Liverpool's charging comeback shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone who watched Sunday's match. The Reds looked dangerous all second half, with their first half possession being squandered with poor final balls that left only one quality opportunity, a shot that Dirk Kuyt shanked well over the bar. In the first 45, City defended in numbers and made sure that Liverpool's possession and control of the pace of the game didn't materialize into any solid scoring chances.
On the Liverpool side, their solid team defense had a few first half lapses. City netted goals on a defensive scramble, fired home by Stephen Ireland, and a free kick goal by Javier Garrido, after a bumbling Albert Riera tackle. The first goal was a result of poor execution and communication between Arbeloa and Skrtel, and the good ball hawking quality of Ireland. Garrido's free kick goal was a great effort, the ball tailing away from a late reacting Pepe Reina. Shawn Wright-Phillips seemed to have the best luck in giving the Liverpool backline fits, while Robinho was pretty much kept in check. A 2-0 halftime lead for City was more than they deserved.
With the confidence of having slightly outplayed City in the first half, Liverpool came out with purpose and always looked likely to get some back. Fernando Torres slid on to a rare quality cross from Alvaro Arbeloa, after Steven Gerrard released him with a brilliant pass. After a red card for Pablo Zabaleta, coming from his two-footed challenge on Xabi Alonso, Torres netted another goal to tie the game. He ran on to a great Gerrard cross at the near post, and directed it far side, a pure striker's goal.
Torres had a chance for a third goal less than ten minutes later, but his volley sailed high over the open goal after his run to the back post. The game clincher came in extra time, as sub Yossi Benayoun, manuevered his way into the left side of the box and cut a pass towards the middle where Torres attempted to direct the ball in. His attempt was blocked and ricocheted to the far post, where Dirk Kuyt was waiting to bash the ball high into the empty net. The goal completed their comeback from down 2-0, and kept the Reds tied atop the league with Chelsea, trailing only in goal difference.
In Focus:
Martin Skrtel
23 year-old Martin Skrtel, is a Slovak defender who came over from Zenit St. Petersburg during last January's transfer deadline. His bold tackling, solid marking, good defensive heading, and attacking runs up the middle, have earned him the starting center back position alongside Jamie Carragher. He beat out longtime Red, Sami Hyypia, and former starter Daniel Agger, who spent almost all of last season laid out with injury. Besides the fact that Skrtel's menacing sneer and shaved head make him a scary looking dude, along with Carra, he has formed the backbone of what has been the Premier League's top defense.
Sunday's matchup with Man City left Skrtel to deal with the attacking prowess of Brazilian forwards Robinho and Jo, not to mention the likes of Ireland, Wright-Phillips, and another Brazilian, Blumer Elano. Skrtel spent much of the time marking another player who spent time in Russia, Jo.
Skrtel came out, as he usually does, hyped up and ready to attack. He seems to get out of position and make a lot of dangerous tackles early on in games. Then he will settle down and form a rock solid backline with Carra. City seemed to try and lure him out early on, a strategy that they hoped would open up Jo or Robinho up the middle. The first goal, coming in the 19th minute, has to be partially blamed on Skrtel, although, Arbeloa should take the brunt of the scorn. The Slovak stuck with Robinho in front who received a pass from the Wright-Phillips. The ball squirted out past Arbeloa, who had unneccessarily come to help out with Robinho, and into the waiting run of Ireland, who blasted an unsaveable effort past Reina.
Now you could blame Skrtel for not communicating with Arbeloa that he had Robinho, but he was staying with his man in the center, so it really was Arbeloa's responsibility to pick up the trailer. Having said that, from that point on, Skrtel was a lot more disciplined in his play. The Garrido free kick was a great effort that was given due to clumsy backtracking by Riera. After the second goal, Man City was reduced to mostly defending, and long balling, a poor strategy, especially after the 71st minute when Jo left the game, and Robinho was left alone up front.
Skrtel had a couple of positive runs up the center of the pitch during the game. He had a early header that he got on to from a corner, and squared up for a shot from outside the box that was easily taken by Joe Hart at the center of goal. Despite these forays into the offensive end, he never got too adventurous in coming out on defenders for big tackles. With only a small spurt of pressure from Man City in the second half, attacks in which the Liverpool defense dealt with cooly each time, Skrtel had little to do but to control the possession efficiently during workups, and win the balls in the air that came flying into his end. He did this effectively as the Reds charged back.
Then, with the scored level at two, Skrtel scrambled back for a long ball, and tussled with Ched Evans. Perhaps distracted by Evans' silly first name, Skrtel caught his right leg awkwardly on the turf, and damaged his posterior cruciate ligament. The injury looked pretty awful, and he was stretched off to the concern of Rafa Benitez and the Liverpool faithful.
Fortunately, what looked to be a long absence, may only last until Christmas, as Skrtel is due back then after learning he does not need surgery.
Grade: B
Player Grades:
Pepe Reina- C+
Reina had no chance on the Ireland blast, but his positioning for the Garrido free kick was a little off. If he position his wall for a shot to the far post, then why did he not cover the near post? He also got off to a poor jump on the ball, as the shot most has completely fooled him. He didn't have much to do the rest of the way, as Man City failed to really test him. He didn't have a particularly brilliant game distributing as well.
Alvaro Arbeloa- C+
Arbeloa had a big time screw up on the first goal. True, Ireland was roving and came from out of the box to bury the ball in the net, but Arbeloa had no reason to double up on Robinho in front when it was clear that Skrtel had him. His cross on the Torres goal was, intentional or not, a quality one. His workups and crossing weren't all that impressive, neither was his defense. He does seem to be gaining a little more confidence though, which hopefully will turn up in his future performances.
Jamie Carragher- A-
Hard to fault Carragher for either of the Man City goals, and the rest of the time, he held down the backline pretty well, as neither Jo, nor Robinho gave the Reds any fits.
Fabio Aurelio- B-
The Brazilian had a little bit of trouble on Sunday with Shaun Wright-Phillips. He was broken down a couple of times on the wing, and wandered out of position as well, which caused Riera to have to get back and take out Wright-Phillips. Fabio did do well in getting the ball into to Riera on a lot of occasions, but he did not have a lot of chances to get forward.
Albert Riera- B
Riera looked good early on, sending in a shot that was turned away by Hart, and setting up Kuyt for a shot that the Dutchman should have done better with. Much of the attack ran through Riera on the left in the first half, and although his final ball left a lot to be desired, he showed great skill in manipulating the play, moving forward or holding up, to get numbers in his favor. He will only get better as the season goes, and become a bigger part of the Reds attack. He was subbed off for Benayoun late in the game.
Javier Mascherano- B
Benitez returned Mascherano to the starting XI in favor of Robbie Keane, in a surprise move. Mascher had a decent game, and was effective shutting down in midfield as usual, but he looked less comfortable in his role, as he deferred to Alonso and Gerrard much of the time. He was subbed in the 71st minute for Keane. Benitez will have a tough time deciding between Mascher and Xabi, as it will ultimately come down to that, unless the form is changed.
Xabi Alonso- B+
Alonso kept the possession in midfield going, working as a fulcrum in solid fashion once again. He has yet to hit on long range effort this season, and if he does, they could start to poor in. He does seem to be a magnet for harsh tackles, as he was on the painful end of another red card. Zabaleta's tackle left the Spaniard writhing in pain. It's the 3rd time this year he has been the victim of a red card offense.
Steven Gerrard- B
It was a tale of two halves for the Skipper. In the first half, Stevie G hung back and distributed the ball on many occassions. He didn't do much venturing forward, a strange choice with no Keane up front and Alonso and Mascher back in midfield with him. In the second half, Stevie was a threat each time he went up with the attack. His great ball sent Arbeloa down the side to set up Torres for the first goal, and his wonderful corner to the near post was met by Torres for the second goal. Gerrard is most effective when he is bearing down on the defense with pace, and his subdued role in the first half was not where the Reds need him.
Dirk Kuyt- B
I could honestly write the same thing for Kuyt each week. He was solid, had some bad touches, worked hard, won some balls, miscued a couple of shots. But in the end, he put in the game winner. His first goal in the PL since last November!
Fernando Torres- A-
For the second straight week, Torres netted two goals in the second half to lead his team to victory. His goals were striker's goals, the first one all about him using his body position to sheild and put in with his right leg, and the second, just a magnificent header. He can score in every way a striker should. He should of had a hat trick late on, when he sent the ball into orbit at the back post with an open goal, but his ability to get to an open lane led to a deflected shot that Kuyt won the game with. Torres has had 4 goals in the last three games, and after having one taken back last week, missing an open one this week, and being snake bitten in a win at mid week, he should probably have eight or nine.
Subs:
Andrea Dossena- C+
Dossena came on in the 71st minute and got foward well. The problem is that his crossing left a lot to be desired. It's something I hope he is just struggling with at the moment, and not a reflection of his ability.
Robbie Keane- B
Keane did a good job getting back to the ball and working into the City defense. He also opened up space for Gerrard and Torres in the center of the attack zone. His introduction into the game opened things up and was a real positive for the team.
Yossi Benayoun- B
Yossi, despite only playing the final 10 minutes, did a good job of getting into the City backline. His crafty moves and great feed to Torres set up the game winning tally by Kuyt.
Man of the Match: Once again, Fernando Torres
Martin Skrtel
23 year-old Martin Skrtel, is a Slovak defender who came over from Zenit St. Petersburg during last January's transfer deadline. His bold tackling, solid marking, good defensive heading, and attacking runs up the middle, have earned him the starting center back position alongside Jamie Carragher. He beat out longtime Red, Sami Hyypia, and former starter Daniel Agger, who spent almost all of last season laid out with injury. Besides the fact that Skrtel's menacing sneer and shaved head make him a scary looking dude, along with Carra, he has formed the backbone of what has been the Premier League's top defense.Sunday's matchup with Man City left Skrtel to deal with the attacking prowess of Brazilian forwards Robinho and Jo, not to mention the likes of Ireland, Wright-Phillips, and another Brazilian, Blumer Elano. Skrtel spent much of the time marking another player who spent time in Russia, Jo.
Skrtel came out, as he usually does, hyped up and ready to attack. He seems to get out of position and make a lot of dangerous tackles early on in games. Then he will settle down and form a rock solid backline with Carra. City seemed to try and lure him out early on, a strategy that they hoped would open up Jo or Robinho up the middle. The first goal, coming in the 19th minute, has to be partially blamed on Skrtel, although, Arbeloa should take the brunt of the scorn. The Slovak stuck with Robinho in front who received a pass from the Wright-Phillips. The ball squirted out past Arbeloa, who had unneccessarily come to help out with Robinho, and into the waiting run of Ireland, who blasted an unsaveable effort past Reina.
Now you could blame Skrtel for not communicating with Arbeloa that he had Robinho, but he was staying with his man in the center, so it really was Arbeloa's responsibility to pick up the trailer. Having said that, from that point on, Skrtel was a lot more disciplined in his play. The Garrido free kick was a great effort that was given due to clumsy backtracking by Riera. After the second goal, Man City was reduced to mostly defending, and long balling, a poor strategy, especially after the 71st minute when Jo left the game, and Robinho was left alone up front.
Skrtel had a couple of positive runs up the center of the pitch during the game. He had a early header that he got on to from a corner, and squared up for a shot from outside the box that was easily taken by Joe Hart at the center of goal. Despite these forays into the offensive end, he never got too adventurous in coming out on defenders for big tackles. With only a small spurt of pressure from Man City in the second half, attacks in which the Liverpool defense dealt with cooly each time, Skrtel had little to do but to control the possession efficiently during workups, and win the balls in the air that came flying into his end. He did this effectively as the Reds charged back.
Then, with the scored level at two, Skrtel scrambled back for a long ball, and tussled with Ched Evans. Perhaps distracted by Evans' silly first name, Skrtel caught his right leg awkwardly on the turf, and damaged his posterior cruciate ligament. The injury looked pretty awful, and he was stretched off to the concern of Rafa Benitez and the Liverpool faithful.
Fortunately, what looked to be a long absence, may only last until Christmas, as Skrtel is due back then after learning he does not need surgery.
Grade: B
Player Grades:
Pepe Reina- C+
Reina had no chance on the Ireland blast, but his positioning for the Garrido free kick was a little off. If he position his wall for a shot to the far post, then why did he not cover the near post? He also got off to a poor jump on the ball, as the shot most has completely fooled him. He didn't have much to do the rest of the way, as Man City failed to really test him. He didn't have a particularly brilliant game distributing as well.
Alvaro Arbeloa- C+
Arbeloa had a big time screw up on the first goal. True, Ireland was roving and came from out of the box to bury the ball in the net, but Arbeloa had no reason to double up on Robinho in front when it was clear that Skrtel had him. His cross on the Torres goal was, intentional or not, a quality one. His workups and crossing weren't all that impressive, neither was his defense. He does seem to be gaining a little more confidence though, which hopefully will turn up in his future performances.
Jamie Carragher- A-
Hard to fault Carragher for either of the Man City goals, and the rest of the time, he held down the backline pretty well, as neither Jo, nor Robinho gave the Reds any fits.
Fabio Aurelio- B-
The Brazilian had a little bit of trouble on Sunday with Shaun Wright-Phillips. He was broken down a couple of times on the wing, and wandered out of position as well, which caused Riera to have to get back and take out Wright-Phillips. Fabio did do well in getting the ball into to Riera on a lot of occasions, but he did not have a lot of chances to get forward.
Albert Riera- B
Riera looked good early on, sending in a shot that was turned away by Hart, and setting up Kuyt for a shot that the Dutchman should have done better with. Much of the attack ran through Riera on the left in the first half, and although his final ball left a lot to be desired, he showed great skill in manipulating the play, moving forward or holding up, to get numbers in his favor. He will only get better as the season goes, and become a bigger part of the Reds attack. He was subbed off for Benayoun late in the game.
Javier Mascherano- B
Benitez returned Mascherano to the starting XI in favor of Robbie Keane, in a surprise move. Mascher had a decent game, and was effective shutting down in midfield as usual, but he looked less comfortable in his role, as he deferred to Alonso and Gerrard much of the time. He was subbed in the 71st minute for Keane. Benitez will have a tough time deciding between Mascher and Xabi, as it will ultimately come down to that, unless the form is changed.
Xabi Alonso- B+
Alonso kept the possession in midfield going, working as a fulcrum in solid fashion once again. He has yet to hit on long range effort this season, and if he does, they could start to poor in. He does seem to be a magnet for harsh tackles, as he was on the painful end of another red card. Zabaleta's tackle left the Spaniard writhing in pain. It's the 3rd time this year he has been the victim of a red card offense.
Steven Gerrard- B
It was a tale of two halves for the Skipper. In the first half, Stevie G hung back and distributed the ball on many occassions. He didn't do much venturing forward, a strange choice with no Keane up front and Alonso and Mascher back in midfield with him. In the second half, Stevie was a threat each time he went up with the attack. His great ball sent Arbeloa down the side to set up Torres for the first goal, and his wonderful corner to the near post was met by Torres for the second goal. Gerrard is most effective when he is bearing down on the defense with pace, and his subdued role in the first half was not where the Reds need him.
Dirk Kuyt- B
I could honestly write the same thing for Kuyt each week. He was solid, had some bad touches, worked hard, won some balls, miscued a couple of shots. But in the end, he put in the game winner. His first goal in the PL since last November!
Fernando Torres- A-
For the second straight week, Torres netted two goals in the second half to lead his team to victory. His goals were striker's goals, the first one all about him using his body position to sheild and put in with his right leg, and the second, just a magnificent header. He can score in every way a striker should. He should of had a hat trick late on, when he sent the ball into orbit at the back post with an open goal, but his ability to get to an open lane led to a deflected shot that Kuyt won the game with. Torres has had 4 goals in the last three games, and after having one taken back last week, missing an open one this week, and being snake bitten in a win at mid week, he should probably have eight or nine.
Subs:
Andrea Dossena- C+
Dossena came on in the 71st minute and got foward well. The problem is that his crossing left a lot to be desired. It's something I hope he is just struggling with at the moment, and not a reflection of his ability.
Robbie Keane- B
Keane did a good job getting back to the ball and working into the City defense. He also opened up space for Gerrard and Torres in the center of the attack zone. His introduction into the game opened things up and was a real positive for the team.
Yossi Benayoun- B
Yossi, despite only playing the final 10 minutes, did a good job of getting into the City backline. His crafty moves and great feed to Torres set up the game winning tally by Kuyt.
Man of the Match: Once again, Fernando Torres
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