Liverpool 1-0 Besiktas: Post-Match Thoughts

In the opening game of their Europa League campaign, Liverpool got off to winning ways by narrowly beating Turkish side Besiktas. The visitors had their chances on the breakaway – Ba nearly scored a very similar goal to the one he netted at Anfield in Chelsea colours last season but was denied by a great stop from Mignolet – but the reds were largely on top. This didn’t, however, translate into too many clear cut opportunities: it wasn’t until the 85^th minute that Liverpool could break the deadlock. The goal came from the spot – after some bickering over who should take it, the Italian showed his supreme composure to dispatch the penalty and give Liverpool a deserved lead going into the away leg.

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

            

Seeing is Believing: Liverpool 3-2 Spurs

As has been the trend in modern times, Liverpool vs Spurs once again treated us to a multitude of goals. The reds have developed a nice habit of comfortably cruising past Tottenham of late, but that was never going to happen in this match – as the two sides on the best form in the league, this was always going to be a cracker. It did not disappoint; Spurs came back from behind twice but were eventually beaten by a goal from Mario Balotelli of all people.

The whole game felt like it had been scripted for maximum entertainment value. Right from the off the game had an exceptionally high tempo to it, with both teams eager to press the ball and stop their opponents from gaining the upper hand. Liverpool looked the better of the two sides though; their pace on the break made the side look very dangerous indeed, and chances were coming thick and fast thanks to multiple sloppy passes from Spurs in dangerous areas. 15 minutes in the reds opened the scoring – Lazar Markovic received the ball after Daniel Sturridge had done well to hold it up, then fired across Lloris (who should probably have done better) to get his first Anfield goal. Two excellent chances for Sturridge followed soon after, but the striker looked understandably rusty and the hosts failed to extend their lead. Barely 10 minutes after the Markovic goal it was level again; Harry Kane decided to get his obligatory goal out of the way nice and early, slamming it through Mignolet’s legs.

The rest of the first half continued in much the same vein – both teams looked properly up for it, and the game was very much end to end. However, it wasn’t until eight minutes into the second half that Liverpool struck again. It was from the penalty spot: Gerrard just managed to squeeze it into the corner beyond Lloris after Sturridge had been brought down by a clumsy challenge from Danny Rose. Phil Dowd, who had an awful game, did his best to deny us the pretty blatant penalty kick – fortunately the assistant was competent, and flagged for the foul. Sadly the same cannot be said of the other linesman, who’s error cost us a goal just nine minutes later. The first mistake came from Phil Dowd; Gerrard won the ball cleanly and fairly, but the referee blew for a foul. The resulting

free kick was taken brilliantly by Eriksen, but the Dane was denied by an excellent save from Mignolet, who had a brilliant game. The ball then fell to Kane, who was standing in an offside position – this was missed by the assistant referee, and the subsequent Dembele goal stood.

Credit must go to Rodgers for the response to this second equaliser. His three switches were an unmitigated success. Firstly, Gerrard (who had a slight hamstring issue) was taken off for Lovren, allowing Can to move into midfield. The German was already a man of the match contender for his performance in the back three, but was arguably even better in his preferred role in the centre of the park. After this, with 15 minutes to play, Sturridge – who still isn’t quite ready for a full 90 – was replaced by Mario Balotelli. This change was quickly followed by a tactical switch that saw Markovic make way for Lallana. It was Balotelli and Lallana who combined for the winning goal: with seven minutes to play, Ibe showed immense skill to beat his man and then flick it into Lallana. The ex-Southampton man then drilled it across the box with excellent precision, and then the fairytale moment that has been threatening to happen for so long finally came to fruition. Balotelli made a nice run in behind his man, and coolly guided the ball into the far corner of the net from close range. What a moment.

The result is great for Liverpool, as it sees us move to within a point of Tottenham and just three points of fourth place (although United and Southampton wins tonight would increase that to a gap of five). However, just as pleasing as the result was the performance. Everyone played well, but there are a few main positives that I want to highlight. The first is the exceptional performance of Jordon Ibe – despite being just 19, I voted him my man of the match for the second game running. He terrorised Danny Rose throughout the match, and showed great positivity with his multiple cut-ins and direct runs. The fact that his performances are good enough to prompt people to draw comparisons with Sterling says it all; whether or not he does have equal or better potential to Sterling is of course debatable, but he certainly has a very bright future ahead of him. The second positive was the performance of another young player, Emre Can. He made a couple of vital blocks and tackles while in defence, and then showed his exceptional power and pace with some bursting runs from midfield. He was voted man of the match by LFC fans on Twitter. For me, he’s the most exciting of our summer signings – he has all the hallmarks of a potentially special player. Thirdly, Sturridge is closing in on a full 90 minutes; although he wasn’t at his sparkling best in this game, he still managed to get two assists. If you can do that on an off day, that pretty much says it all. Fourthly, Balotelli! He’s finally got his first Premier League goal for Liverpool, and at a wonderful time. Hopefully that will give him confidence, and also give Rodgers the motivation to reintroduce him to the team regularly – I’d love to see him given a chance up top with Sturridge. Fifth, the first Anfield goal for Markovic: he’s another summer signing with huge potential, and hopefully he can kick on having scored his first home goal against one of the league’s best keepers. Finally, Mignolet deserves a special mention. I’ve been defending him all season – although he had a definite dip in form, he was never the root of our problems – but now he doesn’t need me to defend him. He’s drawing praise from even his most ardent of critics by not only continuing to show off his excellent shot stopping abilities, but also suddenly showing confidence and authority when claiming crosses. It’s a big claim, but I think he’s been one of the league’s best goalkeepers since Christmas.

To sum up, this win is huge for Liverpool Football Club. As well as properly putting ourselves into the intensely close race for a top four spot, the multiple amazing individual performances were extremely encouraging. Even if we do miss out on fourth place this season (which, for the record, I don’t think will happen), we’re certainly building a formidable outfit for the near future. Don’t be surprised to see us back competing for the title next season – for now, let’s get that Champions League spot.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Man United 3-0 Liverpool: Post-Match Analysis

Getting knocked out of the Champions League in midweek was bad enough to beat out any of the Christmas cheer Liverpool fans might have been feeling, but today the pain was piled on courtesy of a big defeat from our fierce rivals. A combination of a shambolic defence, poor finishing and an absolute master class from David De Gea resulted in a humiliating final score of 3-0 to United.

The only fact that Liverpool fans can seek solace in is that the scoreline was not at all reflective of the game. For the first 10 minutes the reds (or yellows as they were for this game) were completely dominant, forcing multiple errors from the home sides defence with their high press. They were presented with a big chance to take the lead when Lallana played a lovely ball through to Sterling, but the 20 year-old’s effort wasn’t strong enough to beat De Gea. Almost immediately after this United launched their first real attack of the game, and Liverpool’s defence were instantly exposed. It was almost funny watching everyone floundering; Valencia embarrassed Allen and pulled it back to Rooney, whose run should have been tracked by Coutinho. Gerrard should also have been ensuring that Rooney didn’t get the room to shoot, but instead opted to watch from a safe distance as United’s captain blasted it home past Brad Jones, who was diving the wrong way. The WRONG WAY. If nothing else, playing Jones today may well have served to open fan’s eyes to the fact that Mignolet is the lesser of two evils when it comes to our goalkeeping options.

The contrast between the two keepers couldn’t have been more stark. De Gea was on fire, and rather than doing his utmost to get out of the way of the ball he turned his energies towards thwarting Sterling again to prevent Liverpool pulling level. Still, the signs were promising. We were making some good opportunities, and at just one down it looked likely that we’d be able to pull the game back and get at least a draw. However, with just five minutes to go until the break, Juan Mata doubled United’s lead. It was blatantly offside – Moreno’s step forward left Mata about 2 yards off when he headed in from close range, but the assistant clearly failed to spot the flick-on from Van Persie that carried the ball through to the Spaniard. This made the situation much bleaker, to the extent where it actually prompted Rodgers to make an early change for once. Sadly, the substitution was only half right. Bringing Balotelli on for the second half to partner Sterling was sensible, but Lallana shouldn’t have been replaced. He had been linking up well with Sterling; Coutinho should probably have been the one to make way.

Even so, Liverpool continued to look fairly good into the second half. Balotelli was playing fairly well, although he did isolate himself by needlessly drifting out wide on a couple of occasions. When he was in the middle, chances came his way – De Gea was on hand once again to push his powerful effort on to the woodwork. Sterling too had a huge opportunity to get a goal back; he picked off a weak back pass and looked to have rounded De Gea. However, he took one touch too many, allowing the United keeper to deny him once again. It clearly just wasn’t to be our day – nothing was getting past De Gea, and as usual pretty much everything was getting past our defence. It was no real surprise when United made it three; Lovren’s failure to complete a basic clearance presented the Red Devils with the opportunity, and this was made easier for Van Persie to take by Brad Jones being in a frankly bizarre position. A couple more excellent saves from De Gea meant that a game which Liverpool had dominated from an attacking point of view somehow ended 3-0.

The only man more worried than the fans at the moment is Brendan Rodgers. He must be well aware that his job is in jeopardy; the failure to get to the Champions League group stage followed by this heavy defeat to the Mancs are the latest blows in a series of disappointments this season. Although summer signings Balotelli, Moreno, Markovic and Lallana all looked good today, the continued playing of Gerrard over Can and the abysmal performances of Dejan Lovren have called Rodgers’s judgement into serious question. The league table speaks for itself: 18 points off top and 7 off the top 4 is not even close to good enough. Rodgers has been given enough time to see the weaknesses and fix them; he has instead opted to blindly ignore the flaws in our team in the hope that they will magically fix themselves. Consequently, his job is hanging by a thread – defeat at Arsenal next weekend will surely push him over the edge. For his sake and the team’s, let’s hope he can turn things around quickly. 

The Italian Job: Borini or Balotelli?

When Liverpool signed Balotelli this summer, there was general hysteria amongst fans. There is no doubt that he is a world class player on his day, and Rodgers is known for being a good man manager – despite the controversy the Italian seems to take with him wherever he goes, everyone was very happy to see him sign. He hasn’t caused any disruption so far in his short LFC career; in fact, he’s yet to make much of an impact of any kind. One man who can surely sympathise with his plight is fellow countryman Fabio Borini: he too signed for a reasonable price from quite a big club, and he has also struggled to shine since arriving at Anfield. However, he impressed on loan at Sunderland last year and refused to be sold in the summer. This sheer determination to succeed at Liverpool is slowly starting to pay off, with Rodgers playing him for the full 90 minutes in our midweek clash against Real Madrid. Is this healthy attitude alone enough to earn him a place in the regular starting eleven, or should Balotelli be given more time to show his class?

Whilst parallels can certainly be drawn between the signings of Borini and Balotelli, there’s no doubt that they are very different players. Borini is all about his work rate; he will chase down every ball, close down every defender and cover every inch of grass for the club time and time again. This makes him well suited to Liverpool’s pressing style, as his tireless efforts to win the ball high up the field can lead to chances being created. Balotelli, on the other hand, is less of a workhorse and more of a show pony. He has immense talent and can score some truly wonderful goals, but he is somewhat lacking in terms of the running he puts in. To be fair, he has worked harder for Liverpool than he has done at previous clubs; he now deigns to mark someone at corners, and his off the ball movement is excellent at times. It is also true that a large factor in his failure so far has been the fact that he has been functioning as a lone striker: this has left him isolated. Even so, his work ethic can certainly be questioned.

In an ideal world, we would have a striker who is both extremely motivated and extremely talented. We had that in Luis Suarez – he was hungry (sorry, not sorry) to succeed whenever he pulled on the Liverpool shirt, and he did some truly magical things out on the pitch. However, Suarez is gone. We have to work with what we’ve got, and we essentially face a straight choice between pure work rate and pure talent. Sturridge is our best player and is therefore nailed on as a starter whenever he is fit; the question is who should partner him. The case can certainly be made for Borini: his eagerness to continually make runs provides someone for Sturridge to link up with, and could lead to a prolific partnership. The only question mark lies over his finishing. Borini’s raw ability is not amazing – whilst he occasionally produces something nice (his assist for Balotelli against Swansea recently was good), he does have a tendency to get into a good position and then waste it. Seeing good chances go to waste is infuriating for both the fans and the team, and is the major factor that works against Borini in his quest for regular first team action.

At least we are guaranteed to make chances regularly with Borini up front. When Balotelli plays, there is no such assurance. There are times when he remains stationary instead of making a run or positively coming for the ball, and this can break up the fluidity that was such a trademark of our play last season. That said, it is hard to make a fair judgement until we see Balotelli and Sturridge get an extended amount of game time together. Balotelli had only just come through the door when Sturridge got sidelined, so consequently we’ve only really seen him function on his own up front. If he clicks with Sturridge, then the chances will surely come. Balotelli’s natural talent then becomes an important factor – he is certainly capable of taking his chances.

In conclusion, whilst Borini has done well to play his way into consideration for the first team through pure hard work and determination, Balotelli definitely deserves a chance up top with Daniel Sturridge before we decide to write him off. Although he may not be as hardworking as Borini, his superior talent means that the goals will surely come if he can establish a strong partnership with Sturridge. That said, if Balotelli continues to struggle even after the return of Sturridge, Borini has shown himself to be a perfectly adequate option.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Manchester City vs Liverpool: Post-Match Thoughts

Yesterday, Liverpool faced their first big challenge of the season when they came up against Manchester City. Despite being the clearly superior team for large parts of the game they could not capitalise, and the clinical Manchester City ended up winning 3-1.

Much like our game against Southampton last week, Liverpool failed to make their trademark fast start. It’s disappointing to see this element of our game disappearing, as it was this that allowed us to be practically home and dry in some games after just half an hour last season. That said, we were into our rhythm before too long. After five minutes or so of having the lions share of possession, City were pushed back, and Liverpool started to get on top. Daniel Sturridge created one of the best opportunities, beating Vincent Komapny excellently with some skill then forcing a smart save out of Joe Hart at his near post. Despite all the pressure, Liverpool failed to make a breakthrough. This was, in part, down to some good defending from the reigning champions. However, the system of using a lone striker may also have played a part. Sturridge looked isolated for large parts of the game, and Coutinho’s poor performance meant the play from midfield into attack was, at times, disjointed.

It was inevitable really that, having dominated the game so much for so long, Liverpool would concede a soft goal. Such a goal came just before the break. New signing Alberto Moreno, who up to this point had looked good, was caught on the back foot when Dejan Lovren’s headed clearance fell towards him, and Stefan Jovetic nipped in to steal the ball and lash it home. It was a harsh welcome to the Premier League for Moreno- the pace of the games is quicker than perhaps in any other league in the world, and waiting for the ball to come to you will often, as it was on this occasion, be brutally punished. Due to this, Liverpool went into the break undeservedly behind.

Perhaps this shook Liverpool, for it was not the same bright, attacking side that came out for the second half. The defence looked worryingly vulnerable, and this proved to be the case after just 10 minutes of the half. It was Jovetic again who capitalised on some woeful defending, this time from Dejan Lovren. The Croatian wandered forward aimlessly, seemingly totally unaware of where he was in relation to the rest of the back line. This left Nasri with bags of room to slot a pass through to Jovetic, who finished well. Liverpool rallied a little after conceding, and the introduction of Lazar Markovic (in place of Philippe Coutinho) on 59 minutes certainly livened up our attacking play. Indeed, his clever interplay down the left with Moreno very nearly produced a goal just minutes after he came on. We started to produce some sustained pressure, and it looked as if we might just be able to drag ourselves back into the game. Sadly, it didn’t pan out that way. Aguero came on for the injured Dzeko with 21 minutes to play, and scored just seconds later, essentially killing off the game. Once more, question marks were raised over the defence. A nice ball from Jesus Navas carved open the entire back line, and Aguero raced through to smash the ball home past Mignolet.

At this point, Rodgers took off Sterling and brought on Rickie Lambert. The change certainly had a positive impact on the team, but not because of the quality of Rickie Lambert; it was the change in system that caused Liverpool to improve so dramatically at this point. Having two forwards instead of one just seemed natural, and our play became much more fluid and attacking. It was the two strikers, Sturridge and Lambert, who combined to get Liverpool a consolation goal. Sturridge whipped a ball into the box, and Lambert turned it goalwards. After some ricocheting off Hart and Zabaletta, the ball somehow found its way into the goal.

The fact that we improved so notably when playing with two strikers in encouraging. We have just brought in Mario Balotelli from AC Milan, and though some people are questioning whether he will succeed at Liverpool there is no doubt that he is a talented striker. Astute though the purchase of Lambert was (for just £4million, he offers a nice alternative option for desperate situations), he simply isn’t viable as a regular second striker as he cannot function in Liverpool’s high-pressing, fast-paced system. Balotelli, on the other hand, should be able to function well alongside Daniel Sturridge. It’s a shame the Italian wasn’t registered in time for the clash with City; if he had been, things might have panned out differently.

It is naturally extremely frustrating to have lost, especially to a team that come the end of the season are surely going to be right up there with us in the fight for the title, but it is only one game and the season is yet young. Although the game showed that there were still definite defensive deficiencies that need to be addressed, there were also lots of positives to take from the performance. To have outplayed the champions for the majority of the first half is an achievement, and, aside from being glaringly at fault for the first goal, Moreno had a pretty good game. For me, though, Markovic was the most encouraging thing to take from the game. When thrown into the mix, he immediately injected positivity and pace into our side, and made us look altogether more dangerous. It makes a refreshing change from last season to have players waiting on the bench who are good enough to come on and make a genuine impact.

Next up in Liverpool’s fixture list is another potentially challenging game. We play Tottenham at White Hart Lane; though I’m sure we all remember how well that went for us last year, Tottenham are already looking an improved side under Mauricio Pochettino. Indeed, though it means next to nothing so early on, Tottenham currently top the table. However, I think that, should Balotelli be able to make a smooth transition into the team right from the off (admittedly a big ask), then we have a very good chance of taking all three points.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013