Liverpool 2, Fulham 0: Torres saves the day

Using the same line-up against Fulham as they did against Besitkas, though unexpected from Rafa, eventually proved ineffective. In fact, our change in plan of attack might as well have been thrown out the door as the game-winning goal by Torres was set-up by a long ball. I guess it's okay to change-up in strategy from time to time, especially when one approach appears not to be working, but hopefully we'll try to go with the more patient approach first and then resort to other tactics if needs be.

The second half started promising as we tried to mount a calm and calculating attack. Mascherano took significant strides to erase the memories of his subpar first half display. We created opportunites, but failed to finish. One thing I noticed was the absence of Arbeloa who was so prominent in the first. He appeared to sit back more in the second though it didn't do much good, the flanks were used even less in the first, which I think was part of the problem of our inability to score.

Our attack and focus seemed to be concentrated in the central part of the field. Failure to use the whole field allowed Fulham to concentrate their defensive efforts as well, putting more bodies over the middle and basically 'getting in the way'. At one point a cross by Aurelio alluded the whole side and rolled to the right where not a single player was lurking past the far side post. Benayoun appeared to have free roam of the field, which ended up just making him null and void. In the Besitkas match, his constant pushing and domination of the right side of the field were crucial in creating opportunities for others.

Overall we won because of the amazing talent of our world class striker, Fernando Torres. The kid is simply amazing and his goal was exactly what we needed and exactly what Niemi, who was having an amazing match, did not expect. That's what you get for £26m and it was well worth it. It's a convenience that we can't afford to take for granted.

In some ways this match was a step back. We started off trying to get a quick, cheap goal via the long ball and though that pretty much eliminates our opponent's chances to score through counter, it's essentially the recipe for a nil-nil draw. We also failed to use the flanks, abandoning the notion almost entirely in the second half. Finally, our off-the-ball movement was inexistent or just lacked inspiration and intelligence. In the end, one could argue we were 'just lucky' and if it weren't for a Crouch dive, 'very lucky'.