The only place to be

He is a very special young player indeed. His goal last night reminded me of Piazon's against Forest in the Youth Cup a couple of years ago but this kid shows more than young Lucas did at the same age. He's got the tricks, he's got supreme touch for a person of his age, but it's the athleticism and pace with which he did everything that marked him out. His physical strength would be the only question mark you'd put against his name but he looks much stronger than he did last season and is very agile.

I know the argument is that Chelsea ask him to do a different job, but Matic has come in and doesn't seem to be under any instructions to sit deep and keep it simple. In fact in pretty much the same team he's shown himself to be comfortable running with the ball, looking to create chances and even taking the odd shot. They've already filled their 'looks like Vieira but plays nothing like him' quota with Diaby. He could do well at that mid-table Italian team you mentioned though.

Ultimately a pretty disappointing result and the goals we conceded were all avoidable. Two fuck-ups at set-pieces undid a lot of very good work elsewhere on the pitch but we're in a good position going back to the Bridge. Thought Charlie Colkett had a pretty good game and he reminds me so much of Josh McEachran at that age, although with a bit more physicality about him. Still only 17 he's got a beautiful left-foot and sees passes that few others at that age would. His link-up play with Jay Dasilva tore up the Fulham right flank and he showed off some beautiful little flicks in the middle of the park. Dasilva again impressed on the left-wing and considering he's barely 16, he didn't look out of place at all. The goal was taken superbly but his all round play was marked not just by skill but with a fantastic dose of grit and determination. An exciting prospect probably at left-back in the long-term. Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a bit of a quieter game than usual but he took a very heavy fall midway through the first-half and really didn't look with it until the teams came back out in the second-half. Still a quality performer who doesn't seem to ever lose the ball or underhit a pass, but will look to impose himself more in the second leg. Christensen showed exactly why he's highly thought of throughout Europe, and also exactly why his expectations to not go on loan are probably a bit laughable. Terrible marking for their first goal and made a few other tiny mistakes that will probably disappear in time, but he needs to face much tougher tests to grow as a player. Clarke-Salter alongside him looks a very tidy, athletic player and is still only 16. Seems to have a few fitness issues at the moment but as modern defenders go he seems to have the lot. Aina once again played out of position on the right and got caught out for the penalty but apart from that he looked good. Comfortable going forward with the ball and tough in the tackle, he's regularly an out-ball and will hopefully play more in his favoured right-back spot going forward. Possibly the only disappointments for me were Solanke and Brown. Solanke was isolated a fair bit up front alone but made some fantastic runs. Probably should've scored with an effort that was cleared off the line but you'd be looking for him to be a bit more clinical at home. Izzy Brown though...nice player but inconsistent. Always had a few doubts about him whenever I've seen him play.He's capable of some very nice touches but often looks ponderous when in possession of the ball and we really missed Kiwomya on that right flank to provide some direct running at the full-back. The tie is nicely balanced though. Fulham look a good, hard-working team and they have a few nice players. Dembele is a bit of a prick for trying that penalty and was rightly bollocked by our keeper but he looked a constant threat. In fact I think they probably put us on our heels more than Arsenal did over both legs and had spells in both halves where they were fairly dominant. Can't take them lightly and they'll definitely focus on tying down that right-flank a bit more securely for the return game at the Bridge, but if our players turn up and stay switched on for the 90 then we're more than capable of beating them.

When he's asked to just sit in front of the defence and do essentially one thing all match then he's usually very good. I'd just be very surprised if we did that much next year.

Personally I'd rather he stayed too. Matic, a new midfielder, Van Ginkel, Lamps and Chalobah would be enough for me next year probably and that means shifting on Ramires, Mikel and Luiz. Thought he was very good yesterday and didn't stop running all game.

Do you reckon anyone has told Jamie Redknapp that Jose was being sarcastic? Poor little special kid is going to be broken-hearted. Love that not a single person seems to have a problem with Jose burying him either. Is there a pundit held in lower regard than that twat? Cunt of the highest order and I guarantee that Jose's words will be repeated in the future, just like Wenger will face more calls of being a specialist in failure if he loses against Hull.

We're hated under Jose for one reason - he doesn't actually care that much about the football on the pitch. That 90 minutes between the first and the final whistle is completely incidental to him. All that matters is the result and for some that goes against the 'purity' of the sport (a sport governed by money that puts finances ahead of fans most of the time, but that's another point entirely). It was the same under Robbie as well. When we went to Barca we didn't try and play football against them like Wenger did a few years before. We went to stop them and hit them on the counter. It doesn't make for pretty football but all that matters are the results. Now the rub is that in time fancy football will come - It always does with Jose, but at the moment we're all about results and nothing else. That's why we're hated.

The bitterness of Rodgers is matched only by his naivety. He didn't need to win the game. If he draws that match then Liverpool control their destiny but he fell into the same trap that Mourinho has set for so many managers over the years. Maybe it's pride, maybe it's arrogance or maybe he's just buying into that bullshit he's been selling about 'the Liverpool Way' in recent weeks but to suggest that Liverpool were the only team who wanted to win that gam is just bitterness. Jose knows that there's more than one way to win a match and it showed Rodgers for what he is when he spoke about wanting to win the match a certain way. You can't always do that. Sometimes you have to put your ego to one side and win ugly. We did that yesterday, we did that at City but at home to Arsenal the way to win was to tear them apart. This is why we're probably hated by other supporters. Fuck them.

Who put players behind the ball against them like West Ham did against us?

Teams don't sit deep against them....I imagine that will change now.

Kompany is there on reputation, but so is Cech. JT isn't there based on reputation and Shaw is ahead of Azpilicueta purely because 95% of footballers are too fucking thick to spell his name. Delighted for Gary though.

Perfect

If he passes that ball back to Torres instead of scoring himself, he wins the Player of the Year vote by a landslide.... unless Torres gets down on his hands and knees and heads the ball over the line....or nudges the ball over the line with his cock. Oh well....

If we buy a left-back then he's probably still fourth-choice at best next season and that's assuming we sell Luiz. What this performance gives us is options - it puts him in the store window for a Premier League loan next season but it also means we can take it a bit slower with Zouma....and that's assuming Omeruo goes out on loan again which is massively dependent on what type of World Cup he has. Oh, and there's also Ake and Christensen.

So glad we proved we could win this type of game without him.

You're right - the 5 managers we've had over the last 3 years haven't given many minutes to youngsters.

You can taste the bitterness. What a classless cunt....Perfect for Liverpool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3xCDk6Prbc

It's amazing how people like you simply don't understand football and believe things simply come down to luck. This was the way to beat Liverpool, like the tactics for Arsenal were the way to beat them and the tactics for City were the way to beat them. Why don't you call Liverpool's attacking play clueless....because it was. It's amazing how 'lucky' tactical geniuses like Mourinho are.

He is.... SPOILERS!!!! That was another Red Wedding

We've conceded 9 goals fewer than any other team in the league this year. It's unfortunate he hasn't gotten more chances but there's a damn good reason why, and it's the same reason David Luiz and Ashley Cole (141 caps between them) haven't had a look in either.

Yeah...he said Eternal were shit. "Ask Jamie Redknapp. He knows everything. He has a brilliant football brain." Don't know about you, but I think he's being sarcastic again...

An absolute rock today. Marshalled a defence including a guy making his debut fantastically and will hopefully play there more next season if we get a left-back in. Mugged off Suarez all day long.

My favourite post on RAWK so far... We lost the ability to break down a team with a low block. Because apparently there are fans of every team who think it's easy to score against teams who want to defend. AND..... "Ask Jamie Redknapp. He knows everything. He has a brilliant football brain."

Would love to keep him around next season. It makes such a difference to have a truly competent, Premier League keeper on the bench. His experience showed both in terms of goalkeeping and expert timewasting. Loved it.