Henderson rides to the rescue in seven goal thriller - Liverpool 4 Swansea 3

Written by dedlfc

A totally enthralling match full of kamikaze defending and also superb attacking was finally settled by a scrappy goal by our ever reliable midfielder Henderson, but at this time of the season all that matters is executing the plan of getting the three points.

The away league win at Fulham where we came back from behind was seen as a pivotal game but to continue to go for a win after losing a 2-0 lead and then a 3-2 lead will do our confidence the world of good.

We have tougher fixtures to come at Anfield but will no doubt be mindful that just as we are likely to concede we are also likely to score goals in abundance. After today's game we are now the top scorers in the league which will also surprise a few people seeing as Man City have scored so many goals this season.

It took Sturridge just three minutes to break the deadlock in this great game with him capitalising on a Gerrard-esque through ball like a knife through butter from Raheem Sterling.

An excellent right footed finish by Henderson from the edge of the box which doubled the lead after about twenty minutes but the Swans under new manager Garry Monk are made of sterner stuff and provided a quick riposte with first Shelvey with a great goal which he refused to celebrate but our fans applauded and then a goal by Bony deflected off Skrtel bringing the game back to 2-2.

Daniel Sturridge then showed his true finishing quality with a nonchalant header from a perfect cross from his strike partner Suarez ( making it now Suarez 23 Sturridge 18- 41 league goals between them)

Daniel Sturridge became only the second player - after former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy - to net in eight consecutive Premier League fixtures.

Suarez almost scored an audacious chip from the centre circle but it drifted just wide.

With the game now at 3-2 to us at halftime you would have thought that Rodgers would have told our team to shut up shop for the second half.

Not our team we immediately gave away a penalty with Skrtel adjudged to have held down Bony, Bony calmly slotted the penalty home.

With the Suarez's stinging effort was turned into the path of Henderson to poke home from inside the six-yard box from a rebound saved by Vorm.

Gerrard hit the post late on with a low rasping shot onto the inside of the post and we held on for the vital win.

The result moves us back to within four points of leaders Chelsea, with both Everton losing yesterday to Chelsea and Spurs losing after our game away to Norwich 1-0 we now have a six points cushion over our main rivals for fourth place.

Man of the match - Daniel Sturridge

Two more goals for the young striker which shows that he has moved on from missing the vital chances in the FA cup tie vs Arsenal last weekend, what a fantastic season he is having he now has 26 goals in 27 Liverpool games! What a great goals return! 

He had a part to play in the first three goals and helped himself to two of them.

Henderson, the unsung hero also helped himself to a brace today and we hope he adds more goals to his ever improving all round game. Fantastic player who Rodgers deserves credit for keeping faith in when others wanted him out.

Allen came on for Sterling after sixty minutes and shored up our midfield and showed what a vital cog he will be for our side long term with his steady passing and intelligent play.

We are also now the top scorers in the league with 70 goals which may surprise some people with Man City scoring goals for fun at home. All credit to us for our attacking style of play.

Critical eye

Again the criticism is mainly down to the poor performance of our defence with us not defending with any conviction and now looking like side that has to score three or four goals to win a game nearly every week. 

The poor defending at set pieces of Skrtel and Agger where they hold onto opposition players shirts and not focus on defending has now come back to haunt us - the media highlighting our poor defending at set pieces has now been picked up by referees which does not bode well for us for the rest of the season unless we cut out that unprofessional way of defending set pieces.

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet,  Flanagan, Skrtel,  Agger, (Toure 63mins) Johnson, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling (Allen 58mins) Suarez,  Sturridge, (Moses 79mins)

Subs not used: Jones, Aspas, Cissokho, Teixeira

Booked: Skrtel

Goals: Sturridge (2), Henderson (2)

SWANSEA: Vorm, Rangel, Flores, Williams, Taylor, Britton, De Guzman (Hernandez 73mins) Dyer, (Ngog 84mins), Shelvey (Canas 46mins) Routledge, Bony

Subs not used: Amat, Tiendalli, Tremmel, Emnes

Goals: Shelvey, Bony (2)

Ref: M Jones 

Att: 44,731

Tearful Sturridge, missed chances and Poor Howard Webb decision costs us cup tie Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1

Written by dedlfc

With the fantastic tribute prior to kick off of legendary Sir Tom Finney passing at the grand old age of 91. It was fitting that two great clubs put together a great spectacle for the FA Cup, a tournament that Finney graced with brilliance all those years ago in the fifties.

Arsenal trying to recover from their mauling at the hands of us eight days ago hoped for a more steady start but were almost hit with a double sucker punch when first Gerrard repeated the peach of a through ball that he produced vs Fulham but this time Sturridge screwed the shot at Fabianski who saved it with his rear. 

Couple of minutes later a cute little dink over the top found Sturridge who rounded Fabianski only to screw the shot wide into the side netting with his right foot.

Arsenal had literally got out of jail.

With Arsenal's first shot on goal they took the lead, this was through a set-piece given away by Flanagan, a deflected shot from debutant Sanogo fell straight to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who calmly stroked the ball home as Brad Jones dived in vain to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead against the run of play.

Our attack for much of the first half was on the break, relying on pace and countering from the lively Sterling, whenever Arsenal got men forward. It was not effective, and the opening 45 minutes was more notable for the activity of attention seeking Howard Webb more than anything else.

There was a very quick break from Arsenal after Luis Suarez very nearly scored right after the restart. Oxlade-Chamberlain was played in by Mesut Ozil, Chamberlain shrugged off the returned Daniel Agger with ease and the young winger's cut-back for Lukas Podolski was perfect. 2-0 for the hosts and we were mostly in damage control mode.

We got a second wind and went for it , Arsenal again knowing conceding a goal would mean we were back in the game.

What a silly, silly challenge from Lukas Podolski. We weren't doing much outside of Luis Suarez being a constant threat, so Podolski naturally tracks back and makes an absurd attempt to dispossess the Uruguayan right as he entered the penalty area. Steven Gerrard then did what Steven Gerrard does, and suddenly it was a one-goal match.

With us now on the front foot we then preceded to get an even clearer penalty turned down by attention seeking ref Webb, when Oxlade-Chamberlain bundled over Suarez with Webb only a few yards away with a clear line of sight. Terrible, terrible decision which despite our continued attempts to equalise cost us the cup tie.

Webb tried to level out the poor refereeing decisions when he should have sent off Gerrard for a second yellow when he had clearly fouled Oxlade-Chamberlain

Henderson was brought on for the ineffective Cissokho after 62 minutes which meant a change of tactic with Allen now supported by Henderson to give us a numerical advantage in midfield. Flanagan moved to the left back slot vacated by Cissokho and Raheem Sterling's shift at right fullback was another good one, even if it's not what we're looking for given his success in attack of late. 

We had one more late chance with Gerrard's excellent free kick being headed wide by Agger with Arsenal keeper nearly punching his head off at the same time. To some referee's that would also be a penalty but not attention seeking Webb who has again transpired to do everything possible to ensure a 7th loss in a row when he is the referee of our games.

Good job, good effort, arguably better than Arsenal on the day but simply did not put away our several chances when through on goal.

Man of the Match - Steven Gerrard

He was all over the pitch doing the quarter back role and also fighting fires  in front of the back four. Again leading by example but was also lucky not to be sent off, took his penalty with aplomb as well.

Critical Eye

Daniel Sturridge poor finishing with two clear cut chances on his weaker right foot within the first five minutes ultimately cost us this FA Cup tie at the Emirates. It may seem a little harsh of me to say this but with the amount of money footballers earn nowadays they should be able to put chances away simply with both feet. I think that's where Sturridge needs to improve his game. It was sad to see him teary eyed at the end of the game but it should drive him on to do better in the final 12 league games to come. The FA Cup still means something to the players.

The FA raves about Howard Webb being the best of the English referees but he is quite frankly extremely poor whenever he has a big game and more often than not makes attention seeking decisions so that he makes the headlines.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Fabianski,  Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal ,  Flamini,  Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain(Gibbs 76), Ozil,  Podolski, (Cazorla 69), Sanogo(Giroud 88).

Subs not used: Sagna, Wilshere, Viviano, Gnabry.

Booked: Monreal, Flamini.

Goals: Oxlade-Chamberlain 16, Podolski 47

Manager: Arsene Wenger 

Liverpool (4-3-3): Jones, Flanagan, Agger, Skrtel, Cissokho, (Henderson 62) Coutinho, Gerrard, Allen, Sterling, Suarez, Sturridge.

Subs not used: Toure, Aspas, Moses, Mignolet, Kelly, Teixeira.

Booked: Flanagan, Coutinho, Gerrard.

Goals: Gerrard (pen) 59.

Manager: Brendan Rodgers 

Ref: Howard Webb

Att: 59,801

Calamity Kolo nearly costs us but General Gerrard rides to the rescue again Fulham 2 Liverpool 3

Written by dedlfc

In a massive game in our hunt for a Champions League place Rodgers named an unchanged starting eleven which to all concerned wasn't a major surprise, and as most expected heading in, Rodgers kept Coutinho inside to help Gerrard and Henderson in midfield while Suarez started on the left. Formations and tactics, though, don't much seem to matter in the face of colossal individual errors which cost us goals.

With the adverse weather conditions causing the postponement of a couple of Premiership games it would have been understandable if either team had conceded a goal because of it.

Not when you have Kolo Toure in your defence, he is a master of creating his own colossal individual errors, with him inexplicably passing to the invisible red shirt in our last away game vs WBA, he has even surpassed that incredible achievement this evening with an amazing slice into his own goal without any pressure on his clearance after 8 mins.

Not surprisingly the goal energised Fulham's overall performance and they looked like a side with something to fight for for much of the first half. The shock of conceding that poor goal made our whole team look disjointed and dishevelled.

All this was until one of the passes of the season after 41 minutes with our Captain Fantastic Gerrard's outside of his right foot landed like an Exocet missile perfectly through the Fulham defence onto Sturridges's left foot for a cool calm finish for his 8th goal in 8 games since returning from injury and his 16th goal this season.

Liverpool were much improved in the second, with Suarez being the main catalyst for the upturn in our tempo but there were still concerns—along with Sturridge drifting out of the game again following his goal, Sterling and Coutinho repeatedly missed simple passes, and Flanagan had probably his worst game since breaking into the lineup. But, on the whole, things were beginning to look up.

After Suarez hit the post, though with a brilliant piece of individual brilliance. We were again punished for failing to turn that improved play into goals when Skrtel and Flanagan conspired to turn the ball over to Kieran Richardson in front of goal. The Fulham player hammered it past Mignolet to put the hosts back in front.

The goal seemed to finally wake us up from our deep sleep and soon after Coutinho pulled us level again. A scary moment followed when Maarten Stekelenburg dived to smother a ball just as Suarez looked to kick it, knocking the Fulham keeper out and forcing a change between the sticks with reserve keeper David Stockdale coming on to replace him.

In the end it was far, far more difficult than it should have been, but the stoppage time penalty earned by good play from Daniel Sturridge and converted calmly by Steven Gerrard gave us the vital three points we so desperately needed in a match where to earn anything less would have gone down as failure.

Man of the match - Steven Gerrard

Our wonderful captain lead from the front and his celebration of the winning penalty showed what that goal means to our campaign and that pass ooooh that pass, just simply world class!

Critical eye

Kolo Toure is playing too many games many due to injuries to other defenders in the squad namely Agger and Sakho. The only thing that he did of any note was the comical moment when he knocked over fat ref Phil Dowd when running back to defend!

As a team we need to defend better as we are having to score three goals to win games which we are very capable of doing but should be wary that to have a say in this title race we need to cut out the silly mistakes.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Stekelenburg (Stockdale 76); Riether, Heitinga, Burn,  Riise; Sidwell, Kvist; Tunnicliffe, Holtby, Richardson(Kacaniklic 71); Bent. SUBS: Hangeland, Kasami, Duff, Cole, Parker. 

BOOKINGS: Kvist, Riether, Richardson 

GOALS: Toure 8 og,Richardson 63.

MANAGER: Rene Meulensteen

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Mignolet; Flanagan, Skrtel,  Toure, Cissokho; Coutinho, (Agger 90), Gerrard, Henderson; Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling(Teixeira 82). SUBS: Jones, Kelly, Allen, Moses, Aspas.

BOOKINGS: Coutinho, Henderson, Gerrard 

GOALS: Sturridge 41,Coutinho 72,Gerrard 90 pen.

MANAGER: Brendan Rodgers 

REFEREE: Phil Dowd 

ATT: 25,375

White hot Reds destroy Arsenal in 20 minutes of devastation

Arsenal’s players looked shell-shocked after experiencing an explosive opening which had the game won and Arsene Wenger’s team counting their blessings that four was all they had conceded in a ferocious 20 minute burst.

Liverpool were mesmerising against an Arsenal team returning to Anfield brimming with confidence having returned to the top and with only one loss at the ground in 7 years.

The mayhem started inside a minute after Per Mertesacker pulled back Suarez and Gerrard wickedly delivered free-kick left Skrtel to stab home from close range.  The impressive Jon Flanagan nearly added to the score, from a subtle Sturridge through pass saw his shot well saved by Szczesny.

Arsenal’s peace was short lived as Skrtel moving away from the goal met Gerrard’s corner showing great dexterity to head over Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to equal his best ever goal scoring season for the Reds.

Liverpool were now an irresistible force moving into overdrive with Arsenal powerless to resist wave after wave of Liverpool attacks and when Suarez sent Sturridge through Anfield was stunned in amazement to see his shot screw wide of the far post.

It seemed only a matter time before Suarez would get his name on the score sheet and it almost happened with a spectacular volley which smacked flush against the post with Kolo Toure prodding the rebound wide of a gaping net.

With Liverpool not possessing a midfielder destroyer, Rodgers employees a pressing game which involves pressuring opponents in all areas and it was this which instigated the next goal.  Jordan Henderson harried the disappointing Mesut Ozil, finding Suarez who in turn played an inch perfect cross for Sterling to score ahead of Sturridge.  It was no more than Liverpool deserved as they were playing football from a dimension which Arsenal were not familiar.

Coutinho and Sturridge repeated their double-act from the Everton game when the young Brazilian’s beautifully weighted pass sending Sturridge through to decisively clip in past the goalkeeper for a goal which had class written all over it and Wenger wishing that Flamini was not serving a three-match ban.

It was an unbelievable and stunning 20 minutes against the Premiership leaders.

Liverpool with the game all but won, settled down into a rhythm with less intensity which allowed Arsenal back in the game.

The only way in the second-half Arsenal were going to get into the game was for Liverpool to fall back into the bad habits of earlier in the season and drop intensity levels.

It was not be for Arsene Wenger’s men.

Ten minutes in and Toure found Sterling scampering through.  His shot was saved by Szczesny who was powerless to stop him from knocking home the rebound to make it 5-0.

All for one

Luis Suarez shaped as if to cross from a free-kick from 35 yards, but produced an exquisite curling shot which looked preordained for the top corner only for a scrabbling Szczesny to claw the ball out at the last.

Disappointingly, Arsenal scored from a penalty after Gerrard rashly brought down Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Sterling had the opportunity to close out the game with a hat-trick after leaving the pacey Gibbs for dead with a blistering run, only to fluff his lines at the last and seeing his shot squirm past the post.

It was a win which sent out a marker, but which Liverpool need to profit by at winning at Fulham on Wednesday.

Man of the Match:  Raheem Sterling – Another imperious performance from the Liverpool winger.  His game now offers so much more in a season where he has begun to find himself on the score sheet.  He has an uncanny knack of finding himself in the right position at the right time whether in support of Sturridge and Suarez or covering the full-backs, proof positive that he is coming out from under the shadows of his more celebrated colleagues.

Critical eye:  Liverpool squeezed Arsenal from the first minute to the last not allowing them to settle into their formidable passing game often pushing them back and out of their comfort zone.  The third goal was a great example with Ozil hassled and left in a heap from the pressure exerted by Jordan Henderson and Liverpool’s incisive play was rewarded with a goal which demoralised Arsenal.

With very little in terms of  a powerhouse midfielder every Liverpool player displayed a commitment to the cause with even Philippe Coutinho showing commitment and fierce determination to get the job done.

Good to see the manager taking the opportunity to rest his key players and giving some playing time to Aspas and Ibe.

Teams:

Liverpool: 22  Mignolet, 38 Flanagan, 20 Cissokho, 8 Gerrard (Ibe – 76 mins), 37 Skrtel, 4 Kolo Toure, 10 Coutinho, 14 Henderson, 7 Suarez (Iago Aspas- 86 – mins), 31 Sterling, 15 Sturridge (Allen – 66 mins)

Substitutes: 1 Jones, 6 Luis Alberto, 9 Iago Aspas, 12 Moses, 24 Allen, 33 Ibe, 34, Kelly

Arsenal: 1 Szczesney, 3 Sagna, 17 Monreal (Gibbs – 61 mins), 10 Wilshere, 4 Mertesacker, 6 Koscielny, 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain, 8 Arteta, 12 Giroud (Podolski – 60 min), 11 Ozil (Rosicky – 61 min), 19 Cazorla

Substitutes: 7 Rosicky, 9 Podolski, 21 Fabianski, 23 Bendtner, 25 Jenkinson, 28 Gibbs, 44 Gnabry

Referee: Michael Oliver

Attendance: 44,701

Liverpool see golden chance to strengthen top four position slip through their fingers

The lunacy of not swelling the ranks in the transfer market came back to bite hard in the first match after the window.  For most of the game we were listless, devoid of ideas and creativity against a willing but very limited West Brom side.

The disappointment etched of the faces of the Liverpool fans was there for all to see and it was even more marked on our faces huddled together among a sea of delirious West Brom fans.   It was hard to take knowing that a win would have taken us onto the coattails of Chelsea before their meeting with Man City and building momentum before next Sunday’s game with Arsenal.

In a game of relatively few chances, Liverpool  through Suarez, had a chance early in the second-half to put the game to bed when the maestro having extricated himself from Lugano’s challenge only to see shot expertly saved by the feet of Ben Foster.

Liverpool never got close to the intensity of the Merseyside Derby and coasted through the first-half never going through the gears and were still in front after 25 minutes.  Sterling, who had a fine game,  strode forward on the right and somehow the ball broke to Suarez, who with very little space manufactured a chipped cross to find his partner Sturridge to tap home for his 14^th Premiership goal of the season. 

Liverpool were looking to close the game out and Sterling’s darting run and shot earned a corner from which Toure almost dug out a second from close range.

Foster's point blank save from Suarez galvanised a West Brom side streering down the barrel of relegation.  Pressing further up the pitch West Brom began to build pressure and it was only a stunning reaction save from Mignolet that denied Gareth McAuley from a header and the Liverpool keeper was seen in action again to hold onto a Chris Brunt free-kick, which from where we were seated looked as if it was angling towards the corner of the net.

 

Kolo Toure's jesture says it all

Then came the moment which which could cost Liverpool dear.  Mignolet inadvisidly, played the ball to Toure, but even so the experienced International defender had the option of passing back to his goalkeeper or Cissokho or clearing his lines, but inexplicably he rolled the ball into the path of Victor Anichebe and the ex-Everton defender needed no invitation slot the ball past Mignolet’s dispearing dive.

Apart from Sturridge seeing an opportunity blocked off by Foster Liverpool had run dry and there seemed very little left in the tank.

The opportunity to leave a statement of intent by pulling four points clear of Everton and nine of Man United was lost and should we lose out on a Champions League place by two or four points the games against Aston Villa and West Brom will be a painful reminder of failure.

Man of Match:  Raheem Sterling – The effervescent youngster is growing in stature with each game.  His searing pace, awareness (especially covering for Jon Flanagan), close control and his ability to hold the ball up in tight situations belies his inexperience.  He was instrumental in the goal, his tenacious vigour creating the fortune to which the ball found its way through to Suarez.

Critical eye:  If Brendan Rodgers didn’t know how hard the run is going to be, he does now.

The game highlighted just how one dimensional Liverpool can be as our game, based around the front four and a counter-attacking style, was not for the first time this season found wanting once the West Brom fight back started.

There was very little on the bench to change things in the last half-hour with the manager seemingly holding out very little trust in Moses, Aspas and Alberto which doesn’t all go well for the future.  The fact that we don’t possess a goal-scoring midfielder is worrying and hopefully in the final third of the season Henderson, Allen and Gerrard can bridge the gap.

Philippe Coutinho struggled with the attentions of the West Brom midfield.  It could’ve been interesting to bring on Victor Moses and play him in a similar role with his physicality and try to break open the defence through his power running as Rodgers often suggested the player has the capability to play in different position across the midfield.

Cissokho’s final ball was poor in the extreme.  He did well on a few occasions to cut through down the left only for his final ball to fail to bypass the first defender and once again positional play was sadly lacking and he owes a debt of gratitude to colleagues for covering.

If we are to secure a Champions League place Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez must stay fit throughout because they are the difference between us and Everton, Spurs and Man United at the moment. 

Team:

Liverpool:  22  Mignolet, 38 Flanagan (Kelly – 74 mins), 20 Cissokho, 8 Gerrard, 37 Skrtel, 4 Kolo Toure, 10 Coutinho (Allen – 74 mins), 14 Henderson, 7 Suarez, 31 Sterling, 15 Sturridge

Substitutes: 1 Jones, 6 Luis Alberto, 9 Iago Aspas, 12 Moses, 24 Allen, 33 Ibe, 34, Kelly

West Brom: 1 Foster, 28 Jones, 6 Ridgewell, 5 Yacob, 23 McAuley, 3 Olsson (Lugano – 41 mins), 38 Berahino (Anichebe – 64 mins), 21 Mulumbu, 20 Vydra (Dorrans – 76 mins), 22 Gera, 11 Brunt

Subsitutes: 2 Reid, 10 Sinclair, 13 Myhill, 14 Lugano, 16 Anichebe, 17 Dorrans, 18 Amalfitano

Referee: Kevin Friend

Attendance: 26, 132