play an extra play off game. As opposed to for example, if Arsenal were to play Real Madrid or AC Milan in a knock out tie with real jeopardy and novelty (as they donât play each other every year) I would be all over that like a rash.
The same reason why the Super League will never work and the MLS is a load of rubbish. No jeopardy.
Chippy
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Some reasons for Man Utd cheer
Just finished watching the highlights of the United game and while it was fun to watch, United dominating for a change, donât see any of those goals being scored against better opposition. Barnsley really did not do themselves proud.
Nevertheless, there were some positives from United. The chemistry between the front three was excellent and there was some excellent decision making in the final third, which has been lacking even against weak sides. Rashford seems to have his mojo back and both of those were proper strikerâs goals.
Eriksen struck two beautiful goals but he was moving like a retired footballer and itâs concerning that United will have to rely on him against stronger opposition where he can easily be a liability.
Adeel
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Why Arsenal donât need a striker, thank you
OK, go on then, Iâll bite to Andy H, Swansea.
Regarding our bench, youâre right, it did look a little different to what we would usually have but thatâs going to happen when youâre missing Odegaard, Rice, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Merino and Tomiyasu. Want to tell me what Cityâs first eleven and bench looks like without Rodri, De Bruyne, Ake, Lewis, Bernardo Silva and Akanji?
You play the game in front of you with the players you have available. Arsenal were confident Tottenham couldnât hurt them (proven correct) and they could get a goal on the break or at a set piece (proven correct). They may well play the same against City on Sunday â pretty sure City didnât score against Arsenal last season. So, would Andy say City arenât a good team either then?
On his point about top-notch strikerâĻwe seemed to do alright when Havertz got comfortable in that role and not only scored a load of goals but brought others into the game. I donât think the way we play suits an out and out goalscorer as that could restrict the impact of others and thatâs clearly what Arteta wants â everyone involved and everyone a danger.
We missed out on the title by two points last season and those were given up in silly results before Christmas, not when we started playing as a well-defined team and system.
Finally, from the weekend â what choice did the ref have when Szoboszlai booted the ball away after giving away a free kick whilst being on a booking? Not seen it discussed much so I was hoping someone could tell me as I want to be really clear on all the rules this season.
Stew
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Are Spurs in trouble?
Thereâs been a lot said about big Ange (mate), apparently heâs lost 7 out of the last 11 league games. A quick check online seems to support that statistic. Their only wins during this sequence? Against Burnley (relegated with a whimper), Sheffield United (relegated without a whimper) and Everton (definitely candidates for the same unless thereâs a drastic change).
Thatâs relegation formâĻat best. So, when their only win so far this season is against an Everton team that cant hold their own water, it begs a question, when do the media put him under the same scrutiny as ETH? Surely, heâs got be in the sack race now.
If he is, where do Spurs go from here? Tried hiring known winners in Conte and Mourinho, tried the up and coming in Big Ange, mate. So whatâs next?
Just a thought.
MadX
P.S I like him, he seems down to earth, but almost resigned to the fact that this is Spurs being Spurs.
READ: Angeball among many Premier League things now on borrowed time
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League table not important says man who supports team in fourth
Can people please stop referencing league positions 4 f**king games in as if theyâre a barometer of anything? 3 points separate 2nd and 8th place for f***âs sake meaning that any alternative iteration of those positions could be reality next weekend (caveats apply).
Grow up. And donât look at the table until at least 8 games in (unless doing so to compile a needlessly moody email).
James Outram, (tired and grumpy) Wirral
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Can the blind lead us on commentary?
I was going to write in to reply about commentary for the blind and partially sighted but Iâm neither so Iâm not qualified to talk about their experiences. It would be good to hear from a visually impaired person or maybe for F365 to do an article on the subject. Iâd imagine given the number of audio descriptive services âtech brosâ at clubs are starting to provide shows that radio is not the ideal solution. Is ADC much more detailed than radio? I donât know, it would be interesting to hear from someone who does.
I initially brought up more descriptive commentary because it was something I hadnât considered before, that commentary has a broader audience outside of me that may not have their needs met. After listening to it from someone elseâs perspective my selfish conclusion was that it wasnât even meeting my needs.
SC, Belfast







