ARSENAL 1-0 LIVERPOOL MATCH REPORT

ARSENAL 1-0 LIVERPOOL

Arsenal v Liverpool
by distromatch

match highlights




THE TEAM-

basically i was happy with the team selection last night, RAFA is very restricted with his options regards to his long term injury list and then with KYRIAGOS suspended meant having to change the defence which has been foundation of this great run of recent form.in defence i would have done the same, CARRAGHER at right back, bringing SKIRTEL into the centre.
as in my preview post my midfield would have been a little different AURELIO on the left to protect INSUA, but to be fair i felt MAXI and INSUA played very well together down the left and i can't argue with the selection. the rest of the team i feel i really can't argue too much about other than upfront. i think it was too big a game for N'GOG who i feel has lost a wee bit of confidence in recent games and a bit light weight for this game, i think i would have plumped for KUYT, although BABEL with his explosive speed could have started but think his work ethic comes into question, truthfully there are not many options at the moment up front.

  liverpool's penalty shout at the end of the match



THE MATCH-


i felt LIVERPOOL did enter the match to frustrate ARSENAL and not give them the space to play the type of passing game that they play so well, and it worked so well with LIVERPOOL not giving them many chances to score one of the best in the first half was BENDTNER who when in on goal at the edge of the box hit his shot high and wayward.
i also felt that LIVERPOOL took the crowd out of the game with the way they frustrated ARSENAL. LUCAS had a half chance running into the right hand edge of the box which he hit just over. but in general the first half had very few chances.
the second half however became a bit more open, with one or two chances coming at either end with i felt ARSENAL shading the play.
then ARSENAL had a big shout for a penalty BENDTNER burst into the right hand edge of the box and AGGER commited himself to a challenge sticking his right leg out, BENDTNER saw this challenge coming flailed his arms as he hit the deck, the referee saw this as a dive and booked him with, to be fair no complaint from BENDTNER.
a big blow came for LIVERPOOL with the loss of CARRAGHER to injury DEGEN replacing him. shortly after ARSENAL'S goal came, they worked a good opening down the right and when the cross came over there was DIABY with a free header to bullet it past the helpless REINA.
after the goal i felt ARSENAL started to sit deep and gave up posession to LIVERPOOL. LIVERPOOL brought LUCAS off for the more attacking BABEL, and it was BABEL who came closest in the dying minutes cutting inside from the right unleashed 25 yard rocket which brilliantly touched onto the bar by a full stretched ALMUNIA . then in the last minute of stoppage time LIVERPOOL got a free kick about 30 yards out, GERRARD took it striking a jumping FABREGAS in the wall as he seemingly tried to lift his arms to block it hitting him on the arm in the process as the ball looked net bound, the LIVERPOOL players claimed handball but MR. WEBB played on the ball was cleared and he then blew for full time.
the LIVERPOOL players then surrounded WEBB leaving the pitch as they showed their frustration.

                            gerrard argues with webb at the end of the match


MAN OF THE MATCH- MASCHERANO worked his socks off frustrating ARSENAL'S attacking ambitions with his great tackling and reading of the situation.


                                            POST MATCH VERDICT

i felt the game plan was spot on trying to frustrate ARSENAL rather than trying to openly attack them whereas they could pick you off on the break.
really felt workrate was great from everybody , the first time i saw the ARSENAL shout for a penalty i honestly thought it was, but when i watched a replay i though WEBB got it spot on.
to me game changing moment was CARRA going off, ropey for a few minutes at the back after he left the field hence conceding the goal which i think CARRA would have read the situation and came across to the centre of the box to defend wheras DEGEN got a bit lost.
i also thought PENALTY for the FABREGAS HANDBALL but wasn,t to be.
overall, i felt a draw would have been fair but when has football ever been that.

results elsewhere on the night were not too bad so let's go to MAN CITY get a result and put this behind us.

cheers for reading and look out for more posts
YNWA

LIVERPOOL 1-0 EVERTON REPORT

                                                MATCH REPORT

what a derby blood and thunder, the way a derby should be played, tackles flying, injuries, controversy, you name it. certainly not a lot of pretty football on offer but thats derby football for you.
very big game for both teams EVERTON on a great run and LIVERPOOL on a great recent run, best of the season.
team selection for LIVERPOOL, i was a bit surprised with the change in defence SKIRTEL dropped for AGGER . in midfield MAXI playing on the left for RIERA other than that i would have picked the same team.
the game was physicall from the off with some really hefty challenges going in, felt the referee tried to let the game flow, but had to start showing cards as it started to get a bit too much. PIENAAR'S stamp on MASCHERANO should have been a red card but only a yellow was shown, then not long after as FELLAINI surged forward overunning the ball KYRIAGOS came sliding in 2 footedly catching FELLAINI although the more i look at it KYRIAGOS went in with 2 feet but FELLAINI went over the ball and basically stamped on KYRIAGOS so i think KYRIAGOS was very unlucky to be shown a straight red card for the challenge. but to go down to 10 men so early in the game was a massive blow to LIVERPOOL having to reorganise, moving MASCHERANO to right back and bringing CARRA into the centre of defence. but to be honest i thought they started to play better a man down. the teams work rate was superb, one things for sure where there's a lot of criticism for lack of quality in the team, there is no lack of endeavour, the battling and chasing for every ball made me proud to be a LIVERPOOL SUPPORTER.
the goal came in the 55th minute when LIVERPOOL got a corner on the left, GERRARD zipped in  a brilliant ball right on to KUYT'S head who was standing inside the 6 yard box getting bumped and pulled by EVERTON defenders , and he directed the ball into the net. with LIVERPOOL taking the lead it gave them something to hang onto and how they fought for it.
EVERTON had more of the ball the remainder of the game but without creating too many chances. LIVERPOOL defended valiantly for the rest of the game and i felt really deserved the win.
i felt there was 11 er 10 heroes today but special praise goes to CARRA who martialled the defence superbly, AGGER brilliant defending all day especially after missing so much of the season, GERRARD gave us that bit of quality but when he had to play deeper after sending off thought he made some amazing tackles.
MAN OF THE MATCH-KUYT worked his socks off as usual but clinical with goal his 50th so deserved.
OVERALL-
right battle of a derby and dealt a body blow early on, but team spirit and work rate is inspiring and being rewarded by puting together a good run of results.
next up ARSENAL away.
let's hope we can continue this run of form.

                                         the crucial goal YES !
                 

LIVERPOOL V EVERTON PREVIEW

                         

                                                          PREVIEW

really big game for both teams this weekend, LIVERPOOL on a run of 6 unbeaten and starting to look solid especially at the back. EVERTON on the other hand on a tremendous unbeaten run, which stretches all the way back to november, where ironically enough it was LIVERPOOL that inflicted that last defeat, which i'm sure will add spice to this fixture.
i think if LIVERPOOL can win this it will give a massive boost especially with ARSENAL to go to on wednesday night.
THE TEAM
i don't think rafa will change the lineup to much mainly due to the fact of players unavailable.
i think his lineup will be-
GOALKEEPER-REINA
RIGHT BACK- CARRAGHER
LEFT BACK- INSUA
CENTRE BACK- KYRIAGOS
CENTRE BACK- SKIRTEL
LEFT MIDFIELD- RIERA
RIGHT MIDFIELD- KUYT
CENTRE MIDFIELD- LUCAS
CENTRE MIDFIELD- MASCHERANO
CENTRE MIDFIELD(ATTACKING ROLE)- GERRARD
CENTRE- N'GOG
slightly different from last week but i think LUCAS will come in for AQUALANI due to the physical nature of the derby game and with AQUALANI still trying to get match fit and looking at times a bit light weight.I think N'GOG will start again after having a rather quiet and ineffective game last week.
KUYT out on the right will give workrate with the option of moving him in to centre later in the game.
KEY PLAYERS-
LIVERPOOL- GERRARD- think he is starting to look more like himself in recent weeks and LIVERPOOL will be looking to their captain to inspire them.
EVERTON- CAHILL-very dangerous midfielder who scores a lot of goals coming from deep and very dangerous in the air.
PREDICTION-  LIVERPOOL 2-1 EVERTON (hopefully)
will post a match report in the next couple of days.

WALK ON AND STAY RED











                                 

LIVERPOOL 2-0 BOLTON WANDERERS

                                                               LIVERPOOL 2-0 BOLTON WANDERERS

just a review of the match in my own words. i was happy enough with the team selection especially with the inlusion of AQUALANI who i think played really well , unfortunately he was subbed with still about 20 minutes or so to go, although i think it was tactical substitution bringing on LUCAS to shore things up in the midfield. . a wee bit sorry for DEGEN not getting a game again, who i think has played well in recent games he's played in. good to see N'GOG playing .solid unchanged defence which was again pleasing to see.
i felt first half performance wasn't great not too much creativity although got a goal at a good time not long before half time, great cross from INSUA to the back post with AQUALANI making a great header across goal for KUYT to bundle into the net. 1st half defence didn't give bolton much although BOLTON did have a couple of shouts for penalties in the 1st half CARRAGHER bumped COHEN off the ball as he raced through on goal but the ref waved play on, then later in the half AQUALANI challenged LEE in the box but LEE was booked for diving, a great run from LEE was cleared off the line with a great clearance by KYRIAGOS .
 the second half LIVERPOOL controlled most of the play and created a lot more N'GOG  missing from close range hitting the post when it seemed easier to score. but there was many more chances being created which was very encouraging especially after the lack of creation in the WOLVES game the other night. the second goal came right out of the blue and with more than a hint of luck involved. INSUA hit a shot from outside the box that was going nowhere when DAVIS stuck out a leg and diverted it past the helpless JAASKELAINEN but i think overall LIVERPOOL deserved the 2-0 advantage.
overall i was pleased with the performance GERRARD looking fitter, the defense looking solid once again with 3 clean sheets in a row for the 1st time this season.and more chances being created.
with tough games in the next couple of weeks we needed some confidence going into them .
bring on EVERTON.

PREVIEW LIVERPOOL V BOLTON

.

massive game tomorrow, well every game is from now on in . after a very poor performance on tuesday with no enterprise, liverpool need to show a lot more creativity against a bolton team that will be very resiliant, very difficult to break down and dangerous going forward. so i reckon it will be a similar obstacle to wolves to overcome except with a bit more danger going forward.

the home crowd will be a massive help to a team trying to find a run of form, but the shackles have to come off especially at home, understandably rafa has been extremely cautious in his selections in recent games considering how often we have been leaking goals this season. but i think we have a bit of stability in defence at last and not conceding much. but 2 holding midfielders is not needed especially at home. 

personally though i don't think rafa will be that ambitious and i reckon the team will be-

GOALKEEPER- REINA

RIGHT BACK-CARRAGHER

LEFT BACK-INSUA

CENTRE BACK-SKIRTEL

CENTRE BACK-KYRIAGOS

LEFT MIDFIELD-RIERA

CENTRE MIDFIELD-LUCAS

CENTRE MIDFIELD-MASCHERANO

RIGHT MIDFIELD-MAXI

CENTRE MIDFIELD(ATTACKING ROLE)-GERRARD

CENTRE-KUYT

SUBS-ANYBODYS GUESS 

i would have liked AQUALANI to start in place of LUCAS but its never going to happen, in fact AQUALANI is beginning to look like a real waste of money, not because he is rubbish but because RAFA never plays him. also I would rather have DEGEN playing instead of MAXI who i think will need time to settle in.

anyway onto tomorrow and i will predict -LIVERPOOL 2 BOLTON 0

look forward to your comments

RAFA

so much speculation over rafa, especially with the rumours coming from juventus. personally l;ike many fans i have been baffled by many of rafa's team selections, overly cautious leading to us last season drawing too many games hence costing us the league, which in fairness, in recent years is the closest we have came to winning the league. his disrespect for domestic cup competitions has angered myself and many fans with his team selections, but he is not alone with these ideas, look at wenger, ferguson and many other managers in these cup competions, again for us the fans it does frustrate, we want to win everything.
anyway, i just feel with all my criticism i would like rafa to stay, i think this season he has been extremely unlucky with injuries, and players not playing to their potential, also for a long time now there has been a lot of turbulence off the park especially with these americans.
but i also feel that if we lose rafa it will take along time for a new manager to build his own team and gel and get results, in short it will set us way back, and there is no certainty that the new manager will be better so it is a big risk, and better the devil you know.
IN RAFA WE KNOW
STAY RED
WALK ON
look forward to your comments

WOLVES 0-0 LIVERPOOL

solely my view of the game not a match report just a view. i thought liverpool started well with riera flashing a header just wide, but then i felt the game got very scrappy with wolves closing liverpool down very quickly not allowing any space. all in all it was a game with very few chances, which was disappointing for a liverpool point of view playing against a team with the worst scoring record in the league.
i know we were away from home, but against a team struggling at the other end of the table i felt we could have been a bit more adventurous, but again the cautious approach is rafa's achilles in my opinion.
the team selection was more or less what i expected apart from gerrard and maxi playing, i would have left gerrard on the bench and played aqualani who had his best game yet against spurs, giving gerrard a bit more time to get over this latest injury, also i would have started degen rather than maxi just because i think it will take time for maxi to adjust to the english game and degen for me has played well in recent games with some very strong forward running with the ball.
again not much creativity, hence not many chances with gerrard being man marked, but positively the defence is looking stronger, not giving many goals away, so that is a plus, with once again skirtel and kyriagos playing well together with carragher looking good on the right, midfield, mascherano and lucas worked really hard but never created much, riera never got enough of the ball for me, maxi seemed well off the pace which can only be expected, gerrard didn't look 100% and wasn't given much space, and kuyt worked his socks off for the team once again.
so overall not a great result but there are also positives there which you always have to look for.
hopefully we can get 3 points at home to bolton on saturday.
look out for my preview in the next couple of days.
WALK ON

STAY RED

torres injuries

increasingly concerned about the fitness of fernando torres. seems to be picking up so many injuries since joining liverpool, apparently was hardly ever injured in spain.
i know 1 or 2 injuries have been on international duty but he is still getting injured on duty with liverpool.
there is so many questions you feel like asking, is the demands of the english game not suiting his style of play, hence the injuries, is he playing while not at full fitness causing re-injury, or do you question the method of training.
the bottom line is it is a growing concern that torres is missing so much game time because he is such a big player for us, and we don't want him turning into another michael owen who was very injury prone but priceless when playing.
keen to hear your comments

rafa

rafa has been under tremendous pressure this year and i think a lot of it is harsh, bad luck with injuries, lack of money, unrest with co-owners, beach balls, the list goes on.
but i do think his cautious style of management doesn't help which i think he has been like from the start of the season.
whereas the last third of last season we almost won the league because he dropped the defensive approach and started attacking more, in my view from the real madrid game till the end, whereas had he done so earlier in the season we would not have drawn so many games.
back to this season he has resorted back to this defensive attitude. in the last few games there has been a lot of positives, with the tremendous team spirit and everybody pulling together it has been a joy to watch the last couple of games just for the sheer determination proving everybody is pulling for rafa especially us the fans . also with stevie g and torres to come back the future looks bright.
walk on rafa