Four talking points from Slovakia v England as the Allardyce era begins

Liverpool were right to sell Skrtel

Slovakia skipper Martin Skrtel has always been regarded as something of a blunt instrument and when Jurgent Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers at Anfield last autumn he wasn’t to the German gaffer’s taste.

That left Skrtel frozen out of first-team affairs, and a summer switch to Fenerbahce offered him a way out of Merseyside. Despite being his country’s captain, the performance put in by Skrtel was shocking, completely vindicating Klopp’s decision to drop and sell him.

Skrtel di giustezza su Kane. https://t.co/8QrJ5Vuub9

— delinquentweet (@delinquentweet) September 4, 2016

First getting booked for elbowing Kane in the first-half, Skrtel then stamped on the Spurs striker and was sent off for an early bath before the hour mark. When Fenerbahce face Manchester United in the Europa League group stage, Skrtel best remember Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a karate expert.

Walcott disallowed goal should’ve stood

Theo Walcott thought he’d grabbed a late winner, but a raised offside flag drew a halt to celebrations despite protests from the Arsenal attacker, England skipper Wayne Rooney and fellow sub Daniel Sturridge.

Replays showed when Sturridge passed to Walcott to fire home from a tight angle the ball came off a Slovakia defender, but the referee was unmoved by appeals.

It’s a decision from the officials that looked to have cost the Three Lions three points and Allardyce a winning start to World Cup qualifying, but the drama wasn’t done…

Lively Lallana cements spot

Many England fans were disappointed to see Adam Lallana kept his place, with the damning statistic of no goals in 26 senior caps before the Slovakia game.

The Liverpool midfielder looked to have had another disappointing day when his silky shot on the turn from the edge of the area came back off the inside of the post during a lively display.

Adam Lallana preparing for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday. #LFC pic.twitter.com/XIrQlUgFkz

— THE ANFIELD WRAP (@TheAnfieldWrap) September 4, 2016

Lallana finally broke his Three Lions duck at the 27th attempt in the 95th minute, deep into stoppage time. Slovakia stopper Matus Kozacik just couldn’t keep his effort out.

Related

You’ll find more international football features on Coral’s dedicated page.