Reina 5
Well he couldn't do much about the superb header goal that got past him, but what was up with that goal kick? Ugh. For the most part though there was very little else to complain about.
Arbeloa 4
Second subpar performance in a row, maybe he needs a match off? Clumsily threw away the ball a couple of times early on and was supposedly marking Lopez when the latter scored against us. Other than that, he did a decent job defensively, but was inexistent on attack. When he's the fastest of the back four, he really needs to pay more attention to where everyone is, our players and the opposition.
Carragher 6
Not a great performance by any means, but gets extra points for roughing up a Porto player early in the match and then acting as if he didn't do anything. Anti-diving, priceless.
Hyppiä 6.5
Another solid performance from the Finn. He was a defensive stalwart, earned the penalty for Gerrard, and was unlucky not to score one himself with a cheeky little deflection. Daniel Agger? Who's he?
Steve Finnan 5
What started out as a shaky performance from Finney ended up being okay. At times, he appeared shocked to find himself unmarked so deep in Porto territory with the ball.
Ryan Babel 6
Not a bad showing, just needs to shoot the ball more often... just not too much? He did have one opportunity where he found himself near the top of the box and really no one around nor in front of him, but instead of thumpin' it, he tried a pass. It was a bit baffling.
Mascherano 7 Man of the Match
Yes, I have a biased for defensive midfielders, but it can't be denied that Mascherano played well and exerted his influence. He was the be-all, end-all when it came to shutting down Porto. Consider this, we only held possession roughly 53% of the match, yet controlled nearly 60% of the pitch (territorial advantage). That's ridiculous and all because any time the opposition tried to push forward, our Argentine destroyer would intervene.
Gerrard 6
Two assists and a Kaká special (also known as a penalty). Other than the corners, his passing was a little off and on occasion, not in sync with his teammates. Still, despite not having the best of matches, he was still influential. That's seven goals in eight games by the way. Here's to hoping he sets a personal high this year.
Benayoun 6.5
Yossi was probably our best all-round player in the first half, but he still seemed timid to shoot like most our side. He tendencies to roam the field also caused some clutter. He's not a true winger, so it's hard to expect him to be disciplined and occupy the flanks most the match.
Voronin 5
Didn't contribute much to our side and felt he was well out-of-position on occasion. I've definitely seen him play better.
Torres 5.5
If anyone thinks this is a special performance from Torres than who have you been watching prior to the last two matches? Both goals were great, but he could have easily had another if not more. His first touch, for the most part, was off and his passing was flat. Still, he scored a brace... unbelievable.
Peter Crouch, Harry Kewell 7
Both Crouch and Kewell brought a ton of energy and composure to our side. Kewell made mince meat of the Porto defense and Crouch was steady on the ball, didn't turn it over, and made intelligent passes.
No grade for Kuyt as he barely got on the pitch.
Overall our individual efforts were okay, but as a team, we vastly need to improve our chemistry. Working on anticipating one another's movements and passes would be a good place to start. Set-piece goals are always good though. Cheers.
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