Pepe Reina 5.5
Clean sheet much to the work of his defense, so basically the average outing for the Spaniard. Marseilles was off-target most the day.
Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
A zonal marking beast throughout who probably kept possession for the longest durations, but in reality had a poor passing day.
Jamie Carragher 6
Not much more you can ask from Carra, he irritated the l'OM attack to no end and really wasn't called upon to go kamikaze.
Sami Hyypiä 6
Like his fellow centre back, the Finn dug the trenches and absorbed Marseilles attack whenever it progressed to his spot.
John Arne Riise 6.5
Had the Norwegian not gotten the 'assist' on Gerrard's penalty call and played full out on defense, his grade would have been much worse. He is so wasteful on attack right now, it's appalling.
Yossi Benayoun 6.5
Yossi made up for a poor attacking display with a tremendous defensive effort and was a huge reason their attack rarely made it passed our midfield.
Steven Gerrard 7
The captain's performance sort of epitomized our effort as a side. He contained, marked, and tackled with remarkable efficiency, but on attack he took a lot of risks, most which didn't pay off. Instead of calculated intrusions into enemy territory, waiting to open up the defense, we were like a lightning cloud with an endless amount of bolts, striking at every opportunity. The problem with that approach is if you don't play defense intelligently and communicate well with your teammates, the opposition is going to murder you on the counter. Luckily our midfield was impenetrable.
Javier Mascherano 6.5
Ditto for the Argentine who tied for the high in tackles with Gerrard on 6. Hope his injury isn't too serious.
Harry Kewell 7.5 Man of the Match
King Harry set up two goals with astounding passes and though a lot of his brilliant attempts didn't make their destination, his effort was commendable. Hopefully he's back for good.
Dirk Kuyt 6.5
Effort, effort, effort, and a nice goal to boot. Truly showed his value as a marking forward and hopefully getting on the score sheet will only boost his confidence.
Fernando Torres 7
Another match, another goal, and what skill. Could still improve though, especially with his passing, but he drove the Marseilles defenders mad.
Fabio Aurelio 6
Got the assist on Babel's goal and I cut him some slack for minor defensive mistakes because it was his first match back in a month.
Ryan Babel 7
Our super sub strikes again. I can't wait until he adapts more to this level of play and learns to utilize his strengths best. What he needs to do is just study Torres since they both benefit best from their pace and strength.
Lucas N/A
I really wish Benitez would have taken Gerrard out for Lucas with about 20 minutes to go considering the Man U match is Sunday, but that's Rafa for ya.
Overall, as I tried to convey in my match review, it was an interesting yet odd match. I can't recall a match where we used the counter so effectively after absorbing the Marseilles attack. Efficient doesn't begin to describe it. Anyhow, not sure if that game plan will work Sunday. Cheers.
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