Liverpool 2-1 Southampton: It’s Not Vintage, But It’s Victory

So much for easing us in lightly. Liverpool’s first game of the season did end in victory, but it certainly wasn’t done the easy way. It took a 79^th minute winner from Daniel Sturridge to scrape victory for the reds, and the argument could be made that the win wasn’t deserved. Still, at the end of the day it’s the three points that matters, and the win moves Liverpool joint top of the Premier League.

 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 56^th 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 is the ultimate kick up the backside, so I’m sure the team will be much more fired up for next week’s game. With a bit of luck they’ll be able to continue their winning start to the season.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Liverpool 4-3 Swansea: Post-Match Thoughts

One day, I’ll sit back after a Liverpool game feeling relaxed and calm. Yesterday was not that day. As per usual the reds produced a goal fest, eventually coming out 4-3 victors over Swansea City.

As usual, Liverpool came out of the traps very quickly. Swansea were overwhelmed by the speed and precision of our attacks, and consequently we were 2-0 up after just 20 minutes courtesy of goals from Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson. The first, coming in the 3^rd minute, was the result of an exquisite pass by Raheem Sterling. He curled it with the outside of his right foot, and it fell beautifully into the path of Daniel Sturridge. He never looked like missing- indeed, Suarez was celebrating before the shot had even been taken! Sturridge rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home. For the second, Sturridge turned provider. He showed some nice skill out wide and then passed the ball to the feet of Henderson. The 23-year old then placed the ball perfectly into the top corner; Vorm could only watch on in despair.

So far, so typical of Liverpool. Sadly, the turning of the tide was also horribly predictable. The selling of Shelvey to Swansea was clearly a good bit of business on our part (see my views from the time here: http://jamesmartinblogs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/shelvey-to-swansea-good-deal.html) , but he was always going to come back to haunt us. So it proved, as he started the Swans’ comeback with a one-touch curler into the top corner from outside the box. It was a spectacular goal, and he showed some class by not celebrating it. This class was matched by the Kop, who applauded him. In an ever more cynical game, it was extremely nice to see from both Jonjo and the fans. The next goal was nowhere near as classy, but just as predictable. A defensive error from (you guessed it) Martin Skrtel left Mignolet helpless to stop Bony’s shot.

All of this took place within the first half an hour, so fans were left trying to catch their breath! However, Sturridge wasn’t letting us take a breather for long. After a beautiful chipped ball into the box from Suarez, he headed home emphatically from close range to give Liverpool their lead back. They took this lead into the break, but once the game got back underway it didn’t stay intact for long! Skrtel has been making us anxious all season by wrestling with attackers, and on this occasion he was penalised. It was a little harsh, but within the rules of the game Liverpool didn’t have too much cause for complaint. Bony took the penalty, and though Mignolet went the right way he couldn’t quite get a hand to it. This made it 3-3. Shortly after this, Brendan Rodgers opted to take off attacking threat Raheem Sterling for midfielder Joe Allen. As we needed a goal and Sterling has been in such fine form of late it did seem a little odd, but after the Texeira switch when we were at 2-2 against Fulham and needed a goal I have resolved never to doubt Rodgers’ wisdom in substitutions again! He once again proved why he is the Liverpool manager and I’m not, as Allen brought us a lot more midfield control, which in turn led to creation of more attacks. In the 74^th minute this brought us the goal we needed. Suarez scuffed his shot and it deflected into the path of Henderson. He saw his first shot saved, but made no mistake on the rebound.

After this, in quite un-Liverpool style, the reds had little trouble holding on to the lead. This hard-fought win is very important- after the game had finished Tottenham suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Norwich, leaving us 6 points clear of 5^th place. Our Champions League place is consequently looking pretty secure, so now we can switch our focus more to the teams above us. With 11 games still to go the title is by no means out of reach for us, though it will have to be a close to perfect run-in. Still, if we can keep grinding out results such as these, then anything is possible!

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013