On Saturday 1st December, Liverpool played relegation candidates Southampton at Anfield. Despite having a plethora of chances, Liverpool only managed to get one goal, but were solid at the back and earned a 1-0 win.
This game was notable in the fact that it featured Lucas. After returning from a long-term injury a few months ago, he then promptly got injured again, and only yesterday returned. He has been sorely missed, and I think he improved our midfield no end. He is capable of pushing forward, but is mostly defensive-minded and kept the team solid, making us less vulnerable to the counter-attacks we have been so susceptible to so far this season. The fact that we were able to keep a clean sheet is in my opinion, partly down to the return of Lucas.
Our attacking was also quite good. Suarez and Shelvey both struck the post in the first half, either of which could have ended up in the net on another day (I’m still not sure how Shelvey’s stayed out). It looked like it was going to be one of those days, but fortunately Daniel Agger was on hand to snatch a goal for Liverpool, a powerful header into the corner after a good cross from Glen Johnson. In the second half there were fewer chances, but Liverpool came close a couple of times. With the game nearly over, a wicked cross was whipped in from Gerrard, and for some reason Suarez tried to punch it into the net. This was completely stupid, and got him his 5th yellow card of the season, meaning he misses our next game (against West Ham United).
Overall, Liverpool were very solid in this game. They never looked like they were going to concede, and created some good chances going forward. Once again they should have converted more of these chances, but what matters is that we converted one of them and got the three points. Having Lucas back was a great boost, and I think he made the difference.
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