Prime STOKE CITY Football | Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal | Maych's Match Reaction

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Paul Machin (0:59)

I love the game of football, broken up with every given opportunity, and I know that I am not stupid.

SPEAKER_3 (1:05)

I am well aware of how bitter I sound saying this, at full time, having lost.

Paul Machin (1:09)

And there is that forever case of, crap would have cracked them, crap would have cracked them. It's not for me, it's never been for me. And I think it's really interesting because, if Manchester City have been sports-washed, then Arsenal Football Club have been stoke-washed, and genuinely could cross that football every single week in the drive up the wall. But, it is a team that are, that have been together so long, and are now experienced winners, who have everything at their disposal, and still choose to play that way, but they are a team into the weeds of fine margins, and Liverpool aren't yet. Liverpool needed, like all those games, against countless games, against Royal Trinity, Crystal Palace, and West Brompton, Stoke, because God knows how many of those teams have come to Anfield, and you need quality to meet teams like this in the final play-in, and we've just found it lacking. We've got the players, but we're not there yet. You know, it's a new manager, new way of playing, and it's come too soon for us. I suppose, like, all of the bench, just not really up to the speed of the game. What I would have given for a Ugo, I think I have to mention this one, but yeah, it was one of those games where I'm proud that we chased it. I'm proud that we gambled in the final stages. Maybe Rio could have come on a bit sooner because he's the kind of player who caused the problems against teams like these. Big round of applause for Alisson here by the way.

Such a disappointment for him because it's that moment that almost hinges the game really.

They're playing out from the back, from the goal kick and Alisson mis-kicks it. It's not like how many touches between that mis-kick and the ball ending up in the back and it's both a mistake from Alisson and it's a really well-worked goal from Arsenal. But it's so annoying because it plays into their hands. Teams like this, they go a goal up and they're made up because it feeds into their ultimate, the best version of themselves, which is to say, is to defend for their lives and look to hit us on the counter. In that regard, I think we kept them quiet. Alisson makes one really good save in the second half, which keeps the game alive, so credit to him for that.

It's just you want these games to be decided on, but head to head, two teams really going at it. And look, again, I have to keep saying it, Arsenal, Wunderley, fair play to them.

They are what they are, and they are what you've got to beat. They are the bar, they are the bench bar. We're going to have to get better at beating teams like that. You won't find a finer team in that style of football. It's a vintage merino ball, but again, it's effective, and as much as it does my head in, you can't cry about it. You've just got to be in front of it. It was an aided again by the referee being utterly atrocious. They just bought it all, Hucklade and Sinker, from minute one to about minute 93, when it was actually, I could see they're playing Sonny Beggars here, Buchstav and Reier. Again, I think of how many Crystal Palace goalkeepers I've seen, Buched, in the last Iron Embers of the game, when doing it on 60 minutes and changed the course of the football match referee, let them know that it's not acceptable. But again, and we're back in to come out, I'm sure that we will, I'm sure that we are the ones who won't be asked, because again, they're walking away with three points. They go to a rival, a team that might have had auspices on, being in a title race if they've managed to get three points here and they've gone and done it and put some distance between us and them. So yeah, it does make me lean more towards, this is likely to be a Liverpool side this season, that is probably going to be in a battle for, not third, could be third, could be second, but I don't think we're ready for a title challenge just yet. But the season is long and there's so much more to come for this team. There will be improvement, we're getting better and better. Under this manager, I'm seeing so many things to like and so many things to love. But yeah, we could be in the brick wall today and again, those are the games where you need luck or magic and you just couldn't quite do it if you didn't quite create the cogent of pressure to keep them pinned. In the first half, I thought we did brilliantly by the way, to handle goal to goal down and really take the game to them and keep them pinned back. We kept them in their half but it did feel like they had, they were comfortable, more comfortable now would have liked them to be. We didn't quite put them under enough pressure in the second half, didn't build on it, didn't leave them like scrapping for the lives, trying to get out. We did it a times, a few times when Calafiore kick it out with a goalie doing man kicking, capitalise on that in Liverpool and they just couldn't quite. So, yeah, it becomes a game of like, not quite for us yet, not quite there but I do have confidence that we can get better and that we will get there in time.