2-1 and of course that sentence of best away performance in 40 years is a joke by Rafa in response to the harsh response for the Southampton defeat, but it is close as the best in 40 weeks.
We were in control of the whole game with about 20 shots vs Charlton's 4, but to everybody's surprise Charlton took the lead. Before that Stevie G had hit the bar once.
The goal was created by a nice Murphy corner that nobody cleared and let Bartlett scored a free header. It seems that all our ex-players (eg Redknapp) take corner well, and Stevie G should learn from Murphy on how to take a good corner.
We keep on attacking and Riise also hit the bar in 2H, but it was fit the moment to have Morientes scored his first of many goals for us. He picked up the ball by a deflection through Baros and the Charlton defender and calmly scored. After that Murphy almost scored for Charlton but Traore had a great tackle and saved us. From this point onward there can only be one winner, and Garcia nicely passed the ball to Riise who scored his 6 of the season. Well done!
The performance was a lot better than the Southampton and every player responded very well. If we can play like this week in and week out there's no doubt we will finish 4th.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 Was not responsible for the goal, had a great save, but a parry almost lead to a Murphy goal but Traore saved him.
Finnan: 7 The hidden hero at the back. We looks much better with him playing.
Carragher: 7 Carra as usual. This is his 241th Premiership game and he has now edged McManaman to have played the most Premiership games for us.
Hyypia: 7 Sami is back. And he played very well.
Traore: 7 He may have lost Bartlett in that goal but later on he repaid our faith by stopping Murphy superbly.
Garcia: 7 Very lively and had a nice assist. This is what we expect from him.
Gerrard: 7 Bossing the midfield well and was unlucky not to score.
Biscan: 7 Low key but very effective.
Riise: 7.5 Scored a superb goal. He was a continuous threat to Charlton.
Baros: 7 Do all the runs and created a lot of chances and spaces for Nando.
Morientes: 7.5 A great goal to open his account and he worked very hard. Fully deserved.
Substitutions:
Smicer/Warnock/Potter: Not sufficient time to impress, but the referee make sure at least everybody touched the ball by adding 1 more minute to the required 3 minutes... Nevertheless welcome back Vlad!
Rafa: 7.5 His tactic was spot on and every players responsed well. Well done man.
Murphy: 7 Created the goal and almost scored one himself. But after that he faded as the team faded.
Charlton: 6 They won't take the lead if not for Murphy. I think they are capable to challenge 6th place.
Man of the Match: Morientes. Scored the first of his many goals for us. His work rate is extremely high.
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