Some reaction from an angry Arne Slot: “If you ask me about all the six games, I’m really pleased with all the results. I’m really pleased with the first five games, but I’m far from pleased about the performance. What wasn’t I pleased about? I wasn’t pleased with a lot. Especially two things.
“If you play against a team that has such a good idea about football and knows how to bring the ball out from the back, you need to be so intense if you want to make it difficult for them. “But if you are waiting a few seconds to press them then this team can cause you a lot of problems.
“They showed in their games, except PSV, in the Champions League this season. I almost feel sorry for them as they deserve so much more. We had hardly any control at all over the game. Maybe the second half was a bit better – I’m trying to be positive.”
On Allison’s performance: “I said as a joke the players wanted to see how fit he really was to give him so much work. He showed again today why I said so many times he is our first goalkeeper, nothing to do with Caoimh [Kelleher] he did so well.”
Here’s Sid Lowe’s report from Girona.
Big news. What’s his next move?
Arne Slot’s team imperious in the group stage.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| 2 | Inter Milan | 5 | 7 | 13 |
| 3 | Barcelona | 5 | 13 | 12 |
| 4 | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 10 | 12 |
| 5 | Atalanta | 5 | 10 | 11 |
Full-time: Girona 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool stay perfect in the Champions League, top of the league at home and abroad. Mohamed Salah’s penalty was enough after they rode out something of a storm at Girona. The Spanish team may rue not being able to build on their first half.
90+4 min: Van Dijk heads away. Szoboszlai speeds away, and Salah has the ball. Can he round it off? No, the ball is deflected behind and Elliott will take time over the corner. In fact, he uses up all the remaining time.
90+2: Robertson steps across to avert the danger from Asprilla. Then Stuani manages to foul Gomez when a ball is angled into the Liverpool box.
90 min: Four minutes added on for Liverpool to see out. This win perhaps guarantees them a place in the top eight, and will remove the need for a play-off when so many of their peers are staring down the barrel of an unwanted 180 minutes.
89 min: Girona’s fans sounding frustrated, Romeu looking annoyed, too. Their team has been unable to repeat how well they played in the first half.
88 min: Billy Murphy gets in touch: “Guess Keev is a good phonetic spelling for Caoimh. His full name sounds like the word ‘Even’ with a Q sound at the beginning. The Q sound as in the beginning of the word Queen but say it all in one go, without a break between the two sounds. Queven. It’s the Irish for Kevin. Irish Kev some are calling him.’
Both Klopp and Slot call him “Kweev”. Can’t be easy for them.
87 min: Matt Turner gets in touch: “I mean, Donny did trod on Diaz’s foot to the extent he ripped his boot off. Was Diaz going to score there? No, but that’s not the measure of a penalty. Just unlucky for Van de Beek.”
86 min: Alisson comes out to clear his lines. It was from such an incident that he injured himself at Selhurst. This time there’s no calf-twang. He’s been far less busy this half.
84 min: Trent Alexander-Arnold dips and flips his free-kick but Gazzaniga, who is VERY LOUD, makes a fine save. Then collects the resulting corner.
83 min: Harvey Elliott, Liverpool’s closer, eats up space and wins a foul. That sets up a Trent set piece. Szoboszlai is still on the field. He’s not been great.
82 min: This Liverpool: they often win while not playing well. That’s the sign of good team, they say. It wasn’t always the way it went under Jurgen Klopp. The great Liverpool teams had that quality, too.
Meanwhile, Stuani, Middlesbrough legend, has a shot blocked.
80 min: It’s been a quiet second half. Girona seem to have had the puff taken out of them by that penalty. They’ve created little since. On the bench, Michel looks most annoyed. This might have been for the taking.
78 min: Mike Mackenzie gets in touch: “One of these seasons (hopefully sooner rather than later) Darwin is going to score 20 -25 goals. In the meantime, he gives his all and provides great entertainment value so he’s a keeper!”
Diaz is doing a fine job in keeping Girona occupied.
76 min: On comes Elliot for Jones, and poor Donny van de Beek also departs the scene.
Justin Kavanagh is back: “A VARy harsh penalty that. A consolation Xuixo is needed now… (as he goes off googling “Spanish bakeries near you.” Oh, Peter Oh, what have you done?!!)“
Rick Harris: “When I saw Donny Van de Beek’s name on the team sheet my immediate thought was, oh oh, will the Manchester United legend pop up to strike a killer goal that poops Arne Slot’s party. I suppose I should have thought, ‘that’s a Liverpool slam dunk then’.”
74 min: Harvey Elliott is imminent for Liverpool.
72 min: On comes Stuani, who it turns out is Barclaysman? Played for Middlesbrough. Who knew? Well, I should have done since I saw him play in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in April 2017. Portu comes on, too.
Off go Danjuma, who had run out of puff. Bryan Gil didn’t look happy to go off.
71 min: Off goes Darwin Nunez. On comes Cody Gakpo. This wasn’t a happy night for Darwin. Will he be at LFC next season?
70 min: Liverpool look to have relaxed into playing their usual football, of patience, the heavy metal dialled down.
68 min: Krishna gets in touch: “Do you recall another instance where the best employee of the month (month after month after month) can’t get his long term contract?”
A few things come to mind.
66 min: Girona haven’t given up just yet. Injustice firing them up? Stuani, their magic man, their ageing magic man, might be imminent.
64 min: The home Girona crowd have taken against the referee.
Graham gets in touch: “John. Excellent MBM. It’s like I’m there. don’t know the supposed Graham from some Asian retreat. But, by gad, he’s impersonating me. Alisson is a wonderful goalie but I wonder if the Mad Georgian (villi dis villi dat) is not supposed to take over soonish. From Alissson.
“Liverpool bench in the goal keeping stakes seems long. Kweev (is that really how you pronounce it?) seems wonderful. The gaff against Newcastle was nothing compared to Alisson’s gaffs. The Saint George of the Wild seems set to be the next fave.”
63 min: Liverpool didn’t look like doing much but that did come from them pushing on and looking for openings. Van de Beek, well, he was both unlucky and silly. Unlucky mostly for being a player in the VAR era.
Goal! Girona 0-1 Liverpool (Salah, 62 pen)
Deep breath, and he slots home, far left. Van de Beek shakes his head.
Updated
Penalty to Liverpool!
60 min: There’s a VAR check. Did Van de Beek foul Diaz? This is taking its time. The ref asks the two skipper across and then goes to the screen. Think we all know what this means. Van de Beek did catch Diaz. It is soft-ish – but it is a penalty.
Updated
59 min: Sustained Liverpool pressure. Girona keeping their shape. Van Dijk stepping up, and Salah is lagooned out left. Juanpe is imperious at the moment but eventually after Gravenberch releases Robertson, a save is forced by Gazzaniga. Diaz goes down..
57 min: Gakpo is warming up. Liverpool’s buildup is slow, Trent booms in a cross aimed for Nunez. Juanpe is defending well and Bryan Gil continues to zip around usefully.
55 min: Robertson and Diaz attempt to force something. Girona continue to defend well. Remember, not much on that Liverpool bench beyond Cody Gakpo.
53 min: Liverpool yet to get going at all. Their perfect record is really under threat here.
51 min: Gil – another Barclaysman showing just why he got signed for The Greatest League In The World – weaves to the line. Whoever put this team together – Pere Guardiola – has an eye for talent? Or willowy, perhaps not always reliable talent. But talent nonetheless.
50 min: OOOF! Danjuama turns Szoboszlai and Gomez inside out. And then hoofs the ball into the crowd. From the sublime to the ridiculous. Liverpool continue to be shaky.
49 min: Danjuma – down the Liverpool right – has been very dangerous. This time he can’t keep his shot down.
47 min: Salah gets an early touch and Jones is again a little slow compared to his performances for most of the season so far. He and Szoboszlai have really struggled here. Again, Spanish teams keep the ball better than many of the English teams. It’s a different discipline.
Back away we go in Girona
46 min: No changes made. But Girona go back at it, and Alisson is asked to make anothr save as Danjuma smashes at goal.
Perhaps the hairiest team of this enjoyable series.
Peter Oh gets in touch again: “The incongruously multinational shirt sponsor of the plucky small-town hosts made me pause mid-Xuixo and Turron fantasy. I looked up who owns the club and was horrified to see that the major shareholder is none other than City Football Group. Forget that romantic crap I wrote earlier. ‘Underdog’ my cold, saccharine sausage! Come on you Reds! Bring these guys to their Pyrenees!”
Evan in Ottawa gets in touch: “Good evening John - watching from Ottawa, Canada and have noticed that all upper sections of Girona’s stadium appear to be closed off. Not to sound a tedious EPL-centric snob, but if they’re not used for hosting Liverpool in the CL, just wondering when *are* they used?”
Suspect safety might be an issue.
AA BB gets in touch: “Some acquisitions I think are about snapping up great value when there’s a window. The fella was available and a good goalkeeper is one of the priority positions oc. They don’t know how the Kelleher situation will play out so they’re being smart.”
Half-time: Girona 0-0 Liverpool
This has not been easy for Liverpool. Girona have often been the best team out there though perhaps a finisher more confident than Darwin Nunez might have done the job. Alisson’s back and being kept busy.
45 min: Robertson zings to the byline but the ball is cleared away. Next, Salah – remember him – gets what must be his first touch. Salah is involved soon again when Nunez – again – fails to get enough on the cross. And that’s the end of the action for the half.
44 min: Big smile and some self-critical laughter from Danjuma as he wastes a chance that Romeu’s pass had set up. Romeu never seems like one to annoy.
43 min: Bryan Gil, a bit of a comedy player at Tottenham, has looked pretty useful for Girona. He operates as a ball-carrier and holder rather than a dribbling winger.
41 min: Michel, Girona’s firebrand coach, wants more from his team. They’ve been pretty good so far so he must have high standards.
39 min: Liverpool’s undoubted best player has been their supposedly rusty goalie. They are struggling for penetration. Nunez has had chances but might be having one of *those* nights.
37 min: Curtis Jones has a chance now but again, looks off his game. Girona decide not to speed up on the counter. Still, though, Asprilla, with his left, lashes the ball and Alisson makes a fine save, the ball scrabbled behind.
35 min: A Nunez chance…and, no, it just won’t go in. Gazzaniga’s had a good game in goal, too.
34 min: Frances gets away from Diaz and more defending to do for Liverpool. Asprilla’s cross is stopped by Alisson, who’s having a busy reintroduction.
33 min: Danjuma attempts more soloist stuff and forces a corner when he cuts in and shoots. Alisson shows he can still punch a ball a considerable distance.
32 min: Girona defending well. Szoboszlai has had his problems getting into this game, and Curtis Jones has been quiet, too.
30 min: Nice solo run from Danjuma, but his pass to Frances asks his teammate to play a pass he is perhaps not fully capable of making.
28 min: Neat skill from Gazzaniga sees him round Nunez. Risky business, though fun to watch.
27 min: Diaz and Alejandro Francés are having a ding-dong battle. Lumps being taken out of each other. Down the Liverpool left is where the action is. Trent tries to find Robertson down the flank but the ball bounces behind.
24 min: Chances at both ends: a good game, this. Far harder than it might have appeared for Liverpool.
23 min: After a first corner is cleared, the ball drops to Szoboszlai who then loses the flight of the ball. A quick Girona counter puts Liverpool under pressure but this time it’s cleared.
21 min: Liverpool go close. Nunez nods a Trent ball wide. That’s the best chance so far.
20 min: Stephen Carr: “Hi John. To answer Mike Mackenze’s question, I’d suspect that at £30m, Marmadashvilli will cost less than Liverpool get for Kelleher who has made it very clear he wants to leave at the end of the season. I’d argue he’s better than Kelleher too.”
Alisson has been put through his paces here, that’s for sure.
19 min: Danjuama’s offside and that’s a bit of temporary relief for Liverpool. They are under the cosh. Their fans are making some noise, too. Turns out this wasn’t just a visit to a culinary capital.
17 min: Liverpool really struggling with Girona’s capability in keeping the ball. Few teams in the Premier League do this. Miguel has a shot, and Alisson makes another save. Gil has another shot. Girona by far the better team here.
15 min: Liverpool try to build up some sustained pressure but fail to keep the ball. It’s Girona who are doing the better job in forcing out possession.
14 min: Gil gets beyond the offside trap, and Alisson gallops out to make a save. Where was the flag? Gil slips over and almost gets another shot in. Liverpool look a little wobbly.
Updated
12 min: Oof! Girona go close! The ball is played into Gutierrez, and then Alisson is make a save to confirm he is back. Bryan Gill has a snap shot too.
11 min: Mike Mackenze gets in touch: “Not for the 1st time, I’m confused by a Liverpool acquisition. Is Mamadasharvilli better than Kelleher? I have no idea but either he is better or worse or about the same. If Mama is better why would he want to be in Kelleher’s spot only playing when Allison is hurt or else in the League Cup. If he’s the same, then it was a waste to sign him for no gain. If he’s worse, then why bother? In that case might as well just rely on Jaros.”
9 min: Long ball to Danjuma: offside. Van Dijk had called it well.
7 min: Danjuma, once a wild card at Everton as well as Spurs, sets off on a run but is robbed in midfield. Gravenberch picks the ball up, jabs it forward to Nunez, who shoots and has his shot saved. It was on target.
5 min: The next corner sees Bryan Gil asked to clear Girona lines. Joe Gomez – Liverpool’s longest serving player? Has he ever scored? Appears not, the Des Walker of Anfield. Des’s only goal was beauty, mind.
4 min: A corner is given away, and Robertson will take. Virgil van Dijk glides up and there’s some shoving between Blind and Gravenberch. Joe Gomez makes a fine run and the goalie saves well.
Updated
2 min: The first attack breaks down and the ball is back with Gazzaniga, long-time associate of Mauricio Pochettino.
Away we go in Girona!
1 min: Can Liverpool make it six from six? They kick off in their dark away shirts, and swiftly take up the slow passing game until Curtis Jones is robbed by Van de Beek.
The team are taking to the field at La Liga’s smallest stadium, the Estadi Montilivi. The PA system is booming out into the Catalan night, the Champions League anthem. Not much cover if it rains.
Some background on Girona from our man in Spain.
Their coach Michel.
Arne Slot has been speaking to TNT Sports: “It feels really good to have Alisson back, we didn’t want to take any risk at all. Now he is completely ready to start. We have all seen what a good job Kweev has done.
“Our players are so experienced, they know what it means to play Champions League for this club. I assume they are ready for it, they have to be. The style of Girona is something we have to be aware of.”
Good for Gary O’Neil. Many thought he’d be tinned today. Seems not.
Gillian Kirby gets in touch: “I wonder if Bryan Gil will benefit from a chat with Curtis Jones and TAA afterwards, so that he can practice his accent for his side-gig with The Bootleg Beatles. “
Foodies unite.
Jeremy Boyce: “Hello Peter Oh, having been there I can tell you Girona is also a well-known and magnificent producer of that Spanish heart-attack in a slice, sugary sesame based delicacy Turron. And nougat. “
Justin Kavanagh: “Peter Oh has reminded me of the Xuixo (pronounced Shoo-shoo) I had in Girona last year. The woman who sold it to me told me some fantastical story about its origins involving a guy, a gymnast I recall, breaking into a bakery, as he was infatuated by the baker’s daughter and being caught when the flour made him sneeze (I think!). Girona are not a side to be sneezed at either, but if the Liverpool players have been indulging in the Xuixos, they’ll have fat chance of victory tonight! They’re positively Proustian in their unforgettability.”
More Liverpool and Premier League heritage. More Saudi stuff, too. JL on Stevie G.
Hello, Peter Oh: “I like Liverpool but always maintain a soft spot for the plucky underdog. I don’t know anything about Girona but a quick scan of its specialities shows that sweet sausages (!) and cream-filled deep-fried pastries (!!) are among the top local delicacies. It’s really hard to root against a place like that. May the football be as satisfying as a sugary mash of meat squeezed into a casing of intestine!”
“Hi, I am Graham up late in Shanghai ready to watch the big match.”
Hello, Graham
“Is it just me or does the Girona team look like a bunch of EPL cast offs. Gazzaniga, Blind, Romeu, Bryan Gil, Donny Van de Beek? They all came and gave it a crack but for various reasons were given the boot. Maybe they are gelling in this beautiful part of the world?”
Girona finished third last season in La Liga, and are ninth now. One of the issues of being a sub-club of your City Football Groups is good players get shunted up. Savinho has gone, and that looks a bunch of players loaned and cheaply added. They have struggled in this competition. Aleix Garcia was another good player gone. Football agency is a funny old game.
Yaser Asprilla, no relation, cost £15m from Watford, where a lot was expected of him. Watford is another club of odd transfer business, where it probably makes sense to someone or other. Pau Lopez had some time at Tottenham, too.
Kev gets in touch: “The Holy Goalie is back, feel sorry for Irish Kev. Mind you, a change of the guard next season. No nickname for Mamadasharvilli yet. Thought it will cost a bit to get it on a shirt.”
Kweev had done a fine job. He’s set to be a first-choice somewhere else. Though Alisson Becker does have twangable hamstrings.
Fancy some Football Daily action? By me, actually.
Beyond the goalies, two changes from the Newcastle game for Liverpool.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai in, Alexis Mac Allister out altogether and Jarell Quansah benched after a difficult night on Tyneside.
That Girona team would do well as a Barclaysmen team – is that still a cool thing? – Spurs legend Paolo Gazzaniga; two Manchester United legends in Daley Blind and Donny Van de Beek, a Chelsea and Southampton legend in Oriol Romeu and two more Spurs legends in Bryan Gil and Arnaut Danjuma. All it needs is a Georgie Thompson voiceover.
The full teams via PA Media:
Girona: Gazzaniga, Frances, Juanpe, Krejci, Blind, van de Beek, Romeu, Gutierrez, Asprilla, Gil Salvatierra, Danjuma. Subs: Pau Lopez, Lucas Garcia, Arnau Martinez, David Lopez, Stuani, Abel Ruiz, Solis, Martin, Portu, Clua, Kim, Jastin Garcia.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones, Salah, Nunez, Diaz. Subs: Jaros, Kelleher, Endo, Gakpo, Elliott, McConnell, Norris, Quansah.
Referee: Benoit Bastien (France)
Mike’s in, and he’s fighting the power: “Liverpool bench light? Can’t be, I’ve not read countless comments about an injury crisis. Unlike Arsenal and Manchester City who never shut up about it and so get a sympathy note from pundits and presenters.”
Andrew Benton has gone there: “I always thought this song was called My Gerona - by the Knack, way back in the good old days.....”
Now, does anyone know any other songs by The Knack?
Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “Looking forward to your great-looking MBM appetiser before the evening’s big one, I’m obviously talking about the major Championship mash up between high-flying Leeds and almost-as-high-flying CarrickBro. Girona are not obvious Champions League contenders, hence their results so far ? But it is a stunningly beautiful town once you make it in through the outskirts. Last time I was there we saw a film crew doing an episode of Game of Thrones. Really, THAT beautiful.
“It’s also just a mis-shapen/decorated stone’s throw away from the Costa Brava (Wild Coast), Salvador Dali and Gaudi-land, so Slot’s lot should expect some wild, surreal architectural positioning in how their opponents set up to deal with their attacking threat (Mo Salah). Girona have made the most of their Etihad sponduliks, and I’m sure it would go down well in Manchester if they could do one on the reds tonight. All the same, 1 - 3, eh ?”
I have been to the Costa Brava. Calella de la Costa. Watched the 1994 World Cup final there. Apart from our party of six lads from Cheshire everyone else there was German or Danish. The music was either Whigfield, Gabber techno or grunge metal. A fantastic fortnight. I have also been to Girona airport on a number of occasions. It’s about as near Barcelona as London Southend is from London.
Confirmed: Alisson is back
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez. Subs: Kelleher, Jaros, Endo, Gakpo, Elliott, McConnell, Norris, Quansah.
Slot’s gone for it with his starting line-up. The bench looks a bit thin.
Tonight’s Champions League fixtures, UK times.
Dinamo Zagreb v Celtic, 17:45
Girona v Liverpool, 17:45
Brest v PSV, 20:00
Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayern Munich, 20:00
Club Brugge v Sporting, 20:00
RB Salzburg v PSG, 20:00
RB Leipzig v Aston Villa, 20:00
Bayer Leverkusen v Inter, 20:00
Atalanta v Real Madrid, 20:00
Could this be the night Alisson returns? Last seen at Crystal Palace in October, and out for longer than expected. Caoimhin Kelleher has done just fine, though his error against Newcastle had Liverpool fans yearning for the Brazilian.
The Champions League has been rather different to what many expected. Has it actually been better? There’s a case for that. Perhaps it’s the novelty value.
Yet some voices within European football urge caution and believe bigger scores are a consequence, intended or not, of the expanded format’s rules. The argument is persuasive: with so many teams bunched together, and goal difference certain to be a deciding factor for key positions in the table, many have simply appreciated the benefits of turning the screw. It can effectively count for the extra point that separates success from early elimination. Previously, the restrictive head-to-head rule had been the tie-breaker for league‑phase deadlocks.
Preamble
Liverpool, Liverpool, top of the league. That’s the case at home and abroad. Can they take their perfect record beyond the Christmas break? In Girona, a team fighting to try and make the last 24, there are familiar foes. This is the club co-owned by the City Football Group and also Pere Guardiola, brother of, well, you know who. Among others. Liverpool may be well rested after last weekend’s postponement of the Mersey derby followed that 3-3 draw with Newcastle. Can Arne Slot keep the momentum going? A reshuffling of the pack is expected, though that weekend off may have changed thinking.
Kick-off is at 5.45pm UK time. Join me.
