Tuesday 9 September 2014

The new season is underway!

With the new season now 3 matches in, what have we learnt about our new look Liverpool FC so far?

Liverpool v Southampton - Anfield 17.8.14 (2-1)

The season opener is always a big deal, especially if it is at Anfield and this game did not disappoint. 

In all honesty, from going the game Southampton were a little unlucky not to come away with a point after their performance in the second half.

Liverpool pretty much dominated the first half, having a lot of the possession and creating some good chances. It was a fantastic defence slicing pass from Jordan Henderson to put Raheem Sterling through on goal that eventually broke the deadlock and sent Anfield into an uproar.

When the second half kicked off it was safe to say fans may have been mistaken for thinking the Liverpool of old had returned. Their slow and sloppy start cost them, when Southampton equalised not long after the restart. 

Liverpool's defence then has a shaky few minutes and had to weather a storm from Southampton who seemed determined to throw everything at Liverpool and show that them losing key players in the summer along with their manager hadn't affected them.

But in the end Liverpool prevailed and thanks to Daniel Sturridge they managed to win 2-1 and get their first 3 points on the board.

It was all too clear to see though, that Liverpool's defence wasn't yet completely free of the errors that cost them so dearly last season.

Manchester City v Liverpool - Ethiad 25.8.14 (3-1)

This is most probably a match Liverpool fans will want to forget. 

After a bright first 40 minutes - Liverpool just crumbled and let City in. Admittedly it wasn't just the defence to blame but they certainly didn't help matters. New boy Alberto Moreno was at fault but was rightly given a little leeway considering it was his first game in English football and he wasn't used to the fast pace of the Premier League. 

In the end 3 goals probably flattered Manchester City because they weren't at their best even when we had most certainly pressed the self destruct button. Our defence just cracked under the pressure - Glen Johnson coming out as a major offender like he has done in the past 2 seasons with us.

A late consolation own goal wasn't enough to lift us, although it would of been better if it was Rickie Lambert's debut goal for Liverpool as it was first thought to be.

3 injuries to Moreno, Skrtel and Johnson all wrapped up a pretty terrible night for the reds - they were going to have to do something special at Tottenham to make up for this.

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool - White Hart Lane 31.8.14 (0-3)

This was exactly the response Liverpool fans were looking for from their team. 

With Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel ruled out of this match, Alberto Moreno was passed fit and others were given their chance to show what they can do.

After a shaky start, Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho sorted themselves out and looked like they were really working very well together - with Lovren even showing his leadership qualities and organising like he had been a Liverpool player for several years.

Liverpool were on the front foot from the start and got into their passing game straight away although it was quite clear that most people were more bothered about waiting for Mario Balotteli to be a bad influence on the team - which was why it was so good that he had a fantastic game, worked hard and was actually a team player. He silenced everyone and could of scored a hattrick if he was more match fit.

The first goal from Raheem Sterling was a little bit of good finishing mixed with a great bit of team work from Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.

Our second goal, a penalty from Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard really set the reds up and seemed to add more fire to their performance as the kept going forward and playing their brilliant passing game. 

That's not to say Tottenham didn't have their chances, but Simon Mignolet and the rest of the team managed to nullify any threat that their attacks had. 

Moreno's wonderful run and perfect goal topped off a fantastic game for the reds and added another 3 points to their total.

It's just a shame an international break came so soon and has stopped the Premier Leagues momentum along with injuring Daniel Sturridge too.





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