With Manchester United crashing out of the FA cup to Boro and Chelsea and West Ham coming close to defeats against lower league sides, Liverpool must not underestimate the determination and desire of Cardiff to progress in this competition. They will no doubt be out to impress and win. Recognising this and the strength of Cardiff, Klopp has started a strong team with the hope to cruise through today’s game, but there is always a chance for a scrappy game and shock result. After all, this is the FA Cup.
A match of two halves. The Redmen dominated in the first halve with 82% possession but were sloppy throughout, not moving the ball with pace and the final product was missing. The boys could just not hit the target to save their life. Cardiff, in fairness, were positive from the start showing a real intent and desire. Whilst the start of second half was shaky with Kelleher almost receiving a red card, Liverpool stepped up a gear. Cardiff were boxed into their half and Trent finally delivered a good cross into Jota – who was immense today – producing a fine header into the bottom left corner. The substitution of Elliot and Diaz, however, were game changers. Elliot showed his quality and how important he is to the team; he was skilful, quick-footed and pacey. Diaz showed glimpses of his quality and was highly involved in Liverpool’s second goal. Overall, a display of dominance and a comfortable win for Liverpool who struggled to make chances in the first half. Onto the 5th round…
Didn’t have much to do. However, he almost changed the game entirely and was fortunate not to get sent off.
His free-kicks were poor today and he was sloppy making a few unforced mistakes. Not the usual Trent we are use to seeing. However, he did show his class with an excellent, pin point cross into the box for Jota to head expertly into the bottom left – the keeper had no chance.
Almost gave away a penalty in the first half and could have done better in the lead up to the Cardiff goal. He allowed the player to run at him for too long which resulted in Cowell getting close to the goal and tucking it in. Other than that, Konate was solid, winning his headers and maintaining the high line of Liverpool throughout.
Possibly could have done better in the build-up to the Cardiff goal. He sat off the attacker, which resulted in a goal. Conversely, for the majority of the game, Virgil didn’t allow Cardiff to have a sniff of a chance. They never felt like scoring and this is largely thanks to the Dutch Colossus.
Tsimikas: 8
Another impressive performance. He showed a real desire to win the ball back and delivered a few good crosses.
A few missed placed passes and was sloppy in the first half. However, he grew into the game and produced a solid performance, moving the ball quickly and creating half chances before being subbed for Thiago.
Keita was quite quiet today with no noteworthy contributions. Subbed in the 57th minute for Elliot.
Jones: 6.5
Wasn’t his day today. He skied a ball in the first half from a good cross by Taki. However, he did show some intent to drive at the defence and worked hard to create some chances for himself. Subbed in the 56th minute for Luis Diaz.
Minamino: 7.5
Overall positive from Taki. A few wasteful passes and crosses but he held the ball up well at times which drew in fouls. Good predictive play in the 68th minute to bag himself a goal before being subbed off for Milner.
Firmino: 7
Bobby was OK today. Like Henderson he grew into the game and like Taki, he held the ball up well and drew in some good fouls. He did manage to get a header on target.
Jota: 9
Phenomenal today. He should have scored in the 4th minute from an excellent nutmeg turn, but the finish was poor; he did all the hard work but the final product wasn’t there. However, his excellent header put Liverpool into the lead. He was key to our win.
Subs:
Diaz: 8 – perhaps generous but who blames me? WE HAVE A NEW LIVERPOOL PLAYER!
Thankfully he wasn’t injured on his debut! Diaz looks like a great edition to the team. Obviously, he needs time to settle in but his quality is clear for everyone to see already. In terms of contribution, he does really well to win the ball back on the touchline and provide an assist for Minamino.
Elliot: 9
What a player! He was integral to changing the dynamic of the game. Having an immediate involvement, he increased the games tempo and fluidity. After months out from injury, he didn’t look ‘rusty’ at all. His goal was sensational, setting himself up for a volley on the turn with an execution of pure class.
SUBS
Milner: N/A
Robertson: N/A
Looked positive.
Thiago: N/A
