Costa and Chelsea stamp their way into final

Liverpool’s battle weary soldiers strove 92 minutes like to titans to hold Chelsea and had clear cut chances to have won the game by half-time.  But just one minute of Mario Balotelli madness put Liverpool on the back foot.

Brendan Rodgers seeing the seventieth minute as the time to move Balotelli from extra to lead actor in this enthralling drama failed to recognise that for better or worse Super Mario writes his own scripts.   First, his casual ball forced Lucas into giving away a free-kick in a dangerous position just outside the area.  Second, he wondered away from the designated player he was assigned to mark (Ivanovic) which was unforgiveable, especially as the same player put Chelsea ahead.  But then, that’s Mario.

Later in a great position to cross back into the danger zone he selfishly chose to go for glory and chipped the ball over from a very narrow angle.

That said, Liverpool were excellent and more than matched Chelsea all over the pitch.

Like the first leg the propensity to miss chances cost us dear.   Gerrard’s sumptuous ball found the overlapping Moreno who after controlling struck his shot high enough for Courtois to expertly save and Coutinho’s dazzling run ended with a finish which was again to close to the big Chelsea keeper.

Jordan Henderson, who otherwise had an outstanding game will wonder how he managed to miss his header after brilliant work from Sterling, but again it signifies the problems we have at the top end of the pitch.  Daniel Sturridge cannot return soon enough, but even in his absence the profligacy over these two legs has cost us a place in the final, hence it seemed a strange decision not to use Lallana who has no problems sizing up the goal.

Granted Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty with Skrtel’s tackle on Costa, but the Chelsea striker maliciously stamped on Can and Skrtel was lucky not to have seen red.

Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool will see this an opportunity missed if not thrown away and he will go away from the game knowing that there are decisions to make if not now, definitely at the seasons end.

Man of the Match: Simon Mignolet – Was simply magnificent. Produced two saves of a differing nature, but brilliant all the same.  Pulled off a stunning save with his legs when a deflection sent the ball in the opposite direction to his dive and then tackled Costa as the Spanish International striker attempted to round him.  Courtois was voted the official man of the match, but I would suggest the judges were watching a different game.

Critical eye: Starting again without an out an out striker we failed to capitalised on some terrific football with the magician Coutinho mesmerizingly brilliant and every inch as creative if not more so than Hazard.  The sides could only be split by a lapse in concentration and over the two legs the chances missed.

Mario Balotelli’s attitude after coming was poor to say the least and he may just have made up the mind of his manager as to finally ridding himself of this wayward soul.

Referee Michael Oliver and is colleagues were truly woeful and proved the standard of officialdom in this country which is under scrutiny more so than ever this season, needs be looked at.  To miss two stamps and the same player trying to tangle with Gerrard, penalty decisions and to be a fair a possible sending off decision against us was poor.  The three officials fell way below the required standard in fact I would go as strong as to say they were a disgrace.

Teams:

Chelsea: 13 Courtois, 2 Ivanovic, Zouma, 26 Terry, 3 Filipe (Azpilicueta – 78 mins), 4 Fabregas (Ramires – 50 mins), 21 Matic, 22 Willian (Drogba – 119 mins), 8 Oscar, 10 Hazard, 19 Diego Costa

Subs: 1 Cech, 6 Ake, 7 Ramires, 11 Drogba, 18 Remy, 24 Cahill, 28 Azpilicueta

Liverpool: 22 Mignolet, 23 Can, 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho (Johnson – 57), 50 Markovic (Balotelli – 70 – mins), 14 Henderson, 21 Lucas, 18 Moreno (Lambert – 105 mins), 8 Gerrard, 10 Coutinho, 31 Sterling

Subs: 52 Ward, 2 Johnson, 6 Lovren, 9 Lambert, 20 Lallana, Allen, 45 Balotelli

Referee: Michael Oliver

Attendance: 40,659

Resilient Bolton earn replay on crazy day of shocks - Liverpool 0 Bolton 0

By dedlfc

Brendan Rodgers confirmed in his pre-match duties that Mario Balotelli, Joe Allen, and Glen Johnson were all available for action.  Dejan Lovren was training too. Allen and Johnson came in for Lucas and Martin Skrtel while Lovren made the bench. Mario Balotelli did not make the matchday squad, but Jordan Rossiter did. There were five changes from the side that drew with Chelsea at Anfield earlier in the week. José Enrique, Javier Manquillo, and Adam Lallana all started.

With Chelsea, Man City, Southampton and Tottenham all losing today this FA Cup is now wide open for us to try and win it for our captain Stevie G in his last game for the club - what we needed to do was to ensure we did not have any slip ups at home to Bolton.

The first half hour was full of our possession in pursuit of an opening goal against a stubborn Championship side that has become defensively organised and hard to beat under Neil Lennon. Bolton's away support was fierce and so was their defending.  It was interesting to see old Premier League faces such as Eidur Gudjohnsen and ex-Liverpool stalwart Emile Heskey in action. 

The home side's main tactic seemed to be to release Raheem Sterling into space in the inside left channel and the youngster's movement was more effective than his work in the area.

Bolton looked threatening in a couple of counter-attacking opportunities even if the moves broke down before creating a shooting opportunity.  Dean Moxey's sweet long-range strike after the half hour mark travelled wide of Simon Mignolet's right, but it was a warning for the home side.

Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can were majestic in how they defended and passed the ball.  Can may prefer playing in midfield but has to feature in defence for the rest of the season.  As for Sakho, if there's any player in the squad who feels that playing as a left-sided centre back is where they'd show their best for us, they have to be prepared to be the Frenchman's understudy. 

Half-time thoughts: Coutinho was the most enterprising attacking player on the pitch, but if only he had the shooting ability of a Pavel Nedvěd! 

Emile Heskey led the line quite well on his return to his former club and Bolton were very much in the game.  More of the same from the visitors wouldn't be the worst tactic against a home side that did not seriously test Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan. 

We lacked penetration from wide areas and the introduction of Lazar Marković for Enrique made sense with Liverpool looking for penetration.   Rodgers kept Manquillo on to assist Johnson on the right side while Sakho provided security on the left behind the marauding Marković.

Bolton started the second half with a higher tempo and increased pressing compared to end of the first half.  The first contentious decision arrived within five minutes as Marković attempted to break through into the area but was caught on the edge by Matt Mills, who was on a yellow card.  It happened quickly but Kevin Friend had one decision to make, but failed to make it. 

Bolton should have faced us with only ten players for the remainder of the game.  Lucas Leiva was brought on for the disappointing Joe Allen with around twenty minutes to go, and Fabio Borini was also introduced for Manquillo with Rodgers looking to avoid a replay.

Increased tempo brought two good chances for Gudjohnsen either side of the hour mark.  We were in a real battle and keeper Bogdan was having an excellent game.  Anything Liverpool threw at Bogdan was dealt with and Bolton looked increasingly dangerous.  We tried to find a winner with half-chances in the last twenty minutes, but couldn't create enough chances against stubborn resistance.

Kevin Friend, no friend of ours on this occasion made another poor decision when he failed to give a penalty on the 80 minute mark after substitute and another Liverpool favourite Jay Spearing pushed Henderson in the area before the Liverpool captain could strike at goal.  Along with the Marković-Mills red card decision and numerous rough challenges that were ignored it was a game to forget for the referee.

Liverpool had one last attempt with Lucas Leiva's shot saved in added time.

Man of the Match - Markovic - Came on at half time and immediately created further impetus which could and should have resulted in a goal.

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet; Johnson, Can, Sakho; Manquillo (Borini 66), Henderson, Allen (Lucas 66), Enrique (Markovic 45); Lallana, Sterling, Coutinho.

BOLTON: Bogdan; Dervite, Mills (Spearing 71), Ream; Danns; Feeney, Vela, Pratley, Moxey (Wheater 83); Gudjohnsen, Heskey (Wilkinson 56).

Referee: K Friend

Attendance: 43,847

Full-time thoughts: It's an additional game for an increasingly demanding schedule as Bolton earned a replay. We didn't play badly and did okay against a well-drilled side, but lacked the cutting edge in the last third.

Brendan Rodgers needs a striker that he can trust to score goals in the absence of Daniel Sturridge. It wasn't the result the Liverpool fans wanted, but after looking at today's games in the FA Cup, it could have been a lot worse.

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1 - Sterling effort brings us back into game

1st leg of Capital One Cup semi -final

Blog by dedlfc

We made one change from the team that beat Villa bringing back our club captain Steven Gerrard in place of one of our goal scorers Borini.

Both sides started out well organised and pressed well without the ball in the opening ten minutes. There was little in the way of chances, but we seemed to start finding some joy down Chelsea's right side, the best attempt on goal from us before the first goal of the game was a sweetly struck, dipping Steven Gerrard shot that Courtois pushed one-handed over the bar.

Chelsea were also interested in exploring the right side of our defence as the inexperience of Emre Can and Lazar Marković defensively was examined.

The build up to the penalty decision began with a darting run from Fabregas down the left to the byline that Emre Can should have snuffed out and was punished for failing to do so.  He chased the pass to the feet of Hazard and his clumsy challenge left referee Martin Atkinson with little choice but to award a penalty for the away side.

Hazard made no mistake as Simon Mignolet committed to the right and the Belgian settled for the left to give Chelsea a vital away goal.

We weren't second best for the rest of the half and remained organised unlike some of the panicky performances from earlier in the season.  The impression for the majority of the first half was that Chelsea had a few gears to go up and that we were going at them full pelt without penetrating enough to be a goal threat.

Half-time thoughts: The game was highly competitive and balanced.  We responded well and remained more organised than our fans have been accustomed to. The 3-4-2-1 formation seemed like a good fit for this game, but we needed to get the wing backs into the game as we were trying too many intricate passes in the centre of the pitch.

In the early stages of the second half we continued to attack the Kop pursuing an equaliser with great intent without much cutting edge.  We controlled the game too such an extent that we had 80 per cent possession at one stage but football is about goals and that is what the Kop was baying for.

Interceptions at key moments, sound positioning, and good tackles from Chelsea showed how defensively competent the visitors are even with the Kop baying for a goal.

The equaliser finally came about through the individual brilliance of Raheem Sterling which was richly deserved and it was some goal. The youngster dropped deep from his striking spot into the No 10 position and ran at Chelsea's defence before shooting left-footed from about 15 yards into the corner of the net.  Courtois had no answer and the youngster had electrified the Kop. 

Our intensity dropped off for about five minutes after the goal as Chelsea attacked our right side of defence again through Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. 

We proceeded to regain control and pressed for a winner.  Gerrard hit the post on 67 minutes after excellent work down the left from Philippe Coutinho and the Brazilian made Courtois work a minute later.

Chelsea had a couple of promising counter attack situations in the final twenty minutes that didn't lead to any clear chances or any dangerous moments which was a credit to our defensive unit.

Adam Lallana's introduction for Steven Gerrard in the second half was the right move as we were dominant, in control of the game, and didn't give the Premier League leaders anything to capitalise on.  The greater energy and freshness helped continue the onslaught. 

Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana tested Courtois from distance as we pushed for a winning goal.   We defended well with Can regaining his composure after a tricky evening up against Hazard alongside the excellent Martin Škrtel and Mamadou Sakho.

Full-time thoughts: We showed great character in probably our best performance of the season against a quality side.  Courtois was exceptionally busy, while Simon Mignolet had a relatively comfortable evening.  We go into the second leg with everything to play for. Chelsea have the away goal, but we now have something that could be just as valuable: belief!

Man of the match - Lucas Leiva - despite the speculation linking him with a move away from the club he was outstanding proving an equal match for Matic and Mikel, he has been the catalyst to our fine form of late and deserves to be given credit from time to time for his rich vein of form.

Great credit to both Gerrard and Lallana for making major impacts on the game after both being injured.

Very pleased with the team performance just felt that we deserved the win which would have forced Chelsea to open up more for us to counter attack them with Sterling's pace.

Liverpool (3-4-3): Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Sakho; Markovic, Lucas, Henderson, Moreno; Gerrard Sterling, Coutinho.

Subs: Lallana on for Gerrard 70

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Filipe Luis; Matic, Mikel; Hazard, Fabregas, Willian; Costa.

Subs: Azpilicueta on for Willian 88

Referee: M Atkinson.

Attendance: 44,573

Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2: Job done and another clean sheet

Much maligned strikers Borini and Lambert came up trumps to give Liverpool yet another away win and keep the focus very much on track for a Champions League place.   Gerrard missed out through injury with Johnson and Flanagan still out and Sturridge recently returned from recuperation in America not yet up to speed.

Out the traps quickly with the returning Sterling back from his break in Jamaica, linked up with Borini before Hutton’s excellent interception stopped his run in on goal.

Borini spinning off defenders and his ability to press and run the channels gives his midfielders a target aim at.  Liverpool gained success by interspersing the normal quick flowing football with a few well placed longer balls over the top for the ever willing runner.

Incisive in the last third, Moreno surging on from the left before dispatching a shot in similar fashion to his goal at Spurs earlier in the season.  Unfortunately, for the young wing-back he had encroached into an offside position.

Liverpool didn’t have to wait long for a goal and when it came it was a beautifully crafted.  From a throw-in Markovic fed in a ball just outside the area to Henderson, the captain elect played in a deliciously curling cross for Borini to instinctively stab home.

Chances to close out the game came and went with Sterling and Coutinho the main culprits.  Sterling put through on goal decided to chip rather than deciding on precision chipping into the hands of Guzan and Coutinho stealing in to header straight in the arms of the goalkeeper and after being found by a pinpoint cross from the Markovic.

In a sign of things to come Sanchez long range shot deflected on route saw Mignolet change directions and save before scooping the ball up on the second attempt.

The second goal almost arrived early in the second-half from Skrtel’s powerful header which Guzan brilliantly push against the post.

Villa began to turn the screw and for the next twenty minutes pushed Liverpool into a rear-guard action with Simon Mignolet and Martin Skrtel defensive stalwarts.   Mignolet;s save from a Benteke pile-driver from close in was simply stunning and the Belgium international was up quickly to punch away Weimann’s return header under extreme pressure.

Finally breaking out, Lucas picked off Delph’s pass to shoot powerfully for the corner of the goal only to see Guzan gain thwart our attempts.

Lambert having come on to replace Borini, brilliantly cushioned ball fired into him, before delivering an unerring finish into the corner of the net. 

In essence, the difference between the sides had been two strikers, the least celebrated of Liverpool’s quartet.

Man of the Match:  Simon Mignolet – produced a strong performance, showing character and leadership claiming crosses under pressure.  He misjudged a cross coming into a melee where he had very little chance of getting the ball, but overall his performance was probably his most notable of the season.

Critical eye:  Martin Skrtel was excellent with strong tackles and good to see him refraining from wrestling with robust defending.  He was ably supported by Sakho’s meaty tackling and covering.  Emre Can’s class on the ball gives Liverpool a calm authority at the back.

Coutinho continues to impress creating and linking up with Sterling, Borini and Markovic and once again if he could add goals to his repertoire would be devastating.  Sterling looked sharp, specifically in the first-half, but his negligence when clean through on goal could’ve have been costly.

Borini deserved his goal, taking his chance well, peeling away from the defender before getting on the end of the cross in the fashion of a poacher.  In turn, Lambert’s goal was pure class, in the way he received the ball to the way he arrowed is shot in the far corner.  His celebration with the crowd was one sensed bourn of frustration, relief and his natural affinity with the club.

With the future in mind good to see Jordon Ibe get a few minutes after returning from his loan to Derby and Williams on the bench.  Also, Lallana returning to the squad is strong positive as we are embark on the home stretch.

Teams:

Aston Villa: 1, Guzan, 21 Huttoin, 5 Okore, 2 Baker, 23 Cissokho, 24 Sanchez, 15 Westwood (Gil de Pareja Vicent – 59 mins), 16 Delph, 8 Cleverley (Weimann – 59 mins), 20 Benteke, 11 Agbonlahor

Subs: 7 Bacuna, 10 Weimann, 18 Richardson, 25 Gil de Pareja Vicent, 28 N’Zogbia, 31 Given, 34 Lowton

Liverpool: 22 Mignolet, 23 Can, 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho, 50 Markovic, 14 Henderson, 21 Lucas, 18 Moreno (Jose Enrique – 71 mins), 31 Sterling (Ibe – 85 mins), 29 Borini (Lambert – 71 mins), 10 Coutinho

Subs: 3 Jose Enrique, 9 Lambert, 19 Manquillo, 20 Lallana, 33 Ibe, 49 Williams, 52 Ward

Referee: Mark Clatterburg

Attendance: 39,758

Sunderland 0 Liverpool 1: Markovic stars in Liverpool victory

If anyone doubted Steven Gerrard’s commitment to the cause going forward they only had see the Liverpool captain at the end of the game.  He waited at the top of the tunnel for each player with a pat on the back of the head, but for Mignolet, who had a decent game he let out a strong congratulatory “yes” and hug for his clean sheet.

Liverpool were impressive in the first-half with Markovic the standout performer.  He was excellent at both ends of the pitch, adding another dimension coming forward.  In only the third minute he was unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty being brought down by West Brown coming round to cover after Coutinho’s through ball.

Enjoying controlled possession Liverpool were soon in front.  As if to make up from his earlier decision referee Craig Pawson played the advantage from a foul on Borini to allow Markovic to go through to score.  The Serbian International instigated and finished the move after Borini leading the line played him in.
 
Liverpool weren’t just controlling the game they were dominating in the last third and should have had the game sown up well before half-time.

Markovic again at the fore unleashed a spectacular volley from the edge of the area which cannoned off the bar hitting
Pantillimon before going wide.

Coutinho again showing up well found Henderson stealing into the area before the ex-Sunderland player brought the ball down and struck a left-footed shot against the post, but unfortunately for Henderson his ball control was deemed a handball.

Gerrard having played a key role in the first goal deflecting the ball into the path of Borini was found by the forward to strike his shot powerfully into the side netting from an acute angle.  A minute later, Gerrard again found by Borini shot tamely with a left-footed drive from just inside the area.

Emre Can warming to the task with a longer run in the side found Borini with an exquisite pass curled round Brown, the striker went round Pantilimon only to knock the ball into the side netting with the angle narrowing.

Liverpool will have been disappointed with the possession and missed chances in the first-half and even more so having lost captain Steven Gerrard to a tight leg muscle.

Markovic pulled an early left-footed shot wide of the goal having moved inside to replace Gerrard in behind BorinI with Can moving to the right and Lovren coming on into the back three.

Liam Bridcutt having collected an unlucky booking in the first-half inadvertently brought down the marauding Can attempting to pull out of the tackle.

The ten men of Sunderland seem to find a new lease of life and almost equalised when Adam Johnson spectacular swerving shot beat Mignolet all ends up before crashing back of the crossbar.  Both Henderson and Lucas ended up in the book with Liverpool looking to get back on top.

Coutinho wasted a glorious chance from the edge of the area Liverpool’s impish instigator pulled his shot wide having given Pantilimon ‘the eyes’.  Bolotelli, on for the hard-working Borini, produced a sharp turn on the edge of area before seeing his shot parried away.

Liverpool suffered late scares from a corner as John O’Shea miss-kicked and substitute Mandron heading over in injury time.

Man of the Match: Lazar Markovic – Was easily best the player on the pitch enjoying a superb first half giving Liverpool an extra-dimension down the right, by being direct in his play and covering back.  He is comfortable on the ball, intelligently playing in team mates at the right time and added a much needed potency to a Liverpool midfield in the final third.

He was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when upended by Wes Brown, hit the bar with sumptuous volley and poked home a well deserved winner.

Critical eye:  Impressive performance by Liverpool who like Sunderland had been struck down with injuries.

Fabio Borini put in a shift and impressed leading the line offering himself as a target.  Played a key role in the goal providing the key pass and on another day could have had a couple more assists providing Gerrard with two good openings and may have feel he should have scored once he rounded the keeper.  Given the level of his performance will feel he more than deserves another start.

Philippe Coutinho once again was Liverpool’s conductor controlling the tempo providing some lovely touches and darting runs.   He is now riding tackles instead of going down, but his finishing still leaves a lot to be desired.

Emre Can looks a quality player and even more so once he moved out of defence.  He has poise and strength on the ball and one surging run down the right flank caused Sunderland to go to ten-men.
It was good to see a clean-sheet (only the sixth from 37 games) for Liverpool in what could have been a tricky encounter.  Liverpool will be mad to let go Lucas in this window even if they have a replacement because right now he is helping to add defensive stability and is up too speed.

If we keep this level of performance up creating chances Daniel Sturridge will be coming back into a team where chances will be plentiful and will give Brendan the option of playing two upfront.

Teams: 

Sunderland: 1, Pantilimon, 27 Vergini, 16 O’Shea, 5 Brown, 3 van Aanholt, 4 Bridcutt, 11 Johnson (Mandron – 86 mins), 7 Larsson, 14 Jordi Gomez, 23 Giaccerini (Buckley – 77 mins), 10 Wickham (Graham – 77 mins) 

Substitutes: 2 Jones, 19, Graham, 20 Alvarez, 25 Mannone, 30 Buckley, 38 Mandron, 42 Agnew

Liverpool: 23 Mignolet, 23 Can, 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho, 50 Markovic, 14 Henderson, 21 Lucas, 18 Moreno, 8 Gerrard (Lovren – 45 mins), Borini (Balotelli – 67 mins), 10 Coutinho 

Referee: Craig Pawson 

Attendance: 45,369

AFC Wimbledon 1 Liverpool 2 - Gerrard saves LFC blushes again

By dedlfc

 

With all the talk of Gerrard's imminent departure at the end of the season capturing the headlines since our last game, it was written in the stars that Steven Gerrard’s long goodbye would begin with him saving our blushes. 

AFC Wimbledon threatened an upset akin to the 1988 FA Cup final, but a home tie with Bolton now awaits after a difficult night at Kingsmeadow, where we missed the creative spark of Lallana out with a thigh injury for a month, but still had the silky skills of Coutinho pulling the strings just Rickie Lambert.

The Dons made their mark straight away when Javier Manquillo was left writhing around in pain in the first minute.
 

The impressive Sean Rigg was not even reprimanded for the challenge and was soon causing constant problems at the other end, latching on to a flick forwards to hit a bobbling effort across the face of goal.

It was a missed chance which was ruthlessly exposed as we scored with our first clear-cut chance of the match.

After neat team play, Gerrard played the ball out to the right and Manquillo’s cross was headed home by the Reds captain with a determined brave header.

Who else but Stevie G to break the deadlock

A Lazar Markovic cross-shot almost doubled Liverpool’s advantage, but while we were dominating possession, the Dons were growing into the tie.

Only a timely Martin Skrtel challenge prevented Matt Tubbs turning home a Francomb cross, with Rigg’s fizzing strike from the resulting corner heading in until Mignolet impressively clawed over.

Akinfenwa – widely considered the strongest player in world football – was, unsurprisingly, proving a handful with his presence seeing a James Shea goal kick through to Tubbs, who hooked an effort across the face of goal.

The 32-year-old was soon back at the heart of the action, heading wide before giving the home side a deserved leveller.

Francomb’s corner to the back post was bundled onto the crossbar by an under-pressure Mamadou Sakho, with Akinfenwa, whose bulk had hampered Mignolet’s pathetic attempt to catch the cross, stabbing home the rebound from close range.

The Beast strikes as promised pre-match

Things almost got even better for the Dons early in the second half, with a poor Gerrard pass allowing Sammy Moore a strike which deflected just wide.

That was a let-off for the Liverpool captain, who made amends from the resulting corner as he cleared Barrett’s header off the line, with Rigg firing wide as the visitors continued to wobble.

It was at this point, though, that the tide began to turn. Jordan Henderson saw a shot accidentally blocked by his own team-mate and Philippe Coutinho fired wide, before penalty appeals for handball against Barry Fuller were waved away.

However, the Wimbledon vice-captain could have no arguments with the free-kick award minutes later. Fuller was booked for his challenge on Coutinho and Gerrard made the home side pay, impressively curling the free-kick past Shea, who would be disappointed that he had got his fingertips to the ball but not quite enough to stop it nestling in the net.

Gerrard shows why he is still a Don

Dannie Bulman lashed one just over as Wimbledon attempted to equalise, while at the other end goalkeeper Shea impressively denied a placed Rickie Lambert shot with his feet.

Coutinho was also denied by the Arsenal academy graduate, who then thwarted Markovic on the break after Adebayo Azeez effort was blocked. The Wimbledon substitute again threatened in stoppage time but there was to be no dream leveller as Mignolet smothered, with Gerrard seeing a hat-trick denied by a goal-line clearance.

Man of the match - none other than our Captain Fantastic who else! Played so well should have walked away with the pink match ball and in all honesty should have had four goals.

Wimbledon: Shea, Fuller, Goodman, Barrett, Kennedy, Francomb (Sutherland 86), Moore (Pell 86), Bulman, Rigg (Azeez 79), Tubbs, Akinfenwa. Subs Not Used: Bennett, Oakley, McDonnell, Harrison.

Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Manquillo (Jose Enrique 71), Henderson, Lucas, Markovic (K Touré 86), Gerrard, Lambert (Balotelli 79), Coutinho. Subs Not Used: Moreno, Borini, Williams, Ward.

Referee: J Moss. Attendance: 4,784

Scorers: AFC Wimbledon - Akinfenwa (36); Liverpool - Gerrard (12, 62)

Positives

The determination of our captain to put all the talk behind him and let his football do the talking and he did so with great aplomb, apart from one misplaced pass which could have cost us dear, his game intelligence and passing and set piece skills are irreplaceable and we should enjoy all these qualities from this great player because once he has gone they are gone from our side.

The attacking drives of Markovic - he is starting to look like a constant threat down the left and has now settled into the LFC way of playing - just needs to work on his finishing as he missed a gilt edged chance which would have won us the game vs Leicester in the league and now also missed a great chance to finish off the Dons. It is hoped that with Lallana out for a month that Markovic will step up.

Sakho's distribution apart from one meaningless punt up field was outstanding and he looks a fixture on the left side of our three centre backs

Can looked so much more comfortable in centre midfield in the last ten minutes of the game rather than playing at centre back.

Negatives

Again our keeper's poor confidence at commanding his area has cost us a goal with him flapping at thin air for the Dons goal, our problem is that there is no other option to take him out of the firing line.

At 1-0 we took our foot off the pedal and let the Dons get back in the game and could have very easily lost the game due to poor defending at set pieces.

Lambert again looks totally out of his depth as our attacking option and has been a major disappointment which has surprised me as he has Premiership experience but just can't perform for us.

Our manager's comments after the game:-

“I think the FA Cup final is on his birthday, so there would be no better way, for him. It would be a wonderful send-off for him,” “There are a lot of games to play in between. If we could do it, it will be really special.

“He was outstanding in the game, a brilliant individual performance from him and the real catalyst for us. It was a tough game overall. In the second half we were much better, he scored two and probably if he was a really selfish player he would have stayed on the ball and got a hat-trick. He was outstanding but he’s still trying to create opportunities for other players.”

Steven Gerrard quite simply the greatest Liverpool player ever

Steven Gerrard leaving Liverpool.  Before this season I never believed or contemplated it would happen.  Future coach/manager, Director or at the very least ambassador for the club was where I would’ve preferred the narrative to continue.  I hate writing about his diminishing running power or the team needing to be restructured to facilitate him.  He is and will always be quality.

Gerrard is such a great player that in his later years we have seen him reinvent himself with his full passing range coming to the fore as never before and his game management skills utilized by club and country.

How great is Steven Gerrard?  There have been plenty of brilliant players during his 17 years in the first team at Anfield, but to my mind there hasn’t been a player in the Premier League who could have driven Liverpool to win the Champions League which such an inferior squad and reach the final again two years later.

My greatest memory from the Istanbul final is not his brilliant headed goal which gave us hope and gave us back some pride on a night when annihilation looked a distinct possibility.  It’s not his surging run which ended with Gattuso desperately hauling him down to allow Xabi Alonso to bring us back to parity.

It was his superb defensive display in extra-time against a rampaging Serghino  at right-back which encapsulates the player Steven Gerrard and lives in my memory.  Great players that Scholes and Lampard undoubtedly are, that night marked him out as something extra special.

His final years a England captain proved that the team way before then should have been built around him.  He was often the scapegoat made to play out of position or to accommodate others.  The 2010 World Cup was a point in case.  He scored the opener against the USA, but as soon as the game started to go away from England and the Americans equalise, Gerrard is shunted out wide.

As Liverpool fans and supporters we know he carried us for most of his 17 years as a Liverpool player and without him there would be no Champions League finals and certainly no FA Cup Final win over West Ham.

There have been too many special moments to mention be it Olympiakos or as disappointing as it finally was the second place in the 2013-14 Premiership under his superb leadership.  He has undeniably suffered anguish in slipping against Chelsea and England’s disappointing World Cup, but as great a player as Gerrard is his true greatness will be measured in years to come when we really take stock of his remarkable career.

The call is that he may end his career in America, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this multi-faceted player ends his playing days in Europe.

For me, Gerrard is quite simply pound for pound the greatest ever Liverpool player and definitely the best midfield player in the Premiership era and that’s going some.

Sure, if he had left eleven years ago with Chelsea he would have added the Premiership to his honours roster, but one gets the feeling that winning trophies for his home town club was the be all and end all.  As he once said,  “When I die, don’t bring me to hospital, bring me to Anfield. I was born there, and so I will die there.”

I’ll leave the last word to Terry McDermott who played alongside many players who could lay claim to being in any of Liverpool’s all-time great eleven.

He said the following about Gerrard last April:  "I've gone on record as saying Steven Gerrard is the best midfield player Liverpool have ever had.  "I know my mate Graeme Souness would probably give me a rollicking for not saying him, and he was a fantastic player for this club, but Steven has everything.

"Gerrard is in the same sentence for me as Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan.  He is Mr Liverpool and I love watching him play. "He is wholehearted, he gives everything for the red shirt every game and he can do everything.  In fact I can't think of anything he can't do and I wouldn't be surprised if he's very good in goal as well."

Gerrard scores twice, but the questions still remain

After the thrilling win over Swansea on Boxing Day Brendan Rodgers made one change.   The decision felt strange in its inception as Javi Manquillo had probably his strongest performance of the season helping to contain Swansea’s wingers and impose Liverpool’s pressing game.  It gives rise to the question as to whether Gerrard was chosen to keep the team at optimum performance levels or whether sentiment gave rise to pressure in picking him.

Whether or not it was sentiment drawing the match after a lamentable performance is a glaring opportunity missed in the light of Man United drawing earlier and Arsenal losing.

Steven Gerrard tucked away his two penalty with the all the expertise one would expect of a quality performer and released a few quality long range passes as only he can, but whether Liverpool lost the ability to control the game with Jordan Henderson moving away from the middle to accommodate his re-inclusion is open to question.  Make no mistake this is a catastrophic draw (feels like a loss) throwing away a two-nil lead at home.

On another day Leicester could well have won starting on the front foot with a tempo normally reserved for Brendan Rodgers side.  Within 80 seconds of the start the ball crashed back of the foot of the post from Mahrez’s free-kick which saw Mignolet scrabbling across the goal line.

Leicester continued to make great strides particularly down the left with Schlupp making unremitting progress up against Liverpool’s temporary right-wing back Jordan Henderson.   The wide man roared down the left delivering a low cross for Mahrez to sweep over the bar from 10 yards.

Minutes later Liverpool took the lead against the run of play.  Coutinho, the home team’s best player on the day found Sterling motoring into the area on the left.  The part-time striker saw his cut-back hit Morgan flush in the face as he attempted to block with a sliding tackle.  Gerrard’s penalty nestled in the corner beyond the reach of Hamer.

Without any real domination Liverpool were still creating chances.  Sakho found Moreno on the left who controlled the instantly before rolling into the path of Lallana to feint from shooting on his right before shooting past the post with his left.  

After yet another run from Coutinho, his attempt to flick the ball past the defender hit the hand of Danny Simpson for another penalty award.   Gerrard this time chose the left side leaving Hamer with little chance for his 31 Premiership penalty.

Approaching half-time Henderson spectacularly volleyed just wide of the far post from Gerrard’s corner.

As in the first-half Leicester started the second period at break neck speed with the Liverpool midfield unable to control their speed and aggression.

It was only a matter of time and when it came the goal was stunning.  Substitute Nugent the ex-Liverpool youth academy member not for the first scored against Liverpool.   Vardy expertly chested the ball down into the path of the Nugent for the striker to stunningly volley past Mignolet.

Giving Liverpool little time to settle time and with very little pressure from the Liverpool centre-backs backing off him, Schlupp shot past a flailing Mignolet into the corner of the net to bring the match back to parity.

Chances went begging in both areas with Borini’s goal bound shot hitting Markovic and Markovic’s header from a beautifully crafted Sterling cross headed wide with the goal at his mercy.

Man of the Match: Philippe Coutinho – was at the ahead of most of Liverpool’s creative output, twisting and turning, short passes in and around the area and connecting with Sterling.

Critical eye:  Brendan Rodgers may feel vindicated with his captain scoring two goals, but with Henderson moving back to wing-back we lost the defensive capabilities of Manquillo particularly after his strong performance against Swansea.  Without Henderson patrolling centrally we lost the intensity and his ability to support the front three, especially needing impetus and control after Nugent’s goal, but  the locker was running on empty.

It was an opportunity lost on a day which saw Arsenal lose and Man Utd, Swansea and West Ham drawing.

The question has to be asked did we blow an opportunity to make ground by making one change so as to pacify and gratify the club captain?  My feeling is that there was no convincing reason or argument for making the change and two goals do not hide the fact that we struggled to assert ourselves against a club languishing at the foot of the table.

Liverpool lose intensity with Gerrard playing in a deep lying role because physical he cannot effect games as he once did – he does so now more with passes, crosses and dead-ball situations.  For Gerrard to flourish on the pitch the team needs to be built around him whereas against Swansea it was all about team work at high intensity.

Is it rotation for rotation sake or the fact that there is a belief that allowances have to be made in the belief that we still have a world-class player on our hands (interesting with rumours abound that he will be leaving to move to the MLS at the end of the season).

Kole Toure looked every inch his age.  He was saved twice by his fellow centre-halfs and should be pensioned off at the end of the season.  Sakho is growing in confidence and his self-assurance was never more illustrated striding out of defence and surging into past the half-way line to release Henderson who almost chipped over the keeper to score.

Mignolet was caught out Mahrez free-kick early on and his feeble punch was almost punished with time running out.  Liverpool need a new goalkeeper, but I’m afraid it will not happen in this transfer window.

Teams:

Liverpool: 22 Mignolet, 23 Can, 4 K Toure, 17 Sakho, 14 Henderson 8 Gerrard, 21 Lucas (Markovic – 72 mins), 18 Moreno (Lambert – 85 mins), 10 Coutinho, 31 Sterling, 20 Lallana – 55 mins)

Subs: 6 Lovren, 9 Lambert, 19 Manquillo, 29 Borini, 50 Markovic, 52 Ward, 54 Ojo

Leicester: 12 Hamer, 17 Simpson, 27 Wasilewski, 5 Morgan, 2 de Laet, 26 Mahrez, 8 James, 4 Drinkwater (Nugent -37 mins), 7 Hammond (Cambiasso – 67 mins), 15 Schlupp, 9 Vardy (Ulloa – 75 mins)

Subs: 16 Lawrence, 18 Moore, 19 Cambiasso, 23 Ulloa, 24 Knockaeart, 31 Smith, 35 Nugent

Referee: Mike Jones

Attendance: 44,720