Well, that was disappointing though I can't say the result was unexpected. We had our chances, as did they, but they were better in taking advantage and that's the difference between having a bottomless money bag and having to be fiscally sound. Yes, we can buy great players, but not for asking price like City. They bought Jovetic for £22m on talent alone. Prior to today, the 24-year-old had 6 goals in 17 career matches for City, while £12m Daniel Sturridge has scored 36 in 50. They should have never let the latter go.
The positive points were... not sure. Honestly, I think we played well enough to lose 1-3. It makes me question if we have the talent to compete for the league. Players made mistakes and other than Glen Johnson, nobody was habitual in their error proneness, but we've been used to our right back's faults for a while now. Though I don't think Manquillo starting would have made a huge difference, he would have at least gave us a chance. Is Johnson playing amazing in training or something? I just don't understand why Rodgers started/played him today.
Moreno had a decent debut despite being blamed for the opening goal. It was more Jovetic's superb little push-on then our new left back's inability to clear the ball which lead to the goal. Not much could have been done there, Glen Johnson would have probably just went ahead and put it in the net for City. The 22-year-old Spaniard debutant led the side with 4 tackles, had two take-ons, and completed 90.5% of his passes (38 of 42).
Statistically speaking, nobody truly stood out. Mignolet lead the side with a 95% pass completion rate (19/20) including 6/7 long balls, but our Belgium keeper probably could have done a better job stopping shots. Sturridge filled up the stat sheet with two shots on target, two chances created, three take-ons, a tackle and a clearance, but also posted a team-worst 70% passing rate. If I had to pick a player of the match for us, it would be Gerrard. The ageless one had 2 key passes, 3 tackles, 2 clearances, an interception, an led all outfield starters with a 93% successful pass rate.
Though this match does matter in some degree, we must move on and realize that it doesn't make much difference in the title race. Not showing up against a lower table side would concern me much more. We didn't play all that bad, but we didn't take advantage of the opportunities afforded us, which is worrisome. Suarez would have made no difference by the way, as he rarely showed up in matches against top competition.
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