Liverpool 1 - Napoli 0

[Clitheroekid]

I think I've just lost about 5 years of my life! For those (the majority of LF's, it would appear!) who have little interest in footy, Liverpool were tonight playing Napoli at Anfield. Liverpool had to win either 1-0 or by at least two goals if Napoli scored, in order to qualify for the next round of the Champions League.

They scored (through the miraculous Mo Salah, who else) in the 34th minute, but of course if Napoli then scored Liverpool would need another two.

It was a cracking match. Liverpool had so many chances that they failed to convert, and Napoli, who are an excellent team and second only to Juventus in the Italian league, played well, creating a couple of great chances.

The four minutes injury time were a very, very long four minutes, but somehow Liverpool hung on to that precious scoreline and signed off another fantastic European night at Anfield.

And with them also topping the Premier League this is a great time to be a Liverpool fan! (Cue the inevitable response, "Enjoy it while it lasts!")

[kiloran]

Yes, brilliant entertainment, capped by an astonishing save by Alisson in added time. I don't think I could have survived that going in, my home-town team managed to convert a 1-0 away lead on 90 minutes to a 2-1 defeat on saturday. Twice in 3 days would have been too much.

--kiloran

[Howyoudoin]

I think I've just lost about 5 years of my life! For those (the majority of LF's, it would appear!) who have little interest in footy, Liverpool were tonight playing Napoli at Anfield. Liverpool had to win either 1-0 or by at least two goals if Napoli scored, in order to qualify for the next round of the Champions League.

They scored (through the miraculous Mo Salah, who else) in the 34th minute, but of course if Napoli then scored Liverpool would need another two.

It was a cracking match. Liverpool had so many chances that they failed to convert, and Napoli, who are an excellent team and second only to Juventus in the Italian league, played well, creating a couple of great chances.

The four minutes injury time were a very, very long four minutes, but somehow Liverpool hung on to that precious scoreline and signed off another fantastic European night at Anfield.

And with them also topping the Premier League this is a great time to be a Liverpool fan! (Cue the inevitable response, "Enjoy it while it lasts!")

Was a great game to watch and I thought they were going to throw it away at the end with all of the chances that Mane missed and the long balls that Napoli were chucking into your box causing havoc.

It's amazing that we have a team as dominant as City in the Premier League . . . and yet currently they are not top of the league. Brilliant times for Liverpool and their fans. Love Klopp too. He's filled the void left by the now perma-miserable Mourinho.

Congrats also to Spurs who have managed to reach the last 16 of the CL - a feat which seemed impossible after their first two games.

HYD

[Itsallaguess]

Congrats also to Spurs who have managed to reach the last 16 of the CL - a feat which seemed impossible after their first two games.

Spurs actually took just a single point from their opening three group games - they had an absolute mountain to climb to then get out of that group, which also contained Barcelona, Inter Milan, and PSV....

Whilst I agree that the Liverpool v Napoli match was great nail-biting entertainment, I actually think the Spurs qualification was the best English footballing story from last night.

As for Liverpool - we welcome United to Anfield on Sunday.....lots to play for.....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Howyoudoin]

As for Liverpool - we welcome United to Anfield on Sunday.....lots to play for.....

Oh for the days of eesafakt.

How things have changed since then.

HYD

[Leothebear]

"Eesafact" or "Winker" amongst several others.

Yeah the guy you loved to hate. That footie board was electric!

[simoan]

Spurs actually took just a single point from their opening three group games - they had an absolute mountain to climb to then get out of that group, which also contained Barcelona, Inter Milan, and PSV....

Whilst I agree that the Liverpool v Napoli match was great nail-biting entertainment, I actually think the Spurs qualification was the best English footballing story from last night.

Well, I've only just got my voice back from the Spurs-Barca match last Tuesday. I didn't see the Liverpool match but can't imagine it was more nail biting, especially the two minutes after the game ended waiting to see if Inter would score in injury time.

I like Klopp but he's spent a hell of a lot of money. Maurice is doing a better job with buttons. He'll be off to Madrid in the summer and I for one will wish him well and won't blame him one bit.

Oh, Oh, Oh, He's Magic, you knoowwww...
Si

[Lootman]

Spurs actually took just a single point from their opening three group games - they had an absolute mountain to climb to then get out of that group, which also contained Barcelona, Inter Milan, and PSV....

Whilst I agree that the Liverpool v Napoli match was great nail-biting entertainment, I actually think the Spurs qualification was the best English footballing story from last night.

Well, I've only just got my voice back from the Spurs-Barca match last Tuesday. I didn't see the Liverpool match but can't imagine it was more nail biting, especially the two minutes after the game ended waiting to see if Inter would score in injury time.

I like Klopp but he's spent a hell of a lot of money. Maurice is doing a better job with buttons. He'll be off to Madrid in the summer and I for one will wish him well and won't blame him one bit.

Spurs were playing a Barcelona reserve team who had nothing to play for. You perhaps noticed that the other big teams that had already qualified also had bad results - Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barca got 2 draws and 2 losses between them.

So Liverpool's result was a better achievement. All that said, I think Man City will be the only EPL team in the quarter-finals, having seen the draw today.

[simoan]

Spurs were playing a Barcelona reserve team who had nothing to play for. You perhaps noticed that the other big teams that had already qualified also had bad results - Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barca got 2 draws and 2 losses between them.

So Liverpool's result was a better achievement. All that said, I think Man City will be the only EPL team in the quarter-finals, having seen the draw today.

I didn't say it wasn't. Talk about setting up a straw man... Where did I say that? I merely said the Spurs match was probably more nail biting because the tension didn't even end when the game did. And of course, that Maurice had us punching above our weight with a fraction of the net spend and wage bill available to Klopp. That is all.

Si

[Lootman]

Spurs were playing a Barcelona reserve team who had nothing to play for. You perhaps noticed that the other big teams that had already qualified also had bad results - Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barca got 2 draws and 2 losses between them.

So Liverpool's result was a better achievement. All that said, I think Man City will be the only EPL team in the quarter-finals, having seen the draw today.

I merely said the Spurs match was probably more nail biting because the tension didn't even end when the game did. And of course, that Maurice had us punching above our weight with a fraction of the net spend and wage bill available to Klopp.

How nail-biting a game is is surely depends on how vested one is in the outcome. For me I watched the Barca-Spurs game with insouciance because I didn't care about the result. That's the fun part of watching a game as a neutral. Whereas, like CK I was on the edge of my seat for the Liverpool game.

That said, I will generally support any English team in Europe. Although I'll make an exception for Spurs and West Ham, the latter not being very likely anyway.

Pochi is good but, as you say, he will be leaving next year and any new manager will want to spend. Spurs always seem to come up against a ceiling at the top level, and you don't win 'owt with kids

[simoan]

How nail-biting a game is is surely depends on how vested one is in the outcome. For me I watched the Barca-Spurs game with insouciance because I didn't care about the result. That's the fun part of watching a game as a neutral. Whereas, like CK I was on the edge of my seat for the Liverpool game.

I'll see your insouciance and admit I didn't bother even watching the highlights of the Liverpool game.

That said, I will generally support any English team in Europe. Although I'll make an exception for Spurs and West Ham, the latter not being very likely anyway.

Nice!I don't watch or support other English teams in Europe. Why bother? Of course, it's always a laugh when they get to a final and lose and then you end up finishing above them in the league .

Spurs always seem to come up against a ceiling at the top level, and you don't win 'owt with kids

Yes, it's much more fun watching others spend more money and still win naff all

Si

[Lootman]

it's always a laugh when they get to a final and lose and then you end up finishing above them in the league . .

Remind me again when Spurs last won the top division or a European competition. Finishing second really doesn't count.

Spurs always seem to come up against a ceiling at the top level, and you don't win 'owt with kids

Yes, it's much more fun watching others spend more money and still win naff all

Yeah, much better to spend it all on a new stadium that never quite seems to be ready, and not be able to afford to buy any players for the decades it takes to pay off the loans.

I'll give Spurs credit for consistency in recent years, whilst teams like Man U and Chelsea have bounced around like a yo-yo. But you can't dine out on 1961 forever and consistently finishing 3rd doesn't do it.

[simoan]

Yeah, much better to spend it all on a new stadium that never quite seems to be ready, and not be able to afford to buy any players for the decades it takes to pay off the loans.

Haha! You must have me down as some kind of Spurs apologist, in which case you have totally the wrong person. I despise our current owners and their vanity project - I've seen it described as a "football themed leisure complex", which it is, frankly. I will never step foot in it or give a single penny of my money to these small time Charlies with big ideas. There is no need in this day and age to build such a stadium and we know the majority of PL revenue is not generated on match day, and yet the muppets bulldozed a perfectly good football stadium to build it.

I'll give Spurs credit for consistency in recent years, whilst teams like Man U and Chelsea have bounced around like a yo-yo. But you can't dine out on 1961 forever and consistently finishing 3rd doesn't do it.

Does that mean you already think Liverpool will finish above Spurs this season? It's looking likely but don't count your chickens. We've played 10 away games already, only 7 at home. Of course, on the old TMF Footie board the high hopes every season of red scousers was a running joke amongst supporters of other clubs.

And you'll have to remind me the last time Liverpool won the Premier League? For such a big club that's pretty tragic, isn't it? Of course, they nearly won it in 2013-14 (which coincidentally is the last time they finished above Spurs) right up until where StevieG slipped on his ass and gifted Chelsea a goal! If there's been a funnier moment in PL history, I've never seen it.

Si

[Itsallaguess]

I like Klopp but he's spent a hell of a lot of money. Maurice is doing a better job with buttons.

Hi Si,

Looks like you're having fun here, so I'll just nip in for a moment and ask what you think Liverpool's net-spend has been since Klopp landed at Liverpool, and how that compares to the other top teams in the Premier League?

I'll let you go and have a look if you like, but some figures would be nice given that you've mentioned Klopp's spending a few times in the last couple of posts.

Apologies for the brief interruption in play - as you were!!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Lootman]

StevieG slipped on his ass and gifted Chelsea a goal! If there's been a funnier moment in PL history, I've never seen it.

Well, it was quite amusing when Spurs picked up nine yellow cards whilst throwing away a 2-goal lead against Chelsea and thereby handed the Premiership to mighty Leicester City in 2016.

Oh so spursy.

[simoan]

Well, it was quite amusing when Spurs picked up nine yellow cards whilst throwing away a 2-goal lead against Chelsea and thereby handed the Premiership to mighty Leicester City in 2016.

Oh so spursy.

That's rubbish actually. It also depended on Leicester dropping points that they did not as it turned out. Anyway, we should never let the truth get in the way of fake news, should we?

I'm sorry but nothing will come close to seeing Gerrard slip on his backside and gift a goal to Demba Ba, that was utterly hilarious and most other footie fans I know that are not red scousers thought so too. It couldn't have happened so a nicer bloke. BTW on TMF Footie Fools he was called CheatieG!

Si

[simoan]

Hi Si,

Looks like you're having fun here, so I'll just nip in for a moment and ask what you think Liverpool's net-spend has been since Klopp landed at Liverpool, and how that compares to the other top teams in the Premier League?

I'll let you go and have a look if you like, but some figures would be nice given that you've mentioned Klopp's spending a few times in the last couple of posts.
Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Well according to the Liverpool Echo it was £125m last summer but Transfermarkt has it at £148m.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liverpo ... lpos=&w_s=

Obviously that's a little bit more than Spurs... I believe the net spend of Spurs since Pochettino joined 4 years ago is less than £30m. And of course, let's not forget the total wage bill which is off the scale at Liverpool compared to Spurs. It seems some people are so one-eyed they wouldn't give credit where it's due under any circumstances, and would rather support Man Utd in Europe

All the best, Si

[Itsallaguess]

Looks like you're having fun here, so I'll just nip in for a moment and ask what you think Liverpool's net-spend has been since Klopp landed at Liverpool, and how that compares to the other top teams in the Premier League?

I'll let you go and have a look if you like, but some figures would be nice given that you've mentioned Klopp's spending a few times in the last couple of posts.

Well according to the Liverpool Echo it was £125m last summer but Transfermarkt has it at £148m.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liverpo ... lpos=&w_s=

Thanks Si, but Klopp's been at Liverpool for three years - do you have any net-spend figures for that whole three-year period?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[simoan]

Looks like you're having fun here, so I'll just nip in for a moment and ask what you think Liverpool's net-spend has been since Klopp landed at Liverpool, and how that compares to the other top teams in the Premier League?

I'll let you go and have a look if you like, but some figures would be nice given that you've mentioned Klopp's spending a few times in the last couple of posts.

Well according to the Liverpool Echo it was £125m last summer but Transfermarkt has it at £148m.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liverpo ... lpos=&w_s=

Thanks Si, but Klopp's been at Liverpool for three years - do you have any net-spend figures for that whole three-year period?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I think the year before Coutinho went to Barca so 17/18 was likely positive or break even. I think the biggest debt was definitely last summer. You should be able to check previous seasons in Transfermarkt. It would not surprise me if the Klopp net spend was over £100m though.

All the best, Si

[Howyoudoin]

Interesting, as a neutral party, that the main Liverpool fan here was able to appreciate and congratulate the Tottenham achievement.

Whereas, the main Spurs fan here only wanted to congratulate their own effort.

And yet they wonder why everyone hates Spurs . . .

HYD