Liverpool (a) - CL Quarter Final pre-match thread

Liverpool v City CL prediction

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tolmie's hairdoo said:
It's just white noise - hyperbole.

They don't have a single player who is accustomed to a big game of any sort, both in terms of experience and relevance.

I was thinking about this last night, even Ederson is a title winner and will have played Benfica v Porto.

Then there's David Silva - a World Cup winner and Euro winner.

How about Fernandinho and Jesus - title winners - played Brazil v Argentina - same goes for Otamendi for that fixture.

Milner is about the only Liverpool player accustomed to pressure when at City.
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Let me put it this way: we hope, everybody in this forum I mean, that your logic will apply in tonight’s game, becoming one of the key elements in its process. Because history teaches us it’s not always the case…

The variable missing from your post is related to City’s (in-)experience in this competition. Which is the reason Guardiola insists it may take years, even decades, to cement a successful European status, we’ll have to be there competing with the very best year after year, again and again and again. People who have watched the likes of Real, Barcelona, Bayern etc this season, will tell you that City have nothing to fear against them. I agree. Still they have something we don’t. The familiarity with such situations, they’ve been there before more than once, and they’ve done it successfully. Reaching the very end of that process. Again, more than once. An experience providing composure in their players' moves, confidence. An experience removing the pressure…

I’ll never forget City’s first half at Monaco last season. And I’ll never forget Guardiola’s press conference the night before. I didn’t like it. I love the guy, I will defend his vision to death, but for a man of his experience he got it all wrong. He was aware of our inexperience, after all he was the one mentioning it all season. And he should have also taken into account that he had an imbalanced team in last season’s City. Who had been repeatedly punished for their defensive weaknesses, a recurring theme in our matches (rather difficult to enter the pitch confident when you know that no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you play, you will eventually concede...). Nevertheless Pep expected from his players to make a statement: he pushed them too hard. As we all know, the team did not follow him during first half, City were a shadow of themselves. And even when we improved in the process, that amateurish reaction -again!- to that fucking free kick killed our hopes. For a number of reasons that team did not believe in its capabilities therefore never showed up that night. For a number of reasons City were not ready last season…

The obvious question here is, what about Liverpool? Your post provides the answer, but what you write applies to the particular personnel Klop will field tonight -not the “shirt”, not the club. There’s a difference. How it will influence their performance remains to be seen. The real question, however, is how City will respond. The progress we have made, the quality in our game as well as our consistency, have been phenomenal. But even this season, Guardiola himself talked about that ridiculous thing called “the Anfield factor” after City’s defeat there…

So tonight’ game, before anything else, will be a very serious test regarding the mental aspect of the team. Which is what I’ve been constantly repeating these days. Can we leave behind us this negative tradition at Anfield? Can we handle the pressure of being the favorites in a CL QF? Because that’s what we are. Klop knows it. Which is why, as expected, he’s desperately trying to remove the pressure from his players. Telling them they have nothing to lose. That’s what that headline I read after Robertson’s press conference implies anyway. Not sure he’s doing it successfully though. Because at the same time he insists his Liverpool is as good as Guardiola’s City. Just that his side lacks consistency. Of course it’s his ego talking here. But it could turn a bit confusing for his players…

What I’m trying to say is that it’s not just the football. It’s much much more. One of the reasons this sport is so complicated. How many times haven’t we witnessed favorites failing to deliver, collapsing psychologically, unable to handle the pressure of being favorites? A guy called Unai Emery, among many many others out there, would have a lot to add to this subject -even though I expect him to remain silent regarding his own incompetence…

Hopefully this will not be the story of tonight’s game. Hopefully Guardiola’s tactical decisions will be correct. And hopefully the team will make the statement our manager expects. City have already made a giant step forward, I repeat our progress in such a small period of time has been truly unbelievable. I feel sorry for the people unable to realize this fact, claiming it’s all about the “money” and all that nonsense. I really do. They will never understand the concept of the term “talent”, when talking about a football manager -even though everything about his work is crystal clear right in front of them. Anyway, fuck them. It’s time to prove City have reached another level in terms of personality, in terms of maturity…
 
I started about 3 hrs ago. Drinking with a Cockney rag. Tbf he is ok. The only problem I have been on medication and no drink since last Wednesday.
 
edinburgh123 said:
they have the history, they have far better fans than us all of whom have been outside the ground since last Thursday, even their chips are 20p cheaper than ours. Just don't see how our players will cope against a forward line of Dalglish, Rush and Keegan ably supported by Toshack, Souness and Gerrard.
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Haha brilliant.
 
If you think calmly and rationally about it, then you would have to fancy our chances tonight simply because we are a far superior team, as shown by the gap in the league. However, it’s hard to get away from our absolutely appalling record at Anfield. It’s not even down to their supposed legendary atmosphere. There’s been plenty of times when the atmosphere has been rubbish there, and we’ve still invariably lost. It’s just one of those things. For whatever reason it’s a bogey ground for us. Let’s hope the lads can put that hoodoo to bed tonight.
 
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