Liverpool returned to league action after an exasperating European night in Portugal during midweek... With Spurs having lost 3-1 to Sunderland and Manchester City having thumped Burnley 6-1 at Turf Moor , this was a must win fixture for the Reds to keep in touch with the contenders for the final Champions League spot.. But it was easier said than done , with none of the top three teams having been able to garnish a win at St. Andrews, it was always going to be a difficult task for Liverpool..
Liverpool started with a 4-4-1-1 with Kuyt playing behind Torres, and Gerrard playing alongside Lucas in the midfield , Benayoun and Maxi on the wings, and Agger being rested with Kyrgiakos getting a start..
The 1st half was played at a leisurely pace with both the teams creating few openings here and there , and the tempo that is expected from a Premier League game was completely missing.. the best chance of the half fell to Maxi Rodriguez , who attacked a cross from Torres on the right which thudded against Joe Hart's crossbar for a goal kick....
The second half though was much better with Liverpool attacking with intent and getting their reward.. The Birmingham defenders clear a ball which falls to Johnson, who mis hits it back to Gerrard, and the skipper showed great composure, cutting on his favored right foot and picking out the far corner.. Advantage to the Merseysiders ... But the Blues responded very well and McFadden showed great skill to pick out the onrushing Ridgewell , and with the Liverpool defense totally missing, he equalized for Birmingham ...
The onus was on Liverpool to get back in the game, but on the 65th minute , all the fans , including me , sat gap mouthed as Torres was replaced by Ngog.. I, for one, was absolutely livid at Rafa Benitez... And soon along came Babel for Benayoun... Liverpool started to dominate the game with Johnson creating a host of chances for his team mates , none of which were taken.. And in the dying seconds of the game, Gerrard produced the ball of the match when he picked Ngog's run, who just scuffed his shot back to the goalkeeper's grateful hand..
FINAL VERDICT - Decent game, but we should have won knowing that we are lagging behind in the race for the 4th spot..
PLAYER RATINGS -
Reina - Wasn't his solid usual self, fumbling here and there .. 6
Kyrgiakos - Had a solid game at the back, keeping Jerome quite for large parts of it.. 7
Carragher - Ditto for Carra .. 7
Insua - one of his average games.. 6
Johnson- One of the two players who did everything for the cause... created numerous openings from the right.. 8
Maxi - Missed glorious chances on either side of the break, not good enough .. 5
Lucas - Very poor in possession , giving the ball away far too cheaply, ineffective in his defensive role.. 4
Gerrard - Probably my MOTM.. Brilliant skill for the first goal, lovely pass for Ngog which the striker wasted.. 8
Benayoun - Largely ineffective .. 5
Kuyt - Worked hard to link up play , but should be working more on adding to his goal tally .. 6
Torres - Anonymous for large parts of the game , due to a combination of poor passing by Liverpool and some good defending by Birmingham.. 6
Babel - Didn't do much in his cameo role.. 6
Aquilani - same for this lad.. 6
Ngog - Got into decent positions but very wasteful.. Should have won the game for Liverpool right at the end.. 4
My concern is that why Rafa took Torres off in the first place.. He clearly wasn't injured, and the reluctant shake of his head while coming off showed that .. Even Gerrard looked bemused at the decision.. Rafa could have talked about it being a tactical genius if Liverpool would have come away with all three points.. But with the Reds now four points adrift off the 4th spot having played a game more , even the excuse of a mystical injury to Torres isn't going to save Rafa from any grilling from the footballing world .....
[God I wish Torres hadn't come off ....]
YNWA
No comments:
Post a Comment