For a brief period, it felt like a (hilarious?) Frustrating day, but luckily when Liverpool needed it turns on this time they did it, turning possession into goals in the second half. Perhaps somewhat ironically given the strength of the coach’s eleventh title, Jürgen Klopp’s first three substitutions were important to make a difference, as the Reds left Villa Park victorious (!!) and are in the next round (!!! ) of a domestic cup competition (!!!).
Below, I delve into the magic of the FA Cup victory tonight.
Winners
Klopp’s decision making – and the depth of the squad: We (and by “we” I mean Twitter) can debate the starting XI, especially as a failure to score many points before the mistake that led to the goal, but we cannot dispute his substitutions.
Jürgen Klopp acted decisively to put Thiago in place of captain Jordan Henderson at half-time, and put Xherdan Shaqiri and Roberto Firmino right after Gini Wijnaldum scored Liverpool’s second. All three substitutes dramatically improved performance, adding composure and creativity in the midfield, along with movement and determination in the final third. The fact that we can take away players from the main team like Henderson and bring Thiago speaks volumes about the depth of our current squad, as the players come back slowly from injuries.
Klopp’s men managed to win and now they have nine (9!) Days to train and prepare for the next match – enough time to breathe and attack the league with everything they can.
Thiago. He’s very good, isn’t he? You can certainly choose a pass. You can’t really get the ball out of him. He’s the type of player who comes on the pitch and you just want to see him forever. If he can stay in shape for the rest of the season, he can make a real difference in what this side does.
He made 55 precise passes in his 45 minutes on the pitch with 83% success. Four of his passes were long balls and, although it seems a small number, the quality of vision in his passes gives these balls a little bit of the absence of Virgil Van Dijk, whose ability to choose Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah, especially, adds to the attack Liverpool. Having Thiago in midfield removes the burden of defenders in terms of creating an attack, which we hope will lead to more stability and creativity.
Losers
Jordan Henderson and Takumi Minamino: This seems (and is) a little difficult, since Minamino didn’t play terribly by any stretch and Henderson picked up from an almost anonymous start to throw some promising balls at Salah, especially towards the end of the semester. That said, you never want to be the player who left to see your replacement have an immediate and important impact.
Thiago entered the start of the second half and was immediately all that was lacking in the first: always available as an outside ball, making smart decisions with possession and choosing smart passes. While Minamino would like to use this start to gain more minutes in a way that Henderson (who frankly might need a break) would not have wanted, both players hoped to do more with the time they had on the pitch.
I am not going to delve too deeply into our negatives; the FA Cup is supposed to be fun, isn’t it? And it was.
Villa AstonThe Under-18s had an unforgettable night
Although they clearly got tired for the full ninety minutes (I think there were about five of them cramped at one point), you can’t have watched this match without feeling that Aston Villa’s future is in good hands. Mark Delaney coached a defensively well-trained team that deserved to go to the break on equal terms and that should be proud of their effort, despite the final result.
Goalkeeper Ákos Onódi had an outstanding night, making a total of eight saves (six of shots inside the area) and keeping his side in the match, and his defensive line also deserves praise. Striker Louie Barry also had an unforgettable night, scoring a smooth and even finish in the first half. After initially exchanging shirts with Fabinho, his coaches reminded him that maybe he wanted to keep the shirt (it was his debut and he scored, after all), and he ran back to Fabinho to get his shirt back. The childhood fan of Villa grew up just six miles from Villa Park, and his goal – and the antics of his shirt after him – may remind us of the magic of the FA Cup, after all.
What happens next
On Sunday afternoon, we can all tune in and watch José Mourinho’s Tottenham face the Merseyside Marine AFC minnows, who currently play in the Northern Premier League – a draw that is a lot of what the FA Cup is all about. We have time to watch, already that the Reds will not return to action until January 17th. Breathe.