The Scout Notes return with a look at the UEFA Champions League ties involving Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening.
Liverpool’s front three rediscovered their scoring touch but it was a hitherto peripheral attacking midfielder who stole the show at Anfield – and perhaps laid down a marker ahead of the visit of Cardiff City in Gameweek 10.
Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for the knock-out rounds of the Champions League look to be hanging by a thread after a 2-2 draw with PSV, but there was at least an encouraging performance from Christian Eriksen on his first start since recovering from injury – and a goal for Harry Kane.
We round up the goals, assists, injury news, Fantasy talking points and manager quotes from the matches in Liverpool and Eindhoven.
Liverpool 4-0 Crvena Zvezda
- Goals: Roberto Firmino (£9.3m), Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) x2, Sadio Mane (£9.7m)
- Assists: Andrew Robertson (£6.4m), Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.0m), Sadio Mane, Daniel Sturridge (£5.8m)
Liverpool warmed up for their rather enticing-looking Gameweek 10 clash against Cardiff with a 4-0 hammering of Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday.
If the Champions League victory over their Serbian opponents had been a Premier League encounter, then Fantasy managers backing Liverpool’s most-owned FPL assets would have had a field day.
Roberto Firmino (£9.3m), Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) and Sadio Mane (£9.7m) all scored in the same match for the first time since April, while Andrew Robertson (£6.4m) registered an assist and the Reds’ backline kept yet another clean sheet.
Mane returned from the thumb injury that had kept him out of the 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town last Saturday and had an eventful evening, winning Liverpool’s first penalty, missing his side’s second spot-kick and then finally getting on the scoresheet with ten minutes to go after prodding home substitute Daniel Sturridge‘s (£5.8m) pass.
The Senegalese midfielder, who is without an FPL attacking return since Gameweek 4, could have added to his tally late on but fired into the side netting when clean through on goal.
Mane missed from the spot just minutes after Salah had been substituted and it was the Egyptian who had converted from 12 yards earlier in the second half, following a somewhat soft foul on Mane by Red Star’s Filip Stojkovic.
Liverpool’s penalty-taking order has been the source of some debate in the past few months but the picture is looking clearer now, with Salah confirming his “deputy” status after the match:
I shoot always with the national team so I am not worried about that. We have a number here: Milly [James Milner] number one, I’m number two. I prepare myself before the game for that.
A brace for Salah and an early-ish substitution on 73 minutes – Mane and Firmino lasted the full match, meanwhile – was encouraging for the Egyptian’s Fantasy owners, though there was a sense of deja vu pervading Salah’s performance early on when he twice fired straight at visiting goalkeeper Milan Borjan when clean through on goal.
The Egyptian international finally got on the scoresheet just before the break, smashing home after an exquisitely weighted touch from Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.0m) set him free in the Red Star box.
Salah’s manager spoke of the Egyptian’s form after the match:
I think he would say thanks to his team-mates because it’s quite difficult to score goals without these wonderful passes, crosses.
Like tonight, I have to watch it back but I think the first goal he scored was just a genius little link-up play of Shaq, I don’t know how he did that.
It’s good that we maybe can stop talking about that. That helps a little bit because I’m not in doubt, he was not in doubt, but if you are constantly asked about it then it’s like, something obviously is wrong.
You should not constantly think about it. It only happens if you work hard, if you are in the right space, if your team-mates see you in the right moments and if you make the right runs then you can score. It’s an exceptional number, hopefully he can continue.
That Salah is now second in command for penalties will be a fillip for his owners, particularly given the number of alternatives available to Jurgen Klopp in the centre of midfield and the competition that James Milner (£5.7m) faces for his place in the engine-room.
The performance of Fabinho (£5.6m) – an almost forgotten name over the past few weeks – in that position last night was particularly impressive, with the Brazilian not only shielding the back four well and winning tackle after tackle but also setting his team’s attacks in motion with some positive passing.
Klopp complimented the summer signing from Monaco after full-time:
Very, very good. The present for his birthday was not that he was in the line-up, it was that we played his favourite system and it was really good. Very aggressive, everything was there. It’s quite impressive what people saw tonight. That was the start, now let’s carry on.
With Jordan Henderson (£5.5m), Naby Keita (£7.3m), Adam Lallana (£6.9m) and the in-form Georginio Wijnaldum (£5.5m) options in the centre of the park, Salah could very well be called upon to take a spot-kick or two in the coming weeks and months when Milner faces the occasional rest.
Salah faces competition for his place too, of course.
The star of the show last night was Shaqiri, who lined up wide-right (Salah’s usual position) in a 4-2-3-1 on the opposite flank to Mane, with Firmino in a central attacking midfield role behind Salah.
Shaqiri’s superb pass to release Robertson for Liverpool’s first goal was as deserving of an assist as the Scottish left-back’s cut-back for Firmino, but the Swiss midfielder was eventually rewarded with an attacking return for his beautifully weighted lay-off to Salah for the Reds’ second strike.
Shaqiri had earlier created one of Salah’s spurned chances with an expertly judged lofted pass through to the Egyptian.
The former Stoke City midfielder was given a standing ovation on his substitution on 68 minutes and that he was the first Liverpool player to be withdrawn last night might suggest that Klopp has plans for him against Cardiff this weekend.
A start for Shaqiri against the Bluebirds could be a concern for Salah’s owners if Klopp reverts to his usual 4-3-3 formation, though of course Salah has been deployed as the spearhead of the Liverpool attack on a handful of occasions in the past and Shaqiri could feasibly play anywhere across the frontline.
A 4-2-3-1 might well be employed again for the visit of Neil Warnock’s side to accommodate all four of the attacking players who started at Anfield last night, though Klopp has only used this system once in the Premier League this season and abandoned the experiment at half-time – despite the Reds being 3-0 up against Southampton. The convincing display against Red Star, however, might persuade the Liverpool coach to give these tactics another go against limited opposition.
Robertson was presumably being preserved for the weekend after being withdrawn on 82 minutes and it was another fine attacking display down the left wing by the Scotland defender, with Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.1m) also getting in on the act on the opposite flank after missing Liverpool’s last two league fixtures.
Alexander-Arnold indeed went close to scoring late on after a fine Fabinho pass, though doubts remain about whether the England full-back will return to the Liverpool starting XI this weekend with Joe Gomez (£5.1m) – who was back at centre-half again last night – having been preferred at right-back in Gameweeks 8 and 9.
Alisson‘s (£5.6m) evening was uneventful, meanwhile: the Liverpool goalkeeper didn’t have a single shot to save.
Henderson and Keita sat this match out, with the Liverpool skipper also set to miss Cardiff’s visit this weekend.
Klopp said:
Naby is on a good way again, running outside and all that stuff, but we have to see, take it day by day. We cannot put any pressure on, but it should not be that long until he is fit.
Hendo got a little hamstring injury in the [Huddersfield] game. Not too serious, but serious enough that he’s not available tomorrow or at the weekend. Then from that day on, we will count the other days until he’s available.
Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1):Â Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson (Moreno 82′); Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Shaqiri (Lallana 68′), Firmino, Mane; Salah (Sturridge 73′).
PSV Eindhoven 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
- Goals: Lucas Moura (£7.3m), Harry Kane (£12.5m)
- Assists: Kieran Trippier (£6.3m), Christian Eriksen (£9.2m)
Christian Eriksen (£9.2m) returned to the Spurs starting XI for the first time in over a month and put in the type of promising display that will perhaps rekindle Fantasy managers’ interest in the Danish playmaker in the medium term – and possibly bode well for Harry Kane‘s (£12.5m) own form over the coming weeks and months.
Eriksen delivered a pinpoint cross for Kane to nod home Spurs’ second goal after the break and was influential throughout, being deployed in the “number ten” role with Son Heung-min (£8.3m) and Lucas Moura (£7.3m) flanking him in a 4-2-3-1.
Eriksen also “assisted the assister” for his side’s first goal with a beautifully weighted ball for Kieran Trippier (£6.3m) and ought to have scored himself, having broken free inside the PSV box early in the second half.
The returning Dane’s evening was somewhat soured by a loose pass that ultimately led to the dismissal of Hugo Lloris (£5.4m) on 79 minutes, with the French goalkeeper – so impressive in the win over West Ham on Saturday – haring out of his goal to stop the PSV counter-attack and bringing down Hirving Lozano.
Eriksen spoke of his performance after full-time:
I felt confident going into the game. It finished with a bad last touch at the end, but I was happy to be back. It’s been a few weeks recovering and training and trying to get back to fitness, but I felt good.
Kane certainly seemed reinvigorated after his well-documented struggles of recent weeks and should have emerged from this draw with more than one goal to his name, having clipped the bar with a header from a first-half corner and then nodding another Trippier set-piece against home goalkeeper Jeroen Zoot’s legs after the interval.
The Spurs right-back was excellent once again last night and his FPL owners face a dilemma over the coming weeks given how tricky Tottenham’s fixtures look over the next six Gameweeks. In this form, however, Trippier seems capable of delivering attacking returns in every game in which he features – particularly as he retained his role of chief set-piece taker in spite of Eriksen’s return.
Trippier brilliantly set Eriksen up for that aforementioned opportunity in the second half and created both of Kane’s headed chances from dead-ball situations, going on to make eight key passes in Eindhoven – more than any other player on show.
The rest of Spurs’ backline were not quite as impressive and the shaky display of Toby Alderweireld (£5.9m) at centre-back as well as Lloris’s rush of blood to the head would have given encouragement to owners of Sergio Aguero (£11.3m), Raheem Sterling (£11.2m) et al ahead of Manchester City’s trip to Wembley next Monday.
Despite picking up four clean sheets in the league this season, Spurs have allowed more shots in the box than any of the “big six” sides in 2018/19.
Alderweireld was caught on the ball for PSV’s first goal and allowed Gaston Pereiro to dance past him and strike the bar just before half-time.
Mauricio Pochettino refused to blame Lloris or Alderweireld after the match:
I’m not going to blame any player. If someone wants to blame a person, it’s myself to blame because I am responsible for the team. We didn’t win.
If someone wants to blame someone blame me, not the players. The players are there to play and perform in the best way. Sometimes it’s difficult.
The problem is when you are so, so good, when you play much better, dominate the game and create the best chances and if you can’t kill the game, the game is always open and with some action you can concede a goal or a chance like we conceded, an accident for Hugo and the decision didn’t help us.
Davinson Sanchez (£5.8m) proved yet again to be a threat in the opposition box, meanwhile, having a goal harshly chalked off for an offside decision on Kane.
Pochettino continues to put his faith in Lucas Moura, but despite his deflected goal in the first half the Brazilian midfielder once again failed to really pass the “eye test” on the right flank.
Son was perhaps more of a threat on the left, registering five shots on goal, but Erik Lamela (£6.4m) once again looked the more effective wide player upon his introduction, striking the bar after jinking into the PSV area on 73 minutes. Were it not for the Argentinean midfielder’s underlying hip issue that has to be carefully managed, then Lamela would surely be a shoo-in for a regular supporting role in attack given the middling form of his positional rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies; Dembele (Winks 74′), Dier; Moura (Lamela 64′), Eriksen, Son (Vorm 81′); Kane.
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