UEFA Champions League 2021-2022 Draw: Group B Liverpool Group of death? But I like it.

OK! This morning we had our draw for the UEFA Champions League.

Here's the breakdown:

GROUP A:
Manchester City
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
RB Leipzig
Club Brugge

GROUP B:
Liverpool
FC Porto
AC Milan
Atletico Madrid

GROUP C
Sporting CP
Borussia Dortmund
Besiktas
Ajax

GROUP D
Internazionale
Real Madrid
Shaktar Donesk
Sheriff

GROUP E
Bayern Munich
FC Barcelona
Benfica
Dynamo Kiev

GROUP F:
Villareal
Manchester United
Atalanta
Young Boys

GROUP G
LOSC / Lille
Sevilla
Salzburg
Wolfsburg

GROUP H
Chelsea
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Malmo

Few interesting groups and 2 of which stand out as one of the hardest:
Group A and Group B. Group A is like Last season's group H: Just swap out United for City, which still makes it a difficult group. However, I think Majority would say that the group of Death is Group B which is us. Initial thoughts, wow, this is gonna be a rough group. But I like it. Jurgen actually 'Laughed, pretty loud" as his reaction. But really, it's a tasty group to watch, not gonna lie. However, AC Milan did lose players this window, one of whom was perhaps the best Goalie in Serie A, Gianluigi Donnarumma. We are still stuck with Jan Oblak in Atletico so it'll still be again a challenge.  Which leads to...

Group A is still a tough group, PSG heavily upgraded their squad. Now Messi's there, Wijnaldum's there, Sergio Ramos, Hakmi and now Gigi Donnarumma is there too! Expect PSG to dominate there or it'll be totally unbearable if PSG doesn't qualify. And Man City's countless spending also led to Jack Grealish who is also in form too. 

That said, if you think about it, if we can dump any one of AC Milan or Atletico Madrid or even both, this will make our path subsequently a whole lost easier. With that said though, I really hope FSG really pulls off some transfers right now because this is insane, we're gonna have to keep playing heavy with our first team because there's no dead rubber match unless we happen to secure the group early.

MD2: Liverpool vs Burnley - Comfortable in Full Anfield! Full Back artillery unleashed

Burnley Burnley Burnley

You guys and Sean Dyche have always been a tough nut to crack. We still made it comfortable despite that difficulty. And finally playing in front of a Full Anfield Crowd after a full 520+ days of empty stadiums. 

GK: Alisson Becker 7.5 / 10

Fairly tested throughout the game and managed to keep his cool despite the valiant attempts by Burnley to get their opening goal. Not exactly the best performance by him but a clean sheet nonetheless.

LB: Kostas Tsimikas - 9 / 10

The man of the match. Kosta was always a constant threat from the left back position and connected well to assist for Jota's opening goal.  Defensively he was impressive as well. Frankly he's almost as good as the right sided Trent. But for a boss performance, he does deserve a higher mark than Trent. Robbo, best watch out. Kosta's in town. And he's ready.

RB: Trent Alexander Arnold - 8/10

Imperious playing on the deadly right hand side with Elliott. Connected beautifully to assist Mane's goal following a neat build up from Van Dijk and Harvey Elliott. Game stat wise he may have done more than Kostas but that is to be expected.

RCB: Joel Matip - 8.5 / 10

It's easy to see why Klopp always pairs Matip and Van Dijk together even though Konate should be given an opportunity to start. To be fair to Matip, if it ain't broke, don't fix it because for assurances at the back, he's very effective. Was busier than Van Dijk, 8 freaking aerial duels won is more than any other player on the pitch which is nothing to sneeze at either.

LCB: Van Dijk - 8.5/10

Back to his sharpness and man do we miss his long range distribution. Even though we do have the full backs for it, at least Van Dijk can also provide that artillery from the center back when needed. That 60 yard volley pass to Harvey Elliott which started the build up to Mane's goal was pin-point precision. 

CDM: Jordan Henderson - 7.5 / 10

Back on the field since the beginning of 2021 to start over Fabinho who was given compassionate leave. Captained his squad and dictated the midfield. Looked sharp and fit and kept his passes simple and positioned well. Typical performances that you'd expect from him.

LM: Naby Keita - 7 / 10

Quieter of the midfield, but at least now he is finding form when required. It'll take a miracle for him to stay fit because he still has that potential. Promising, but could be tidier. 

RAM: Harvey Elliott - 9 / 10

Was handed a surprise start for finally a PL debut and didn't look back. Truth be told though, for some time I've been wanting him as part of the front 4 in a 4231. But 433 will do and it's no problem for him. He performed well as though he was a natural matured senior. So well that the fact he even stayed on for the full 90 minutes shows how much confidence Klopp has in the lad. Dominated the right side of the midfield despite his young age and proved classy and just plainly oozes confidence. Should have gotten the assist when it was ruled out however that didn't affect his confidence. Tricky customer to deal with, winning the Reds quite a few fouls early and later played a part in Mane's 2nd goal after connecting Van Dijk's 60 yard pass with a very nice touch before connecting to TAA which then lead to Mane's goal. An excellent Premier League debut for Harvey that should have gotten off to a flying start with a goal which was a shame. That said, he may very well be significantly more effective a Number 8 than Keita. Give him the number 16 shirt.

ST: Diogo Jota - 8 / 10

2 games, 2 goals. Both scoring first. And the first goal to be scored this season in front of a full Anfield stadium. Was a menace down the center and often plays switcheroo with Mane.

LWF: Sadio Mane - 8 / 10

Got himself on a score sheet and was also a constant menace on the left hand side. Synergises well with Kostas Tsimikas. What a team goal this was.

RWF: Mo Salah - 7.5 / 10

Not the best night for him because of the offside goal. But doesn't take away that he was a threat in front of goal and does gel well with Elliott. Shame.

Bottom Line: Newbies are ready

If there's one thing that's absolutely sure about it, Newby KT and HE are ready, no doubt about it. Both Kostas Tsimikas and Harvey Elliott are gonna have a season of their lives. They already started very well in the preseason and this game just augments the reason even further.

2021-2022 Matchday 1: Norwich vs Liverpool 0-3 Ratings!

Nice start to the season where everyone got off the right foot and with Tsimikas having a point to prove in place of the injured Robertson. Liverpool once again, made pretty comfortable work of Norwich for successive encounters on opening days with a cool 0-3 victory. Not all is perfect though, and I'll say why in the ratings.

Alisson Becker - 8.5 / 10

Had little to do throughout the game but his alertness is why he's in the books for a good while longer. That triple save when Norwich were seeking a consolation goal late in the game. Something any Red would just have their jaws drop really and other keepers would simply struggle especially at near point blank range.

Trent Alexander Arnold - 7.5/10

Still the typical Alexander-Arnold but his defensive work is improving steadily. Combined well with Tsimikas.

Kostantinos Tsimikas - 8.5 / 10

He was Liverpool's best player during the pre-season and made this game pretty comfortable for him. Can be a bit sloppy sometimes but for someone to start a league game for the first time in a while, few would complain as otherwise he was industrious in attack. And though didn't get the assist, he set up for Mo's goal which eventually went in from a corner.

Virgil Van Dijk - 7/10

It was nice to finally give a full game for Van Dijk to try as he didn't manage to connect a full game this whole preseason ever since coming back from his major injury. No issues with him. Give him abit of time, and his sharpness will only start increasing abit more.

Joel Matip - 7.5/10

Could have fared abit better of stopping some of the Norwich attacks however, the typical Van Dijk and Matip partnership remained ultimately comfortable. Could have gotten a goal added which would have been nice, bummer from the corner.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6/10

It's just not really working out for him to be part of an attacking midfield style, let alone trying to groom him to be a Number 9. Was almost practically missing all day long. Just doesn't fit in the system to justify his high price we bought him for 5 seasons ago.

Naby Keita - 6.5 / 10

Not much better than Oxlade but at least he tries for it.

James Milner - 8 / 10

Not the best of nights, but he dictated well in an unusual DM role. And for him to cover more blades of grass than any other player in all teams in the premier league during this matchday (fun fact, 12.65 clicks or kilometers) speaks volumes of his endurance. Cause' put it plain, Jimmy ain't slowing down like how fine wine should be.

Diogo Jota - 8/10

Good start by opening his 21/22 account and taken his goal very well. He had been on fire since returning from injury at the closing stages of last season, along with a few more Euro 2020 goals along the way, and stil maintaining his momentum. Would be nice to see him along with any of our front 3 fight for the golden boot.

Mo Salah -  9 / 10

5 Opening Games, each scored by Salah, record breaker. Need we say more? Couldn't score in pre-seasons but this time it paid off. Last year 3 goal contributions, this time same, with 2 assists, nicely unselfish and one bloody cracking goal as a reward for his efforts and was a constant menace and a huge threat to Norwich's goal with each time getting closer to closer to scoring till that goal happened from a set piece.

Sadio Mane - 7.5 / 10

Not as prolific as the other forwards but did allow the attack to flow nicely when needed, combined well with Tsimikas and occasionally does switcheroo between the center to the left. Could have scored but luckily his blocked shot was collected by Salah to tees it back to Firmino.

SUBSTITUTES

Fabinho - 59"over Oxlade, 7

Shored up the midfield in the middle of the park and gave that much needed presence needed 

Roberto Firmino - 59" over Diogo Jota, 8

Instant impact once he came on and allowed the floodgates of Norwich to open. Took his goal extremely well after getting fed by Mo Salah and allowed Mane to stay towards the center.

Harvey Elliott - 82" over Keita, NR.

Came in too late to make any impact but at least he got some minutes in the tank. For now he'll be used in a similar role as Keita as a Number 8.

Summary:
Although 3-0 would seem like a cool comfortable scoreline, the weakness lies in the midfield. So even though still early this season, should still sign another midfielder to help. Another Striker or forward won't hurt either because we need to take into account that we may be without the Brazilian boys to quarantine after international duty, as well as Salah and Mane and Keita in AFCON.