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The post match reactions from our manager Graeme Edwards following all Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League games during the month of March - with the club looking to try and get back on track after a disappointing first couple of months of the season.
Premier League Round Seventeen
Leeds Utd 1 Liverpool 1
I knew it was risky playing a passing style as Leeds have been playing a lot of counter attacking this season and when we went behind early to a penalty I thought it's going to be another one of those days.
It really was a bit of a non event of a game with both sides creating very little but thankfully we salvaged a late draw through Mudryk.
Been a dreadful first half of the season league wise it really has.
Champions League Group Game Five
Paris Saint Germain 2 Liverpool 2
Another eventful encounter for us against the team that many feel are the strongest in the game. Not quite the 4-4 we fought out at Anfield but action packed nonetheless.
We played a passing style throughout and having built a two goal lead maybe it was our failure to try and counter or shut up shop later on that cost us the win as PSG came roaring back - impressively so since they had Haaland sent off just after the hour mark. The ten men pulled one back in the 73rd minute but when Ramos saw red in the 89th to leave the hosts down to nine I thought that would be that - but with the final kick Doku broke away from our subbie defender and lobbed in the equaliser just as it looked like the French side would be joining their 'dominant' Dark Arts cousins in crashing out of the competition.
Liverpool manager Graeme Edwards had this to say after the final whistle 'I'm disappointed we let such a strong position slip late on not just to boost our own confidence but I'm not going to lie it would have been really sweet to have knocked PSG out. As it is they've been given a lifeline and it wouldn't be a surprise if they scrape through in the final game and go on and win the thing. You have to give them credit though for fighting back in such tough circumstances. As for us we knew going into the game we were already through but it still remains to be seen if we can finish top of the group'
Premier League Round Eighteen
Liverpool 2 Blackburn Rovers 0
A better performance and again a much needed 3 points given our lowly league position. The only criticism in this one is that we should have scored more goals but Onana made 17 saves to keep things respectable. Mudryk scored again and seems to be finding some form - just in time for him to be stripped of the captaincy.
Things are pretty tight in the table - we're only 6 points above the bottom 3 but on the flip side only 6 points off being 4th top. Hopefully we can start to find a little more consistency in our results and start climbing up the league table as top 8 is the absolute minimum we should be looking for.
Premier League Round Nineteen
Cardiff City 0 Liverpool 2
Expected the old counter attacking approach from Cardiff so set up 42031E which hasn't been too bad an option for us against the more defensive C's. Certainly more reliable than persisting with passing which we were doing on a pretty regular basis. Our young defensive midfielder Halifa shot us ahead just before half time and Mudryk continued his good recent form by netting our 2nd. It wasn't a dominant performance by any means but I think we just about deserved it.
A win which sees us climb the table a bit and it's so tight that another couple of wins could really see us shoot up into the Champions League spots - although conversely a couple of poor results will see us slip right back down.
We've got to be better in the 2nd half of the season and start scoring more goals. Hopefully making de Tomas captain will help in that regard.
Champions League Group Game Six
Man City 1 Liverpool 4
City only played 4 first teamers so it's not a surprise we won. Ederson with 19 saves kept the score down to a respectable level for them. Great abs and a win that sees us finish unbeaten and top of a very tough group so we really couldn't have asked for any more. Getting to the knockout stages was our aim so mission accomplished.
I don't think finishing 1st or 2nd makes a huge difference in terms of getting it any easier in the quarter finals and we've landed an extremely tough tie in the shape of Atletico Madrid. Marshy is a more than competent manager who mixes things up well and it's going to be very difficult. They defeated us in last season's DPT Final so there's a bit of revenge to be had.
Premier League Round Twenty
Wolves 1 Liverpool 1
No real shocks in this one, we knew we'd be facing a counter attacking style and having got in front we probably have to question our in game management again when we persisted with passing and Wolves deservedly got an equaliser.
We missed Mudryk in this one but played two attacking midfielders up top to try and maintain a decent goal threat but it didn't really work as we didn't create a great deal. Even a late change to attacking with a couple of young attackers subbed on made no difference.
We have a big week ahead of us. 2 winnable looking league games with a Champions League quarter final trip to Atletico Madrid in between them.
Premier League Round Twenty One
Liverpool 2 Leicester City 1
We raced into a two goal lead playing 42031E and then changed to a counter attacking approach just as the visitors switched to all out attack. To be honest I expected us to bang in a few goals from that point and whilst we dominated we actually lost the 80 mins of C v A action 0-1 which seems crazy to me all things considered.
Pleased to win but the feeling is that yet again we made heavy weather of things. This really should have been a comfortable win but instead we found ourselves desperate to hear the final whistle. Very frustrating.
Champions League up next against Atletico who like us are having some struggles in the league. We are not fooled though, their quality is there for all to see and we're going to have to play very well to find a way through to the semis.
Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg
Atletico Madrid 2 Liverpool 2
I expected a close encounter and that's exactly what we got. Both teams set out to pass the ball and we scored immediately, breaching their 7 man defensive wall. Atletico then switched to a long ball style and we were disappointed to concede a goal to that approach I must say. They then switched back to passing and immediately went ahead and I knew it would be tough to get back into it but thankfully at the beginning of the 2nd half Grealish equalised and that's how it finished.
We brought Mudryk on for a midfielder in the 2nd half to try and be a bit more ambitious but it didn't really have any effect. We're happy with the outcome though, the name of the game was to try and make sure that we're still in the tie for the 2nd leg and we've accomplished that.
Marshy will perhaps feel they were the better side but there was little between us really, most of the stats were close other than them having a few more shots that missed the target.
Should be a cracking 2nd leg and I'll be very surprised if it isn't closely fought again.
Premier League Round Twenty Two
Sheffield Utd 1 Liverpool 4
We went into the short break in slightly better form than previously and I was looking forward to seeing how we'd perform in a game that we should be winning against the team cut adrift at the bottom of the league.
Shock horror we came out of the traps slower than a wet weekend in Bognor Regis and trailed within 2 minutes of the kick off. We managed to get back on level terms quickly through Mudryk but at half time it was still 1-1 and at that stage I was thinking surely we aren't going to let ourselves down yet again? A few choice words and a couple of smashed chairs in the changing room had the desired effect as we immediately scored at the start of the 2nd half and from there on in we looked pretty comfortable with the added bonus of getting a couple of players some much needed minutes.
We finally climb back into the top eight and we have to make sure we stay there. Before we return to league duty we face a huge Champions League quarter final 2nd leg against Atletico with the tie level and very much in the balance. They have the 2nd highest wage bill in the entire game and an extremely wily manager so we are going to need to be at our very best...or luckiest...to progress. Quite frankly either will do!
Overall summary of the month's results from the manager
"Certainly a more encouraging month on the park with some good results and performances albeit still the feeling that it could have been better. However to go unbeaten shows that we are finally starting to show a little more consistency and the hope is that we can continue to build on this and climb higher up the table and progress further in both cup competitions.
There has been very little in the way of transfer activity - we said before that we felt the squad was good enough and that we'd give them the opportunity to prove it and thankfully we are finally starting to see signs of that"
Premier League Round Seventeen
Leeds Utd 1 Liverpool 1
I knew it was risky playing a passing style as Leeds have been playing a lot of counter attacking this season and when we went behind early to a penalty I thought it's going to be another one of those days.
It really was a bit of a non event of a game with both sides creating very little but thankfully we salvaged a late draw through Mudryk.
Been a dreadful first half of the season league wise it really has.
Champions League Group Game Five
Paris Saint Germain 2 Liverpool 2
Another eventful encounter for us against the team that many feel are the strongest in the game. Not quite the 4-4 we fought out at Anfield but action packed nonetheless.
We played a passing style throughout and having built a two goal lead maybe it was our failure to try and counter or shut up shop later on that cost us the win as PSG came roaring back - impressively so since they had Haaland sent off just after the hour mark. The ten men pulled one back in the 73rd minute but when Ramos saw red in the 89th to leave the hosts down to nine I thought that would be that - but with the final kick Doku broke away from our subbie defender and lobbed in the equaliser just as it looked like the French side would be joining their 'dominant' Dark Arts cousins in crashing out of the competition.
Liverpool manager Graeme Edwards had this to say after the final whistle 'I'm disappointed we let such a strong position slip late on not just to boost our own confidence but I'm not going to lie it would have been really sweet to have knocked PSG out. As it is they've been given a lifeline and it wouldn't be a surprise if they scrape through in the final game and go on and win the thing. You have to give them credit though for fighting back in such tough circumstances. As for us we knew going into the game we were already through but it still remains to be seen if we can finish top of the group'
Premier League Round Eighteen
Liverpool 2 Blackburn Rovers 0
A better performance and again a much needed 3 points given our lowly league position. The only criticism in this one is that we should have scored more goals but Onana made 17 saves to keep things respectable. Mudryk scored again and seems to be finding some form - just in time for him to be stripped of the captaincy.
Things are pretty tight in the table - we're only 6 points above the bottom 3 but on the flip side only 6 points off being 4th top. Hopefully we can start to find a little more consistency in our results and start climbing up the league table as top 8 is the absolute minimum we should be looking for.
Premier League Round Nineteen
Cardiff City 0 Liverpool 2
Expected the old counter attacking approach from Cardiff so set up 42031E which hasn't been too bad an option for us against the more defensive C's. Certainly more reliable than persisting with passing which we were doing on a pretty regular basis. Our young defensive midfielder Halifa shot us ahead just before half time and Mudryk continued his good recent form by netting our 2nd. It wasn't a dominant performance by any means but I think we just about deserved it.
A win which sees us climb the table a bit and it's so tight that another couple of wins could really see us shoot up into the Champions League spots - although conversely a couple of poor results will see us slip right back down.
We've got to be better in the 2nd half of the season and start scoring more goals. Hopefully making de Tomas captain will help in that regard.
Champions League Group Game Six
Man City 1 Liverpool 4
City only played 4 first teamers so it's not a surprise we won. Ederson with 19 saves kept the score down to a respectable level for them. Great abs and a win that sees us finish unbeaten and top of a very tough group so we really couldn't have asked for any more. Getting to the knockout stages was our aim so mission accomplished.
I don't think finishing 1st or 2nd makes a huge difference in terms of getting it any easier in the quarter finals and we've landed an extremely tough tie in the shape of Atletico Madrid. Marshy is a more than competent manager who mixes things up well and it's going to be very difficult. They defeated us in last season's DPT Final so there's a bit of revenge to be had.
Premier League Round Twenty
Wolves 1 Liverpool 1
No real shocks in this one, we knew we'd be facing a counter attacking style and having got in front we probably have to question our in game management again when we persisted with passing and Wolves deservedly got an equaliser.
We missed Mudryk in this one but played two attacking midfielders up top to try and maintain a decent goal threat but it didn't really work as we didn't create a great deal. Even a late change to attacking with a couple of young attackers subbed on made no difference.
We have a big week ahead of us. 2 winnable looking league games with a Champions League quarter final trip to Atletico Madrid in between them.
Premier League Round Twenty One
Liverpool 2 Leicester City 1
We raced into a two goal lead playing 42031E and then changed to a counter attacking approach just as the visitors switched to all out attack. To be honest I expected us to bang in a few goals from that point and whilst we dominated we actually lost the 80 mins of C v A action 0-1 which seems crazy to me all things considered.
Pleased to win but the feeling is that yet again we made heavy weather of things. This really should have been a comfortable win but instead we found ourselves desperate to hear the final whistle. Very frustrating.
Champions League up next against Atletico who like us are having some struggles in the league. We are not fooled though, their quality is there for all to see and we're going to have to play very well to find a way through to the semis.
Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg
Atletico Madrid 2 Liverpool 2
I expected a close encounter and that's exactly what we got. Both teams set out to pass the ball and we scored immediately, breaching their 7 man defensive wall. Atletico then switched to a long ball style and we were disappointed to concede a goal to that approach I must say. They then switched back to passing and immediately went ahead and I knew it would be tough to get back into it but thankfully at the beginning of the 2nd half Grealish equalised and that's how it finished.
We brought Mudryk on for a midfielder in the 2nd half to try and be a bit more ambitious but it didn't really have any effect. We're happy with the outcome though, the name of the game was to try and make sure that we're still in the tie for the 2nd leg and we've accomplished that.
Marshy will perhaps feel they were the better side but there was little between us really, most of the stats were close other than them having a few more shots that missed the target.
Should be a cracking 2nd leg and I'll be very surprised if it isn't closely fought again.
Premier League Round Twenty Two
Sheffield Utd 1 Liverpool 4
We went into the short break in slightly better form than previously and I was looking forward to seeing how we'd perform in a game that we should be winning against the team cut adrift at the bottom of the league.
Shock horror we came out of the traps slower than a wet weekend in Bognor Regis and trailed within 2 minutes of the kick off. We managed to get back on level terms quickly through Mudryk but at half time it was still 1-1 and at that stage I was thinking surely we aren't going to let ourselves down yet again? A few choice words and a couple of smashed chairs in the changing room had the desired effect as we immediately scored at the start of the 2nd half and from there on in we looked pretty comfortable with the added bonus of getting a couple of players some much needed minutes.
We finally climb back into the top eight and we have to make sure we stay there. Before we return to league duty we face a huge Champions League quarter final 2nd leg against Atletico with the tie level and very much in the balance. They have the 2nd highest wage bill in the entire game and an extremely wily manager so we are going to need to be at our very best...or luckiest...to progress. Quite frankly either will do!
Overall summary of the month's results from the manager
"Certainly a more encouraging month on the park with some good results and performances albeit still the feeling that it could have been better. However to go unbeaten shows that we are finally starting to show a little more consistency and the hope is that we can continue to build on this and climb higher up the table and progress further in both cup competitions.
There has been very little in the way of transfer activity - we said before that we felt the squad was good enough and that we'd give them the opportunity to prove it and thankfully we are finally starting to see signs of that"