Liverpool 5 – 1 Hull CIty : 5 Talking points

The Merseyside club has been in top form lately as they killed the game off in the first half itself, totally taking advantage of the extra man on the pitch, as Hull City had an afternoon to forget. The attack of Mane , Firmino and Coutinho tore through the Hull defense as Liverpool totally overpowered their opponents not even allowing them to get a sniff of the goal. Liverpool have been really dangerous in the past few games and this will be a warning sign for the title challengers as Liverpool appear to be tough contenders this year.

1. Jurgen Klopp Should Get the Credits

There was some epic play from Liverpool, the way they passed the ball , every player had a spring on their feet.  Liverpool had made a web inside the Hull, out of which Hull could barely make out 3-4 times. It felt like Barca was playing at times, the way Liverpool was passing the ball inside the Hull penalty area with ease , dominating possession and providing dangerous crosses time and again. The team was 3-0 up in the first half despite missing some really good opportunities and the way Liverpool played after losing the ball was amazing as well.

Liverpool hungrily pressed the Hull players and that left Hull with only two options- play a long ball to the lone striker ahead or clear the ball out. Either of the two options were not going to help them score anyways.But Liverpool  will have to be vary of the teams that can play well under pressure and counter attack well because that remains one of the biggest weakness of this side and it was clearly shown by Spurs why. Jurgen Klopp has changed the face of this team and the players look in good touch and great enough to win the league.

2. Hull City were without any tactical plan

Hull City looked out of sorts throughout the game as they went in without any proper game plan. The only thing they did in attack was pass the ball to their main player Robert Snodgrass and just see if he could produce magic. We all know Liverpool are going to play a possesion based attacking game. Obviously Hull would have gone for the counter attacks through the wings but there were totally no options on the wings for them. Only Snodgrass and Abel Hernandez would be getting outnumbered everytime as both play through the centre while Liverpool are most vulnerable on the wing area during counters. The red card of El Mohmady did play a part in that partially but still the manager should have planned better for the game.

3. El Mohmady Red Card

This was the moment when Hull City totally lost all their intensity and the spirit to win. It was certainly the worst moment of the game as Mohmady blocked Coutinho’s shot inside the area which left the refree no other option but to show the red card. Liverpool at that time were already a goal up and were totally all over that Hull defense, but this moment totally killed all the hopes for a comeback.

The only ray of hope that came for Hull was when David Meyler scored after the ball came rolling to him after a deflected header from Snodgrass corner and he fired home , taking full advantage of Liverpool’s sleeping defense. This joy was also short lived as Coutinho scored just after 9 touches after the game was resumed. The red card to their main wing back totally put the counter attacking option off the table for the manager as Hull just defended and defended trying to avoid humiliation.

4. Liverpool’s Attack second to none

Everybody is too busy with the form of Ibrahimovic or de Bruyne or Aguero but Liverpool actually have the best working attack in the league. They play really beautiful football and can get a goal from absolutely nowhere, remember Jordan Henderson’s strike midweek or Coutinho’s goal. The attacking trio of Firmino , Mane and Coutinho has been in top form so far and if they continue like this they can wreck any defense they face. While Man City  already boast of winning all of their games, it would be a treat to watch these two best attacks facing each other. The way these three combine and pass in between the legs of the defenders even in the tight spaces is really amazing to watch. Liverpool have totally struck gold with Sadio Mane and finally Firmino has gained form as well.

5. Can Liverpool finally end their BPL wait

The way Liverpool has been performing it has been really amazing and promising as well. They have found the right balance between attack and defense , they are tactically sound but it would be really early to make a statement like this. The players, the team, the manager has the strength to win it but there are many heavweights competing for the title and are certainly in better form than the Merseyside club, especially Manchester City who are yet to lose a game. Liverpool should look to continue the good work and try to get those Champions League Anfield nights back as of now. Who knows as the season progresses maybe all the pieces of the puzzle fall into their place this time around.