Liverpool was an important game and the team put in a good performance over the weekend. It was nice to see most players putting a shift in even though we were trailing for most of the game. The new way Bruce set up the team with wing-backs is definitely working well with Murphy and Ritchie being our star performers week in week out. The additional cover provided by those wing-backs has definitely helped the defence immensely.
Bruce using players like Willock and Wilson as impact substitutes has helped us massively in picking up points in the past few weeks. Dummett was steady and reliable, the back five managed to come off with only one goal conceded. Clark and Fernandez did seem a bit underwhelming in certain parts of the game with a couple of errors but they both managed to regroup and stay steady to see us through to get a point from the game.
Saint-Maximin was class today providing quality passes in the first half which unfortunately didn't result in goals due to the poor finishing in the final third. The game may have been won if he created more of the same in the second half with Willock, Wilson and eventually Gayle on the pitch. Longstaff did well in midfield and was the best performer in midfield today although we all wish he had progressed much more than he has but on the bright side, at least Bruce is giving him game time now. Hopefully Matty will also get more game time in the future and become a regular in the first team.
Shelvey and Almiron performed inconsistently in midfield today which resulted in errors and if Liverpool were better at finishing in the final third, the game could have gone another way. Bruce has to set up the midfield by finding his best combination to get results and to ensure that we finish the season on a positive note. We definitely need to invest in the midfield for next season as it is not the best with our current crop of players.
Wilson, Gayle, Saint-Maximin and Willock form a good attacking force. Joelinton has scored a couple of goals in recent weeks but the Brazilian didn't have any impact in today's game. We, the fans sincerely hope Bruce gives Gayle and Wilson more game time ahead of Joelinton in the coming fixtures as the forward has been given far too many chances and has been disappointing in most of the matches that he has featured in a Black and White shirt.
Bruce did set the team up well and once again got the substitutions right but the game could have been very different if Liverpool took their chances. We are definitely happy with the point although we could have come away with all three if it wasn't for VAR but we sincerely hope that positive results don't lead to complacency and the team continues to perform well in the upcoming fixtures and finish the season on a high note.