Terrace Talk: It feels like we’re playing well, with more to come

By Steven Kelly

Thank God that’s over.

Playing Chelsea at any time is never great, twice in a week makes you feel like a hot bath.

Two defeats and self-immolation would have been a viable option.

So all hail Sturridge for sparing us that, at least.

The general consensus is we didn’t deserve to lose either match. Not so sure about the cup tie, it was an unnerving start we somehow survived.

Chelsea made lots of changes too but seemed to seamlessly click into gear.

It was a hint of the tactical vagaries at the heart of much of Klopp’s work.

We’ve been great but it’s based on individual excellence and physical endeavour for the most part.

Cynics suggested Van Dijk cost so much because he’s been hired to fix this defence on his own. He’s probably on player plus coach wages.

Two games in three days made it a little obvious. 1-0 with 10 minutes to go? Lost 1-2.

0-1 with 10 minutes to go? Got a draw. Van Dijk and Alisson (resplendent in pink) were the difference.

Seems churlish to give them the credit for Sturridge’s artistry, but they (and Gomez) were the reasons we were still in the game. It made our pressure all the more telling when only one goal was required.

The squad’s great, the bench has improved dramatically, yet there’s still deadwood here and at this level it can hurt you badly.

Moreno, good grief, how are we still doing this? Victor Moses isn’t Maradona. He’s Victor Moses. Victor. Bloody. Moses.

Mignolet actually wasn’t that bad and Clyne wasn’t either but there’s an odour of players just filling a shirt while waiting for a move. Isn’t there a youngster with at least the hunger to want to impress? It’s worked for Robertson and Alexander-Arnold.

Rotation only comes off when strategically calculated. A few changes here and there. Wholesale alterations messes everybody up. We’re not that smart, and yet we were still winning that game with minutes to go. The problems we had before Van Dijk came were there for all to see.

Even now the lack of cold-blooded pragmatism is a concern. PSG levelled the score too, don’t forget. Spurs almost did.

With the best players back there was improvement on Saturday but the forwards are strangely letting the side down.

We expected a stumble of sorts from Salah, but this?

Replacing him when we needed a goal created shockwaves — for anyone who hasn’t actually been paying attention. Mane and Firmino weren’t much better.

Hearing a lot about what about happens when they do click, which is fine. Just as long as you don’t take it as a given.

Hazard’s good, though scoring against us isn’t actually proof of anything; much less you’re the world’s greatest player. People go into hyper-drive so quickly nowadays.

We were regaled with the usual nonsense. Gerrard, victims, slums — all the hits.

The Grenfell banner in the away end simply triggered a whole wave of “grief junkie” type tweets. If you listen to Chelsea, we must be the worst people in the world. You can’t pretend the feeling isn’t mutual.

Sarri seems nice enough, which feels unnatural. Unholy even, like when Ancelotti was there. You half expect him to monotonously read out a list of demands off a card being held behind the camera.

They somehow slipped under the radar because of City’s omnipotence and the conceit we’ve spent our way to the top, but they look switched on for a new coach — as per. They’ll be a threat until they get a weed-on with the new fella, obviously.

The run of big games meant to make or break us hasn’t actually done either. Two points dropped so far and top of the Champion League group; few would have turned that down in August. It feels like we’re playing well, with more still to come. Next Sunday, might be a good time to show it.