Thanks for your company, anyway! And for your emails and other chatter. We’ll talk again soon – for now, enjoy the rest of your evening/afternoon/morning. Bye!
Full-time: Burton Albion 0-5 Liverpool
It was as straightforward as it looks, to be honest. Liverpool go through thanks to goals from Origi, Firmino, a Naylor own goal and two from Sturridge. They were never in any form of trouble, and it was all very flat really. Mane was excellent though, in particular, and all of Klopp’s players can regard that as a job well done.
90+2 min: Mignolet flaps at a corner and Matip has to head away from near the goal-line. Along with that effort from Akins, it’s as near to an alarm as Liverpool have had.
90 min: “You’ll never walk alone” rings out from the visitors among a crowd that has just been given as 6,450. That’s 462 short of a full house, according to the official capacity. For a bit more housekeeping, know that we have three added minutes to go.
88 min: Big positives for Liverpool? If we want one that really might mean something, it’s the form of Mane. He’s been brilliant tonight and, while perhaps not up against much, has certainly started his career with the club well. A negative? Origi is not coming back on. Hmmm.
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87 min: Origi is struggling now and the physio is on. All three Liverpool subs have been used. Could be cramp, hopefully.
Goal! Burton 0-5 Liverpool (Sturridge 83)
Well tough luck, as it’s 5-0. Mane, who has been electric all night, surges into the box from a standing start on the right and feeds Sturridge, who takes one touch to set himself and then, from 15 yards, cracks one low into the corner. A beautifully conceived, and finished, strike.
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82 min: You’re not missing a huge amount. Everyone will take 4-0 now. Me included.
Goal! Burton 0-4 Liverpool (Sturridge 78)
Burton can’t clear a set-piece properly, Milner picks the ball up and plays a give-and-go with Mane down the right. He whizzes a cross-shot past Bywater and Sturridge is on hand to tap home at the back stick. You can’t say this isn’t a fair reflection of the game.
77 min: A Burton free-kick is hooked back very well from the byline by Naylor and Stewart is sharp to get the ball away for a corner. Burton fans appeal half-heartedly for a penalty after Mane collides with Harness, but nothing doing.
74 min: I’m labouring the point, I know, but this game has had no intensity whatsoever since the first goal.
72 min: Daniel Sturridge, who I should have said came on for Firmino a few minutes back, has a 20-yarder parried by Bywater. Can, still in pain, is replaced by Kevin Stewart, a former loanee at Burton.
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69 min: Can is receiving some treatment; Liverpool won’t want any collateral damage from tonight but he seems to have rocked his knee and is hobbling to the sideline.
66 min: Local lad Ben Fox now replaces the willing but very quiet Dyer. Akins has gone off too, replaced by Marcus Harness.
64 min: Akins has Burton’s best effort of the night, latching onto a long pass, powering beyond Milner and blazing over from an angle. Then Lallana goes off, and Wijnaldum comes on.
Goal! Burton 0-3 Liverpool (Naylor o.g. 61)
The corner is swirled in superbly by Milner, a really wicked delivery, and it flicks off a body and cannons off Naylor. With Bywater in no man’s land, it flies into the empty net. If you had any remote doubts about this game’s outcome then you weren’t paying attention, but please do dispel them now.
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61 min: Now Williamson is booked. That was definitely for a tug, this one on Lallana, who then wins a corner.
60 min: Liverpool are going through the motions now, if you couldn’t tell. Getting to the stage where everyone just wants to play this one out. Klopp will probably want the intensity to ramp up for rather longer, although perhaps a change or two would help that.
57 min: Choudhury is booked for ... errr ... something. Tugging a shirt I think.
56 min: Another Burton corner after Lovren and Lallana cross wires in their own box. Liverpool have switched off slightly. This one comes in from the left and Mignolet is out to punch acrobatically away. Good work from him.
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54 min: Celtic have just conceded an absolute laugh of a goal in Israel, so make sure you find that one later too. 5-4 on aggregate now. But concentrate, as we are watching this one.
52 min: Palmer outswings it from the right but Lovren atones with a thumping header clear. The ball is put back in, spins around for a while and Burton get another corner. It’s headed away by Matip this time.
50 min: Under pressure from Akins, Lovren skews out an attempted backpass for a corner...
49 min: A slow start to the half. Liverpool won’t mind. You can hear the players shouting to one another, you can’t hear a lot else.
47 min: It’s worth noting that Burton have a big, big league game against Derby here on Friday night. The “Nigel Clough derby”, if you will. Kind scheduling, there. So they might judge that it’s not worth going too hard if the status quo remains.
Peeeeeeep! Second half commences.
Let’s go!
A half-time change for Burton: Matty Palmer replaces Jackson Irvine in midfield.
Any hope for Burton here, anyway? It’d be good to see them come out flying and give it a shot early on. It’s coming up in a minute or two...
Rather than me going off on how fun all the other games look, let Simon Burnton take you through them here:
Half-time: Burton 0-2 Liverpool
Origi, Firmino, and as straightforward as you like really. I’ll be back in a bit. Go and find that Dundalk goal.
45 min: Mane gets away again now from a longer ball, and goes down under McFadzean’s challenge. Penalty? Red card? Neither, and the defender is lucky there – he’s tried to get a foot on the ball and kicked Mane on the achilles.
44 min: Williamson gives the ball away and, from the counter, Mane seems to be put clear on goal. But his first touch doesn’t bring the ball under his spell, and he is crowded away.
42 min: A bit of pressure from Burton as Akins gets towards the line, his cross is cleared and Firmino fouls McFadzean in a dangerous position. Williamson’s delivery is looped high and wide by that man McFadzean.
40 min: The tempo has certainly dropped now. Liverpool probably wouldn’t say no to another goal or two but they don’t need to do anything daft. It all feels fairly relaxed.
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39 min: Mignolet gets to spread himself about, falling onto an Irvine flick before anyone else can get there. At the other end, Henderson dabs a foot at an Origi cross but can’t really get near it.
37 min: Firmino arrives onto yet another right-sided delivery but this time – and not before time – Akins is alertly positioned to prevent a clean contact.
35 min: Tell you what, Dundalk’s goal was an absolute belter. Try and catch it. Ahem. We are still here and Burton have a throw-in deep in Liverpool territory. It’s something.
33 min: Burton getting some ball now, but it’s all inside their own half. Liverpool don’t look like giving much away and the home team probably need to get in at half-time without further damage, regroup and decide just how much to go for this.
31 min: Firmino stretches out a leg in hope more than expectation as Mane puts in a high, long cross and plops the ball only a foot or two wide.
30 min: Liverpool are pop, pop, popping the ball about and this might be a long night for everyone now. But doesn’t this first half-hour vindicate Klopp’s decision to go strong?
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29 min: Bywater is now 35, wow. I make Burton his 15th club. His previous one was Kerala Blasters.
27 min: Origi spins on the edge of the box and has another go, but Bywater fields his daisycutter.
26 min: The Champions League play-offs look interesting. Dundalk and Hapoel Beer Sheva have both reduced their deficits. But stay here! Anything could happen!
24 min: I doubt it’ll carry on in this vein, but if it does it could be any score. The atmosphere is not exactly white hot here and unless Burton find something before half-time this will start to resemble a friendly.
Goal! Burton 0-2 Liverpool (Firmino 22)
Oh no. Bywater tries to throw the ball out to Dyer but he needed to chuck it a fair distance and it only reaches Mane. He quickly finds the overlapping Clyne down the right, and the full-back’s cross for Firmino – who again can barely miss – is pinpoint. A header, a bulging net, 2-0.
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21 min: Six Liverpool shots to Burton’s one so far.
20 min: Henderson’s whipped, teasing ball from the left corner of the box bounces up perfectly for an unmarked and onside Lallana at the far post. He should make it 2-0 and probably end this contest nice and early, but heads it like a man who doesn’t head the ball that often and glances well wide.
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17 min: Burton’s two lateral centre-backs are being pulled around a bit, with little help from the wing backs and plenty of befuddlement at Liverpool’s attacking movement. As a result there is acres of space in behind.
Goal! Burton 0-1 Liverpool (Origi 15)
To be honest it had been coming, as Liverpool had been carving through them when they got up the pitch. Milner gets to the left byline and overhits his cross a touch, but Mane brings it down, speeds to the line on the other side and centres for Origi, who neatly backheels into the net from a yard out.
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14 min: Akins seems to be Burton’s preferred outlet, and quite likes putting an early cross in. The latest one is deflected and skips up into Mignolet’s arms. Burton matching Liverpool for territory early on but the chances have gone to the visitors ... and here’s another, as the ball falls again to Origi in front of Bywater, and he makes a rather unorthodox stop with his legs as the striker tries to round him.
12 min: Better save from Bywater! A slick move sees Origi play Lallana in down the right and his clipped cross is met by a firm Firmino header, expertly parried out for a corner to the ‘keeper’s left. Matip then misses a half-chance from the resulting delivery.
10 min: Williamson swings in a tempting free-kick for Burton and Matip concedes a corner. The same player’s flag kick isn’t bad either, but McFadzean concedes a foul.
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8 min: Lovren has a dig from 30 yards, but that’s really rather thoughtless as this is a small stadium and that ball will never, ever be returned into it.
7 min: Chance for Origi! Mane finds space in front of the defence and slides a ball between two of Burton’s centre-backs in the inside left channel. Origi runs clear but, on his weaker left side, gives Bywater a relatively comfortable save.
5 min: The first show from Liverpool now, as McFadzean squeezes out Origi by the corner flag. Interestingly, the debutant centre-half Matip had won the ball at the start of that move and kept on going into the box, hoping to get on the end of something.
3 min: Nothing much has happened yet, although Burton have had some reasonable early possession and Akins has received the ball out on the right a couple of times. Beavon, up front, has just rolled over under Lovren’s challenge in the box but no penalty.
2 min: Having asked for a Burton fan to write in, I’ll slip in Dom Thomas’s email, fresh in my inbox –
“As a Burtonian in long exile, currently in Baku, I can’t comment on the current team but can reflect on just how far they’ve come since I first saw them 28 years ago when we moved to Burton.
“They were in the old Eton Park ground and I remember not seeing them score for about 5 games in the old Beazer Homes Southern League.
“The likes of Nigel Simms, Nick Goodwin, Nigel Redfearn (RIP) and my old youth team mate Darren Stride must be looking on in wonder.”
1 min: Burton are playing with wing-backs, but I expect Dyer and Akins to be much more forward-looking than anything else. It’s an attack-minded side.
Peeeeeeeep! Off we go.
Burton kick us off, left to right in your mind’s eye.
The teams have emerged at the Pirelli Stadium. The players are pressing the flesh, or smacking it if they’re doing the ‘mate’ handshake.
One more before we watch this EFL Cup treat together, from Ian Copestake: “Mane, like the road less travelled by, makes all the difference. At least that is now the hope as he is the only player seemingly capable of putting umph into others and turning the pedestrian Henderson, Lallana and Milner into better parts of the machine.”
The referee, JR from Illinois reminds me, is Simon Hooper. I’m also reminded that he has only refereed one Premier League game before, in which he did not exactly cover himself with glory. I was covering that game and his decision to disallow Cameron Jerome’s goal for Norwich was very poor. But hey, bygones.
Odysseus Yacalis’s take here: “You’re not the only one taking the game seriously, Klopp may have kept his calm post-Burnley in public, but clearly he’s not leaving any room for a repeat. Leaven paid the price for some slack moments and Sturridge lack of aggressiveness around the box is looking like it will cost him more than just this game... We all love Mama, but Klopp knows more than we do about what’s happening behind the scenes, let’s hope Mario steps up big.”
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And a view from Turkish fan Orcun: “I think Sakho going on loan to Besiktas could be quite beneficial for both parties. Besiktas desperately need a defender and I honestly think Liverpool wouldn’t miss him as badly as some Liverpool fans think. And Besiktas’ Head Coach Senol Gunes has a very solid reputation for enhancing the performance of his players.”
A missive from Max:
“Bit surprised by the rumours of Sakho’s possible departure on loan. He was probably Liverpool’s best central defender last season. If he remains at the club and gets fit I imagine he’ll be the first choice centre-back alongside Matip. Btw, I know the Manchester clubs are big favourites for trophies this season but I think Klopp has a lot to prove as well. And I think some of his team selections and transfers have been... muddled.”
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Raymond Reardon writes: “Everybody was criticising Liverpool for the amount of wasteful shots against Burnley. They seemed to have caught the English team ethos of trying to go through the two banks of four rather than to get behind the Burnley defences. Yet in the previous match against Arsenal manic Mane was able, on numerous occasions, to get behind the defences and cause havoc. Hopefully Mane’s shoulder injury does not prevent him from the same pace and verve he brought to the team previously.”
Any Burton fans reading? You’re all At The Game, I suppose, though there must be an exile or two among you. Let us know what to expect from your side. I’ve watched a little bit, actually, and the main threat seems to come out wide, where Lloyd Dyer – still going strong in his 34th year – and Lucas Akins are direct threats. Set-pieces seemed to cause a fair bit of havoc against Blackburn at the weekend too. And Hamza Choudhury, the young midfielder on his second loan from Leicester, seems to have a big future. Those will do as pass notes unless anyone else chips in.
Brandon Dwonch has answered the earlier invitation to discuss some football:
“Matip was brought in to replace Sahko and Klaven to rotate and provide cover. Once Gomez is healthy enough he will leap Sakho. Since he failed-ish the drug test he was on way out.”
I should clarify here that Uefa dropped the drug test case.
To gen up on Burton, by the way, you need to read the work of Jacob Steinberg here. It’s very good:
Email from Dave Hill: “I think it’s rather sporting of Klopp to put Mignolet in goal. Burton might at least score. Ahh the magic of the EFL cup!”
If you like this, wait til you see the EFL – sorry, Checkatrade – Trophy
Let’s discuss some football. Are you a Liverpool fan? What do you think of the possibility of Mamadou Sakho leaving on loan? Fair? Harsh? Foolhardy? I’ve seen a whisper – a visual whisper – that Besiktas are up for taking him.
Please send in your emails by the way. Address above. Twitter too. This is my first football MBM of the season but, like Klopp, I’m not treating this as a warm-up. This is serious.
If Burton come back from three down, what’s the correct headline? “Burton’s EFL rally”?
Anyway, they face a strong Liverpool side, as you can see below. Matip, Can, Origi and Mane are in for Klavan, Coutinho, Wijnaldum and Sturridge. The hosts make five changes from their draw at Blackburn, so everyone’s having a bit of a rotate.
Teams
Burton Albion: Bywater, McFadzean, Irvine, McCrory, Butcher, Choudhury, Naylor, Williamson, Dyer, Akins, Beavon. Subs: McLaughlin, Turner, O’Grady, Palmer, Fox, Harness, Delaney.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Milner, Henderson, Can, Lallana, Firmino, Mane, Origi. Subs: Manninger, Klavan, Moreno, Stewart, Wijnaldum, Ings, Sturridge.
Hello. I am indeed here, as are you for the stand-out tie in tonight’s “EFL Cup” action. Yes – it’s unbranded, unalloyed, pure as the driven snow. This is football as nature intended it, although “EFL” doesn’t sound *quite* right to me as A Thing, if you know what I mean. But perhaps I’m just sensitive post-Brexit; most importantly we’re IN tonight to discover whether Jurgen Klopp’s maddeningly inconsistent band of brothers can follow up their possession-heavy defeat at Burnley with yet ranker humiliation at the hands of another Bur.
That Bur is Bur-ton. Burton. Few could have imagined them rising to the second tier when they sat in the Northern League Premier Division a mere decade and a half ago. But here they are and they’ve given the Championship a decent fist so far, a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday the undoubted highlight. Nigel Clough is getting the very best out of a close-knit, hardworking side that can certainly play a bit – this one has “banana skin” writ large, not only because of Burton’s bold yellow and black shirts.
Liverpool almost found themselves bruised in this competition – back when it was all dirty and sponsored – last season when Carlisle took them to penalties at Anfield but went on to finish runners-up to Manchester City after a less successful shoot-out. Klopp will be taking this one seriously, perhaps not least because of that defeat at Turf Moor, and the XI he picks might not be pock-marked wholesale changes.
We shall see. Reminder: this one will be decided on the night, with extra-time and penalties if required. I’m not ruling it out. Get yourselves ready.
Preamble
Nick will be here shortly for this 7.45pm BST kick-off.
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