Really, a lot of "what-ifs" yesterday.
I can't even rationally discuss Lallana's miss. Head was up, ready to celebrate. Seems that simple. Coincidentally, the lead up, while pretty, could be argued to have been the wrong decision on Lallana's part. He cut left, toward Firmino and the defenders. Firmino had to change his run to a less dangerous position. If he cuts right, he opens up space for Wijnaldum to run into. It worked out spectacularly well, though, other than the finish. It's unfortunate that it'll be an enduring image- Lallana had a fantastic game. He broke up countless attacks, sneaking deep into his own defense for timely interventions. He looked like a less physical box to box guy yesterday- just an awesome display.
It was a tale of two halves for Coutinho and Firmino. Unfortunately, they weren't concurrent. Coutinho looked awful in the first half, then transitioned. He's apparently not up to match fitness. Given their respective form at the time of the Origi substitution, Firmino should have been the one off. Origi looked clueless on the right wing, which seems forgivable.
Firmino had an especially boneheaded sequence toward the end. He busted a cross into a thicket of defenders instead of cutting the ball back to the space above the penalty spot where he had two guys ready to shoot. The ball bounced back and he took an equally stupid shot from an oblique angle into the side netting. Two awful decisions, back to back, that cost his team a beautiful chance.
It was also nice to see Sterling be a complete and utter pile of crap. Offside after offside, pointless runs, lots of whining (whinging?)... He has absolutely nothing beyond the right footed dribble into space, then the eyes-closed cross or worm-burning, weak shot. Talk about selling high!
