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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Liverpool vs Sunderland [BPL 09-10]


With Spurs seriously underlining their Champions League ambitions with a comfortable 2-0 win over bottom club Pompey, where ironically both the goals were scored by former servants, Crouch with a header and Kranjcar with a cheeky flick... This was a warning bell for Liverpool who lied 6th in the standings with 51 points. Come Sunday afternoon, and we lined up at Anfield against a rejuvenated Sunderland side who were on a 5 game unbeaten streak.. so it was not going to be an easy ride for Scouse fans , who saw their team lose 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the 'Stadium Of Light' in controversial circumstances with the aid of a beach ball..

The team lined up with a very positive, English minded [LOL ! no offence to the gaffer] line up , with Torres and Kuyt upfront, Babel and Maxi on the left and right wings respectively.. and Gerrard in his preferred midfield position alongside Mascherano, who's a master at marshaling the midfield..The line up assured the fans that the team was very much up for the fight and ready to have a go..

And we started very brightly indeed.. Just a few seconds in, Liverpool gets a free kick out on the right of Sunderland's box, and Gerrard fizzes in a beauty which Sunderland just managed to scramble away.... And just inside 3 minutes, we all get to see a piece of magic.. Torres receives the ball out on the left of the box, and runs at Turner before coming to his favored right side, and hits a shot which most of the fans , including me, would have thought would be going out for a S'land goal kick, but to our surprise, the ball loops over their goalie Craig Gordon into the top corner of the net, and looking at Torres, you knew that the ace meant it... A moment of sheer brilliance..
And so started the Liverpool domination, with chance after chance being created, and the likes of Agger, Mascherano, Babel, Kuyt , Maxi and Torres all having a go at goal... And the funny thing was that if Agger and Torres might have been a bit clinical, they could have had their hat tricks and the game wrapped up before half time... But we eventually we got our second just before the break when Glen Johnson cut inside on his weaker left foot, and took a powerful swipe which deflected off Turner into the back of the net.. I think S'land would have been relieved to hear the half time whistle...

The second half , even though played at a more controlled pace by the Reds , it was a thoroughly professional display,, and Torres got his second just around the halfway mark of the second half, when GJ who had been a menace on the right all day long, provides a lovely pass to Torres from outside the box, who calmly controlled and finished it with a sublime touch..
Liverpool made a host of changes around the 70th minute mark, with Aquilani, Ngog and El Zhar coming on, after which the opposition was able to muster a couple of decent shots on goal..

Final Verdict - A very good performance with superb football throughout..

Assessment and ratings of players -

Reina - solid as always, making a couple of good saves and some very well distributed passes.. 8

Carragher- Played his usual self, solid in defense, and even tried a couple of Hollywood passes.. 7

Agger- The Dane should sincerely work on his finishing with both his head and feet, could have had a hatrick today, which would have been a phenomenal feat for a centre half.. 7

Insua - The young Argentine played very well, supporting Babel on the left, and putting a good shift in defense.. 8

Johnson - One of his better games today.. was a constant menace on the right.. lovely pass for Torres' 2nd .. 8

Maxi - after watching him against Pompey and today, I feel he prefers playing on the right... linked up well with Johnson on the right.. Needs to aid this with a few goals.. 7

Gerrard - When Gerrard recently stated that he was ready to go full throttle till the end of the season.. it dint look very likely.. Boy, did he prove me wrong... His set piece delivery was fantastic... His penetrating runs from the deep were very hard to track, and deserved a goal for his overall play... 9

Mascherano - alongwith his sturdy defensive work in the middle of the park, he provided his fair share of attacking , especially in the 1st half.. 8

Babel - Played his usual game, running at the defenders and causing them a lo of headache.. should have rounded his performance with a goal.. 7

Kuyt - Another tireless hardworking display from the Dutchman playing upfront..needs to score more goals, coz that is what strikers are supposed to .. 6

Torres - I sincerely haven't seen a striker as good as him in my short lifespan.. His 1st goal was magic and 2nd one sublime... And even though he missed a couple of guilt edged chances.. still a phenomenal performance.. 9

Subs -

Aquilani - Is a skillful player with good passing ability.. Needs more gametime.. 7

Ngog and El Zhar were anonymous... 5


YNWA

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Manchester United Vs Liverpool [BPL - 03/21/2010]

As a Reds fan, I was eagerly waiting to watch this one....The team has been playing very well recently , with our hitman Fernando Torres picking up form just at the right time....and even though Manchester United have had their own shining star in England striker Wayne Rooney this season , I was still fancying our chances at Old Trafford, where we gave them an absolute hiding last season.... Both teams had their reasons to win, Manchester United to keep Arsenal humble at the top... And Liverpool to stay on course for that elusive 4th Champions League spot..

Lining up with a 4-2-3-1 formation.. with Lucas Leiva and Javier Mascherano in the holding roles, and Stevie Gerrard alongwith Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez to support Nando up top..

The Game started pretty well for us, with Fernando Torres winning the ball in midfield , passing to Gerrard, who plays a lovely wide pass for Kuyt on the right, and the Dutchman sets up an inch perfect cross for El Nino to head it past United goalie Van Der Sar with aplomb on the 5 minute mark.. A blistering start for the Reds...Then it was United to attack at the other end.. Antonio Valencia wins the ball on the wing , and is held by Mascherano which ultimately leads to him going down under the challenge and resulting in a penalty for the Red Devils... A poor piece of play by the Argentine skipper... Rooney steps up to take the spot kick , which is brilliantly saved by Pepe Reina, who couldn't do much about the rebound which resulted in a simple tap in for Rooney for his 33rd goal this season..More importantly, it brought us level pegging with them which shouldn't have been the case, but for some shoddy play by Mascherano.... The majority of the possession was controlled by Manchester United , with Torres and Gerrard creating the odd opening... The frantic first half was highlighted by a touchline flair up between the two managers , Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez ....


And the pattern continued in the second half with ManU dominating possession , and Rooney working hard to support wide men Nani and Valencia... But it was Darren Fletcher who created the decisive moment with a neat cross which the ever industrious Ji Sung Park headed past Reina to gain the advantage... Liverpool responded by sending on Aquilani, Babel and Benayoun in the closing stages , and Torres scuffing a good chance at the end, but overall it was ManU who were the better team and no shame in admitting it was a fair result...


Now, enough said about the match.... I personally felt that Rafael Benitez should have played the same team that lined up against Portsmouth, the reason being that Lucas Leiva {sorry for being harsh} just isn't good enough and there was no linkup between the midfield and attack... Aquilani certainly would have provided that...And why play Maxi Rodriguez on the left when its clearly visible that he's more effective on the right.. The young lad Insua is not yet upto the task at the highest level, God I wish we never would have sold Riise... Kuyt also need to look into himself and see if he deserves to play regularly as there are more deserving players like Babel and Benayoun who end up being bit part players due to Benitez's negative tactics...and we as fans should stop blaming Gerrard as the skipper deserves more than what he has achieved at the club....the same for Torres, we need to make a few good signings in the summer to make sure we are competing for top honors next season.... Moreover, this loss means that we are now 4 points behind Spurs having played a game more, and Benitez's guarantee of finishing in the top 4 is hanging by a thread, depending on other contenders to play badly for us to achieve it, and that's the sad part of it, depending for other's favors to achieve your goal....

I , for one , am not a big fan of Rafa-Lution , but yet not the extremist to call for his departure...I think He's a top gaffer, but he needs to stop being defensive and see what's the best for the team to excel ....

Analysis of the Match Results

I would specifically be writing about the on field performances of Liverpool, with a critical viewpoint of each player's contribution.. Why? Because I feel I am good at it....