Scousers To The Rescue
English Premiership
Liverpool 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
Scorers:
LIV - Carragher (85min), Gerrard (90min+4);
MID - Mido (72min);
Liverpool 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
Scorers:
LIV - Carragher (85min), Gerrard (90min+4);
MID - Mido (72min);
Faithful Kopites had to endure yet another eventful roller-coaster ride at Anfield as The Reds saw a match that is mixed with the unexpected and the familiar.
Well, when Liverpool are down and out, the one person they’ll rely on to drag them out of the miry pits would be none other than Steven Gerrard. He scored in the last kick of the game and handling Liverpool all 3 points. That’s familiar. Check.
Liverpool always needed a kick up their bottom before going into full-throttle. Ahmed Mido scored in the 70th minute, punishing the listless and disinterested Liverpool with a fantastic left foot shot which left Pepe Reina hapless. Yet at the end of the 90 minutes (or rather, 94 minutes), it was all joy for Rafa Benitez while all Gareth Southgate could do was to bury his face in his hands. A comeback, that’s familiar. Check!
Surprise of all surprises, though, is seeing Jamie Carragher scoring for Liverpool, at the right end of the pitch. The veteran defender who has played 500 odd games for the Reds had only previously scored 5 goals and his goal-scoring trait, or the lack of, has been made a frequent joke by the fans. A team of Carragher, any one?
Though his goal was rather fortuitous, a deflected shot just outside the penalty box, it still left many fans at Anfield amused yet delighted. There’s probably no greater joy than seeing Carragher scoring at the Kop End. That was all it needs to spark a late Liverpool surge which ultimately underlined the doggedness and character of this Liverpool team.
But the result shouldn’t be a distraction to how disappointing Liverpool looked again. 3 games into the start of the season and it seemed like the men in red didn’t look like they’re anywhere prepared or gelled properly.
Here, patience should be the key, bar a major catastrophe.
The much anticipated partnership of Keane-Torres still didn’t seem to have any sparks but there are some positive points to take note of as they put aside the horror partnership show last week at Stadium of Light and come up with some decent link-up plays and showed basic understanding.
It’s like how you and your partner started off. Before you guys knew you’re meant for each other, you begin with basic friendship were trust is built and both of you trying to work out on the area of communication.
Still early days for Robbie Keane but he does need to produce soon due to the heavy price tag and the huge expectation.
Elsewhere, take nothing away from Middlesbrough and their stoic defence. They have always been a pain in the a*$ for the ‘Big 4’ teams as they seemed to be always driven and motivated to steal points and break momentum.
The only reason why nobody really fancies them to break into the ‘Upper 6’ would be that they fail to bring the drive and passion into games against seemingly inferior opponents. They could very well beat Man Utd on their day but would lose to Wigan next.
Arriving at Anfield, Southgate had a game plan set and it was to frustrate Liverpool and at the same time, tries to steal a goal and watch them collapse. It worked… half of it actually.
They limited Liverpool to only a few chances, with Kuyt coming closest to scoring. The Dutch striker has been deployed in an unconventional right-wing role and looked lost at sea most of the time. Shame.
Without a proper left winger, Rafa resorted with using Yossi Benayoun and however talented the Israeli playmaker can be, he’s still more effective on the right and his constant cutting in narrows down the formation. He did leave more spaces for Andrea Dossena to run into but the Italian defender didn’t look particularly comfortable going forward. A benefit of doubt there, maybe he’s still trying to find his feet.
Last game’s hero, Xabi Alonso, was this game’s zero as he saw the game passed him by and his mistake ultimately led to Mido’s goal. He didn’t seem to be able to cope with the pace of the game and his partnership with Gerrard in the middle of the park failed to produce any spark.
Maybe Mascherano is more pivotal to the Liverpool side than we initially thought. His absence so far has destabilized the Reds a little and with the Olympic gold medal in hand, he should return to England with a fine spirit and renewed hunger.
Despite all the shortcomings, Liverpool still managed to grab all 3 points with the help of the 2 local heroes. Depending on which coloured specs you’re wearing, you could see it either as a warning to Liverpool or them playing like Champions.
We know how Chelsea and Man Utd won the league titles in past years. Play badly but win ugly. Yet I do not expect Liverpool to play at such level for long as they really do need to pick up the tempo and begin to build momentum. This is a marathon and so far, the start has been good on paper.
But they need to look good on eye to appease us as well!
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