April 24, 20187 yr Good read. Two problems dominate all others before Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final at Anfield – at least in determining how the game will be won. Can Roma stop Mohamed Salah and can Liverpool defend set plays? A key factor in Roma’s success against Barcelona was Eusebio Di Francesco’s switch to a 3-5-2, having fielded a 4-3-3 in every other game bar one this season. It not only wrong-footed Barcelona but meant Roma had three against two at the back and in midfield, something that was possible because the two wing-backs, Alessandro Florenzi and Aleksandar Kolarov, had the energy to drive back Barça’s wide men, Sergi Roberto and Andrés Iniesta. It forced them to defend rather than tucking in to offer support to the two central midfielders, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic. That had two principal benefits. First it meant Juan Jesus could step with confidence from the backline to deal with Lionel Messi, knowing he always had two players behind him who had just one central forward, Luis Suárez, to contain. It also meant that at the back of midfield Daniele De Rossi, protected by Kevin Strootman and Radja Nainggolan, had time and space to make the play. And that is why this match will be so different from Roma’s task against Barça. Quite apart from anything else there is no chance that De Rossi will have as much time on the ball as he had then. The sight of him measuring his pass over the defence for Edin Dzeko in the second minute as no one closed him down should shame Barça. Whether that was a facet of their attitude or a conscious decision to release Suárez and Messi from defensive responsibility, it allowed Roma’s creative fulcrum to go about his business unchallenged. Roberto Firmino will not allow it. Liverpool will be aggressive, fearsomely so, in their press and how Roma handle that will go a long way to determining whether they have a chance in the game. The worry for Di Francesco must be the way Tottenham – after their dozy 10 minutes in Turin and before their dozy 10 minutes at Wembley – were able almost to bully Juventus in their last-16 meeting, something that confirmed the impression the Premier League is a different level from Serie A in terms of pace and power. Even more concerning must be the fact that, aggressively as Spurs press, Liverpool are far more ferocious. As well as everything else this will be a serious physical examination. ... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/24/roma-bunker-liverpool-storm-champions-league-semi-final
April 24, 20187 yr History behind the best song in the world. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/allez-allez-allez-story-behind-14568956
April 24, 20187 yr Got LFC/BVB tixs. Section 140, Row 6. Little over $100 total per tix. Edited April 24, 20187 yr by TKS
April 24, 20187 yr 10 minutes ago, JimmyHoffa said: late lunch it is.............. Scotch is lunch, right?
April 24, 20187 yr Kinell we we don’t have an Ox replacement (we don’t have many replacements for any of our starting 11).
April 24, 20187 yr Just now, hobbes2702 said: Hope it’s just a knock not a ligament This. We can't afford to lose anyone at this point.
April 24, 20187 yr We got bad shots Mane today. Come on Mane. Allison is good. Maybe file that away Jurgen
April 24, 20187 yr Salah is MAGICAL! That is the kind of goal that Messi used to make. Just spectacular. WOW!!
April 24, 20187 yr I had Coutinho on the brain as I was thinking free kicks are the one thing I'm missing that he brought in games like this.
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