A winning start

We kicked off our CL campaign and our new boss kicked off his CL managerial career with a creditable win against a good Atletico team, albeit after having to come back from going our obligatory goal down, with Kerkez once again failing to impress with his defensive discipline and reading of the game. We should really think about signing the lad Llorente, that’s 5 goals in 3 Anfield appearances for him.

Barcola missed a glorious chance to open his LFC scoring account, having been played in on goal by a through ball from Wirtz, only to drag his shot wide, despite having plenty of time to pick his spot. I felt a bit sorry for Wirtz there, as it’s been a theme throughout his short LFC career so far. If not for some absolutely diabolical finishing last season and this, he’d probably have around another 7-10 assists on his record and less pressure on his young shoulders. We’re starting to show more signs of learning how to make use of his through balls though and I’m sure Barcola won’t want to see too many replays of that opportunity.

The equaliser came through a nice finish from Szoboszlai but for me, the goal was all about the superb assist from big Ronald, who’s looking more and more a very astute signing by the week. He’s got to he first choice RB for the foreseeable in my opinion and if he can keep up these performances, you’d have to think we’d make the move permanent at the end of the season. McRonald is the this week’s McMOTM!

The win came from a fine strike from Mac Allister and he couldn’t have timed it better, after raising a few eyebrows with his comments about being sad not to have been offered a new contract. I’m not a fan of players speaking out publicly like that, although I did feel he wasn’t disrespectful to anyone and the feeling I got was that he loves the club and wants to stay. In the flip side however, after a season where he looked like a shadow of the player he was the previous year, dealing with the hernia and whatnot, I can understand why the club would hold off and see how he performed this season before thinking about an extension. I can also understand why it would be hard for him watching both his regular midfield partners extend their deals though, so I can see it from both sides. The best thing he can do if he wants a new contract is keep performing like he has so far this season.

Job done then. It was a tricky tie for our manager’s first ever CL game, against a battle hardened veteran in Simeone, who’s as wily as they come. No time to enjoy it though, as we host Fulham on Saturday and it’s vital we build on our last two wins, having dropped four points in our opening two fixtures. Definitely signs of improvement though and reasons for optimism. We have a top class team, we just need the manager to get the best out of them and there’s no reason we can’t be challenging for major honours this season. Walk on!