Liverpool fans love Klopp kicking off and England must take Gomez to the World Cup…

The Mailbox praises a more familiar-looking Liverpool performance and Reds love Jurgen Klopp’s fury at the officials. But the FA must come down hard. Also: Arsenal winning like champions; and Man Utd’s goalscoring woes…

Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com.

Liverpool are back
I don’t give a f*ck whether or not this means anything in the long run, f*ck yes this was incredible.

Get in Mo Salah!
Dan, Plastic LFC

…That’s a team I recognise. I felt against Arsenal we took a really positive step in the right direction and today was even better. You could tell we set out early on to keep compact, not concede and not make any mistakes. Klopp also seemed to let the defensive line drop which I think massively helped Milner look good and Elliott had also been instructed to put in a shift supporting the right side defensively. It all came together perfectly on the day. When you think that Klopp pitched the underdog story before the match and set them up to play that way too you’ve got the feel he won the mind game and tactically out did Pep this time round.

Henderson being left out gave us the right blend of energy, creativity and needle in the middle. I do love him and think he might be remembered as a better captain than Gerrard but his legs definitely need a bit of a rest and can’t sustain two games a week right now after last season. That’s ok and as long as Klopp is managing the situation well then I think it can be to the strength of the team. Pick and choose his games wisely and also the moments when leadership matters on the pitch more than legs.

City fans (they do exist!) seem aggrieved at the disallowed goal. I think it gets disallowed by every ref in the league except Tierney (obviously). Fabinho had entirely taken over possession. Haaland only gains it back by yanking him down. The sky sports gang were desperately trying to add some sense of theatre by pretending it’s soft. The focus on that and lack of focus on the penalty we didn’t get against Arsenal points to the fact that none of the ex players are actual football experts frankly so I’m not sure I take much stock in anything they discuss generally.

On another day Salah scores a couple. I love the fact he had the confidence to keep going for goal. Earlier in the season he was looking for passes that didn’t exist and today finally he had the blinders back on and only had eyes for goal. Get him back in your fantasy teams lads it’s time for lift off. Nunez did well in moments when coming on but needed to be more aware; he shot from poor positions where passes to open players would’ve ended the contest.

Love the Klopp red card. It added to the sense of fortress Anfield, got the fans really going and kept the team hyper focussed in the last ten minutes. Probably did everyone a favour on our side when energy levels were flagging and concentration could have waned.

8th place but at least now we can look up with a sense of optimism. The only issue was losing Jota to, what looked like, a bad injury. The intensity of the games running up to the World Cup now means we are at risk of running out of players if they keep dropping.
Minty, LFC

Get Gomez on the plane
Restored pride today. England lacking centre halves … Joe Gomez. He had the best striker in the world in his pocket today. Simple decision. Maguire or Gomez ?

Liverpool have been written off so much by everyone… but when you have Klopp you need not worry.

It’s back on ….
Ade ( 20 is coming ) Walker Guildford

…On pitch: what a cracking game of football, our players battled like they’ve done for the past 5 seasons rather than, unfortunately, for the past 5 weeks. Hopefully this will be the catalyst because if it takes us to play the likely league winning team to turn it on then we’re f*cked. Every match requires that level of application.

Both teams created good chances but anyone who says that City’s goal should’ve stood loses all credibility instantly. Haaland absolutely drags Fabinho down by the shirt at the start of the move and also Alisson has control of the ball, both hands pressing down on it as Haaland kicks it.

Liverpool created much the better chances but had we not won I’d have been fuming with Salah and Nunez both failing to pass to a teammate in an open goal situation.

Off pitch: showed your true colours there eh lads?

We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies from the away section during today’s game at Anfield. The concourse in the away section was also vandalised with graffiti of a similar nature.

We know the impact such behaviour has on the families, survivors and all those associated with such disasters.

We are working with the relevant authorities and we will also work with Manchester City in order to do our utmost to ensure these chants are eradicated from football altogether.’

James Outram, Wirral

Read more: 16 Conclusions from Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City as Salah, Gomez and Milner get the love

Come down hard on Klopp
There has been a lot of talk recently about the abuse official receive and how it is driving away young people from wanting to take up the role. With this in mind I hope the authorities hand out a severe punishment to Klopp and don’t allow him to get away with his usual come out smiling at the cameras routine. I agree it was a foul but Klopp acts like this time and time again but because he then pretends to be the nice guy he gets away with it and to be honest it is getting quite frustrating that no one with authority in football really wants to stop the abuse officials suffer from players and managers.
Sam, Newtownabbey

…Gutted City lost, but it was a foul in the build up to the disallowed goal and Salah did a number on Cancelo so can’t complain about that.

It did drive me absolutely nuts that the ref chose to stop a City attack in loads of space in order to send off Klopp when we were clearly desperate for a goal with 5 minutes left. Surely he could’ve waited?? Play was restarted back in our half and we immediately almost conceded again.

Looking at comments on the BBC thread, plenty of Liverpool fans are outraged that Klopp was sent off for having the audacity to complain(we all have online idiots though). I’d like to point out that I believe he will have been sent off for thrusting himself right in to the face of the linesman screaming with a huge amount of aggression. It’s just a nasty vile way to behave and I’m sure this behaviour puts off a lot of officials at all levels from continuing their careers and is an awful way to be treated. It’s a terrible example to set so I think he fully deserved it. Annoyingly, his team also deserved to win and they did.

That’s all I’ve got. Gutted but it happens.
David(charming fella that Klopp)

City in crisis
Can we please pass the crisis club mantle to Man City for this week?

I mean their superteam did lose to a club outside the top 10, and havent even scored in 200+ minutes. If the Arsenal match hadn’t been postponed, they could have been 7 points behind the leaders.
Maybe in this case, Queen saved the God (team)
Gaurav MUFC, Amsterdam (here for the lolz)

Happy Invincibles Day
After only ten games in the premier league season we once again celebrate Invincibles Day, when it becomes impossible for any team in the league to go the season unbeaten. Really shows you how underrated that achievement is!
Ash, London

Good old Arsenal
Is the god of soccer backing Arsenal for the league???
First off, Leeds losing that game was entirely their own making. All the decisions were spot. Saliba handball – penalty. Not our fault he didn’t score. Bamford foul, Never a Penalty. I never saw Gabriel lash out with the kick. Feet was high but there was no intentional movement towards the player. Call me biased. Who cares? I certainly don’t. Top of the league!

There are advantages to new systems but there are also disadvantages. One of the the things we lost moving White our wide was his over the top passing ability. We just couldn’t bypass the press from the ground, and we should have started pinging those balls to Martinelli from the back. It would be nice to see Saliba maybe learn this skill? Like prime VVD?

Getting a bit long now but I just have to talk about this. Why does everyone feel it’s their job to remind us we can’t win the league? Common nobody here is dumb (thanks Jürgen) but what I find annoying is the constant shifting of goal posts. Very few people even believed we would make the top 4 and almost everybody agrees that making it back to UCL (and probably a cup trophy) would be a very successful season. So why are not being judged on that? Suddenly we are being judged on winning the league? Be consistent.
Damola, Bremen (did I mention we are top of the league?)

…Caught the last 30mins of the Leeds-Arsenal game. Has to be the toughest challenge the Gunners have faced so far this season. Great energy and bite from Leeds, but they were ultimately unlucky with the final ball.

Proper officiating from the referee, he applied and interpreted the rules well. Wasn’t afraid to consult the VAR to double-check his decisions, and got all the big calls spot on.

It’s weird how VAR caught Saliba’s handball, yet didn’t flag the obvious offside before the cross was put into the ball. Another assist for Odegaard again today, but was largely ineffectual in the game (again! Like the third time now, but a wonderful pass nonetheless.) Great finish from Saka, it was a proper one.

Xhaka totally on it today defensively, Partey struggled a lot, but they all (the team) suffered together, so that’s a plus.

A word for Gabriel, he needs to be dropped for a game or more, his errors and lapses in concentration are affecting the team. Unusually combative when he should be calm. Jesus sometimes drops to deep to help the team.

Martinelli, glorious talent! An ace, a proper joker, but sometimes does too much on the ball when the simple will suffice. It can be frustrating sometimes to watch. Iron that out and we have a monster on our hands.

PS: Caught the Liverpool – City game. Pep overthinks, don’t he? Gomez, VVD and Alisson and Milner were crucial for the Reds. It’s a big win, never saw that coming. Klopp was astute in every decision today, handing Salah the free role was a masterstroke. It paid off handsomely. Nunez needs to grow up. Didn’t expect Haaland to ever be this quiet in any game. He looked his age today.

El-Clasico was a game. The dearth of quality on display was alarming. Barcelona are currently in a crisis of identity at the moment. It’s saddening to watch. The Spanish Liga needs a huge boost. The EPL went from Top Four to Big Six, but La Liga seems to be in decline at the moment. Top talent poached, poor finances, constant expenditure etc etc. The league seems to be crumbling at the moment. Hope they sort it all out. Cheers!
Iyanu, Lagos Nigeria.

Underestimating Spurs
Arsenal fan here,

Feels like, after 10 matches, people are slightly overestimating Arsenal and underestimating Tottenham.

It is true that Arsenal are currently top of the table while Spu*s are 3rd or 4th, but with the bigger depth and a better manager in Conte, it feels like the latter will capitalize much more during the Jan-May period compared to Arsenal and will cement their position in the top 4 by probably finishing 2nd.

While I love what Arsenal have done so far, I do think we are underestimating how easy of a fixtures list we’ve had and have been bailed out a bit despite defensive brainfarts from the likes of Gabriel.

Still think we’ll finish in the top 4 but below Tottenham
Buck Flogging (India)

…Can we please have the conversation.

Man City have dropped points in as many games as Tottenham this season.

Tottenham proved from last season that their squad depth is more durable than Arsenal’s.

Why aren’t Tottenham being considered\spoken as title contenders?
Jovan – London

Same old Man Utd
Manchester United v Newcastle was a close game but highlights the lack of finishing ability from United.

The first half was slow. Neither side really took control of the game In the first half to say they were better. Manchester United had the better counter-attacking chances but just like in previous games we were not clinical enough to put any away. Newcastle were strong in defence and midfield and they are definitely a team for the future as they look very promising. Sancho was probably the player of the half for me as it seems being dropped has woken him up to start trying to contribute. Fred looks like a headless chicken as a starter and has done it for years. Fred’s best role is as a sub for the last 30 minutes of a game when United are up by two just to bring on energy and speed.

the second half was more of the same. Manchester United were the better team but still do not know how to defeat a low block which Newcastle did in the second half. Casemiro was once again key to the way we played as with Casemiro in the midfield the rest of the team feels more comfortable attacking as they know they have a proper defensive midfielder behind them. Fred should have been taken off at half-time but found a way to stay on for the whole game. I would have rather played a youth player like Iqbal or Mainoo than Fred as at least they can pass a ball without needing to take 3 touches. Near the end of the game, you could really see how terrible we are at finishing our chances at the moment and breaking the defensive line.

Overall, The game was as you would expect from both sides as both teams are rebuilding and pushing to get back to the top. United need to learn how to break a defensive line and also needs a striker in January like Ivan Toney as Martial seems to be made of glass and Ronaldo is being given the graveyard shift every time he plays with no support.
Max Of Whitegate

…This Man United team have been working on defending and defensive shape so much they’ve clearly neglected the attacking aspect of the game.

Poor decision making and complete lack of quality in the final third against a Newcastle team that didn’t sit back with 10 behind the ball, they came and pressed and on many occasions had 6 players in their attacking half so there would have been gaps to expose I would imagine (hard to see the whole picture on the telly tho).

A very frustrating game to watch even more so when Ronaldo can’t even get back onside and ruins a perfectly good counter and goal.

I keep saying it, go all out for Nkunku man’s lethal, he’s the #9 I want.

Then take your pick from Gakpo, Raf Leao and Malinkovich-Savic any of those would make us better.

I’m hearing whispers of Maddison and I do think he’s decent but he’s similar to Erikson I don’t think we need both.
Poor Donny
Gibbo (MUFC down under)

Gerrard v Lampard
Regarding B FC mail about Lampard vs Gerrard, it’s already such a boring debate. I knew it would be discussed today because you can’t praise Lampard without bringing Gerrard down. I used to prefer Lampard as a player but over recent times I’ve leaned more towards Gerrard. You can point out that Lampard is better statistically but he quite simply had a better team around him. He had much more freedom to do things. Gerrard had more to his game while Lampard was able to be more efficient. I don’t think there’s much between them and it doesn’t bother me if you pick either of them.

Moving on to the managerial part of their game and I do rate both of them (you’re allowed to do that btw!). I thought Lampard has done fine so far. Did decent at Derby and his first season at Chelsea was good too working with a young team and handled the Hazard departure well too. Gerrards managerial career stands out slightly more to be because of how well he did with Rangers both domestically and in Europe. Like before, not much between them. I found it weird how you’re so sure that Gerrard has been backed more and Lampard has to work with scraps. They’ve a similar net spend so far. I think Everton actually spent more in the summer. Gerrard was able to attract players because he’s Steven Gerrard i.e Kamara and Coutinho. But regardless, you don’t have to bring one into the argument to praise the other.

I’m pretty sure F365 hate both of them because you’ll very rarely find them praising either, especially Lampard. If they were praising him, it’ll always be with a pinch of salt. It’s pretty weird but it’s probably because the larger publications praise them a lot so F365 think they have to be different and call them out.
Dion

Fight, fight, fight
There was a moment in the Villa-West hame game in the women’s super league that went viral on twitter involving a a fight between 2 players that led to a red card for a player as well as 2 coaches. If you were wondering what happened to Paul Konchesky, well wonder no more. He was a key player in this whole thing.

However what struck me watching clips of the confrontation was how different it was from the way such an incident would play out in the men’s game. Hawa Cissoko of West Ham throws 3 slaps/punches and at least two solidly connect with her opponent Mayling. Not only does Mayling not go down clutching her face rolling around, she stays on her feet and repeatedly tries to get in a few herself until she is restrained by teammates.

It just felt so oddly thrilling seeing a confrontation like that where someone didn’t go down like they’d been shot. Of course as we all know, ‘nobody wants to see that’ (lies*COUGH*lies) but when we see it, it should be something that doesn’t end with pathetic theatrics.
Turiyo Damascene, Kigali, Rwanda

State of affairs
Richard, you can continue to misrepresent what I say, omit inconvenient elements and delude yourself that everything City does is above board and that you’re in fact the saviours of football. I’ll just leave you with the following quote I read yesterday on a forum:

A member of the Abu Dhabi royal family owns Man City, who’s also deputy leader of Abu Dhabi, he’s the younger brother of the crown prince of the Abu Dhabi, Man City has Commercial deals with Etihad, E&, Visit Abu Dhabi, Aidar, Axi, Emirates Palace, Masdar, Healthpoint, First Abu Dhabi Bank, all companies owned by the Abu Dhabi state holding company Mubadala, where the man City owner and also the chairman of Man City are on the board of.

Mubadala Investment Company — a sovereign investor — manages a diverse portfolio of assets and investments in the United Arab Emirates and abroad, to generate sustainable financial returns for its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi

But not state owned.
James Outram, Wirral

…Surely it’s possible to have a separate “Did Man City Cheat?’ mailbox so all the earnest chaps so thoroughly interested in the whole thing can continue their conversations and the vast majority of football fans who don’t give a toss either way don’t have to put up with their interminable emails.

“You only won because you cheated”

“No we didn’t, and anyway you cheated first”

“No we didn’t”

“Yes you did”

Repeat as necessary, in great detail, until the end of f*cking time apparently
Mark