In the opening game of their Europa League campaign,
Many people felt that Balotelli should have been given a
place in the starting eleven. In his last two games he had come on and got the
winning goal and assist respectively, but Rodgers opted to start him from the
bench once again. After scoring the winner yet again in this match as well as
putting in an excellent all-round performance after coming on, the manager will
be under even more pressure to start him for our crucial game against Southampton on Sunday. The striker has a deadly
combination of skill and power; he shields the ball from defenders exquisitely,
and seems to be able to either skip past them or win free kicks with ease. I
have maintained from the start that, given a proper opportunity to play with a
strike partner, Balotelli could definitely still come good for us – his talent
is, to my mind, unquestionable. Although the media like to make a big thing of
his attitude and will consequently focus on his “stolen” penalty, I actually
loved to see him take charge from the spot. He’s undoubtedly the best taker in
the team, and his desire to get the winning goal for Liverpool
shows his hunger for success with our club. I sincerely hope that Rodgers now
gives him a proper run of starts with Sturridge; they provide a lethal
combination of pace and power that oppositions simply won’t be able to handle.
I now have to fight my instinct to devote this entire
article to how much I love Balotelli and move on – to not mention Jordon Ibe in
this match report would, after all, be
nigh on criminal. The youngster was exceptional once again, picking up yet
another man of the match award. I will freely admit that I was dubious when
Rodgers recalled him; young players need to be managed well and given time to
develop properly, and McLaren seemed to be handling him well at Derby . That’s why I’m not
manager! The decision has proved inspired: his pace, skill, tenacity and
confidence above his years have made him a deadly addition to this Liverpool side. He caused his full back all sorts of
problems all evening, and eventually won the penalty off him. He has a scarily
bright future if he continues the way he’s going at the moment, and while the
main reason for recalling him was likely the Europa League he’s certainly
staking his claim to be regularly picked ahead of (the also very talented)
Lazar Markovic.
Rodgers will certainly not be complaining about the
selection headache he’s being given. The fact that there are so many form
players having to vie for a place in the first team shows just how well every
single Liverpool player is doing at the
moment: even Dejan Lovren has looked competent after coming on in the last
couple of games! Admittedly the only real stand-out performers in the Besiktas
game were Ibe and Balotelli (Can had a shocker, Henderson tried way too many
ambitious long balls and Sturridge appeared to have forgotten how to get his
head up), but in general the picture is exceptionally positive. One man who
certainly isn’t having to fight for his place any more is Simon Mignolet: his
form of late has been better than that of almost any other Premier League
keeper. His save when Demba Ba got through one on one was a defining moment of
the match, and while it won’t be remembered as such it could well be the save
that gets us through to the Europa League last 16. His turnaround in form is,
in many ways, surprising. Whilst I have maintained for ages that he is a very
talented shot-stopper who will be world class once he improves his claiming of
the ball and authority in the box, I certainly didn’t think that he would add
these qualities to his game overnight. I’m certainly not complaining about it
though, and I’m sure Rodgers isn’t either!
Hopefully the players can all continue to perform on Sunday,
when we play a crucial game in our pursuit of fourth place. Southampton
currently occupy the final Champions League spot, and if they were to beat us
then we would move seven points adrift of them. A win, however, would put us
within a point of them; a good result at St Mary’s is imperative if we want to
somehow make up for our abysmal start and make this season a success. If we are able to continue our
scintillating form then I have no doubt that we can not only get the win, but
also finish in fourth or even third place.
-James Martin
Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013
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