Good Game Bad Game [vs Manchester United]
Monday, October 26, 2009
Just as last Tuesday, this was a game that Liverpool had to win but, contrary to the game against Lyon, they put in a performance that irrespective of the result was an excellent one. That Liverpool did win is a great bonus but in reality seeing the team respond in this manner was almost enough.
Of course, there will be those who will claim that Jamie Carragher should have been sent off, particularly because of his foul on Michael Owen. That could be the sase but, equally, Nemanja Vidic could have received a caution much earlier in the game given the physical style of his defending on Torres. Who knows how the game would have changed if he'd have had to hold back on his tackles?
Good Game
He didn't really have much to do but Pepe Reina handled the few shots on goal that United had with ease. That he was relatively so under untilised is mainly due to the level of performance that both Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher put in. In particular, Carragher answered all those critics with an immaculate performance where he was determined to win every ball and most of the time did.
Following a somewhat shaky display against Lyon, this was Emiliano Insua's great chance to make amends which is exactly what he did. A great defensive display, he was extremely clever when getting rid of the ball. Same applies to Glen Johnson who might not have attacked as he would like to but defensively he was impeccable.
In midfield, Fabio Aurelio was exceptional particularly in the first half before tiredness started to take part in the second. Yossi Benayoun was much better than of late and he helped set up Liverpool's first goal.
For most of the game, Javier Mascherano was a monster on the pitch throughout the game. Indeed he would have been my man of the match if it hadn't been for that stupid second card. So instead the honour goes to Lucas Leiva who, now, should be silencing the critics. Against United his tackling was often impeccable, his passing showed vision and also found space in the box well in order to challenge in order to possibly score a goal.
Like many others, Dirk Kuyt rediscovered his form against United and did his utmost to hassle for every ball. My big fear before was that Fernando Torres wasn't as fit as many would have liked but he was fit enough to out run United's defence.
Bad Game
How can anyone possibly say that anyone played badly on this day.
Substitutes
David N'Gog came on and did all that was asked of him: he defended from the front line, harassed the United defenders and, most importantly, scored the second goal. Now here's an interesting fact, in all competitions N'Gog has scored three times which is one more than Michael Owen. And he had 149 less minutes in playing time (206 minutes against 355).
Martin Skrtel was sent on in the final instances to ensure that there were no lapses in defence and did his job to perfection.
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3 comments:
fantastic show by the lpool..heart-warming to say the least.you could see the deep desire to win in the eyes of aurelio...and mascher doing his best to keep his emotions in check ..to me personally my player to players ratings are as follows..
reina-safe hands everytime..only difference was he has been let down by some shaky defending earlier this season especially when glen johnson goes marauding fowards
carragher--played the captain role to perfection..pleading the cause of his players when needed ..scolding ,rallying,leadingat other times..sometimes a shade slow but he has the heart of a lion...tenacious,brave,strong..
agger..classy...someone whom i liken to a smooth ride on a mercedes benz..dependable,cool,calm and always with an air of confidence to his face
johnson..who said he cant defend?
good game and dependable
insua..great show..tireless..totally nullified valencia with aurileo
benayoun...tricks at every turn..high workrate and never stopped running..great vision to send torres foward for the 1st goal
masch and leiva..totally made the center circle their own..tackle after tackle,chased and ran the mancs to the ground...
aurileo..determined with a deep desire to win
kuyt..the energiser bunny who would run to the ends of the earth if needed for us..
torres...wow...amazing pace,strength and awesome shot at the end despite not being fully fit at all..
ngog...beautifully taken goal where voronin would probably have muffed it..with a salute after it probably to torres in respect to the master himself
skertel...good entry but i was worried he might disrupt the understanding between the centerbacks up to that time
on to arsenal..hopefully torres is rested and ngog starts..
ynwa
I agree, it was a fantastic game and day. Although at times Insua was a bit shakey vs Valencia but Aurelio covered and protected him perfectly when needed..
I think I am going to have to disagree with you on some points there. There is no doubt that we are all on a high after then great team performance and result we saw yesterday, but I still believe there are some slightly negative points to be made.
I am not blaming Johnson for this but I think he must have been told to concentrate on his defensive duties in the game. There were times where the overlap was on and would have worried the Utd defence, but Johnson did not stray past the halfway line. Like I said, I am sure Benitez will have told him to stay back but I think knowing when to go forward and when to go back could have been better for Johnson.
Agree with your point about Insua in yesterdays game. He was much better than midweek. I am still of the belief he is not good enough for Liverpool FC at his current ability. To be fair though, he will definately get better with experience and the best way to gain experience is to play. Fair enough.
My main point for this argument is Lucas. Probably not a surprise to some people. I have always supported Lucas but I think we carried him yesterday. I think he works hard, fair play, but time after time he gave away freekick after freekick. Every now and again he made a good challenge and won the ball back when we needed it, but surely any midfielder in the Premiership should be able to do that?! He is supposed to be an attacking midfielder, or at least a box to box one, but as shown with his left footed attempt that balooned over the bar from 10 yards, and his scuffed shot that was lucky to be deflected for a corner, he is not good enough when we need that bit of quality. I think Benayoun was marvellous in the role behind Torres yesterday, which means we can shift Gerrard back to dominate the midfield with the world class Mascherano and use Benayoun, Kuyt, and hopefully Aquilani to support Torres.
I don't think Dirk Kuyt has been his usual self this season and was the same yesterday. There were times where you expected Kuyt to control the ball and use it well but I think that has been lacking lately. Maybe he is a bit low on confidence at the moment after hitting the heights that he did last season. Im sure it will come back though and we will have our usual Kuyt back.
With regards to David Ngog, I was sat next to a scouser who was slating him when he came on. I am of the opinion that the boy can finish when given the chance. If he can maybe bulk up and consistently control the ball well and hold it up, I believe we will have a very good backup the brilliant Nando.
Just a quick one to finish off, I hope the rest of the Prem were watching that game because Torres showed how frail Utd's defence, in particular the two centre halfs, are. Just shows what happens when they are got at.
Anyway, thats just my opinion.
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