1-1. We played brillantly in 1st half. The fact that we have 11 shots in the half tells you we were dominating. Cisse was very lively, and Gerrard was the heart of every move, as in the Tuesday game at GAK. And it's really nice to see Carragher's header assisted Cisse for that goal. Kewell was very lively on the left too. His move of pasting 2 defenders lead to the corner that resulted in our goal. Defender at times were shaky when Defoe use his pace to attack, but so far so good. Half time 1-0.
In secord half the situation changed. Spurs began to attack more, and we were forced to be playing a bit of defender. And Rafa thought the players were getting tired, as Spurs were playing long ball and this means we have to go backward to recover possession. So he substituted Cisse with Sinama-Pongolle, which to me is a surprise move.
Unfortunately the subsitution did not work and soon Spurs equalized. It started with a long Edman pass, flicked by Kanoute, and Defoe get the ball. Unfortunately Carragher, who was marking Defoe, could not clear the ball and let Defoe turned him and scored.
After that we did have lots of chances to win the game, notably Carragher's 10 yard header which was just saved by Robinson. Should Carragher scored it would be a dream game. Full time 1-1
Some plus from the game: We seemed to be keeping the ball well, with Carragher playing well in Center Back, and willing to come forward, assisted the goal and almost scored. The wings and full back coordinates well, Gerrard was in every move especially in 1H. Cisse and Baros played better than last game, and Cisse in particular is very dangerous. Also, we saw Houllier doing commentary for the French TV. It's really nice to see him again, and he seemed to be cared about the team, which is not something unexpected. And it's really nice to see a banner saying "Merci Gerrard 1988-2004". We Liverpool fans are really the best. We do care for those who cares us. Not like some ex-player who just get transferred and thank the new team, without a word to thank the team who brought him fortune.
Minus from the game: Sadly Carragher is not fast enough. Should he be fast enough he should have stopped Defoe from scoring. And the problem will probabl be worse should we play Arsenal. And Rafa, thinking Cisse was tired, took him off, which to me was a move to early. Sinama-Pongolle unfortunately did not play too well, and hence as soon as Spurs equalized it's very difficult for us to win the game. And this game highlighted how much we lack in terms of team depth. The bench players are: Kirkland, Henchoz, Biscan, Sinama-Pongolle, Warnock. Though it's nice to see Warnock being recognized, but we should at least have a more attacking mind player on the bench (maybe Mellor?) Hopefully in the next game Alonso, Nunez (and Luis Garcia) will come and we will have more options. Also we need to work more on corners. Finnan in particular did not take the corners too well.
In summary we should have win the game, but winning at White Hart Lane is always difficult to us. After all, this is only the first game of the season and away draw should not be too bad a result.
Player Rating:
Dudek 7 Can't be blamed for the goal, but not much else to do.
Josemi 7.5 A solid performance even though not too spectacular. Showed his free throws were as good as Risse. We need to explore this area of attack.
Carragher 6.5 Though he had one assist and almost scored it was also his mistake that made us not taking 3 points. Otherwise he could at least get 8.
Hyypia 7.5 Solid performance. He's playing quite well so far.
Riise 7 Played quite well and linked well with Kewell.
Finnan 7 Even though his corner lead to the goal, I must say his corners were not taken too good. Need to work on this area or else he will lose his place when Alonso etc arrives.
Gerrard 7.5 Played very well in 1H but maybe a bit tired so 2H was not as good. Should have win a penalty but the referee played it wrong.
Hamann 7.5 Solid performance as usual. I think he knows his place is in danger when Alonso comes.
Kewell 7 A very lively game. He even past 2 defenders and shot, but the ball hit a defender and we get a corner, which we scored from it. 2H was a bit tired, but almost scored as the ball just past the post. If he scored we will win the game...
Cisse 9 Scored a wonderful goal on his league debut. Should have scored 1 more before. I am not sure if he was tired in 2H, but that's what Rafa thought...
Baros 7.5 Played a good game even though he did not score. If he pay more attention he should score from the Robinson fumble from a shot by Cisse.
Sinama-Pongolle 5.5 He substituted Cisse and sadly, did not contribute any good thing to the game. Received an unnecessary yellow card. I think he should be more controlled on his temper.
Biscan/Warnock both played ~10 minutes and did not make too much impact to the game. But I think Biscan still get a role in the team, and the fact that Rafa like Warnock a lot is an encouraging sign to the Academy players.
Rafa: 6 He should learn not to change the winning team.
Spurs: 7 A definitely better Spurs despite the injury problems. I think they should have no problem finishing top ten, and with a bit luck should be able to challange for Europe.
Man of the Match: Cisse
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