Reading vs Liverpool- “The Ball Didn’t Want To Get In”

I have entitled my blog with a Luis Suarez quote. He tweeted this after the game, and I think that just about sums it up perfectly. Liverpool dominated the game, but a combination of bad luck and an inspired goalkeeping performance from McCarthy meant we had to settle for a point.

Right from the start of the game, Liverpool were dominating possession. Reading were giving them a lot of time on the ball, and they were using it well. On 14 minutes Suarez’s beautiful chip was cleared off the line by Chris Gunter. The move leading up to the chance was fantastic, with Coutinho, Henderson and Sturridge (back in the starting line-up for this game) combining well. This was the first clear-cut chance of the game, but a whole host of others followed. Coutinho worked the keeper from outside the box on 22 minutes, forcing a corner. From the subsequent set piece, Carragher of all people came close, heading just over. Suarez then had a shot saved well on 34 minutes, and Gerrard’s follow-up was blocked. On the stroke of half time McCarthy denied Liverpool again, this time blocking a close-range shot from Daniel Sturridge.

The game continued like this in the second half. Liverpool were on the attack straight away, and Coutinho put the ball in the net with a sublime flick on 48 minutes, however it was unfortunately disallowed for offside. After this there was a bit of a lull, with Reading actually creating a couple of decent chances themselves. Reina stayed alert despite having very little to do, and made two very good saves.

With 10 minutes to go Liverpool went on the attack again, bombarding Reading’s goal more than ever. Suarez tested McCarthy on 82 minutes, but the shot was tame. Downing just missed the target in the 84^th minute, and then McCarthy made two brilliant stops in the 85^th, denying both Gerrard and Suarez. Two minutes into added time Suarez forced McCarthy into yet another sensational stop, and in the last minute of stoppage time he was tested once more, being forced to save Gerrard’s deflected drive.

Liverpool had an impressive 60.2% of possession, completing 503 passes in total. Their passing accuracy was 77.5%. Including blocked shots, they had a staggering 28 attempts on target! Reading only managed two shots on target in the game, both of which Reina save comfortably. Liverpool had 11, 10 of which were saved, 1 of which was cleared off the line. These stats don’t do justice to just how dominant Liverpool were, but at the end of the day you have to give McCarthy credit for his exceptional performance. He earned his team a point which could be important in their battle for survival, and in all honesty I think they deserved to draw based purely upon the excellent game he had. Although I’m obviously disappointed, I don’t begrudge Reading the point that they fought so hard for.

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