Liverpool vs Reading: the goals

Benayoun's strike


Torres' 1st


Torres 2nd (and best, in my opinion)


Torres 3rd

Liverpool 4, Reading 2

Two things happened early in the second half of this match that allowed Liverpool to play their game. First, we got an early goal on a well-played ball from Leto to Torres who beat Duberry and slotted it into side of the net past Federici. Then I guess the ref got tired of watching Reading turn the beautiful game into a pub brawl and started handing out the yellow cards. It's so odd that players I singled out in the first half, Duberry and Bikey, got cards, because, I mean, they played with such class. Once those two things occurred, Reading could no longer bully our side less they wanted to be reduced to ten.

With them having to allow us more space by not being able to grab a hold of our shirts, all of sudden we became a threat to score nearly every time we brought the ball down. Unfortunately that didn't do anything for our set-piece defense which was frantically horrid. I attest that to two things though, having Itandje make his first team debut and having Arbeloa play for the first time at centre back. The lack of communication on defense was apparent from the start and didn't seem to improve much as the match wore on.

It was because of our set-piece defense that Reading again equalized when a bobbled corner kick fell into John Halls' lap and the defender slammed it through a maze of legs into the back of the net. If either Pepe, Hyypia, or even Agger were in there I doubt it would have ever gotten to Halls as it was complete chaos in the box prior to and during the play. We didn't really seem that bothered by the equalizer, but then Rafa made a great decision anyhow to further tilt the match back in our favor.

Around the 69th minute, Riise came on for Aurelio and immediately made his presence felt. He took the ball down the left, faked out a Reading defender by passing it to himself through the defender's legs, and then dribbled closer to the box until he found a charging Torres to lay it off to. The Spaniard slammed the ball across the box and into the upper right corner of the goal. After that, Reading looked a side lacking confidence.

Once Gerrard came on in the 77th minute, the match was fully in Liverpool's grasp and with four minutes left a Gerrard to Torres pass made it all but official. The England International found the streaking Spanish International with no one left to beat but the keeper, which he did almost effortlessly.

Though not a perfect effort, it was a win on the road with a rotated side. Certainly our inability to utilize the whole field, Crouch reverting back to his ineffective ways, and the Itandje/defense communication issues are things that we need to work on. Also I was disappointed not to see Lucas more involved on the attack, which was one of the reasons why it seemed that Benayoun had free range of the field.

Despite Torres getting the hat-trick, I'm going to have to say Yossi was the Man of the Match. He made some huge plays including our first goal which was crucial because it forced the Reading defense to respect him as much as any other threat. He also had a header clearance in the box late in the match that if he didn't get to, might have allowed Reading to equalize once again. Most importantly he stepped up and took the initiative to run the offense when it looked as if no one else was going to. That kind of leadership is just priceless.

Next up, Wigan on Saturday at the JJB. Hopefully Kuyt will bring his ace form. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Reading 1: halftime thoughts

You know, I understand the home side getting some calls, but this is simply shocking. First off, how Duberry and Bikey don't have cards is a mystery to me. Both have been making reckless tackles, pulling at shirts, and pushing players down left and right. How can the ref expect to maintain control of a match if he's allowing those two mongoloids to play American football while almost every time a Liverpool player runs into a Reading player, they get a foul called on them? If a Reading player gets his leg broken by a Liverpool player in the second half, don't blame the player, blame the ref.

Furthermore, the goal by Convey should not have been allowed. Lita was clearly offside through the obstruction rule as he was in Itandje's way. It is partly Itandje's fault though, since he should have came forward and made a bigger deal out of the obstruction. As for the keeper's performance so far, it's been awfully shaky and I can understand why he hasn't won the confidence of his teammates yet.

By the way, pardon me for wanting a ref to actually know the rules. If a Liverpool player would have obstructed the Reading keeper like that, not only would have the goal been disallowed, but that player would have probably gotten a card. I hope we come out in the second half and be twice as physical as them, I'm so tired of the thug approach teams with lesser talent take toward us, especially since they know for the most part the officials will let it go.

As for our play, we really need to start using the whole field. We barely used the right side and I blame Benayoun for that, though I can understand why he keeps going inside. It seems to me that neither Lucas nor Sissoko want to come up and be the attacking midfielder. I'd definitely would rather see Lucas take the initiative than Sissoko, since Momo is supposed to be a destroying type player. Of course, they may be a tad apprehensive to come forward since for some godforsaken reason Crouch thinks he's a midfielder now.

I don't want to go on an anti-Crouch rant, but for God's sake you overgrown gazelle, play forward and create space. Gees, you would think that he's never played forward before. He needs to be more aware of where he and his teammates are, especially Torres and the central midfielders. If the ball keeps going through Crouch, we might as well just forfeit because if he doesn't pass it back, he loses possession.

By the way, the goal by Benayoun was a thing of beauty. Arguably our best goal this season. I'll post a video of it later hopefully. Anyhow, the second half is about to start. I doubt we'll be able to win this one in regulation though. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: What will Rafa do?

Ah, these are the fun ones. Not necessarily to watch, though I hope this one is, but definitely fun to pick who Rafa will play. Before I get to that though, let me first offer an idea to any LFC website that has the funding to do so. How about having a 'pick Rafa's side' game? Seriously, I look forward to trying to pick out who Benitez will play more than anything else on my blog. Just a suggestion, anyhow...

For this match, I think the boss is going to try and mix the vets with the kids so to at least ensure that we don't get killed. I'm not so sure Pepe needs a game off since he is hardly called to do much in matches these days anyhow, but I think Itandje needs a start here and there outside of the Reserves. Pepe should grace the bench though.

At left-back, I hope to see Emiliano Insua and I think it's a good possibility, but I'll get to why in a minute. In the middle, it looks quite likely that we'll see Carra paired with Hobbs. Some may think that Carra will get the night off, but there's two reasons I think otherwise. First, he seems to be in great form as he showed with the Birmingham tie, and second, he is Hobbs mentor and what better way to show a student how it's done than by example. Take notes kid, because from what I've seen from you previously, you're gonna need all the advice you can get. On the right, I see Finnan getting the call as he only played the better part of a quarter-hour on Saturday.

At left-mid, I think Aurelio will get the call, which is why I think Insua will play behind him. Fabio provides a bit of defensive insurance on that side, just in case. I could see Riise starting there as well if Aurelio didn't need some pitch time. The only other thing I think Rafa might do is start Aurelio at left back and Leto at left wing, but I look for Leto to start from the bench and if injuries allow, come in the final thirty minutes for one of the left sided players. if he comes in for Insua, then Aurelio will be pushed back.

In central midfield, Sissoko has to get the call and I see Lucas paired with him. I'm hoping the attack runs through Lucas as much as possible because I really want to see what the Brazilian is capable of. I expect Sissoko to have a monster game as he has had a lot of time off. On the right, Yossi has to start. Pennant needs a day off as does Babel.

Up front is the real dilemma. I can definitely see Torres starting up front, but knowing Rafa, I don't think he will because it would look as if the boss is giving into his critics. After his performance on Saturday and playing the full match, I don't see Kuyt up there either. So I guess that leaves Voronin and Crouch. I can't see Crouch not starting here, he definitely needs more pitch time. Babel may get the call, but I don't think Rafa would pair him with Crouch.

So here's my final guess:
Itandje
Insua
Carra
Hobbs
Finnan
Aurelio
Lucas
Sissoko
Benayoun
Voronin
Crouch

Subs:
Reina
Gerrard
Torres
Hyypia
Leto

I'm not sure how many bench players Carling Cups allow, but I'll assume they go by FA rules.

With that line-up and Reading going with Convey and Lita, this could potentially be a fun match to watch. I don't really expect our side to win and honestly, don't care too much either. It's only the Carling Cup after all, but I'm hoping the kids realize that the better they play, the more likely we win, and if we win, that's more playing time for them. Be back later for the line-up, halftime report, and post-match report. Cheers.