It was a case of two points dropped as Saints drew at Anfield when they really could of and should have taken the game by the scruff of the neck and won.

It took a late goal from Sadio Mane to rescue a point, but the reality was that although Liverpool had the bulk of the possession and chances, there was little class present in their play and Saints should have punished them for it.

Yes the ome side may have had 60% possession, but they did little with it and Saints looked comfortable on the ball throughout but got caught with a sucker punch just as they looked the team most likely to win it and had to chase the game.

It was good to see Jordy Clasie start a Premier game for the first time and he started to show why Ronald Koeman rates his so highly, getting in a great 75 minutes of hard work before coming off with the satisfaction of a job well done, indeed the fact that it was Juanmi who replaced him showed that Ronald Koeman was looking to win the game from there.

Sadly Saints let in Benteke for what looked like might be a sucker punch, but Saints are made of sterner stuff these days and with Gaston Ramirez brought on to boost the attacking options they netted a well deserved equaliser with Sadio Mane making sure that Gaston Ramirez's header went in although wit Mignolet stranded it would have gone in anyway.

Mane had to take one for the team in injury time though and no one could argue that either of his two yellow cards was harsh,

Saints now are unbeaten away from home in the Premier League and i would hazard a guess we have never gone into November of a season with that record intact before.

Perhaps the only downside of this game was that Saints didn't seem to have the confidence to really take the game by the scruff of the neck and put Liverpool to the sword, if we had of done then we could really have ruined Jurgen Klopp's first home Premier game at Anfield, but once we find that cutting edge then this team could surpass even last year.

Although it was disappointing that it wasn't three points, with that in itself being an indication of ow far Saints have come under Koeman in such a short time, the point sees us nicely poised in 8th and with Clasie now available we will surely be looking to push on into the top six although that feat might have to wait a week or two with Spurs unlikely to lose against Villa at home next week to allow us to overtake them on goal difference should we beat Bournemouth on Sunday.

Photo: Action Images

altonsaints added 18:50 - Oct 26 Totally agree with what you have said. If you think back a few years, and we would have been extremely happy with a point from a trip Anfeld. This also shows how far we have come and how or expectations have risen over the last couple of years
4

DPeps added 18:54 - Oct 26 Draw was probably fair for two evenly matched teams. Neither team really controlled the game, which is a shame because I think Liverpool were there for the taking. I find it laughable that Liverpool continue to spend such large sums of money year on year and have built a dysfunctional team. Overall I think we played ok but were poor in possession. Some individual assessments: van Dijk - such a classy player, great buy Clasie - much improved but panics on the ball sometimes Mane - great again, shame he'll miss the Villa game Tadic - our most infuriating player, offered little Pelle - one of his off games, spent most of the game muttering and looking exasperated. Still love him though! And great to see Gaston make an impact. Pelle could have won the game after Gaston slipped him through, so he could've had two assists

3

BoondockSaint added 19:04 - Oct 26 To be honest, I was happy with the draw at the end. Saints just couldn't get that last touch in during most of the game. Nice to see Gaston get in and nearly get a goal, and then set up Mane. Hopefully he gets more time (that should light a fire under Tadic) But I would much rather rant (as usual) about the media. Yes it was Klopp's first home game, but it was the usual "What is Liverpool doing wrong?" "What changes do they have to make?" Benteke scores a header and the announcers have multiple goalasms. It was a good header, but nothing spectacular. Have you every noticed that TV almost always skips the singing of national anthems at sporting events because they are running an advert or the "pundits" have more to say? But Sunday they made sure to be back at the stadium for the entire rendition of "You'll Never W@nk Alone"? OK, rant over, hope Boruc is in goal next week!

4

aceofthebase added 19:22 - Oct 26 I didn't see anything that Clasie did that gave me any hope that he can become a premiership player. I also noted that Southampton players just would not pass to him and he often wandered around doing little. He tried a little bit more tho. Gaston is ready to play a major role for Saints and I hope RK gives him pitch time.
-1

ElSanto added 19:56 - Oct 26 I worry about Clasie. I know the boy can pass like the best of them, but everything else up to now has looked well below par. He looks lost, weak and low on confidence. I fear this might not be his kind of league. I hope I'm wrong, but it will take a monster improvement from what I'm seeing at the moment. I do really like him, so I will be toting for him. I just don't want us to sacrifice games waiting to see if he comes good. For me it should always be Romeu, Wanyama and Steve Davis; rotating Ward-Prowse with one of them depending on the game and time of match.

0

VancouverSaint added 20:11 - Oct 26 I think that Romeu or Clasie need to fight for the right to be starting alongside Vic. One of them will come through as the dominant one and, given another game or two, my money is on Clasie. I would love to have Gaston back in the rotation. With Mane out for Wednesday and Tadic not playing well right now, I would love Gaston and Juanmi starting. We have much more depth than last year, so if and when the injuries inevitably happen, we should fare much better than most. I give us a realistic chance of 5th or 6th this year.

3

IWOZTHERE added 21:49 - Oct 26 As said. Shows our progress that we're complaining about only getting a point at Anfield.Too early to slam Clasie although I was surprised He started. Would have thought Romeu would start.Pleased for Ramires and surprised RK seemed so peed off with Mane, as you inferred, Two daft tackles but one was 'for the team' when Liverpool were breaking in numbers.
1

TeamCortese added 22:04 - Oct 26 5 points out of a possible 9 against Chelsea (away), one of the best Leicester teams I've ever seen (home) and Liverpool (away). Do I need to say anymore? We're doing well and I think a lot teams are starting to realise last season wasn't a fluke--Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool especially #COYS
2

IanRC added 23:03 - Oct 26 Thought referee was poor (again). If Mane collected two bookings how did Milner avoid them. Which game does he miss, the cup game or next weeks league match. A real star in the making.
3

SaintDownUnder added 03:51 - Oct 27 I understand the sentiment Nick however I think you're viewing the game through saints tinted glasses. We won the first half, they won the second, a draw was about right. We looked solid and comfortable and to be fair chances for either team were hard to come by, as both were pretty organised. I think we pressed brilliantly in the first half and beat klopp at his own game - welcome to the premiership sunshine. I have to say I thought Clasie was largely anonymous and is still adjusting, i trust Koeman, he'll get better with time. This performance was built on Wanyama, fonte and VVD all of whom were fantastic - other than a brilliant bit of work from Benteke Liverpool at home didn't really look like troubling us. Given they spent $100m+ last year and we made a profit you could argue that's pretty impressive. It was also great to see us playing with width and Bertrand and Cederic bombing forward, you know you're on top when your fullbacks are so far forward and for large parts of the game that was the case. I do agree with you Nick that this current team has the potential to eclipse the results of last years, lets hope we continue to progress and that keeps Koeman intrigued enough to extend his contract and see where this ends up. I like what I see so far that's for sure.

0

helpineedsomebody added 07:02 - Oct 27 lets hope mr koeman makes gaston ramirez captain tommorow night great left peg ,classy footballer, & no free transfer in january what i saw on sunday havent seen this type of play since big mac in the eighties
-1

WestSussexSaint added 07:45 - Oct 27 IanRC - he misses the next domestic match which will be the Villa cup game. I expect RK may have rested him anyway. Overall as I have said in a separate post, I think a draw was fair given the lack of attacking quality. Gaston definitely made a difference for us coming on and with Long and JRod injured, Mane suspended and Tadic off colour, I hope he gets more game time against Villa.

4

schatfield added 08:50 - Oct 27 A draw was very fair, and Nick I don't agree a case of 2 points dropped. Benteke scored a fantastic goal and then we equalized. In between, neither side troubled the other too much. Fantastic to see Gaston back on, and hope he starts in the cup game. Would play him ahead of Ward-Prowse any day. Gaston and Romeu please.
5

IanRC added 09:48 - Oct 27 Thanks WestSussexSaint Villa will probably be very happy about that given what happened last time.
0

sidsaint added 10:51 - Oct 27 Great to see what RK has achieved. Despite losing so many of our players he has rebuilt and brought a great sense of belief and organisation in the squad. We are fast becoming a top premiership club where the likes of so called big clubs (Chelsea and Liverpool) hold no fear for us. Even Gascon coming back with an attitude than many thought would not be possible and the press labelling him as a flop. We have to keep hold of RK so that we can cement our position in the top quarter of the league, we have an opportunity we must not throw away.

3

aceofthebase added 12:51 - Oct 27 Thought it was a brilliant result despite playing the first half and a bit more with ten men.
0

DPeps added 14:42 - Oct 27 Anyone get the impression Aceofthebase doesn't rate Clasie?! At the risk of sounding like a stuck record: give the guy some time! CM is a difficult position and it takes time for players to adapt to playing alongside, in front of and behind a new set of players. Wanyama wasn't great straight away, and Romeu hasn't found his feet yet either. Our success last season was largely down to us keeping the MS and VW partnership in midfield. We need to build another partnership like that. Maybe Clasie will be part of that, maybe not, but give him more than two games

2

aceofthebase added 18:40 - Oct 27 Don't worry I will be cheering for Clasie tomorrow and look forward to apologising if he proves me wrong.
1

Blogs 31 bloggers

Bristol Rovers Polls