Everton 3-3 Liverpool: Post-Match Analysis

I’m still in shock. Yesterday (Saturday 23^rd November), Liverpool and Everton played out one of the best, most dramatic Merseyside derbies to date. Many predicted it would be a good game, with both sides having good seasons, but nobody could have foreseen that it would turn into a six goal thriller, filled with all the ingredients to make a great game of football- controversy, exceptional play, drama and action right to the final whistle.

In their usual fashion, Liverpool started quickly. They won a corner inside 4 minutes, and subsequently scored from it- Coutinho smashing the ball emphatically into the net after Suarez had his shot blocked. Everton would have been disappointed to concede in such a manner- the marking was questionable, and James McCarthy, who was meant to be on the line to clear the ball, was standing in the goal! Consequently, his attempted clearance was ineffective, and Liverpool took the lead. However, it didn’t last long. 8 minutes into the game Leighton Baines delivered a very nice free kick, which, after a bit of a scramble, was turned home skilfully by Kevin Mirallas.

A few minutes later, Mirallas was involved again, but not in the right way. He tried to rob the ball from Suarez by sliding in, but his tackle was late and high, and his studs were up. It clearly should have been a red card (I may be biased, but I’m sure anyone would agree it was a horrendous challenge), but referee Phil Dowd only deemed it worthy of a yellow. This was not an isolated incident. The Everton game plan essentially seemed to be ‘try and get Suarez stretchered off the pitch’, and Mirallas in particular was guilty of multiple fouls. How he didn’t get sent off is beyond me.

Unfortunately for them, even dirty tactics could not contain the Uruguayan. 19 minutes in, he won a free kick in a promising position. Agger, Gerrard and Suarez all looked interested in taking it, but in the end it was Suarez who took on the responsibility. He certainly delivered- his glorious, curling effort got through the (admittedly somewhat scrappy) wall and past the outstretched glove of Tim Howard.  The game then died down a little, although both sides were still creating chances. Mignolet pulled off a couple of great saves to keep Liverpool in front going into the break.

After half time, it carried on in much the same way. With Baines off for Deulofeu, Everton became slightly more attacking, and Liverpool were forced into defending quite a lot. Mignolet made some astounding saves to retain the reds lead. With 30 minutes to go, Joe Allen was presented with a glorious chance to reward Mignolet’s hard work by all but sinking Everton. Suarez dances exceptionally through 3 Everton defenders, and the ball broke for the Welshman. He was clean through on Howard, with Suarez to his left. He opted to shoot, and understandably so, for it was a very easy chance. However, he somehow put the ball wide of the target, letting Everton off the hook. It was extremely frustrating; even if he wasn’t confident taking on the simple shooting chance, why not just square it to Suarez for a tap-in? Suarez seemed to be thinking along the same lines- he was visibly furious with Allen.

This was arguably the catalyst that Everton required. They redoubled their efforts, and with 20 minutes to go levelled the game through Romelu Lukaku. The chance came after Mignolet made yet another sublime stop (he made 9 in total throughout the game), but could not gather the ball. The Liverpool box was crowded with blue shirts, and when the ball got driven it and fell to Lukaku, the outcome was inevitable. At this point Rodgers took off Lucas for Sturridge, a real sign of intent. Unfortunately, it did not immediately pay off. Everton won a corner in the 82^nd minute, which Lukaku headed powerfully home for his 2^nd and Everton’s 3^rd, putting them in front for the first time. Sturridge was on the line, but could not prevent the ball sailing over his head and in.

Despite the fact that there was so little time left, it didn’t really feel like the scoring was over, and so proved. With just a minute left of the ninety, substitute Daniel Sturridge headed home after a great free kick from the captain, Steven Gerrard. This brought things level, but Liverpool were not done. They kept piling on the pressure deep into added time, resulting in what was very nearly the winning goal. Suarez was denied by a good save from Howard, and Sturridge actually put the ball into the net, but from an offside position. Eventually the final whistle blew, bringing the rollercoaster of a match to an end.

Mignolet gets my man of the match award, as without him we would have ended up with a result a lot worse than a draw. Jon Flanagan, who was filling in at left-back for Enrique and Cissokho, also deserves a mention. He made some good tackles, and though he didn’t provide much attacking impetus he was solid at the back. All in all, although it was disappointing not to win against our fierce rivals, a draw was probably a fair result. It was an excellent, hard-fought game of football, and a pleasure (albeit a stressful pleasure) to watch. It should be remembered that an away draw against e team sitting 6^th in the table is nothing to be ashamed of, and with three very winnable games coming up the overriding feeling at Anfield should be optimism.

-James Martin

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Luis Suarez receives 10-match ban

Today (Wednesday 24th April), the FA ruled that Liverpool’s Luis Suarez would be given a ban of 10 games for biting Chelsea defender Bransilav Ivanovic. This means he will miss the remainder of this season, and the first six games of the 2013/14 season.

There is some debate as to whether or not this ban is fair. There is universal agreement that Suarez deserved a ban, but the length is controversial. Some feel that 10 games is fair, as it is the second charge of biting that Suarez has faced (he was banned for seven games for biting a PSV player during his time at Ajax), and an example needs to be made to younger players. Others argue that the precedent of a 7-game ban for biting has been set, and therefore that should again be the length of his ban. Still others say that Suarez’s bite was violent conduct, and as the FA’s own legislation states that a retrospective ban for violent conduct is 3 games, that is how long Suarez should be suspended for.

It is hard to say what the right decision is, as an incident of this nature has never really occurred in the Premier League. The only similar example would be the Jermaine Defoe bite on Javier Mascherano in 2006, which the FA took no action on as the referee had ‘seen the incident and dealt with it’. It is therefore hard to draw comparisons between the two incidents, but seeing as the FA felt no need to change their own rules in order to punish Defoe’s bite, it would seem a little harsh that they gave Suarez a ban so much larger than their regular ban for violent conduct.

Either way, the fact is he is out for 10 games. This will have a huge effect on Liverpool, who will have to start their 2013/14 campaign without their star striker. It also means that Suarez, who was in contention for the golden boot, can no longer win it, as Robin Van Persie now has a higher goal tally than he does (thanks to his hat-trick against Aston Villa). The only silver lining for Liverpool fans is that the ban greatly improves their chances of being able to hold on to Suarez over the summer. Although the 10-match ban was imposed on Suarez by the English Football Association, the ban would still apply if he transferred abroad, as we saw with Joey Barton’s move to Marseille last year. A lot of big clubs who may have been tempted to buy Suarez will not like the fact that they will not be able to play him for six games, and they will probably also be put off buying him due to the controversy he seems to take with him wherever he goes.

The ban is one of the longest ever imposed by the FA, and many people are unhappy, claiming that they are biased against Luis Suarez. However, he did bite someone, and that is a serious offence. In any case, the loss of Suarez for 10 matches will come as a huge blow to the player and to the club, and Liverpool will find it hard to break their woeful first day of the season record (the last time they won their first game was in 2008, a 1-0 win against Sunderland) next season without their star striker.

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Liverpool vs Chelsea: Tension, Controversy and The Return of Rafa

On Sunday 21^st April, Liverpool faced Chelsea at Anfield. This meant returns for former Reds manager Rafa Benitez and ex-Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. The game was extremely tight, and in the end Liverpool snatched a draw in dramatic fashion through a Luis Suarez goal in the 97^th minute.

Liverpool were the brighter side in the early stages, with Glen Johnson having the pick of the chances. Suarez flicked the ball through to him nicely, leaving the full-back clean through on Cech, but he could only poke the ball wide. However, it was Chelsea who opened the scoring, through an Oscar header. Juan Mata’s corner was not dealt with, and Oscar drifted away from Daniel Agger and headed powerfully past Reina. Just five minutes later Reina very nearly spilt a David Luiz free-kick, just snatching the ball before it could cross the line. After this the game died down, and there weren’t any meaningful chances for the rest of the half.

In my opinion, the turning point game at the start of the second half, with the introduction of Sturridge. Within seconds of coming on he combined beautifully with Suarez, coming very close to scoring. Minutes later, his long-range effort evaded Cech, but he was denied a goal by the post. He soon got his goal though, after a beautiful pass from Suarez picked him out in the box. From there it was a simple matter of tucking the ball into the corner from close range. That made it 1-1, and it was game on again.

Both sides were attacking hard after Sturridge’s goal, striving to get ahead. In the end Chelsea were once again able to pull ahead, but in controversial fashion. Again the problems came from a Chelsea corner. Suarez was marking Torres, and raised his arm as the ball came in. There is no question that he handled it, but Torres, the former prolific Liverpool striker, appeared to  have a hold on him. Nonetheless the penalty was given, and after a lengthy delay Hazard coolly dispatched the penalty, sending Pepe Reina the wrong way.

From then on it was all Liverpool. Suarez had a great chance with a free kick just outside the box, which he put wide. He also tested Cech at the near post with a powerful drive. As if he didn’t have enough controversy surrounding him already, Suarez then did something utterly mad. He is unquestionably one of the world’s greatest talents, but he does do some stupid things, and this time he is, in my opinion, totally without defence. He was trying to burst into the Chelsea area, but didn’t get the pass he was looking for. Then, presumably out of pure frustration, he actually bit the arm of Branislav Ivanovic. It went un-noticed by the referee or his assistants, but it was clearly captured by the TV cameras. This isn’t even the first time he has bitten a player. During his time at Ajax, he was banned for seven games for biting a PSV player. It was absolutely disgraceful behaviour, and it is things like this which cast a shadow over his unquestionable footballing brilliance.

Despite the controversy, the game went on, and continued to be an absolute thriller. Liverpool were still not managing to break through the Chelsea defence, and in a desperate act to change things Rodgers brought Downing off for Jonjo Shelvey. I know there are many Shelvey fans out there, but frankly I don’t get it. He takes ridiculously optimistic long shots, is extremely clumsy and never seems to pass. I personally think that taking off Downing, one of our better players in the game, was a bad decision. In the end though it didn’t matter, because in the dying seconds Suarez showed his good side. Six minutes were added n by the 4^th official, and it looked like time had run out for Liverpool when Chelsea got the ball clear on 95:54. However, the referee didn’t blow his whistle, and thirty seconds after the allotted six extra minutes Luis Suarez got on the end of a Daniel Sturridge cross, heading the ball past a diving Petr Cech. Chelsea barely had time to kick off again before the final whistle went, and the game ended 2-2.

Were it not for the Suarez biting incident, this game would have been a prime example of football as it should be. Both sides played some lovely attacking football, and there was tension and drama right to the end. However, the match had a shadow cast over it by Suarez’ inexplicable actions. He will surely incur a ban for biting Ivanovic, which in my opinion he completely deserves. On the whole though, a thoroughly enjoyable game where a draw was probably a fair result.

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Mansfield 1- 2 Liverpool: Welcome Back to the Suarez Debate…..

On Sunday 6th January, Liverpool faced Mansfield in the third round of the FA cup, in their second fixture of the year. New signing Daniel Sturridge scored for Liverpool, followed by a Suarez goal in the 59th minute (a cause of much controversy, as replays show he handled it into the net). Green scored for Mansfield in the 79th minute, but it turned out to be a mere consolation.

Liverpool played very well for most of the match, creating a lot of chances. Sturridge had a great debut, and could easily have scored more than 1. Suarez was, as usual, impressive, but his performance was overshadowed by the handball incident. Although I would love to find a way to do so, I cannot defend the referee’s decision. The ball was handled into the net, and therefore the goal should not have stood. This would of course have meant that the game would have ended 1-1, meaning a replay would have had to be scheduled. I feel sorry for Mansfield, who played well and deserved better.

However, although I cannot defend the referee, I can certainly defend Luis Suarez. In fact, in my view, he has done nothing wrong. It is unclear even from the replays as to whether or not his handball was deliberate. Either way, he cannot be expected to turn round and tell the referee to discount his goal. Although he will not be proud of scoring a goal like that, ‘they all count’ as the saying goes. In the end the goal proved crucial to our victory, and although I would have preferred him to score another way, I am still glad he got the ball in the net for us.

Of course, a lot of people will not be satisfied with this reasoning. Already, people have started picking on Suarez, singling him out as a cheat and a disgrace to the game. These people, in my opinion, are being frankly stupid. This is the first handball incident I can recall Suarez being involved in, and as for all the diving accusations, it’s not like he ever gets given any penalties! If his supposed ‘diving’ worked to his advantage, I could see why people would be angry, but the fact is that he has only been awarded one penalty in the premier league this season, despite numerous fouls on him. Suarez, in my view, is not a cheat, and certainly no more so than a lot of other players in English football, who in contrast are practically worshipped by the media.

In conclusion, I am not defending Suarez’s goal. It did strike his hand, and therefore should not have stood. However, Luis Suarez did nothing wrong. Whether it was deliberate or not, he cannot be expected to tell the referee to discount his goal. Even the Mansfield manager accepted this, saying that he did not feel cheated, and that were it any player other than Suarez there would not be this much fuss. I have utmost respect for this manager. He is an example to everyone associated with the game, as he accepted the decision, even though it was a wrong one, and moved on. If everyone behaved like him, football would stop being about politics, and then we could all go back to enjoying the beautiful game.