So much for easing us in lightly.
Right from the off it
was apparent that we weren’t going to be treated to a vintage Liverpool
performance of the like we got so accustomed to last season. We didn’t come out
all guns blazing, and were happy to knock it around without really penetrating
the Southampton defence. Part of the problem can
be traced to the selection of Lucas- his clumsy, disjointed style of play broke
up the midfield and prevented good transition from midfield to attack. However,
after just over twenty minutes Liverpool did
manage to get a goal. The pundits have been droning on prior to the season
about how Liverpool will struggle to score in tough games now they don’t have
the magic of Suarez, but it appears that we can now rely upon the magic of Henderson . It was his
glorious long ball that found Sterling ,
who finished extremely coolly past Forster. This in itself is very encouraging
for the season to come; the only thing Sterling
was lacking at times last season was a clinical finish, which is something he
appears to be adding to his game.
The control of possession which the reds had managed to
exert over the game up to this point vanished after the goal. Southampton
were able to push forward a lot, and they looked dangerous at times. Morgan
Schneiderlin came the closest to scoring, forcing Mignolet into a good save. Liverpool made it to half time with their lead still
intact, but it was clear that something would have to change if they wanted to
hold on to it. The second half started, nothing changed and the inevitable
happened. Nathaniel Clyne’s 56th minute goal was no less than Southampton deserved. That said, it could and should have
been prevented. Tadic’s backheel, though executed with pinpoint accuracy, was
excruciatingly obvious. Johnson, who other than Lucas was our worst player, was
a mere spectator as Clyne ran round him and smashed it home. On the plus side
Johnson will probably no longer be featuring in the first team very much-
Manquillo (who had a very good game) is making the right-back position his own,
and new signing Alberto Moreno will slot in at left-back.
If Rodgers was hoping that conceding the goal would prove to
be a wake up call for his team, he was left disappointed. Southampton
continued to pile on pressure, and it took some truly desperate defending at
times to stop the Saints taking the lead. Lucas coming off for Allen improved
Liverpool’s play a little, but it wasn’t until Coutinho made way for Lambert
that we were really able to get going. This wasn’t because Lambert terrorised
his former club (although he played fairly well); it was because the change
meant that Sterling
moved into the number 10 role, which allowed him to wreak havoc. His pace and
movement put us back on the front foot, and it was he who set up the winning
goal. He flicked the ball on with his head from the edge of the box, and
Sturridge had positioned himself perfectly to knock the ball home from close
range.
Still, the game wasn’t over. Much like after the first goal,
Liverpool regressed after scoring. Their
half-hearted attempt at keep-ball in the immediate aftermath of the goal
fizzled out pretty quickly, and soon the reds had nearly everyone camped in
their own box, trying to absorb the huge amounts of pressure Southampton
were applying. It very nearly wasn’t enough- Mignolet made a simply amazing
reaction save to tip Schneiderlin’s effort on to the underside of the crossbar,
and Long somehow headed his follow-up attempt wide of the target. After this Liverpool managed to wind down the clock in the corner,
and they saw the game out.
There are both positives and negatives to take from this
game. The obvious positive is the three points, which is the ultimate aim of
any Premier League game. Another encouraging sign was the goal and assist for
Raheem Sterling, who looks all set to have a very big season for us. The versatility
that Rodgers has given the team with his transfers also showed- changing the
system to put Sterling
through the middle was what changed the game and won us the match. The
negatives were also quite apparent- Lucas and Johnson simply aren’t good enough
to play for Liverpool , and the defence, though
improved, still looks shaky. Personally I think that Sakho and Lovren would be
a better choice of centre-back pairing that Skrtel and Lovren, as Sakho strikes
me as much less error-prone.
Overall though, we can’t complain. We’ve got off to a
winning start, something that prior to last season’s victory over Stoke we had
failed to do for a long time. Though by no means the ideal performance, the
main weaknesses that we exhibited are relatively easily fixable, and I’m sure
the team will be exhibiting much nicer football than this before too long. Facing Manchester
City
-James Martin
Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013
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