Years ago somebody defined pressing as attacking when you don’t have the ball.
Just as a pressing style was the natural reaction of Borussia Dortmund to the domination of a richer club, Bayern Munich, so it has now become the reaction of the Next Four to the Big Four.
Klopp’s young Liverpool destroyed the decadent Manchester City by outrunning them.
And Spurs hunted the ball in West Ham’s half at White Hart Lane and kept taking the ball off them. Didn’t let them play.
Firmino started with Lallana and Coutinho.
Kompany and Otamendi were out, so the centrebacks were Mangala and Demichelis, a dubious new partnership.
Coutinho began the rout by sprinting 20 yards to win the ball back off the dawdling Sagna, then played in Firmino, whose cutback went in off Mangala.
Watching Liverpool was just wave after wave after wave of red attacks, fireball football, running as fast as you can, passing the ball forward as often as you can, imposing your tempo on the home team.
They seemed to have 14 players.
CITEH COULDN’T HANDLE THEM.
Sky co-commentator Gary Neville said this was one of the best performances he had seen in the last five or six years since Borussia Dortmund were here in the Champions League.
Firmino’s early ball was played into a lethal area and Coutinho stroked his shot between Joe Hart’s legs for 0-2 in 23 minutes.
Liverpool were rolling and rocking right over the league leaders, humiliating City with their mobility and sharpness. Coutinho, gratefully receiving an inventive backheel from left midfielder Emre Can, gave Firmino a tap-in for 3-0 in 32.
Then the brilliant Kun Aguero replied with a sensational shot that he bent round Lovren into the bottom corner for 1-3.
Yaya Toure didn’t reappear for the second half- Fernandinho replaced him.
Liverpool broke forward in groups, still maintaining a high tempo that made us realise that you need a Brazilian touch in the front third to make it work. Firmino and Coutinho can kill any ball and work with it in small spaces.
Another Firmino shot clipped Joe Hart’s leg and went for a corner.
Mindboggling to think that Brendan Rodgers used Emre Can as a right-sided defender in a back three.
After 4 weeks with Klopp, Sakho was playing better than he ever knew he could. He’d become a centreback we never saw under Rodgers.
Benteke came on for Firmino in 76 and Joe Hart soon made a fine save from him to keep City in the game with 10 minutes to go. Then Skrtel lashed in a thunderous shot that gave Hart no chance.
City 1 Liverpool 4
Klopperpool had demonstrated tremendous kollective energy and momentum and ripped Citeh to shreds in the first half. The new manager had promised rock & roll football and this was it.
Pundit Jamie Redknapp said Emre Can was “exceptional”.
Klopp said he could see that his players were surprised when they went 3-0 up. He said they shouldn’t have been surprised, He said, “We took our chances. We did it well with big passion.”
Jurgen Klopp is a natural teacher who wants his boys to learn more and more. His appointment was a perfect fit. As I noted when he got the job, he’s a leader, a Pied Piper, Kevin Kegan with qualifications
Spurs gave West Ham a good hiding.
They scored four goals before Lanzini got a consolation in 87 minutes.
Like the under-rated Steve Archibald, Harry Kane is the guv’nor of the awkward ball .From an unpromising position, or with a difficult ball, Kane can almost always find a pass or a shot or win a free-kick. Like Archie, he’s a decent target man who can hold it up.
Going into Sunday’s 4pm game, Kane had scored 10 goals in 13 London derbies.
The first 20 minutes was a tight, fast and tactical contest in which both teams seemed wary of the other’s pace on the break. Looking at Kane, my advice to the West Ham players would have been (1) don’t let him have a shot and (2) don’t let him have a header.
Adrian was the first keeper to make a save when an Eriksen shot ricocheted off the knee of James Tomkins.
Then a rebound in the West Ham box broke to Harry Kane and he spun round and blasted in a left foot shot for 1-0.
After that goal in 22 the game became a bit more stretched and open.
Then Eriksen fired a pinpoint corner to the near post and centreback Toby Alderweireld made a gigantic jump to glance in a header for 2-0.
A beautifully-rehearsed set-piece. Love it!
When Son toepoked a sharp shot, Adrian parried back to his left and Dele Alli, following up, headed a half-chance against the bar.
Since the first time I saw Harry Kane, I’ve been a fan. He’s a durable team player who demonstrates huge desire, who tackles and chases, who holds his own in the argy-bargy, who believes he can score from distance.
In 39, Kane broke away into a lovely position but scuffed his left foot shot clumsily, hitting it miles wide.
In 59, Kane fired a shot from outside the D which bounced on the six-yard line and rocketed into the net for 3-0.
In 84, right back Kyle Walker powered forward into the box, played a one-two with sub Son and banged home a shot for 4-0.
West Ham got a consolation through Lanzini, who did well to make a shooting position and rifle a shot high inside Hugo Lloris’s near post for 4-1
Pochettino’s only been at Tottenham for 18 months but he’s already created a collective style that works.
Spurs have loads of thrust and penetration.
They have only lost one game this season and that was to Manchester United, via a Walker o.g.
Why don’t I write more about Arsenal’s game?
Because I look for certain qualities in a team, certain components and disciplines.
Arsenal just had a chance to go top of the Premier League. But they lost to West Brom.