Sunday 9 January 2011
By KP
With Howard Webb slipping back to World Cup Final mode, Liverpool were up against it from the first 30 seconds of the match when Berbatov went down under a Daniel Agger challenge as if he'd been picked off by Dirty Harry.
We came back well after the penalty stringing together some nice passing moves and showing the heart which had been sadly lacking against Wolves. Gerrard and Maxi managed to test Kuszczak and up until Gerrard was sent off Liverpool were more than holding their own. On another day, Gerrard may just have escaped with a yellow card, but he the fact his feet left the ground made up the referees mind.
The ten men of Liverpool played with great resolution after the sending off especially after the break with Reina making three excellent last ditch saves from a fine Man United move, helped by some tremendous defensive blocks. Aurelio manage to sting the fingers of Kuszaczak from a curling free-kick heading for the corner of the net.
All in all, it was strong performance, which was notable not just for the fuel-injection which a new manager instils, but for the fact we played some good football. Stand out performer was Martin Kelly, whose performance may give Dalglish the option of playing Glen Johnson ahead of him in the future as has been said previously on this blog. The body language of the players seemed more upbeat as was shown by Fernando Torres as he was subsituted to be greeted by his manager on the touchline.
Dalglish showed in just his first game back that he is more than willing to pick players who are capable/comfortable with the football, hence the choice of Agger and Aurelio. Could it mean more game time for Ryan Babel and Dani Pacheco in the future? It was also interesting to see that Paul Konchesky did not make the substitutes bench...
With Gerrard now serving a three match ban, let's hope that the level of performace on show at Old Trafford is maintained against Blackpool.
KP
Sunday 9 January 2011
I thought our resolve shone through in this match and we showed that we were willing to attack even though we were playing away from home.
ReplyDeleteHope this means better days ahead for LFC!
Howard MBE Webb! When Rafa said what he did about Fergie receiving preferential treatment by the FA and referees “that’s a fact”! I don’t care if Alex likes Roy – he should keep his nose out of our affairs.
ReplyDeleteI was really pleased with our performance – I think Kenny’s arrival has obviously given the place a lift. I like the way that Reina didn’t just hoof the ball upfield. Players such as Agger took responsibility for bringing the ball out and Kelly getting forward and also being competent defensively. I like the fuel injection that Babel brought to the side.
Lets face it – we could have collapsed after Howard MBE gifted them the goal. I am not saying that he is the savior but Kenny is the short term appointment that we need – to give Roy a 4+year contract was a huge mistake, in fact rumored to be the tune of £7.5 million for 6 months work!