From My Seat: Liverpool (A)

Avoided the match today as I suspected a mullering.
Playing players in their best positions (Stones and Hibbert) applies further upfield as well.

I'm just about to watch MoTD.
As Peter #1 says ...... the gobs on those kopites. Priceless.

Certainly Stones and Jags seem to be the natural central pairing for the foreseeable future. I just hope we can take something away from the Manure game next week and I might start believing again.

Gerrard was his usual magnanimous self in his post-match interview but no doubt the BBC will work on that in the next few months in preparation for his new role following his retirement shortly when the Shite fail to get out of their group in the "Champions League".

Why don't we tackle players?
Why is Lukaku playing right wing?
When will Lukaku learn to control a ball or play a pass?
Why do we pass the ball around the opposition box instead of having a shot?

But they got a point they hardly deserved at Goodison last season.

Why can we not take corners? May as well give a goal kick every time.
Stones was my MotM.
Liverpool missed an opportunity in not attacking more down our right hand side. I like Hibbert - but trying to track Sterling - really?
Not a great game but they seldom are.
Shame the ref fell for the 'foul' which led to their goal.
The form book DOES NOT go out the window in these games.
Derby passion?! Do me a favour. The modern game has stifled any tackling.
For those watching in Oz, Foxtel were still using last season's crest in the background during studio 'discussions'. Muppets.
Interesting to see the aerial view of the ground and see the demolition work.
We were average at best but we all feel SO better than the Reds.

I am no fan of Andy Dunn but he is right when he questions whether either side have improved their squads on last season; Liverpool certainly havenÂ’t. For all the talk of Sturridge missing, after 30 minutes of yesterdayÂ’s game we had our first-choice wide-men, Barkley and the leagueÂ’s best right back in Coleman all out. Under those circumstances, it wasnÂ’t a bad result, but I still think it was an opportunity missed.

Liverpool are ordinary. I agree with most on here: Naismith, Stones and Jags played well. Besic much more disciplined, but again Barry was dreadful. When it required experienced heads to lead by example, Barry played like it was his first high pressured game, unable to cope.

Sadly I think Rooney not being available will assist Man Utd more than us next week, Van Gaal not having to accommodate so many forwards. Fingers crossed.

Liverpool attacked him relentlessly; even flipped Lallana and Sterling so they would have arguably the quickest and certainly one of most media hyped players in the league running at him. Hibbert played his game and stood tall. Was he beaten on occasion? Sure, but the TEAM controlled the damage. Liverpool took shot after shot and he DID bend, but he DID NOT break.

This was a guy who was making his first PL start in over a year and maybe his third or fourth competitive start in that time - and in a derby at Anfield no less. I was scared to death, but Tony? He did okay. Very proud that he rose to the occasion, when he could have so easily fallen apart.

A trip away to Russia and a good performance to consolidate our position on top of the group will do. Time for Atsu to take his game to the next level while KM is out. I'm pleased with how Besic performed and John Stones was immense. The season starts here.

We Twebbers are lucky indeed to have such excellent scribes serving us. Win Lose or Draw I appreciate the effort of Ken, Paul T, Lyndon and Michael for such good reports.

Today was good, the heads never dropped, and whilst you would expect them to dominate – we never gave up. I agree with you, I thought for their goal – it was saveable, unlike Jags at the death.

Agree with those who say that Rodgers is a classless fucker. They haven't pulled up any trees at Anfield this season, and were extremely fortunate to beat a Southampton side that is riding high. As well as losing to Villa again. They were a 1 man team with Suarez (supported by Sturridge, with Gerrard a largely spent force). Anyway, it's Everton and how we play next few games that will dominate my thoughts.ZZZzz

I hope you get a run out in Russia.

Besic looked decent... Quick, strong of tackle and crisp of pass. Could be an interesting line up against the Russkies.

I agreed with 99% of what you said, my 1% difference: Man of the Match I had John Stones.

My questions:

● Why did we persist with Romelu Lukaku playing out wide in the second half when it was obviously not working, plus we needed a man in the center getting into the box?
● Why are we starting games sitting deep in our own half and playing aimless balls around the back?
● What has happened to our corners and set pieces?

Overall, derby day was saved for us by a brilliant bit of football skill from Jaqielka. Martinez has some work to do, does he have the football managerial skill to get us back on track? I hope so!

My criticism would have been his naïve attempts to run through their midfield on a couple of occasions in the second half. Embarrassing.

I wondered last week whether Martinez had lost the players/plot. Yesterday proved that the players could dig out an improbable result and that a Martinez team can defend in an organised manner.

The other big issue was our chronic lack of pace and purpose going forward. This is something I expected to be sorted by now, yet everyone seemed to turn backwards the minute they got the ball. The only thing Liverpool had on us was their pace going forward – we looked pedestrian in comparison.

So, on my belief that last year's progress was based on a strong defence and hard to beat attitude, yesterday was one step in the right direction. Keep that up, pick up the pace throughout the team, and we'll edge up what is looking like a very average, evenly-matched league.

I'd say, for a change, we got the rub of the green in a derby at Anfield. No complaints here.... it could have been so much worse.

If you'd told me we'd start Besic in a derby, bring Browning on and that Browning and Jags would combine (poetic license ...) for a goal like that, at Mordor of all places, I would have slapped myself.

Barry winning with a reverse flick, after having been lucky to stay on in the first 15 (and to be honest, several times after), it would have been more icing than the cake could support.

Still smiling.

The attack seemed to lack ideas and skill but I can't fault their effort. Without the drive of Mirallas and Coleman, and the skilled link up play of Pienaar and Eto'o, we don't offer much of a threat but it's still early days. What a terrible blow for Mirallas. The lad was playing out of his skin and didn't deserve such bad luck. We wish him well. We also wish good health to Pienaar, Coleman, Oviedo and Kone. They can't be rushed of course but I suspect their return is not too far away.

I have just read on BBC gossip that Wenger has ordered his team to practice corners, as they had 15 in their last game and produced just 1 chance.

Could Roberto please take this on board and follow suit?

A fair result in the end and an excellent cameo from Browning, hopefully a sign of things to come

It was an awful game of football and a few points that stood out for me where. McGeady is not a Prem standard footballer by a long chalk; Hibbo, god bless him, is finished as a Prem footballer; Lukaku, although played out of position, is not worth the thick end of 㿊 million; Stones is the future of our back line along with Browning; Sterling and Balotelli are cheating gobshites; and finally Jags is now officially a legend after that goal.

The jury is still out for me on Martinez, he needs to get some stability back in the team but Saturday went some way to restoring that.

For a long time, I believed Howard had a problem with his concentration. Corners and free kicks always caught him napping as did long-range efforts, but I've looked a little closer this season. The guy can't move his feet.

We saw the best and the worst of Tim at Anfield, If his save from Lallana was good, the one from Balotelli was astonishing – I was right behind it. These are trade mark Howard saves, the reflex save. But it's when he has to move his feet he struggles.

If Howard had taken one step to his left before launching himself at Gerrard's free kick, he 'd have saved it comfortably. It wasn't a classic free kick inside the "postage stamp" — it was two yards inside the post.

Unfortunately it seems like people like Gerrard and Lampard have been onto this for some time, it doesn't matter if the angle is too acute for a direct strike they will fizz it into his goalmouth knowing he will be rooted...

Decent hands, great shot stopper, excellent at one-on-ones, but – like a boxer who has everything except good feet – he'll always be found out

Anyone remember Newcastle game a couple of seasons back when Demba Ba scored in the last minute? Howard was doing a star jump so Ba just stroked it under Howard's feet. Howard needs to know when to jump and when not to jump!

Oh and Gary Neville reckons Mignolet should have saved Jagielka's equaliser!!

I had that usual sinking feeling when Gerrard stepped up to that free-kick and so it came to pass. A set-piece goal for them and then it's up to our boys to show some much-needed fight – and boy, did they! I was looking for changes earlier from the boss but clearly the Mirallas injury had interrupted his plans. When the changes came, I would've thought that Browning's would've been the more influential given the illustrious company he came on with.

I was watching the game on my Ipad in bed in a Southern California hotel from 4:30am. When Jags lashed that one in, the entirety of Floor 2 of that place was woken to the wild shrieks of a bollock-naked Irishman bouncing about like a loon!!! Oh how I savoured that goal all day long! Overall, I felt this was our "Chelsea" game from last season and can see us kick on from here.

Stones and Browning give great hope for the future and it was lovely to see Hibbo back playing, especially at their place, where they clearly saw him as a weak link. A win against the other Reds this weekend and we are open for business.

Oh Jags... you feckin' beauty!

Great shot stopper, poor decision-maker. Not good enough for me.

My own take on things, having watching him over the seasons, is that he has a problem a lot of modern keepers have: they are scared of the posts.

In my opinion, he dived backwards on Saturday to avoid colliding with the post. If he dives sideways, he saves it but hits the post.