I was going to wait and watch this match again before writing my review, but there's a possibility that wouldn't happen until tomorrow so I'll go ahead and try my best.
First, what a difference Xabi makes. His passing is so world class it's ridiculous. The Spaniard's vision is immense and his passing ability shined through. Unfortunately he limped off the field with another metatarsal injury, whether or not it was the same foot is unclear, but it's pretty devastating to our side. Hopefully it's not as bad as believed.
Second, kudos to Rafa for going with a 4-3-3 formation. Along with Xabi's vision and passing, this was a huge factor in making this match more exciting. To take such a risk in a big match like this takes balls and I'm glad Rafa finally found his.
Finally, some of the actions of both sides were deplorable and frankly alarming. Carragher's take-down of Fabregas by the Spaniards shirt was without a doubt a penalty, but so was Sagna's handball in the Arsenal box. If Sagna wasn't looking to use his hand/arm to manipulate the ball, then why did he go up with it raised? Flopping on both sides was pathetic, but Arsenal were far worse. Neither Voronin nor Mascherano's cards were justifiable.
Am I happy with the result? I guess, considering we are far from top form and apparently got worse with Xabi, Torres, and possible Mascherano being injured. If Agger would have been available, I'm pretty confident we would have won.
My man of the match is Javier Mascherano, who once again proved his class by shutting down Fabregas. If Masche hadn't have been injured around ten minutes to go, we might have been able to steal all three points.
I can't really complain about anyone's performance, even Hyypia seemed to play within his bounds and he probably saved us a goal, but it's clear Rafa is going to have to start expanding the squad as soon as possible so he can rotate more and we can rest players when needed. I'm hoping we get to see the likes of Stephen Darby to rest Finnan on Wednesday when we face Cardiff in the League Cup. Cheers.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Liverpool 1, Arsenal 1
Labels:
Arsenal,
Javier Mascherano,
LFC,
Liverpool,
liverpool fc,
Rafa Benitez,
Xabi Alonso
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Brendan Rodgers is not a bad manager, but he's young and still has to learn from his mistakes. Unfortunately, Liverpool may not be the ...
-
Before all you fan boys get out your stakes out and start your trash can fires, this post isn't going to be a complete slagging of Balot...
-
It's getting old. We are not good enough to challenge for even a Champions league spot and that's becoming more apparent by the mat...
-
I would have much preferred Barça or Man U to the Blues. Sure we've beaten them twice in the league this season, but that was without t...
-
Whether we bring in another left back or not ( hopefully not Moreno though ), Jose Enrique has the right to win his place back. If he can r...
-
Apparently Nemanja Vidić is the current odds on favorite to win PFA Player of the Year this season, and well, that sort...
-
In the past 20 league meetings at City, Liverpool is 5-9-6, having failed to win at the Etihad in six years, losing 3 of the last 4. Prior ...
-
1. Dejan Lovren is the new Boss. And a much needed one. He took command of the defence and dared Borussia to attempt attack. He is wha...
-
Jordan Henderson has come a long way since his Sunderland days. When Dalglish bought him in June of 2011 for a staggering £16m, I was more...
-
Only players with 120 minutes played are considered. - Joey Barton leads all EPL players with 10 chances created. Eden Hazard is secon...
No comments:
Post a Comment