Granit Xhaka: Xhak Off?

[Mikael_Sammy_Squillaci]

Didn't have the best game, but the same can be said of at least half of our eleven.
It is highly exaggerated to blame his stupid behavior for Liverpool's awakening.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Im not gonna analys if his actions turned Liverpool on or not. But when 2-0 up there is no need for this. Zero. Youre in the winning position.

 

[BergMan]

You guys are giving the team an excuse to collapse. Because the crowd got a bit riled up? Because Trent got fired up? Really???

We came expecting a hostile atmosphere and to play Liverpool at their best. If that moment is the reason for a collapse then that can only be the sign of a weak mentality in the squad which will be unacceptable in a title race.

He did nothing wrong.

 

[BigPappaSmurf]

What do you expect him to do roll over? Imagine that’s Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira you‘d be loving the fight.

It’s a stupid narrative pushed by Gary Neville and co on tv. What Xhaka did was right.

I think he just has to be more clever - we had a taste last year when Arteta wanted to smash Klopp up on the touchline and lit up the crowd.

Under normal circumstances id agree but at that moment in this game it was the last thing we needed.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

I think what did he wrong today is to wake up sloppy Liverpool and thier fans who were very angry at thier team. It was very unnecessary even you get tackled hard and honestly it did affected in 2nd half too. Should use his experience better next time

 

[field442]

You can argue if what he did should lead to a momentum swing, but I don't think you can argue whether it did or not in today's game. We were in complete control, the crowd were quietened and it was almost HT. His boneheaded forearm to the head brought the crowd to life and probably caused a few of our players to lose focus during the melee that came about because of what he did. The whole match turned on those few minutes.

 

[Tom349]

The goal as result of lazy/naive defending woke their players up and us constant going down injured to waste time had a far greater effect at waking their fans up than anything Xhaka did, which was very minor.

 

[Legend14]

Should have kept it together. No need to get them excited when we are up 2-0. He should be kicking himself. It is what it is. Have to take the good with the dumb.

 

[Batman]

I'm not blaming Xhaka for anything that happened and I don't buy this horse sh*t about him waking them up. If it were anywhere but Anfield nobody would be saying that. The team just switched off and there were already signs of it coming. Where I blame him along with Partey and Ødegaard is getting completely and inexplicably dominated from the time the 2nd goal went in onward by a vastly inferior midfield. Totally unacceptable and tough to understand. Individually though, he was no more off the boil than any of the rest of them.

 

[Legend14]

I'm not blaming Xhaka for anything that happened and I don't buy this horse sh*t about him waking them up. If it were anywhere but Anfield nobody would be saying that. The team just switched off and there were already signs of it coming. Where I blame him along with Partey and Ødegaard is getting completely and inexplicably dominated from the time the 2nd goal went in onward by a vastly inferior midfield. Totally unacceptable and tough to understand. Individually though, he was no more off the boil than any of the rest of them.

Anfield changed when he got into that little hissy fight AND our midfield was average.

 

[Tourbillion]

This idiot.

 

[Erlis]

When you go to Anfield you do not get distorted by fans' support or by their play. Same for a few other teams. You continue with your game and do not lose your head, and become a chaotic team. This is for those who say that the Xhakas incident has affected the team and the game. I call it BS.

 

[IrishGooner93]

Bozo strikes again. Much improved performances this season but leopards don't change their spots. Guaranteed this guy is gonna get a red against city or one of the high pressure games in the run in.

 

[Ash10]

His dumbassery might have single handedly cost us the title yesterday. Average player that has been getting carried by a great team & all his fans came out of the bushes to pretend he is this great player now

An utter bozo who should've been replaced like 5 years ago

 

[Legend14]

I still think he is a good player. You just need to recognize when you are being targeted for a reaction in a particular moment. The defender completely over reacted and gave him a cheap shot in the back. Next time just smile and get him back in the 93rd minute when we are up 3-0.

Moving on to next week. Need to win another must win match.

 

[samshere]

All the usual suspects coming back to reinforce their opinions. Xhaka reacted to their ****housery and we're giving Him grief? He's an easy target because you know that Arsenals own fans don't have his back.

 

[Big Poppa]

All the usual suspects coming back to reinforce their opinions. Xhaka reacted to their ****housery and we're giving Him grief? He's an easy target because you know that Arsenals own fans don't have his back.

There was absolutely no need. He should’ve known it was their only reaction to being embarrassed.

He’s an easy target because of his own previous brain dead actions but he alone was not responsible for us losing grip of that game.

 

[BergMan]

Like I said yesterday, just Arsenal fans falling for Sky Sports stupid narrative. Carragher and Neville know what they are doing. Trying to get Arsenal fans to turn on our Granit.
Xhaka is a fighter if someone provokes him he will always react and fight, not dive. That is a plus not a negative.

Absolutely anything can rile their fans up. All it takes is one Liverpool player to gesture to their fans and they are riled up. They gained momentum because of the goal we conceded before half time, simple as. Had absolutely nothing to do with Xhaka.

Besides, like I said, if you come to Anfield you have to expect them at their best. You expect a hostile atmosphere. If we can’t handle a bit of noise we need to do much better.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

 

[BigPoppaPump]

The goal as result of lazy/naive defending woke their players up and us constant going down injured to waste time had a far greater effect at waking their fans up than anything Xhaka did, which was very minor.

I agree, Liverpool were already getting back in the game even before that anyway and after their first goal they started playing with much more intensity.

We always seem to take the foot off the pedal after 30 mins. Not always going to get away with it.