Speaking before his 32nd Merseyside Derby
Liverpool’s under pressure skipper Steven Gerrard said, “We need a
reaction. The start of the season has
not been good enough and we need to get that intensity back when we don’t have
the ball and try to score early and get the crowd behind us. If you can’t get yourself up for a derby game
at Anfield, you’re in the wrong game so I hope the lads don’t need much
rallying.”
While Gerrard will certainly be happy with the
application and fortitude on display, there was no denying that without Suarez
and the injured Daniel Sturridge this is a Liverpool side without a prolific
goal scoring DNA. Balotelli showed
flashes of his undoubted talent, but is still adjusting to life back in the
Premier League.
Rodgers challenged Henderson, Coutinho and Sterling at
the start of the season too upscale their scoring outputs, but with only Sterling
returning anything like an acceptable yield, the pressure is on to increase the
ratio with other areas of the team creaking under the pressure.
Liverpool dominated the majority of the game producing
only one clear cut chance from open play which Balotelli with the goal at his
mercy fluffing his lines.
We began giving up possession to Everton in the last ten
minutes, defending on the edge of the area to such an extent that we had very
little complaint when Jagielka’s blockbuster tore into the top corner of the
net in added time and Gareth Barry with almost the last touch of the game, flicked
the ball just wide of the post.
If we started this season with ideas of going one better after
six games those dreams have since evaporated and we are already in rescue mode
waiting for Daniel Sturridge’s comeback. Even with Emre Can’s relative
experience, his physical attributes would probably have seen the young German
included in Brendan Rodgers most recent squads.
The territorial dominance we enjoyed should have
propelled us to a comfortable victory. But,
the difference this season from last is the lack of intensity and potency. Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling, Liverpool’s
top performers, created the openings but at the moment the quality is not there
to take half chances let alone chances.
Yes, if referee Martin Atkinson had awarded a stonewall penalty
against Gareth Barry for handball with the player’s arms clearly stretched above
his head it in the first-half, we may have gone on to be conclusive winners,
but ifs and maybes have never won games.
Balotelli’s substitution even as late as is was gave
Everton time on the ball to build attacks and with Liverpool defending deeply
and with very little attempt to push further up the pitch it was no surprise they
equalised even if it was a fantastic effort.
Gerrard had a decent game scoring a wonderful free-kick,
but does he have to play in the same role week in week out?
Playing him in a formation behind Balotelli gives the
striker the opportunity to play on the last defender with Gerrard’s crisp short
passing to play him in. Rodgers would also
benefit from his shooting range in and around the area.
It was an opportunity missed and one that we could ill
afford against a very average Everton side.
Critical eye: Brendan
Rodgers for the first time since becoming Liverpool manager will now come under
a modicum of pressure/scrutiny. It’s
only six games in and no time to panic, but with the less than stellar
successes of his transfers last season and the disappointing starts by his
transfer buys this season, although Manquillo and Moreno are very promising, Lovren
and to a lesser extent Lallana, both who were bought with the premise of
hitting the ground running, results need to be turned round sooner rather than
later.
Team:
Liverpool: 22 Mignolet, 18 Moreno, 19 Manquillo, 37
Skrtel, 6 Lovren, 14 Henderson, 50 Markovic (Coutinho – 60 mins), 31 Sterling,
8 Gerrard, 20 Lallana, 45 Balotelli (Lambert – 88 mins)
Substitutes: 1 Jones, 3 Jose Enrique, 4 K Toure 9
Lambert, 21 Lucas, 30 Fernandez Saez (Suso)
Everton: 24 Howard, 26 Stones, 6 Jagielka, 2 Hibbert
(Browning – 73 mins), 3 Baines, 16 McCarthy, 17 Besic (Eto’o – 80 mins) 18
Barry, 14 Naismith, 11 Mirallas (McGeady – 31 mins), 10 Lukaku
Substitutes: 1 Robles, 4 Gibson, 5 Eto’o, 7 McGeady, 21
Osman, 27 Browning, 30 Alcaraz
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 44, 511
Another disappointing result we are playing like a side with no strikers at the moment - Sad to say we are incapable of keeping a clean sheet or putting chances away without Sturridge in the side
ReplyDeleteI took my Gerrard scarf to Anfield as I felt Stevie would pop up somewhere during the match. It was worth the wait. To have it levelled in stoppage time.......speechless.
DeleteFrustration, Frustration, the final ball was no quite there. Balotelli failed to take he’s chances for Liverpool, and I think Sturridge’s return from injury cannot come quickly enough.
ReplyDeleteI think Gareth Barry, was lucky to stay in the gamne, see all the 90, and on the other side Moreno pulled the down Lukaku to the floor, so score line could have been different.
The hardest fort was to having a plan to beat Everton, when we were in deadlock.
All the criticism Gerrard has revived, well as they say “Show ‘em what you got”, team contribution, provided the corner for Lallana's dangerous header in the first half, and his own curling free-kick past Tim Howard, let Balotelli take a few free-kicks in the first half. He may have slowed down a bit but provided the team with opportunities, but I think we can play some games without his contribution, to rest him, but then others need to step up.
Watched the Derby down the pub on Saturday and had a really nice time for 91.5 mins then a thunderbolt from 25 yards made me feel a bit queasy, the shot was unstoppable and it was almost unthinkable that a central defender could connect so sweetly from that distance and find the top corner but it happened. Oh well… On the plus side –
Delete• It was a much improved team performance from Liverpool, we had industry and intensity and we played some really nice football. We were clearly the better team and deserved to win the game.
• Adam Lallana is looking like quite the player, he ran himself into the ground and when he was on the ball he made things happen.
• The defence did well and although Everton were pretty poor in the final third there were no major defensive clangers.
• Stevie G gave a timely reminder that you write him off at your peril and that he’s more than capable of one game a week.
On the negative side -
• Mario Balotelli worked hard and is a talented footballer but he does not fit into the way this team plays at all, he doesn’t make the runs in behind defences, plays with his back to goal and subsequently slows everything down. With Sturridge’s injury record we have left ourselves overly reliant on a striker who’s style is at odds with the free flowing attacking movement that brought us close to the title last season. Plus, when he is through on goal he has a tendency to squander some pretty guilt edged chances.
• Mamadou Sakho’s walk out was probably a bit of a storm in a teacup but he deserved to be dropped given his recent poor form and he’s just exacerbated the situation by throwing a strop.
• Lazar Markovic followed up tepid performances against Villa and Middlesbrough by doing absolutely nothing of note against Everton.
• The league leaders Chelsea are now 9 points ahead of us, we’ve been overtaken by United, it’s early days but it seems like we will be in a real fight this year to grab that third or forth spot.
Baz,
DeleteI think you are right in what you said. Was Everton that poor with their attack or were we that good with our defence?
For the Everton goal I was hoovering (don’t ask) when the cross went into the LFC penalty area and Lovren? headed it out with distance and next thing I know was an Everton player celebrating and I thought to myself what happened – the action replay confirm my worst nightmare.
Mo
We had of plenty of possession with very little cutting edge or potency. Lallana played okay, but thought Raheem Sterling created anything that was good and for me should be playing behind Balotelli.
DeleteAt least 60 seconds before Balotelli almost scored Lakaku ghosted past Lovren (happening every week) and should've scored.
Excellent free-kick from Stevie. They weren't exactly pressing unless you were watching in 3D and was seeing more than me...
Everton were pretty average and we have to be winning these games. Yes, Jagielka scored a worldy, but for the last ten minutes we defended deeper and deeper which was disappointing that we made no attempt to push up (can just hear Carra screaming get out!). BR had the opportunity to bring on Lucas or the extra defender... It was a centre-half that hit that shot so just tells you how deep we were at the time.