Liverpool 2, Swansea 1: Seven things learnt

Finally a decent win and a comeback none the less, let's just hope this leads to greater things.  The following points no way reflect a sane person.

1. Coutinho doesn't last.
The Brazilian's quality on attack diminished significantly after 20 minutes in the first half and after about ten in the second.  It may be conditioning or just the pressure of him having to be the creative force, but he went from brilliant to utter rubbish after those times.  Not sure if there is a fix to this, I guess having Sterling on the pitch will allow him some 'down time' off the ball, but he may just be best as a super-sub.

2. Our defence is getting better...
...and it's really about keeping possession, which all great sides do best.  It took Swansea 28 minutes to mount an attack into Liverpool's third.  After that, it became more frequent, but we kept possession well and didn't make many silly turnovers until then.  Also, their goal was more luck then anything.  It was a great finish, but a deflection and a missed-kick were what found the ball to Enmes.

3. Rickie Lambert is a meaningless late match sub at best.
The 32-year-old just doesn't have the physical ability nor instinct to be on the same pitch as some of his teammates and it showed at a near embarassing level in this match.  Coutinho, in particular, was clearly frustrated that Lambert failed to see what the Brazilian was trying to do and stood like a statue during a bomb raid nearly every time the midfielder was trying to feed him.  Even if and/or when we get Sturridge back, we need another striker come January.

4. Markovich was a major catalyst on attack.
I know most fans have no love for the 20-year-old Serbian, but he did things in the match, particularly off the ball, that did wonders on attack.  Mainly, he created space, specifically for Coutinho.  He was disciplined and stayed to the left when it was clear he was not comfortable there.  He also made runs to open space, something Lambert and Lallana could learn from him.  By the way, to all those who worship the disco dancing Lallana, he was absolute rubbish.  At one point, with no one on the left and Coutinho bringing up the ball into Swansea's half, the over-rated midfielder went to his right where everyone else was.  What an idiot.

5. We could do without Hendo's showboating.
Seriously, half the time it was pointless, a quarter of the time it cost possession, and the other quarter of the time a simple, straight forward pass would do.  We get it, you can pass the ball with all parts of your feet, congratulations, now do something worthwhile.

6. Borini can play second striker.
I was actually impressed with the Italian's ability to keep possession and make intelligent passes deep in Swansea's territory, surrrounded by defenders.  He basically made his name as a poacher at Swansea, Roma, and Sunderland, but it seems like he has more to his game than first thought.  He also benefited from a statuesque Lambert and a disciplined, space-hopping Markovic giving him room to work.

7. The goal is inside Anfield, on the pitch.
This something our players need to learn as well.  Seems like they didn't figure that out until four minutes to go in the match.  How many times did our players sky the ball into the stands beforehand?

Liverpool 2, Middlesbrough 2: Weed the garden, Rodgers

Honestly, I don't know where to begin with this one.  I fought sleep and death from boredom throughout the match that could have been a 'how not to play football' instruction video and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.  I felt like I was having a flashback from a childhood zoo trip where I had to search aimlessly at an exhibit for 15 minutes hopelessly hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare giant elephant shrew.

Liverpool played beyond poor and it was frankly embarassing.  We needed penalties to defeat a side that had no right to be on the same pitch as we were and once again, the same issues we have been dealing with recently, surfaced again.  Unfortunately, we can now add another as well, 'movement off the ball'.  The endless vertical back-and-forth passing and everyone standing around, waiting their turn to touch the magic football was dreadful.   There was only one decent example of movement off the ball, when Enrique broke forward to start the series of events leading to the second goal.

I'll just come out and say it, Rickie Lambert was a bad buy.  He has either lost a step since last season or the whole damn world has sped up a notch.  It's not just his pace that is lacking, but his quickness as well.  Everytime he gets the ball it's like he's standing in a tar puddle, not to mention the Elephant man's bones could predict where his next pass attempt is going.  It's time to wave the white flag, give Lambert a bunk in the Reserves' house, and let him play out his contract there.  He can title his autobiography, 'I got to play 136 minutes for Liverpool and my beard is better for it.'

Another player I have a big problem with is Lallana.  Man of the match?! Are you kidding me?  Was that halo of Anglo-Saxon Britishness glowing so bright above his head that no one noticed all he did was dance around the pitch like Cristiano Travolta and then throw the ball away?  If 'Out of Bounds' was a player on our side, he completed three amazing, perfect passes to him.  All the rest, save the 'no look' back heel were painfully obvious and lead to nothing.

A look at the statistics further shows Lallana's showmanship.  He turned over the ball 17 times, was 3 of 16 on cross attempts, and had no chances created.  Outstanding!  Markovic was apparently 'terrible' despite the fact his stats are very similar to the 'Chosen One' (14 turnovers, 0 for 1 crosses, also no chances created).  The only thing that baffled me about Markovic was his inability to shoot the ball, he was like a deer in highlights every time he got a chance to thump it.  Sterling shows this at times as well, maybe Rodgers has put the fear of God in them regarding bad shots and the 19-year-old and the 20-year-old are traumatized.  Oh yeah, Sterling gets the excuse of being 19, but Markovic is too old for that, right?

Speaking of youngsters, it was quite clear that Rodgers gave Suso a 'shoot away' speech when he took the pitch and the Spaniard took it to heart, taking 4 shots in 22 minutes.  Despite spending less time on the pitch than any other LFC player, he had the most shots and tied Sterling with the team lead with two shots-on-goal.  It also seemed to really open up the match.  Wonder what would have happened if Lazar and Sterling had done so in the first half.

We're going to improve, right?  I mean this match was a step forward? I don't think so.  We played Middlesbrough at Anfield for Christ's sake and still had trouble marking players, still had trouble communicating on defence, still couldn't create space, and were still more predictable than Augustus Gloop near a chocolate river.  These are issues that have gotten worse in each of the four matches.  Rodgers is the gardener and needs to weed it out or else suffer the consequences of sub-par production.

Liverpool may throttle Boro

From the looks of it, a win by Liverpool is likely though a convincing one is in doubt.  A trusted source has told me that there is a lot of money on Middlesbrough to win, which usually means a lot of people will lose money.  Whether by wind or wonder, the house usually wins.  The North Yorkshire club is also dominating final score and 'will qualify' wagering, meaning if it goes into extra time or pens.

Another reason LFC may win convincingly is the shear amount of firepower in midfield that Rodgers has decided to unleash upon Boro at Anfield today.  Sterling and Markovic have the weaponry to tear the Championship sides to threads and leave a few morsels of poaching for Lambert.  Oh, Lalllana is playing as well, but seeing his first two mediocre performances against more legitimate sides, a 'fantastic' performance for him would be pretentious and lead one to believe that maybe he belongs in second-tier football.

I'm sort of disappointed, but also surprised at Rodgers' selections.  Suso deserves a chance and if he could show a commanding performance against the 5th place Teesside club, it may be a stepping stone for time against more formidable opponents.  I think he'll get to see the pitch at some point today though, hopefully more than just a cameo.

The surprise is that Mignolet is starting, but maybe that's our gaffer's way of punishing the Belgian for his recent sub-par performances.  Also no Sinclair? I thought for sure he'd he get a spot on the bench, but apparently Welsh defender Jordan Williams gets the call.  Could be a tactical move who knows? Well, match starts soon, come on you Reds.