Sitting in among the Fulham fans in the Hammersmith End would have been tough at the best of times as this times as they always seem extra hyped when the Reds come to town. But this was different for three reasons, the first two were Jay and Sameer, the Reds I sat to throughout the match who were superb company and are Reds to the core. The third was that we quite simply awesome, devouring a Fulham side who have made Craven Cottage into a fortress in recent months. We were led by the inimitable Luis Suarez who is fast becoming as important a leader from the front as Jamie Carragher is at the back.
Liverpool started like a bullet from a gun, with Suarez making inroads down the left and his cross could only be turned away into the path of the ‘predator’ Maxi who dispatched with aplomb. Five minutes later, Lucas doing a decent impression of his club captain, his laser guided pass found the marauding Glen Johnson, whose cross was dispatched with the minimum of effort on the volley by Maxi Rodiguez full of confidence which only comes from a player at the top of his form.
Fulham were shell-shocked. Liverpool were playing as well as they had all season – how many times have we heard that recently? If Fulham were looking to get back in the game their plans fell apart like a fake Armani suit, when the normally reliable Schwarzer mis-handled Kuyt’s low angled drive from the right side of the area to see the ball dribble in behind him. As with Maxi, Dirk Kuyt is enjoying a purple patch and his unselfish play has made Luis Suarez successful acclimatisation less of a struggle. Suarez, as he gets fitter is providing Liverpool with another all-action forward, but allied with natural brilliance which is taking this Liverpool team under Dalglish into new realms this season.
Mark Hughes summed up Suarez performance, “We never really dealt with the quality of Suarez. I haven’t seen a great deal of him, but obviously he’s a talented player.
“He was always mobile, always in little pockets of space. Maybe we allowed him too much time and never really dictated to him. It was always the other way round and when good players have time and space, they can hurt you, which he certainly did. He was outstanding tonight.”
Dalglish agreed saying “He graced the pitch every time he’s played on it.”
Fulham started the second-half brightly, dominating the opening 15 minutes and with Bobby Zamora coming on, he provided a focal which didn’t come close to having in the first half. It case as no surprise when Zamora laid on a pass to guided a beautiful shot in the corner pass a very angry Reina, which shows the levels of performance we setting.
The wind was taken out of Fulham’s sails when Maxi after a collecting a pass from Flanagan, who performed admirably in the left-back position, showing character to bounce back from his first below par performance against Newcastle. Maxi strode forward and dispatched a glorious 30 yard drive leaving Schwarzer flailing.
King Kenny’s comments suggest Maxi will be a part of his Liverpool squad going forward, “He’s a really intelligent footballer, he knows where to go and when to go.”
“Everything’s happening for him at the moment, he deserves the accolades. A lot of balls have been falling to him in the box, but you’ve got to be there to put them away and he has been. No greater compliment for player than to have King Kenny pay tribute.
Liverpool hadn’t finished. Jonjo Shelvey coming on for the injured Meireles slipped Suarez through to drop a shoulder leaving Schwarzer grasping, to pass the ball into the unguarded net and milk the acclaim of the adoring Liverpool away faithful. That Fulham scored a consolation didn’t seemed to matter. To be at Craven Cottage when Jamie Carragher made his 666th appearance, going ahead of Anfield stalwarts the late Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence, made it all the more special.
We are now in a great position to get into the Europa League and have an outside chance of the Champions League. Who would have believed it?
Kop-post Man of the Match: Luis Suarez - simply devastating.
Kop-post Man of the Match: Luis Suarez - simply devastating.
What a fantastic performance from the boys away at Fulham - the movement from the midfield and especially from the sensational Suarez all bodes well for next season.
ReplyDeleteWe may have missed out on the CL spot but from where we were in Jan all the credit must go to King Kenny, his staff and the players for recovering to bring back respectability to the club.
Wish we had got rid of Roy Hodgson earlier because I am convinced we would have caught Man City for the 4th spot.
Now the focus is on getting in the right players to increase the depth and qaulity of the squad and to continue this form into the new season.
First of all a great result, and excellent performance from the whole team.
ReplyDeleteSuarez has fitted into the team like bread on butter. Some players take time to adjust and break into a team and the style of play in England, but this person is playing the lovely game very well indeed. Netted his fourth goal for the Reds in the 5-2 victory and his tireless movement were commonly at the heart of much of Liverpool’s good work.
All is possible for 4th spot!
I remember going a few years back to the Fulham away game when we were 2-0 down at half time....second half came back and won 4-2...Biscan even scored....coming out of the ground was the best buzz ever and the singing carried on all the way down towards the Kings Road...
ReplyDeletePrince of Leon
For those of you who don’t remember Biscan, he was today’s equivalent of Polsen!
ReplyDeleteLivi
Not having that... :)))) as I remember one dynamic performance against Juventus (when they were a decent team) in the Champions League quarter-finals in the absence of Stevie G which helped us on our way...
ReplyDeleteBiscan's not my favourite player by a long chalk, but he played a vital part to getting us to Instanbul.
ReplyDeleteLast time I heard he may have to retire through injury.
Champions League winner Igor Biscan was a cult hero. Poulson is just a bit of a prong. There is no comparison.
ReplyDeleteBaz
To be fair, whether he won the Champions League or not, he was still rubbish as a Liverpool player. Next you'll be telling me that Vorinin was better than Ian Rush!
ReplyDeleteLivi
He was... in shampoo usage!
ReplyDeleteI was at that game too Leon. Xabi Alonso came on at half time and turned the game on it’s head. Great game. So depressed at half time and then ecstatic after 90 mins, a forerunner to Istanbul but obviously a little less important.
ReplyDeleteBaz
For those of you who don’t remember Biscan, he was today’s equivalent of Poulsen!
ReplyDeleteLivi
Not having that... :)))) as I remember one dynamic performance against Juventus (when they were a decent team) in the Champions League quarter-finals in the absence of Stevie G which helped us on our way to that famous night in Instanbul...
ReplyDeleteThats ok then.
ReplyDeleteLivi
:)))) went into Champions League folklore where as the other guy is just hasn't been at the races...
ReplyDeletebut where is he now????
ReplyDeletePrince of Leon
I thought you hated Biscan and love Poulson. Oh well, got that wrong
ReplyDeleteLivi
Biscan's not my favourite player by a long chalk, but when we've been living on scraps in terms of trophies, you tend to grab on to any contribution!
ReplyDeleteLast time I heard he may have to retire through injury.
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ReplyDeleteTo be fair, whether he won the Champions League or not, he was rubbish as a Liverpool player. Next you’ll be telling me that Voronin was better than Ian Rush!
ReplyDeleteLivi
Actually, yes he was... at using hair conditioner! :)))
ReplyDeleteChampions league winner Igor Biscan was a cult hero, Poulsen is just a bit of a prong. There is no comparison.
ReplyDeleteBaz