West Brom 1 Liverpool 1: First Thoughts

West Brom 1: Rondon 14'
Liverpool 1: Ibe 23'

• Pre-game Thoughts: Well, Klopp certainly has no questions about his first teamers being sharp on Wednesday, does he? B team all over the park, with Jordan Henderson and Danny Ings fit enough to make the bench, and the recently returned Sergi Canos adding more fuel to his fledgling hype with his inclusion in today's squad. Also, Kaptain Lukas Klaxon!
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• Benteke must be thinking to himself why he couldn't just get a consistent supply of balls in like Smith just fed him. It's a fair question, just not sure the answer's ever going to go in his favor.
  
  
• Good job by Reds playing this game in the Baggies' half early. Bad job by Ibe and Smith to take turns putting their heads down against three defenders and getting dispossessed.
  
  
• Lucas' new haircut is dashing, and his partnership at the back with Skrtel is continuing to look pretty comfy after a solid outing against Watford. 
  
  
• Interesting to note how Klopp rotates in pairs when fitness makes it possible. Ibe and Ojo in for Coutinho and Lallana. Lucas and Skrtel in for Lovren and Kolo. Allen and Stewart in for Milner and Can. 
  
  
• ****GOAL**** Ooophta. Allen misplaces a pass and joins Stewart and Brannagan in watching Leko create a chance for Rondon who takes it early to beat Lucas and Bogdan. That one's on the midfielders.
  
  
• Liverpool continuing to keep it loose in possession with a misplaced pass by Brannagan. At least Stewart was awake that time.
  
  
• Ibe with a fun turn and dribble out of his mark to set up a perfect soft pass to no one that Dawson picks up. 
  
  
• Sheyi Ojo's touch comes aloe-infused.
  
  
• Flanno embracing his adopted homeland of Brazil by rocking the blue and yellow colorway Adidas. 
  
  
• We like Cameron Brannagan's name, we like his Magic Johnson jersey number, and we like his game.
  
  
• ****GOAL**** Well there you go, folks. After some demonstrations of his bad, Ibe with an emphatic demonstration of his good. Great even. Maradonna/Messi-esque take from the corner of midfield, dribbling four or five Baggies, and taking it low and on his left to bulge the old onion bag. Bravo!
  
  
• Craig Dawson gets his come up from Brad Smith after reppin Warthog Squad with that pullback on Ojo. We like that not-on-my-watch streak in the Aussie. Like it a lot.
  
  
• You'd be forgiven for thinking Ibe's a lefty after that goal and high-day-us attempted take out of the air with his right there.
  
  
• Commentator just mashing that #transfertalkingpoints game today. 
  
  
• Leko legit looks like Balotelli's younger brother. He's kind of good, too.
  
  
• How long until people start thinking of Ojo as a CAM? Not long, right? Such good feel for the game, no way you keep him wide his whole career.
  
  
• ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING WITH THAT NO CALL REF
  
  
• Seriously, Yacob got a touch, kinda, but only after he'd been turned into a smoked ham hock by the Red youngster.
  
  
• Solomon Rondon is one big bastard, innit. Makes Benteke look wafer thin.
  
  
• Give us a fucking break with this ref, already. Smith went to ground easily, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to go down when yer tripped at full flight.
  
  
• Benteke goes for placement instead of power on a free kick and gets neither.
  
  
• Halftime: First ever league goal for Ibe hopefully denotes burgeoning confidence for the youngster. If he makes it out of this game alive, of course. These West Brom goons are presenting more danger to Liverpool's legs than Summerhouse does to Ra'Nell Smith's future. Our halftime team talk includes honey bunches of oats with those dehydrated plastic strawberries, where the milk gets all pink flavored -- we love that. And coffee. Always coffee.
  
  
• Rondon, with his head this time, giving the Reds another scare.
  
  
• Bogdan proving to have about as cultured an understanding of the football as Arthur Weasley does of a rubber duck.
  
  
• Skrtel with a nice over the shoulder hold on Rondon. It's a foul, but what yer supposed to do to cleanly hold off the Venezuelan in that situation is beyond us.
  
  
• Couple more inches and Rondon has two headed goals in this half to make a hat trick.
  
  
• Hendo gets thirty to prove to Klopp and Uncle Woy he's up for both a European final and the European Finals. Also, INGSY!
  
  
• Aaaand Lucas is absolutely concussed? Maybe concussed? Didn't look good.
  
  
• Aaaand Dawson is absolutely concussed? Maybe concussed? Didn't look good.
  
  
• Reds looking pretty B-teamish right now, and disjointed.
  
  
• This Roberts kid coming on feels like he's 17 years old in the same sense that Avatar felt like an original idea.
  
  
• Few things are more putrescent than the sight of Pulis with his blood up on the sideline, sniffing a potential game winner.
  
  
• Sergi Canos with a debut! Ojo coming off after another nice shift in Red.
  
  
• Dawson's defensive instincts will not be denied as he blocks his own teammate's goalbound flick, then immediately takes one to the kisser from Skrtel's attempted clearance.
  
  
• McClean coming off the pitch with more than his fair share of Red stuck to his cleats.
  
  
• Tekkers steals one, but a bad touch from those size 72 boots precludes the center to an open Hendo.
  
  
• Smith with a facsimile of the play that started this game off, but regrettably it's the same result.
  
  
• Free kick at the death, and game.