Josh Morton on Liverpool vs Ipswich Town

Pre-match thoughts

Despite travelling by railway for most away games following Town, I opted to journey to Merseyside on the club coach for this game, with rail works making a train journey to Liverpool and back a logistical nightmare.

Those travelling up on the coach understandably weren't expecting the Blues to get anything out of the game, with Liverpool sitting top of the Premier League and Ipswich still struggling in the relegation zone.

One fan explained that he'd "be happy as long as Ipswich scored," and another argued that "it could come down to goal difference, so to not get battered like we did against Man City would be a plus."

Visiting supporters at Anfield are situated in the Anfield Road Stand behind the goal and opposite the famous Kop Stand, with home supporters both to the left and behind them in the same stand.

Anfield is undoubtedly an impressive stadium and one of the largest in which I have attended a match, with a capacity of 61,276 following a recent expansion to the Kop. I overheard a supporter behind me read the Ipswich starting lineup, manager Kieran McKenna making five changes following the 6-0 home defeat to Manchester City the prior weekend.

The same man who had enlightened me with the lineup then gave his opinion on a player making his full debut in the match against Liverpool: "I'm not sure about that Jaden Philogene, he seems like a panic signing for me and looks a bit lazy," he argued, the new addition having only played around half an hour of football for Ipswich.

As the teams strolled onto the pitch, the home side's loyal supporters held up their scarves and sang along to the classic song 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. This was something I have always wanted to witness one day as a football fan, and it did not disappoint; it was a truly awe-inspiring sight.

Difficult opening exchanges

Early in proceedings, Town struggled to get a foothold in the match, the hosts keeping the ball well and probing into the Blues' half. An early long-range effort from winger Cody Gakpo sailed high and wide, and it looked like Town were slowly growing into the match.

However, in the 11th minute, the hosts struck first, as Liverpool defender Ibrahim Konaté's clever pass found midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai in space 20 yards from goal. The Hungarian took a touch and expertly placed a low effort into the bottom left corner of Christian Walton's goal.

Despite going a goal down early on, the visiting supporters were still in good voice, but Liverpool's early lead made Town's tough task at Anfield even more difficult.

Injury crisis continues

Town's situation would go from bad to worse as ever-reliable winger Wes Burns came off badly from a duel with Liverpool's Gakpo. Following a long break in play, he had to be stretchered off, being replaced by Ben Johnson. The injury looked a nasty one from the stands and fans around me expressed their concern, one lady exclaiming: "His season's done." As Burns was carried off the pitch, the Blues' travelling faithful serenaded him with their chant for him, 'Burns, Burns will tear you apart again!'

Soon after this injury incident, Ipswich would concede a damaging second goal from a likely source in Premier League top-scorer Mohamed Salah.

Gakpo swung in a high cross towards the back post, where the Egyptian stood unmarked, brought the ball down, and netted his 19th league goal of the season. Defender Leif Davis had already made a few mistakes early in the half, and he will feel he should have done more to deal with the danger in the lead-up to the goal.

While the reaction from the away end was loud in support of their players following the concession of the first goal, the Ipswich fans were quieter after the second, and things seemed to be falling apart for McKenna's men quickly.

To my surprise, the atmosphere during the first half was surprisingly flat in the stadium, as Anfield is said to have one of the most electric atmospheres in world football. The Kop made a great racket after each of the two goals, but for the majority of the half, the Liverpool fans were outsung by the visiting supporters.

With half-time approaching, the Blues started gaining more possession of the ball. Still, they could not get anywhere near the opposition's box, Liverpool's powerful defenders dealing well with the physicality of Town forward Liam Delap.

Despite this spell of possession, the Reds would add a third on 44 minutes, a fast-flowing move started by Trent Alexander-Arnold ending in Blues 'keeper Walton parrying a Szoboszlai effort from close range into the path of Gakpo, who duly finished into the net, the half-time score reading Liverpool 3-0 Ipswich.

Half-time reaction

As the players of both teams went down the tunnel, the supporters around me chatted about the game so far. Still, there was plenty of discussion about another game that was taking place concurrently, as Arsenal had had a man sent off in their game against Town's relegation rivals Wolves. "That's just typical really, it might not be our day," a man in a bright green beanie hat said glumly.

Blues boss McKenna made a half-time change to the team by replacing Davis, who had struggled in the first period, with Conor Townsend, but the second half would start in a similar vein to how the first had ended.

The home side again took control of the game but looked to me to be less inclined to push on and net a fourth. However, as is typical of most good sides, a goal can come out of nowhere, as in the 66th minute, a superb deep cross from Alexander-Arnold found the head of Gakpo, who nodded in his second of the game.

Arnold then began a personal mission to add a goal to his assist, firstly firing an effort from range just over and then hitting a first-time effort from just inside the area against the crossbar.

Although Liverpool had increased their lead and looked the more likely of the teams to score next, you wouldn't have thought it in the stadium, as the away fans seemed to spring into life around the 70th minute.

Something to cheer about

McKenna made three more changes in the 79th minute, bringing on Nathan Broadhead, George Hirst, and recent on-loan addition Julio Enciso in place of Delap, Philogene, and Hutchinson.

Enciso got a good reception from the Blues faithful, with a chant sung for ex-Blue Jeremy Sarmiento repurposed for Ipswich's new Brighton loanee, the Paraguayan applauding the away end as he entered the pitch. 'He's magic, you know, Julio Enciso!', the supporters belted.

The debutant would quickly make an impact, catching Liverpool's Wataru Endo high challenging for the ball, with the home crowd demanding he was sent off. To their dismay, the referee saw it only necessary to caution the 21-year-old.

As full-time approached, Town were starting to get some momentum together, and a good pattern of play resulted in substitute Conor Townsend finding himself in space down the left side.

He whipped in an excellent ball to George Hirst who headed for goal, but Alisson excellently saved his effort for the hosts. I could sense frustration around me, but as the game drew to an end, Town won a late corner, Enciso swung the ball in, and defender Jacob Greaves headed past the seemingly unbeatable Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson to give Town a goal at Anfield.

Although Greaves' first Ipswich goal was merely a consolation, the scenes behind the goal were brilliant, and this was followed by ironic chants of 'We're going to win 5-4' and 'We're just too good for you'.

The fans were in good humour despite the scoreline, and there was an overwhelming sense of positivity in the away end after the final whistle, the Town supporters giving the players a loud ovation as they came over to clap their supporters after the final whistle, the match ending Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich.

Post-match reflections

Ipswich Town were simply outclassed at Anfield by a very good Liverpool side but showed some good signs towards the end of the match, including a late consolation goal, and the players are clearly still fighting for their manager.

The visiting supporters behind the goal certainly inspired the Blues to push on and grab a goal, and for most of the game, it was their voices that could be heard loudly rather than those of the home fans.

Town still sit 18th in the league table, the next game a huge relegation six-pointer against bottom side Southampton. McKenna's men will need to take the positivity from the end of the Liverpool match into that crucial tie at Portman Road on Saturday.

MOTM: Cody Gakpo

Player Ratings: Walton 5, Tuanzebe 6, O'Shea 6, Greaves 6, Davis 4, Morsy 5, Phillips 6, Burns 5, Hutchinson 5, Philogene 6, Delap 5

Subs: Johnson 5, Townsend 6, Enciso 6, Hirst 5, Broadhead 5