Perfection

Away at Manchester City will be a difficult game, especially when we have some defensive problem as Hyypia is injured. City may have been showing signs of leaking recently, but we still need to be perfect in order to win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hobbs
Riise
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Torres
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 071226 at Derby County: We should have win easier

2-1 and we should have win it easier. We controlled the game but failed to score the 2nd goal to kill off the game. Then a defense lapse lead to an equalizer, fortunately when in danger Stevie G comes. He ran 60 yards, passed the ball, Torres shot and saved, and Stevie G scored on the rebound. Bravo.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do.
Finnan: 6.5 Back from injury and did well.
Carragher: 7 Did well.
Hyypia: 6 Limped off and we hope he will come back very soon.
Aurelio: 6.5 Did well.
Babel: 6.5 Should have scored and killed off the game.
Gerrard: 7.5 Never accept defeat.
Alonso: 7 Back from injury with a good game.
Riise: 6 Did well in midfield but poorly as cover central defender.
Voronin: 6 Not very effective.
Torres: 7 Scored an incredible goal.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 6 An OK game.
Kuyt: 6 Come up to provide us more options up front.
Lucas: 6 Come up to kill off some time.

Rafa: 6.5 Should tune the team to perfection.

Derby County: 7 Full of fighting spirit, but it is still unlikely they will survive.

Man of the match: Gerrard. Saved the team again.

Keeping winning

Away at Derby is an easy game on paper but we know what happened at Reading, especially Derby is showing signs of improvements recently. We need to play well in order to get a result. We definitely need to get this 3 points to chase the top 3.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hobbs
Aurelio
Benayoun
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Voronin
Kuyt
Babel

Result 2:0

Match Report 071222 vs Portsmouth: A good start to Christmas

4-1 and this is a very good result. We controlled the game from start to end and except for the 10 minutes between 2-1 and 3-1 we were never in any danger of throwing away the game. In fairness we didn't play extremely well but we did win, and we need to keep winning and pressure the top 3.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Never really troubled.
Arbeloa: 7 A solid display.
Carragher: 7.5 Lead the defense well and involved in the last goal.
Hyypia: 7 Solid display.
Riise: 7 One of his better game this season.
Benayoun: 7.5 Nice taken goal.
Gerrard: 6.5 One of his off day but still managed to get an assist.
Mascherano: 9 Top class.
Kewell: 7 Did well in 1H but quickly fade out.
Kuyt: 7 Another hard working performance.
Torres: 9 Scored two great goals and was involved in the own goal.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7 His quickness forced the 3rd goal.
Aurelio/Lucas: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: Would be happy about the team performance especially Mascherano.

Men of the match: Mascherano/Torres. Two great performances.

Start winning

3 losses in the last 4 game is not good, and we need to start winning in this holiday season. We haven't beat Portsmouth for 4 games now and we need to start this habit. It will be tough, but we can do it.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 071219 at Chelsea: Not a bad result

0-2 and it was not a bad result actually. We held them for 60 minutes and then they scored with another deflection, then Crouch was sent off and game was essentially over. But we saw some flashes of good signs, like Itandje and Lucas played quite well. Anyway we will now play 3 less games and can concentrate on other higher priorities.

Players Rating:
Itandje: 7.5 Made a few great saves.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Solid defense.
Carragher: 7.5 Was unlucky to have deflected the goal.
Hobbs: 6.5 Solid display
Aurelio: 6.5 Did well.
Alonso: 6.5 Good to see Xabi back.
Lucas: 6.5 Offered a great chance but failed to score.
Sissoko: 5 May have seen his last game for us.
Babel: 5.5 Not much offered.
Crouch: 4 Silly tackle.
Voronin: 6 Didn't play well out of position.

Substitutions:
El Zhar: 6.5 A nice performance.
Benayoun: 6 Didn't do much.

Rafa: 6 Probably won't be too unhappy about the result. But perhaps 4-5-1 just doesn't work for us.

Chelsea: 7 Should have won this game easier with such a strong squad.

Men of the Match: Itandje and Carragher. Two rocks in the defense.

Try our best

Away at Chelsea is always difficult, no matter whether it is a league game, CL game or League Cup. Rafa will rest some key players, and so will Chelsea. We need to try our best to get a result.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hobbs
Aurelio
Benayoun
Alonso
Sissoko
Kewell
Voronin
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 071216 vs Manchester United: Big mountain to climb

0-1 and this result left us to climb a big mountain. Same old story, we controlled the game, get chances, failed to score, and let them scored one. What else can we do?

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do and not much can he do.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Good defending.
Carragher: 7 Contained Rooney well.
Hyypia: 7 Another nice performance.
Riise: 6 Always drive into centre where it was too packed. Should try to pass more to Kewell.
Benayoun: 6 Not much offered.
Gerrard: 6 One of the off day for the captain.
Mascherano: 7.5 Winning balls again and again.
Kewell: 6 Didn't do well and didn't have much chance to do so.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard as usual.
Torres: 6.5 Didn't have much space to work on and didn't score from a great chance.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7 Quite impressive.
Crouch/Aurelio: 6.5 Didn't have much time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Still need to address the wastage issue. Also the defending of the corner that lead to the goal was poor.

Manchester United: 7 Of the other Big 4, they poised the most threat to us. Would be genuine title contender.

Men of the Match: Carragher/Mascherano. Did well but still not enough.

Seize the chance

This is a big game and a great chance for us to close the gap. Our confidence is high but yet we still need to play extremely well in order to win it. It is really a surprise that we have yet win or even score a goal against United in the league, but this jinx will end in this game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 071211 at Marseille: Great escape

4-0 and we completed our great escape and stormed into the next stage of Champions League. Rafa's game plan simply works and now the match is essentially wrapped up by the 11th minutes. No matter who will be facing in the next round, we will not be feared. Let's bring in Real Madrid for Torres.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Not a save made.
Arbeloa: 8 Solid defensive works.
Carragher: 8 Played with lots of passion.
Hyypia: 8 Good defensive works.
Riise: 7.5 Good performance.
Benayoun: 7.5 Good display.
Gerrard: 9 Drove the team to glory.
Mascherano: 8.5 Excellent defensive works.
Kewell: 8.5 Almost back to his best.
Torres: 9 Brilliant individual goal.
Kuyt: 8 Scored the goal at the right timing to kill it off.

Substitutions:
Aurelio: 7.5 Nice assist.
Babel: 7.5 Another goal scored.
Lucas: 7 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8 Great game plan to complete the escape.

Marseille: 6 Didn't do much.

Men of the match. Gerrard and Torres. Another twin act.

With hope in your heart

A win will guarantee us into the Final 16 of the Champions League, and a draw will only do should other result gets in our way. This will be a tough game, but the players are ready. And for us fans, we need to support the team and lift the team. With hope in heart.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 071208 at Reading: Robbed

1-3 and first of all, we played poorly. Together with no luck and them played with 12 players, there is no chance to win. Rafa is bold enough to withdrawn all 3 big guns and preserved for the next game, which became more important with 2 goals down.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Should do better with the second goal conceded.
Arbeloa: 6 A flat performance.
Carragher: 6 Conceded a penalty that never was.
Hobbs: 6 Not the nice league start he wanted.
Riise: 6 Getting better, but still need to improve a lot.
Gerrard: 7 Scored one nice goal but at the end proved not enough.
Sissoko: 6 Did well in tackling but still poor in distribution.
Mascherano: 6 Not a good game.
Voronin: 6 Didn't do well in the far line, and had a few tame shots.
Torres: 6.5 Did well providing an assist to Stevie G and denied 2 penalties.
Crouch: 6 Couldn't get himself on the scoresheet and hit the post.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 6 A flat performance.
Babel: 6 Failed to change the game.
Hyypia: 6 Came up to protect Carra from getting another yellow card.

Rafa: 6 Would be unhappy about our performance.

Reading: 7.5 A nice executed game plan and well deserved to win.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Keep on scoring.

Expect roughness

Away at Reading is always a rough game, and we need to play with a strong heart to win. Rafa will have one eye on the next game at Marseille, but still we need to win this game to keep up the momentum.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Hobbs
Hyypia
Riise
Benayoun
Gerrard
Lucas
Kewell
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 071202 vs Bolton Wanderers: Another nice performance

4-0 and it is another convincing win. Stevie G is on form again and scored one and created all three other goals, with Torres also showing his deadly instinct and close understanding with Gerrard. They are like Batman and Robin, and the second goal was a typical through pass in Winning Eleven.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet.
Arbeloa: 7.5 Very solid in defense.
Carragher: 6.5 Crash on Reina and almost lead to an equalised goal.
Hyypia: 8 Scored the opening goal and did well in defense.
Riise: 6.5 Still not back to his best.
Benayoun: 7 A good if not too impressive display.
Gerrard: 9 In very good form.
Lucas: 7.5 A very good display for the youngster.
Kewell: 7 Gradually go back to his best form.
Torres: 8.5 Scored another great goal the sealed the game.
Crouch: 7.5 Tried hard but couldn't get his name on the scoresheet.

Substitutions:
Hobbs: 7 A solid league debut.
Babel: 7.5 Another substitution goal, although he should score one more.
Kuyt: 7 Lively display and lead to the fourth goal.

Rafa: 7.5 Should be happy as the team is getting closer to the top and played close to Rafa's expectation now. And he is getting the fans' support.

Bolton Wanderers: 6 A poor display without really testing us apart from Anelka's miss of the season.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Keep on scoring.

Keep Winning

We are in a good run and we will continue this good run. Bolton has just beaten Manchester United, and we need to stop their run and make sure we get the 3 points. Don't let them win 2 at a row yet.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Gerrard
Mascherno
Sissoko
Kewell
Torres
Crouch

Result 2-0

November Month Review

4 wins and 1 draw and we are now after all the meaningless international games. The team is played well and should we win our game in hand we will be second in the league. We are also still in the Champions League and a win at Marseille will see us through to second stage. Off the field Rafa is having some trouble with the owners but it is nice to see thousands of fans backing Rafa, yet we know the contributions of the owners and not criticizing them. Everybody now just need to go back and work together to the benefit of the team.

Players of the Month (1) Gerrard 8.17 (2) Benayoun 7.50 (3) Mascherano 7.38. Stevie G is now hitting form and do well consistently. Benayoun also did well and scored a hat trick. Mascherano is also as solid as ever. It is also worth mention that Torres is back from injury and also managed to score 3 goals in 200 minutes, leading to 2 team victories.

December Prediction:
12/2 Bolton Wanderers (h) We need to keep winning especially at home.
12/8 Reading (a) We beat them in the league cup, and will do it again in the league.
12/11 Marseille (a) Crucial game. Win it and we are through.
12/16 Manchester United (h) Game of the season. We need to win this game to keep pace. And G&H will be here as well.
12/19 Chelsea (a) Although league cup is a low priority but since this is Chelsea, we still need to do our best.
12/22 Portsmouth (h) Portsmouth is doing well but we have the ability to beat them.
12/26 Derby County (a) Derby is heading trouble and if we beat them on Boxing Day they will probably be relegated.
12/30 Manchester City (a) A surprise package, this will be a very tough game but we need to beat them to round off the year.

Match Report 071128 vs Porto: Still hope

4-1 and we are still in the Champions League. Although we need to beat Marseille at their home, but we now have the believe and the strength to do so. And it was nice to see the fans backing Rafa, yet without criticizing the American owners. Everybody should move on and focus in supporting the team, and act for the benefit of the team.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not really tested.
Finnan: 7 A solid performance.
Carragher: 7.5 Arrange the defense well.
Hyypia: 7 Another vintage performance.
Arbeloa: 7 Did well apart from the goal conceded.
Benayoun: 6.5 Average performance.
Gerrard: 8.5 Scored one, made two.
Mascherano: 7.5 Solid display although he is party blamed for the goal conceded.
Babel: 7 Tried hard but just couldn't score a goal.
Voronin: 6.5 Worked very hard but couldn't create any significant chances.
Torres: 8.5 Scored two great goals. Bravo.

Substitutions:
Crouch: 8 Came up and changed the game.
Kewell: 7.5 Created the winning goal with his vision.
Kuyt: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be happy about the performance. Now we need to win the next game.

Porto: 6.5 Didn't create much chances.

Men of the Match: Gerrard and Torres. Simply awesome!

Win it for Rafa

Rafa is a man who is whole-hearted to win trophies for Liverpool. No doubt about that. In repay to Rafa we need to win this game and keep us within chase of qualification. The fans are ready and so are the players. We have been in similar situation in the past and go through, and we will do this again tonight.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Gerrard
Mascherano
Sissoko
Kewell
Torres
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 071124 at Newcastle United: Great play

3-0 and we have a comfortable win. Although the game is clouded by the boardroom chaos the team is not affected and coasted to victory easily. We simply out-played Newcastle and should have win by a larger margin, but after all, getting three points is most important.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Comfortable game with not much to do.
Finnan: 7 Easy game but failed to go forward to contribute.
Carragher: 7.5 Bossed the back 4 well.
Hyypia: 8 His best game this season, excellent positioning, and also found time to go forward to assist for Kuyt's goal.
Arbeloa: 7 Solid in defense but not much going forward.
Gerrard: 9 Scored one, created the other two. Great performance.
Lucas: 8 Nice passings.
Sissoko: 7.5 Doing the dirty works well.
Kewell: 7 Gradually back to form.
Kuyt: 7.5 Managed to get on scoresheet.
Torres: 7.5 Missed a hat trick.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7.5 Scored another nice goal.
Crouch/Riise: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8 Wasn't affected by the quarrels with owners. Hope he will stay on.

Newcastle United: 5 Just a disgrace. Very poor performance.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Played well for Liverpool, not England!

Back to real business

From Rafa's comment there seems to be some problem behind the scene. But now we are back to real business and we need focus and beat Newcastle to keep challenging the top. The injured players are recovering well, and we can field a strong squad to meet this challenge.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Babel
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Voronin
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 071110 vs Fulham: Fernando saves the day

2-0 and it was the brilliant Torres that scored the goal and saved us the day. We were on top for 80 minutes but just couldn't score a goal, and then a clever Reina passed the ball to Torres, with a beautiful spin, scored the goal and changed the game. This is the kind of player we need to win the title.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Superb vision for the assist.
Arbeloa: 7 Solid display.
Carragher: 7 Lead the defense well.
Hyypia: 7.5 One of his best of this season.
Aurelio: 7 Almost scored from a free kick. Will get that goal soon.
Benayoun: 7 Missed an absolute sitter.
Gerrard: 7.5 Driving the team forward.
Mascherano: 7 A little bit poor from his usual high standard. Too many mis passes.
Riise: 6 Another so-so performance.
Voronin: 7 Had chance to score at least 2.
Crouch: 7 Did well and earned us the penalty for the decisive goal.

Subsititutions:
Babal: 7 Nice performance.
Torres: 8 Come to save us.
Lucas: 7 Another nice performance from the youngster.

Rafa: 7 Nice touch by picking up the same team, and then changed to make the difference.

Fulham: 6 Was trying hard to get 1 point. Would be struggling for survival as usual.

Man of the Match: Torres. It's really joyful to watch him play.

Catch up

After the superb performance in midweek we need to transfer the form to the league. Surprisingly we only won 1 match and drawn 4 at home, and we need to start picking points at home now. Fulham has not win away for a long time and we need to extend their streak as well.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Mascherano
Sissoko
Benayoun
Gerrard
Voronin
Crouch

Result 3:0

Record Breaker

8-0 and we have broken the biggest win record in Champions League history. We controlled the game from the beginning and this time, an early goal set the pace and we just cruised till the end. Benayoun was sensational and shown us why Rafa has trusted him. At the end the whole team did well and the result is about right. If we can play like this day in day out, we will qualify and can win the League title.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made one save in the whole match.
Arbeloa: 7.5 A solid display.
Carragher: 7.5 Lead the defense well
Hyypia: 7.5 A much improved performance.
Aurelio: 7.5 Getting better and better.
Benayoun: 10 3 goals and 2 assists. Sensational.
Gerrard: 8.5 Scored one and created another.
Mascherano: 8 As good as usual.
Riise: 8.5 A quick throw-in that lead to the second goal and an assist from a shot. Was unlucky not to have scored one himself.
Voronin: 8.5 2 assists and was also unlucky not to register himself on the scoresheet.
Crouch: 9 Opened the floodgate and closed it. A sensational performance.

Substitutions:
Babel: 8.5 A brilliant back heal, a fluke goal, and was unlucky not to score a hat tricks.
Kewell: 7 Getting better and better.
Lucas: 7 A solid display.

Rafa: 8 Would be very happy about the performance. Now we need to do it day in, day out.

Besiktas: 5 No defense at all. It's a mystery why they beat us 2 weeks ago.

Man of the Match: Benayoun. Is he Luis Garcia in disguise? But Yossi is younger and more consistent.

Cup Final #1

In order to have any chance to qualify the Group Stage we need to win this game. What kind of attacking formation will Rafa play? Nobody knows. And should we lose this game and concentrate in the league? Maybe.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Aurelio
Voronin
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 071103 at Blackburn Rovers: We need improvement

0-0 and it should be a fair result. We played very badly in 1H and may be 2 down, but we played much better in 2H. Kewell and Crouch had a good game and deserve a starting place. Kuyt had a really bad game, but as Rafa said he is a hard working warrior, and we need to give him chance.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Did well when required.
Finnan: 7 Had a better game.
Carragher: 7 Did 1.5 men's job and almost conceded a penalty.
Hyypia: 6 A mispass earned Carra a yellow card.
Riise: 6 Still disappointing.
Mascherano: 7 Good game as usual.
Sissoko: 6.5 Still too many mispasses.
Benayoun: 6 Not effective.
Gerrard: 7.5 Almost win the game for us.
Babel: 6 Not effective.
Kuyt: 6 Missed a lot of chances. Could have scored 2.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 7 Changed the game when he was bought up.
Crouch: 7 Did well and almost scored.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to find someone to score other than Torres and Stevie G.

Blackburn Rovers: 7 Did well and could have win the game in 1H. Serious top 6 contender.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Getting better and better.

No more injuries

Away at Blackburn is always a tough game for us, and a few years ago, Baros and Carragher were both injured in this matchup. We now have enough injuries to worry, so the least thing we want is more. Nevertheless, we still need to get something from this game, especially as Arsenal is playing Manchester and they will lose points. Time to do some catch ups.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Gerrard
Mascherano
Sissoko
Benayoun
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

October Month Review

2W2D2L for the month of October. On the plus side we still maintain our unbeaten run despite we dropped 4 more points, but on the minus side we lost both Champions League matches and are now on the edge of failing to qualify. Also more worrying is the injury list is piling up, with Torres and Alonso out after a brief return vs Arsenal. Come November there will be some tough games coming, and we need to start winning.

Players of the Month (1) Gerrard 7.09 (2) Mascherano 6.91 (3) Reina 6.70. Stevie G picked up his from finally with 3 goals and 2 assists and also earned us a penalty at Everton. Mascherano just did well consistently and played the Hamann role extremely well. Despite not picking up a cleansheet Reina was the main reason we did not concede too many goals despite Agger is still a week from return to the squad.

November Prediction:
11/3 Blackburn Rovers (a) A tough away game, but we need to get something.
11/6 Besiktas (h) Need to win this to have any chance to qualify.
11/10 Fulham (h) One of the easier game of the month, but we still need to find some way to score.
11/24 Newcastle United (a) Another tough away game but we need to break Owen's dream once more.
11/28 Porto (h) Another must win game if we still want to qualify.

God returned, but we have a Savior

2-1 and once again Stevie G is our saviour. It's really good to see Fowler back to Anfield once again as a player, and it was a pity he didn't score. Nevertheless we are now through to last 8 and the youngsters will have another chance to shine.

Players Rating:
Itandje: 6.5 Another good start.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A good run on the right.
Hobbs: 7 Did well on his first start of the season.
Carragher: 7.5 Leading the defense well.
Aurelio: 6.5 Committed a serious guilt in denying God a goal.
El Zhar: 7 Grabbed his chance well with a nice taken goal.
Gerrard: 8 A goal and an assist and has now scored 3 matches in a row.
Lucas: 7 Did well.
Leto: 6.5 A good game.
Babel: 6.5 A bit disappointed.
Crouch: 6.5 Need to start scoring soon.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7 Come up to provide assist to the winning goal.
Kewell: 6.5 A nice run after injury.
Mascherano: 6.5 Glad to see him back so soon.

Rafa: 6.5 A job well done. He would be happy to see the young lads did well.

Cardiff City: 6.5 A nice game and provided a bit scare to us. To bad Fowler didn't score.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Back to his best.

God returns

Finally it's the day. It's probably the second time I don't want Liverpool to win, the first time being the final match vs Blackburn when they were fighting for the League title. This is just a League Cup game, and we have lots of injuries, so we won't be able to field a strong squad. Chance for God to score a hat trick.

My Team Prediction:

Itandje
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hobbs
Aurelio
Leiva
Sissoko
Leto
Kewell
Babel
Crouch

Result 2-4

Match Report 071028 vs Arsenal: No complaints on the result

1-1 and we should not have too many complaints on the result. Given that they were a better team to us on this occasion and have hit the post twice, and if we don't take the chance and make it 2-0, there is always a danger that they will score.

We also suffered from the triple injuries, and wish they are not so serious, but then we will visit Blackburn next week and it will not be an easy game at all.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Did well although he can do nothing about that fabulous goal.
Finnan: 6.5 Did better than the midweek game.
Carragher: 8 Played with determination.
Hyypia: 7 Good display.
Riise: 6 Poor crossing all the game.
Alonso: 7 Did very well until he was injured.
Mascherano: 7.5 Another nice display.
Kuyt: 6.5 Not too effective on the wing
Gerrard: 8 Scored another beauty.
Voronin: 6.5 Too rush at times.
Torres: 6 Clearly not yet ready for this match.

Substitutions:
Crouch: 7 Had a couple of chances but just can't score.
Benayoun 6.5 Not much impact.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Midfield is not his strength.

Rafa: 7 A good formation. It may not work against Arsenal, but for weaker teams this is certainly the way to go.

Arsenal: 7.5 Serious title contender. I won't be surprise if they win it.

Man of the Match: Carragher/Gerrard. Captains led by examples.

Rebound

After a poor result in midfield we are now back to the League and will play the leader. We have a few injuries and some players are very tired, but still we need to get something from the game or otherwise we will be left behind to far away.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Mascherano
Babel
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 071024 at Besiktas: Tough but not impossible

1-2 and now it will be tough, if not possible to go through the Group Stage. 3 wins should get us through and with a little help from results of the other games, 2 wins and 1 draw may do as well.

We have lots of possessions and chances but somehow can't score until it's too late. Hyypia is unlucky to have scored another own goal, and whole team in general is ineffective. Rafa needs to find way to sort it out before the big game on Sunday.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Can't do much to prevent both goals.
Finnan: 6 Blocked Carra's clearance and lead to the Sami own goal.
Carragher: 6 Ineffective as a group.
Hyypia: 5.5 He does not deserve this.
Riise: 6 Not much contribution.
Pennant: 5.5 Ineffective.
Gerrard: 7 Scored a header but it's too little, too late.
Mascherano: 6 Performed his role quietly.
Babel: 5.5 Hardly seen on the pitch.
Kuyt: 6 Ineffective.
Voronin: 6 Ineffective.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 6
Lucas/Crouch: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 Need to sort out the mess in defense and the lack of goals immediately.

Besiktas: 6.5 They would be happy to win this game.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. If only he can score the goal earlier...

Must-not-lose game

As Rush said this is not a must-win game but it is a must-not-lose game. We have 1 points from 2 games and a win tonight will bring us closers to the top 2 teams, depending on result in the other game. We still have no Torres, and the atmosphere will be hostile, but still we need to somehow win this game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riise
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 071020 at Everton: Great Escape

2-1 and this is really a big boast and a great escape for the team. We still played poorly and were a bit lucky to get 3 points. Rafa made some bold decision by "resting" Gerrard and if we don't win, he will be in big trouble. Anyway this is another 3 points and let's hope it will be a springboard for the team to rebound.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do and can't do anything with such a brilliant own goal.
Finnan: 6.5 Found it difficult to contain Lescott.
Carragher: 6.5 Played with passion.
Hyypia: 6 Would be grateful his own goal is not costing us 3 points.
Riise: 6.5 Defense as a unit simply is not good enough.
Gerrard: 7 Ineffective in 1H, but played better when switched to left side. It was his brilliant pass that lead to the 1st penalty. Unfortunately he played with too much passion and not enough brain and was substituted by Rafa.
Mascherano: 6.5 Effective display.
Sissoko: 5 Way too many mispasses.
Benayoun: 6 A flat display.
Voronin: 7 A lively display and should have his name on the scoresheet.
Kuyt: 7.5 Had the last laugh by scoring two cool penalties.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6 Not much contribution.
Lucas: 7 Cruelly denied a winning goal by Neville's handball.
Pennant: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 His gamble paid off, but it was close.

Everton: 6.5 Played with passion but no brain. Were a bit unlucky to lose the game, but so were we last season.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. Although he felt a bit lucky to have stayed on the pitch, but at the end he had the last laugh.

Keep cool

After the meaningless International games it is now back to normal business, and it is the 177th Merseyside Derby. Both teams have a few injuries but no doubt both teams will be fired up for this event. But as Rafa says we need to keep cool and we will win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riise
Torres
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 071007 vs Tottenham Hotspur: Now what?

2-2 and it was no until the injury time that Torres found the equalizer that saved us some face. We did OK in the 1H and was a bit unlucky not to be 2 goals up, but then two mistakes and we suddenly became 1 goal down. Fortunately we have Torres and he had a superb header that get us 1 point, which to be fair is a fair result.

Now there will be another international break and Rafa need to sort a lot of things out. First of all it seems the departure of Pako is really getting into the players' mind, and secondly we need to sort out defense. Sami is good but we can't expect him to play week in week out at the same high level. We missed Agger. And lastly, we still need to improve the midfield so that when opponents are putting everybody back we need to find some way to explore.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Can't do anything about the two goals, and at the end he seemed to risk a lot to rush out too many times, but fortunately it did no harm to us.
Finnan: 7.5 Never give up and at the end it was his lovely crossing that send us the equalizer.
Carragher: 6 A sloppy performance.
Hyypia: 5.5 Can't blame him too much, but he was really too slow and was responsible for both goals conceded.
Arbeloa: 6 A reasonable performance.
Pennant: 5.5 A poor performance and was always beaten by the Spurs players.
Gerrard: 6.5 Apart from a few nice freekicks, he failed to influence the team.
Mascherano: 7.5 Stepped up when we need him, and was unlucky not to have scored.
Riise: 6 Unable to have a big influence in the game.
Voronin: 7 His vision has lead to the first goal. Should have scored a 2nd and killed off the game. Tireless performance.
Torres: 7 Saved us some face from his nice header.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6 Didn't have much influence as we was expecting.
Kuyt/Benayoun: 6 Not enough time to have a big impact.

Rafa: 6 Have a lot to sort out during this international break. We just don't have the confidence to win the title.

Tottenham Hotspur: 7 Did well and will gradually climb up the table. They should keep Jol.

Men of the Match: Finnan/Mascherano. Raise their bar when we neeed them most.

We need a performance

After a very poor performance we definitely need to win to keep on track. Spurs are even worse then us and they will no doubt also want to get a result. After this game it will be international weekend again and Rafa should field his strongest squad possible.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennent
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riise
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 071003 vs Marseille: Worst performance

0-1 and as Rafa said this is probably one of the worst performance under his rule. The team as a whole is just poor. Too many bad passes and lost possessions everywhere. It was simply a night to forget.

Now we need at least 3 wins from the following 4 games, and it is a real test to the players. Or Rafa had second thoughts and wanna focus on the League?

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Did very well to keep the score at 0-0 but at the end it was an unstoppable goal.
Finnan: 6 A fair performance.
Carragher: 6 Not his best performance, and sometimes were exposed.
Hyypia: 6.5 Was dangerous at corners but failed to score the goal. A bit too slow at defense.
Aurelio: 5.5 Not his best performance.
Benayoun: 6 Ineffective this time.
Gerrard: 6 Still not back to his best.
Sissoko: 4.5 Very poor and lost the ball that lead to the goal.
Leto: 5 To be fair he is too young to start a Champions League game.
Torres: 6 No service provided.
Crouch: 5 On this performance you need to wonder why Rafa should start him.

Substitutions:
Riise: 6 Did OK when came up.
Voronin/Kuyt: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 5 Rafa is under big pressure to explain the formation of this game. It is just simply not working.

Marseille: 6.5 Deserved win for them.

Man of the Match: Reina. The only player that cared.

Return of Cisse and Zenden

Cisse and Zenden will return tonight and no doubt they will want to prove a point. This will not be an easy match, but Rafa will have enough knowhow and manpower to get us the 3 points that we need.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riise
Torres
Crouch

Result 2-0

September Month Report

3W3D and we are still unbeaten and conceded only 3 goals, 2 in League Cup and 1 in CL. We started the month well with a 6-0 crush of Derby, unfortunately after the international break we were a bit off-pace and then we have 3 successive draws, two 0-0 in the league and one 1-1 in CL. Fortunately we started winning again and then beat Reading in the League Cup and edged pass Wigan in the league. We are still unbeaten and 4 points behind Arsenal, which is still a good result.

Players of the Match (1) Torres 7.85 (2) Mascherano 7.57 (3) Reina 7.20. Torres scored 5 goals and whenever he played, he posed the greatest threat to the opponents. Mascherano is simply effective in the midfield, despite his start of season is interrupted by the Copa America and the "friendly" games of Argentina. Reina had 3 clean sheets and saved us many times from losing further points.

October Prediction:
10/3 Marseille (h) Return of Cisse and Zenden, but we should win this game.
10/7 Tottenham Hotspur (h) Spur is still in a turmoil and we need to kill them off in this game.
10/20 Everton (a) Merseyside Derby and Everton will be prepared for this game. We will need extra efforts especially this is a game after the international week.
10/24 Besiktas (a) Win this game and we will be in a good position to qualify.
10/28 Arsenal (h) A very important game and we need to win this.
10/31 Cardiff City (h) Return of God. This is the first time in 12 years (since that last game of the season vs Blackburn) that I don't want Liverpool to win - if Fowler scores a hat trick.

Match Report 070929 at Wigan Athletic: Ugly Win

1-0 and we have a very tight win thanks to Benayoun's supreme goal and some help from the referee. Wigan should feel unjust not to get at least 1 point (and they should get 3), but at the end, we proved we can win in an ugly way like Manchester and Arsenal, which is very important.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Made 1 meaningful save.
Arbeloa: 7 A solid display.
Carragher: 6.5 A bit off pace.
Hyypia: 6.5 Decent display.
Aurelio: 6.5 Keep improving.
Pennant: 7 Provided the decisive pass for the only goal of the game.
Gerrard: 7 Gradually going back to his best.
Mascherano: 7 Effective display.
Riise: 6.5 Solid display.
Torres: 6.5 Tried too hard at times.
Kuyt: 6.5 Hardworking as usual.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7.5 Scored the goal and helped the defense. Superb performance.
Voronin/Sissoko: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be happy about the result but not the performance. But at least it's 3 points in the pocket now.

Wigan: 6.5 Would feel unjust not to get something from the game. But they should stay up at the end of the season.

Man of the Match: Benayoun. Came up and changed the game.

Keep winning

After the midweek sensational performance Rafa needs to think carefully whether Torres should start. No doubt our priority is the league, and we need to keep the pace with Arsenal, so every league game is important.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riise
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 070926 at Reading: Awesome

4-2 and Torres is simply awesome. We seldom see a player single-handly destroyed the opponent that easy, and we witnessed that. Of course Rafa will continue to rotate, but this will only do the team good as this will keep Torres fresh. But the remaining strikers need to step up now.

Players Rating:
Itandje: 6 A bit scary in his debut.
Finnan: 6.5 Not the best performance.
Carragher: 7.5 Saved the team several times from trouble.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Did OK as centre back.
Aurelio: 6.5 Gradually improving after injury.
Leto: 7 A nice first start and did well on the right.
Benayoun: 8 Superb individual goal.
Sissoko: 7 Solid display.
Lucas: 6.5 A nice performance.
Torres: 10 First of many hat tricks in a red shirt.
Crouch: 6.5 Linked up well with Torres.

Substitutions:
Riise: 7 Assist with his first touch.
Gerrard: 7 An intelligent pass to complete Torres' hat trick.
Hobbs: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the performance.

Reading: 6 Didn't play well.

Man of the Match: Torres. Simply Fantastic.

Give the youngsters a chance

Although this is just a League Cup game but we definitely need to start winning. On one hand we have not done so in 3 games, and on the other hand we need to stay in the Cup to give the youngsters some games. Rafa has included some big guns like Carra, Stevie G and Torres in the squad, but he would probably just start Carra and give the youngsters a chance.

My Team Prediction:

Itandje
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hobbs
Aurelio
Benayoun
Leto
Sissoko
Leiva
Voronin
Crouch

Match Report 070922 vs Birmingham City: Disappointing

0-0 and this is a really disappointing result. We should have win this game comfortably but we failed to breakthrough the packed Birmingham defense. The big question is whether Torres should have started this game, and I think he should. I just can't see him to play in the League Cup so he should start in the league as well. Anyway it is still early in the season and we have lots of chances to catch up.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 No real test for Pepe.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A good effort.
Carragher: 7 Played well as usual.
Hyypia: 6.5 Solid display.
Riise: 6.5 Had a few close efforts in 1H but became quiet in 2H.
Pennant: 6.5 Did well but couldn't breakthrough the defense.
Gerrard: 6.5 Quiet display.
Mascherano: 7.5 A good display.
Babel: 6 Very poor.
Voronin: 6 No linkage with Kuyt at all.
Kuyt: 6 Worked hard as usual.

Substitutions:
Torres: 7.5 Did well when come up and almost scored.
Crouch/Finnan: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 It was another draw and we didn't scored in 2 league games. Something needs to be done.

Birmingham City: 7 Did well in defense and at the end earned a well deserved point.

Men of the Match: Mascherano/Torres. Did better than all others in a red jersey.

Start winning again

After 2 draws we definitely need to start winning again, especially against a "weak" team at home. There are some significant injuries in the team, but we have enough manpower to go for another home glory.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Arbeloa
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Sissoko
Riise
Torres
Voronin

Result 3-0

Match Report 070918 at Porto: 1 point gain

1-1 and this is really a 1 point we don't deserved with such a poor performance. We played like Derby when they were beaten by us 0-6, and how we get 1 point especially with 1 men down is really a mystery. Anyway, a draw away from home is not a bad result, but Rafa simply need to improve especially now that Agger is out.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 No chance for the penalty, but other than that he did well to earn us the point.
Finnan: 6.5 An OK performance.
Carragher: 7 Solid display.
Hyypia: 6 His slowness lead to the first goal, but he later made a last man save.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Solid if not impressive.
Pennant: 5 Stupid response. Need to learn from the mistake.
Garrard: 6 A flat performance.
Mascherano: 7 Quiet but effective.
Babel: 6 Failed to make an impact.
Kuyt: 7.5 Scored the only goal and hardworking as usual.
Torres: 6 No service to him.

Substitutions:
Voronin/Aurelio: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Benitez: 6 Need to find ways to fill the gaps from the injuries.

Porto: 7 Good home team display.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. Scored a similar goal to the CL Final one.

Champions League starts here

Rafa wants 12 points from the group stage, and should we win this game, we are probably 30% qualified. There is a few injuries in Riise and Xabi, but Rafa had rotated well and we should have fresh legs to fight for this battle.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Babel
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2-0

Match Report 070915 at Portsomouth: Disappointed, but it's not the end of the world

0-0 and it is probably a fair result to both sides. It's obvious that Rafa's preparation had been disturbed by the international games and the early kickoff, and he had no choice but to rotate, especially Porto is coming up. We didn't tested David James enough, and at the end Reina made an excellent save to the penalty, and so a draw is a fair result.

Away at Portsmouth won't be an easy game, so I am not that down. And they seem to be improving as well.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8 Saved us for the point.
Finnan: 6.5 A good performance.
Carragher: 6.5 Good to see Carra back.
Agger: 6.5 OK in general.
Arbeloa: 6.5 It was harsh for him to concede that penalty.
Pennant: 6.5 Did OK.
Alonso: 6.5 Couldn't inspire the team and did very poorly in freekicks.
Sissoko: 6.5 Also willing to go forward.
Benayoun: 6.5 Was not a natural winger.
Voronin: 7 One of the better player and almost scored in 2 occasions.
Crouch: 6.5 Couldn't find the net.

Substitutions:
Torres: 7 Liverly display when come up.
Gerrard/Babel: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Forced to make changes and at the end it does not work as people expected.

Portsmouth: 7 A very solid team at home. I don't think many teams will beat them at their homeground.

Man of the Match: Reina. Another superb penalty save.

Real test

Away at Portsmouth is always a difficult game, especially after International weekend with an early start. Rafa will look at the conditions of the players before he decide who will start, and no doubt he will also keep an eye at the Porto game 3 days later. Nevertheless, we should have enough players to win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070901 vs Derby County: Magnificent Result

6-0 and we could have score more. It's good that we have 4 players on the scoresheet in an eventful afternoon, and yes, Derby was crap, but beating a crap opponent is one thing and winning 6-0 is another thing. This team is full of confidence and improving, and is a joy to watch.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 A comfortable afternoon.
Finnan: 7.5 Did well both in attacking and defending.
Agger: 7.5 Did well apart from a short moment of lost of concentration towards the end.
Hyypia: 7.5 Another solid display from the captain.
Arbeloa: 8 Did well in defense and attack, and was rewarded a first assist of the season.
Pennant: 8.5 A very lively performance especially when switched to the left. England's loss is our gain.
Alonso: 9.5 An almost perfect performance, starting with a nice goal that opened the floodgate.
Mascherano: 8.5 The destroyer of the match, his assist to the 3-0 goal to Torres is especially enjoyable.
Babel: 8 Opened his account with a beautifully taken goal.
Torres: 9.5 Scored two nice goals.
Kuyt: 8 Worked very hard and was unlucky not to have score one.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7.5 Created the second goal for Xabi.
Voronin: 8 Scored a tap-in from his acute sense in front of the goal.
Sissoko: 7 Solid when coming up.

Rafa: 8 An excellent result and he would be happy.

Derby: 3 Unless there is a miracle, we will not see them again next season.

Men of the Match: Alonso and Torres. Both scored two goals and it is difficult to tell who is better.

Keep the momentum

Derby on paper is an easy game but we still need to perform well to get the three points. It is a huge blow that Pako decided to leave, and all we can hope is he will change his mind or Rafa can find a good replacement. Nevertheless, we should not be distracted.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Alonso
Sissoko
Babel
Torres
Crouch

Result: 5-0

August Month Review

4W1D and we are sitting comfortably at 4th place with a game in hand, and are through to the Champions League Group Stage. Have Styles not made that stupid mistake we should be on top of the league as well. The team has started in a very impressive way as the competition within the squad is driving everybody to perform well. Even the injuries to Stevie G and Carra cannot stop the momentum.

Players of the Month: (1) Kuyt 7.82 (2) Torres 7.62 (3) Reina 7.40. Kuyt worked very hard each time he was called up and was rewarded with 2 nice goals and 1 assist. Torres proved why he is worth more than 20 million pounds with a beautiful goal in his Anfield debut and Reina is ever consistent and was only beaten twice by two penalties. Other than the above, Stevie G also played extremely well especially with the beautifully taken free kick that secured us 3 points at Villa Park.

September Prediction:
9/1 Derby County (h): Banker game for us.
9/15 Portsmouth (a): We lost there last year and this is now time for a revenge.
9/18 Porto (a): A tough game, but if we can win we will be in an excellent position to qualify.
9/22 Birmingham City (h): Another game that we expect we will win.
9/25 Reading (a): Time for some youngsters to shine.
9/29 Wigan Athletic (a): Wigan is strong at home but we should have enough power to win the game.

Match Report 070828 vs Toulouse: Cruise Control

4-0 and it was an easy win. We never look threatened and should be already 3-0 up in half time. Nevertheless the whole team worked very hard as everybody know they need to play well or else someone is going to take his place. We will be in the Champions League now and every team will hope they will avoid meeting us and get trashed by us.

Now that all 4 strikers opened their account, the competition would be more severe and this could only improve team performance.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Not really get troubled.
Arbeloa: 7.5 A solid display, this time on the right.
Agger: 7.5 Not really tested.
Hyypia: 8 Speedy recovery and was rewarded with a free header goal.
Riise: 7.5 Solid display at left back.
Benayoun: 8.5 Not a winger but more like an attack midfielder, but his influence in the game was great.
Sissoko: 7.5 Another nice display as attacking midfielder.
Mascherano: 8 Human absorber. He cleared every ball and ran all over the pitch.
Leto: 6.5 A solid debut just before his 21th birthday.
Kuyt: 8 Hard working and was rewarded with two nice taken goals.
Crouch: 8 Scored a beautiful goal, but could have score more.

Substitutions:
Lucas: 6.5 A solid debut.
Babel: 7.5 Did well and provided a nice assist to Kuyt.
Finnan: 7 Solid display.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be very happy about the professional performance.

Toulouse: 5.5 Provided no real threats to us. On this performance they may even struggle to go through Group Stage of UEFA Cup.

Man of the Match: Benayoun. Influential with two nice assists.

RIP Rhys

As a way to pay tribute to Rhys Jones, Anfield will play Z Car before YNWA, followed by a one minute applause. May he rest in peace.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N156815070828-0944.htm

I am really proud to be a Liverpool fan. And let's hope this is the last time we do this. And no thanks, no need for Goodison Park to play YNWA.

Attack is the best defense

Carra and Stevie G will not be available for this match, but we have enough manpower to win this game. We have a slight one goal lead into this game, and we should try to score an early goal to kill off the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennant
Alonso
Mascherano
Riise
Torres
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070825 at Sunderland: Hard earned win

2-0 and we have both starting center backs injured. Sami should be OK fairly soon, but Carra is a bit worried. Hope he will be back very soon.

The match also shown where the strength of the team is. In the past we would have drawn or even lose such games, but now the team has enough power to go forward and enough good players to tear off the defense, and the team is willing to go forward to seek the winning goal.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Did well when called upon.
Finnan: 7 Solid display.
Carragher: 7.5 Get well soon, we will miss you.
Hyypia: 6.5 Injured fairly early in the game. We need him back ASAP.
Arbeloa: 7 Another solid display.
Pennant: 7.5 Another good display and was dangerous.
Alonso: 7 Did well in center midfield.
Sissoko: 8 Scored his first and our 7000th goal. What a marvelous strike!
Babel: 6 A very quiet and disappointing performance.
Voronin: 8 Worked hard and was rewarded a goal at the end.

Substitutions:
Agger: 7 Solid display when called up.
Riise/Kuyt: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the result, but he need to settle the central defense very soon.

Sunderland: 6 Second class throughout the match. They should survive this season though.

Men of the match: Sissoko and Voronin. 7000th and 7001th

Let's move on

The Heinze saga is now over and we are back to our bread and butter. 4 points from first 2 games is not bad, but we need to treat every game as if it is the final. Sunderland had a bright start but was crashed last time, so they will be hunger for a win, and we have Stevie G injured. Nevertheless we should have enough talent to win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Pennant
Alonso
Mascherano
Riise
Torres
Kuyt

Love letter

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N156758070821-1605.htm

Thanks Luis. We always love you.

Luis Garcia, He drinks Sangria..

Match Report 070819 vs Chelsea: 2 points Robbed by Styles

1-1 and this is definitely 2 points robbed by the referee. That penalty should have never been given. Have we win the game we would be in a very good position, although now we are still very much on track, especially after Arsenal and Manchester losing ground as well.

We controlled the game but and Torres had opened his account with a very well taken goal, although he also shown us his evil side. The most obvious thing is that now we have the confidence to win every game. And we will be pushing very hard for #19.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do.
Finnan: 7 Solid display and was unlucky to have deemed to concede that penalty.
Carragher: 7.5 Lead the troops well.
Agger: 7 At times he seem to be out of position, but in general he did well.
Arbeloa: 7 Effective display.
Pennant: 7 A good display with some dangerous crossing provided.
Gerrard: 8.5 An all-round performance and provided the killing pass.
Alonso: 7 Did reasonably well apart from a few mis-passes.
Riise: 7.5 With a few dangerous shots but was only close.
Kuyt: 7.5 Very hard working performance.
Torres: 8 Scored a neat goal that shown his skill.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7 Did well and almost scored.
Crouch: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Robbed 2 points. His new look Liverpool is really convincing, and we will not drop too many points this season.

Chelsea: 6 Completely out-classed and was only helped by the 12th man.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. He's attacking, he's helping the defense, and he's everywhere.

Build up the advantage

After a labouring afternoon in France we are now back to the league and will play Chelsea. The team is now stronger than ever, and if we can avoid making any mistake, at the end we will come up on top of them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riise
Torres
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070815 at Toulouse: Professional job

1-0 and we finished the job in a professional manner. Under the hot weather and the bad pitch the player performance are affected, but we still manage to nick a goal and come back home with an away goal.

As expected Rafa made 6 changes to the squad. Players have some problem in this hot weather, but at the end of 1H Veronin scored a goal from nowhere and shown us why Rafa rated him.

The job is not done yet, as we still need to play them in the second leg 2 weeks later, but we will be in full confidence.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Not much to do, but when he's call on he delivered.
Finnan: 6.5 An average game.
Carragher: 7 Calm as usual.
Hyypia: 6.5 The heat is certainly affecting him.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Another good game.
Babel: 7.5 Played better on the right than left.
Gerrard: 7 A good game and hope his injury is not that bad.
Mascherano: 8 Very impressive display.
Benayoun: 6 Had a quiet debut.
Veronin: 7.5 Scored a goal from nowhere. Shown us his creativity.
Crouch: 7 Created the goal for Veronin.

Substitutions:
Riise: 6.5 Played better than Benayoun, and with him onboard, it allows Babel to play on the right.
Sissoko: 6.5 A solid display.
Torres: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy with the team performance.

Toulouse: 6 One season wonder? But we still need to give them our full respect in order to go through.

Man of the Match: Mascherano. We definitely need to buy him when his loan ends.

Champions League

We begin our quest to another European journey today, starting at Toulouse. It won't be an easy match, especially as the weather is extremely hot, but the players would be ready after training in Hong Kong.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Babel
Gerrard
Alonso
Benayoun
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070811 at Aston Villa: Stevie G saves the day again

2-1 and it was not until Stevie G put the ball into the net that we secured 3 points in the season opener the first time under Rafa. That goal was simply beautiful - and beyond any goalkeeper's reach. The win also made us the 4th Premier League team to win 1000 points.

We started the match brightly and controlled the game, but similar to last season we just somehow can't kill off the game. Carra's penalty was a bit harsh, but at the end, the Captain came for our rescue again, and we fully deserved the 3 points.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Did very well especially at the end to gain us the 3 points.
Finnan: 6.5 A bit quiet.
Carragher: 7.5 Solid at the back and saved us many times. Was unlucky to concede the penalty.
Agger: 7 A solid performance but at times can't compete with the big man Carew.
Arbeloa: 7 A solid performamce.
Pennant: 6.5 Didn't do enough to support the attack
Gerrard: 9 What a goal! And he looks very fresh too.
Alonso: 7 A good performance.
Riise: 7 A good performance as midfielder.
Torres: 7.5 A good debut despite unlucky not to have scored.
Kuyt: 8 An all-rounded performance and his hard work lead to the first goal.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7.5 Almost scored from his first shot. Very lively.
Veronin: 7 Controlled the rhythm well.
Sissoko: 6 Do nothing but losing the ball.

Rafa: 7.5 The new look team looks very sharp. He would be happy with the flow, but still works need to be done to convert chances into goals.

Aston Villa: 6 Was never into the game except for the first 15 minutes.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Goal of the season contender.

Kickoff

It's the big kickoff again and we will start the season away at Villa. After all the transfers the expectation for the team is high. Now that Rafa has more options to attack, we need to score more goals especially away from home. With a little bit of luck, we may finally launch #19.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Benayoun
Voronin
Kuyt

Result 2-0

Season Preview

We finished our friendly games unbeaten (in 90 minutes, anyway) and unscratched, and now we have 5 days to go for the new season. No doubt we are stronger than last season, and with the friendly games arranged, the team is fitter and get more familiar with each other.

Rafa had built a very strong squad with more than one player chasing a spot. He will rotate the team as usual based on the opponents, but one good thing is that with the new players coming, he is now able to play Gerrard more in the central role, which is what we lacked before. Whether this means a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 will depends on the opponents.

We are very strong in the defense and central midfield, and if the wingers can do well and cross more better quality balls, and the strikers able to improve the goal per shot ratio, we will pose a strong challenge to #19.

Thanks Liverpool

After a week in Hong Kong the players are back to Liverpool. Result is not important but the most important things are team bonding and fitness boasting. Of course, Rafa will still need to address the issue of the lack of goals. But I think Rafa will sort it out in the next few games.

Win the first title of the season

Tonight is the Barclays Asia Trophy Final and we have a chance to win some trophy before the season starts. Torres, Gerrard and Babel are all cleared to play and we will see some good football tonight. But once again, the most important thing is the gain match fitness while avoiding injuries.

Our new home

Stunning. The Kop is really huge and the design is really cool. It has more character with its irregular shape. Reminds me of famous baseball parks like Fenway Park or Widgley Field. More importantly, with the increased and expandable seats the new Anfield will support us and enable us to compete with the others.

Match Report 070724 vs South China: Just a friendly

3-1 and we continue our winning streak in the pre-season friendlies. The weather is too hot but players who played should gained a lot of fitness. The atmosphere in the stadium was good, although it was not as good as at Anfield. Anyway, it's just a friendly and let's hope we will play better against Portsmouth.

Liverpool is in town

Yes Liverpool is in town and all the Reds fans are very very happy. Tonight we will play South China, it is just another friendly game and let's hope the players can boast their fitness and avoid injuries in such hot weather and enjoy the game! Tonight we will turn the Hong Kong stadium into Anfield!

Quote of the day

"We are not Chelsea yet, but I hope we will be in the future" - Sven-Goran Eriksson predicts the decline and the fall of the Roman empire.

Options

After a slow start in the transfer market we suddenly spent a lot in the last 2 weeks. With Toures, Babel and Benayoun joining us we now have more options in the attack. As Rafa said sometimes it's better to have more options, as if you have one 30-goal scorer, opponents are easy to mark him out or if he is injured, the team will be in trouble. We now have several players who can score 10-20 goals and it will make the opponents difficult to follow.

Can we win the title? Yes we can. But will we? It all depends. In the past few seasons we created a lot more opportunities than other teams but failed to convert. We now have more depths and options to choose from, and if we can score 20 more goals than in the previous seasons, we definitely have a chance.

Well done Carra!

It's good news that Carra decided to quit international football unless under emergency situation. All the England coaches have constantly overlooked the best central defender in England, and England deserve to have Carra turned his back.

Now Carra can focus on bring us #19 instead of wasting energy in meaningless games or risking injuries. Although this is very unlikely, but I hope Stevie G will follow suit.

We all want a team of Carraghers, a team of Carraghers, a team of Carraghers...

Welcome our new #9

It's all set. Fernando Torres will be our record signing, and he has been proudly handed the famous No.9.

Welcome to your new home, El Nino, and bring us the glory we all want!

Thanks you, Luis

Luis Garcia will leave us. Some people may be annoyed by his inconsistency, but we have to thank him for all his wonderful goals during the past 2 years, especially in crucial games. Who can ever forget THAT goal against Chelsea? This was the last time I cried.

Thanks for all the great memories, and I wish you a very good future back home.

Where do we need to strengthen?

It's been too quiet for us in the transfer market, so let's see which position we need to strengthen:

Goalkeeper: Reina is class, but there's no backup after Dudek's gone. Carson probably won't want to stay as reserve forever and Martin may be too young. So Rafa needs to buy a good backup goalkeeper.

Central Defender: Carra and Agger will be the indispensable one-two here. It's good that Hyypia will be staying, but it will be good if we have one more backup. Paletta still has yet to shown he is capable.

Right/Left Back: Finnan and Riise will be the first choice and Arbeloa and Aurelio will be challenging them. This department looks quite healthy.

Central Midfield. We have 4 class players in Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso and Sissoko and this is probably the best of the league.

Wingers: Pennant is showing signs of development but on the left we only have Kewell now that Gonzalez and Zenden are gone. Rafa will invest heavily in this department, and we have been linked with a number of players already.

Strikers: A big unknown. Kuyt will be staying, Verorin is coming, but we are not sure about Crouch and Bellamy. This is one of the weakest department and Rafa will also be investing big here. Very unclear situation.

In conclusion, we seems to be OK for the defense and central midfield. But for the attacks, we may need a big big revolutionary change.

2006/07 Season Review

2 CL Finals in Rafa's first 3 years, but we failed to make it this time. Lots of players will leave this season, and many more to join. It would be interesting to see the lineup next season, but no doubt Rafa will be trying hard to improve the team. And next season the focus will no doubt be to challenge for Premiership.

Our home record is good but we definitely need to improve our away form. At home we are on par with Manchester and Chelsea (MU: 47 pts; Chelsea: 43; us: 46; Arsenal: 42) but away from home it's a different story (MU: 42; Chelsea: 40; us: 22; Arsenal: 26).

Contrary to what other may be thinking, we are actually not that bad against the remaining of the top 5 (MU: 14; Chelsea: 10; us: 12; Arsenal: 15) but this year the problem is against teams from 6th place to 10th (MU: 25; Chelsea: 24; us: 12; Arsenal: 18). 5 points were lost against Everton, Portsmouth and Blackburn, and we still yet to win at Bolton. Another area to improve is against bottom 5 teams, where Manchester won all 10 matches, and we only get 23 points.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Dudek: 6G 540M 13GC 2CS 0MoM 5.50
Martin: 5 unused substitutes
Padelli: 1G 90M 2GC 0CS 0MoM 5.00
Reina: 51G 4620M 36GC 26CS 6MoM 6.90

Reina has a very good second half and has the first team place firmly grabbed. 26 clean sheets this season is still very spectacular. Dudek finally called his day in Liverpool, and we wish you all the best. Padelli has an awful game against Charlton, and it is unlikely that his loan will be extended.

Defenders
Agger: 43G 3624M 4GS 3A 3MoM 6.87
Arbeloa: 14G 1067M 1GS 1A 0.5MoM 6.55
Aurelio: 25G 1487M 0GS 4A 0MoM 6.47
Carragher: 51G 4375M 1GS 0A 5MoM 7.03
Darby: 1 unused substitute
Finnan: 47G 4179M 0GS 8A 1MoM 6.69
Hobbs: 2 unused substitutes
Hyypia: 29G 2573M 3GS 1A 2MoM 6.59
Insua: 2G 165M 0GS 0A 0MoM 5.23
Kromkamp: 1G 90M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Paletta: 8G 579M 1GS 2A 0MoM 5.64
Peltier: 4G 344M 0GS 0A 0MoM 5.72
Riise: 48G 3880M 5GS 1A 0MoM 6.75
Roque: 1G 6M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Smith: 1G 16M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Warnock: 7G 413M 0GS 0A 0MoM 5.96

Carra leads the defenders will another impressive season. Agger has edged himself ahead of Hyypia and became the regular partner of Carra, and lead the defenders score board with 4 goals. Sami featured less in the second half (he was the leading defender during first half) but still managed to score 3. Finnan is another unsung hero and this year he has an impressive 8 assists recorded. On the left Riise made the position his own especially there were not too many challenges to him. Arbeloa and Aurelio both has an OK first season, but they need to improve a lot to challenge Finnan and Riise. And we seem to have less cover in center defense, so Rafa should try his best to hold Sami for at least one more season.


Midfielders
Alonso: 51G 3983M 4GS 2A 4MoM 6.84
Anderson: 1 unused substitute
El Zhar: 3G 50M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Gerrard: 51G 4256M 11GS 6A 8.5MoM 7.14
Gonzalez: 36G 1638M 3GS 0A 0.5MoM 6.28
Guthrie: 7G 218M 0GS 0A 0MoM 5.82
Kewell: 3G 77M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.44
Luis Garcia: 27G 1680M 6GS 5A 1MoM 6.72
Mascherano: 11G 993M 0GS 0A 0.5MoM 7.04
Pennant: 52G 3132M 1GS 11A 1.5MoM 6.92
Sissoko: 28G 2013M 0GS 1A 2MoM 6.80
Zenden: 30G 1776M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.35

Despite switching back and forth from central and right midfield, Stevie G continues to lead the team. Perhaps John Barnes is right in saying that we need to holding midfielder, ie, if Stevie G plays in the middle, we should play a 4-5-1 as otherwise we will run into trouble should he lose the ball. On the right Pennant surprised everyone by becoming the player who played the most game this season. And he finished with a respective score of 6.92. Xabi continues to be reliable in the midfield, and Mascherano proved to be a very good player and challenging Sissoko for the midfield position. As for Momo, he is trying very hard to gain back his position, but at times he tried too hard. He is still young and can improve dramatically. On the left both Gonzalez and Zenden have an average season and will leave. Kewell just come back in time for the Champions League final, and next season we need a healthy Kewell to start performing. The injury to Luis Garcia also proved to be crucial. We missed his decisive goals.

Attackers
Bellamy: 42G 2664M 9G 8A 8MoM 6.86
Crouch: 49G 2559M 18GS 9A 4MoM 7.05
Fowler: 23G 1033M 7GS 4A 3MoM 6.91
Kuyt: 48G 3631M 14GS 5A 7.5MoM 7.07
Sinama-Pongolle: 1G 1M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00

One problem of our team is the lack of goals. At times we created many chances but just failed to convert. Crouch lead the scoring board with 18 goals, and Kuyt came close with a good 14 goals under his name, 12 of which is in the league. Bellamy has an on-and-off season and managed 9 goals, and Fowler, despite playing much less, also had 7 goals.

Players of the season (2000 mins or above):
(1) Gerrard 7.14
(2) Kuyt 7.07
(3) Crouch 7.05
(4) Carragher 7.03
(5) Pennant 6.92

Rafa: 6.79. He needs to sort out the away problem and the lack of goals. Our goal conversion rate is dismal.

Goal Conversion
Goal conversion has been a problem. Throughout the season we had 895 goal attempts and scored 90 goals (10.1% goals/goal attempts), whereas our defenders had minimized the opponents to 444 goal attempts but still conceded 52 goals (11.7% goals/goal attempts). At home we are on par, with we scored with 11.6% g/ga whereas the opponents scored with 11.7%, but in away games our goal conversion is dropped to 7.8%, while the opponents still scored at 11.1%. The lack of goals, especially away from home, continues to hinder our chance of challenging the top 2.


Match of the season
1. 3/31/07 Arsenal (h) League (4-1) : 7.71
2. 5/1/07 Chelsea (h) Champions League Semi Final (1-0): 7.70
3. 12/9/06 Fulham (h) League (4-0) : 7.67
4. 2/24/07 Sheffield United (h) League (4-0): 7.66
5. 1/1/07 Bolton Wanderers (h) League (3-0): 7.62

Worst match of the season
1. 1/9/07 Arsenal (h) League Cup (3-6) : 5.02
2. 9/9/06 Everton (a) League (0-3): 5.36
3. 11/12/06 Arsenal (a) League (0-3) : 5.46
4. 4/28/07 Portsmouth (a) League (1-2): 5.48
5. 5/5/07 Fulham (a) League (0-1): 5.89

May Month Review

1W 1D and 2L and it was a disappointing month. We started high with a great win vs Chelsea, then we lost at Fulham and drew Charlton with a second tier team. All eyes were on the Champions League Final but we failed to win.

We can't count this season as a successful one, but nevertheless, the team is moving towards the right direction. We will challenge for #19.

Players of the Month: (1) Reina 7.9 (2) Mascherano 7.30 (3) Gerrard 7.25. Reina almost single-handly sent us to the Final. Mascherano also had a great month and played well in both Champions League games. The same can be said on Gerrard.

Match Report 070523 vs AC Milan: We'll be back

1-2 and what a disappointing ending. Any defeat is hard to take but defeat in a Final - especially if the team has every chance to win it but didn't - is even harder to take. In fairness we didn't play well as well, but at least we should take our chances before it is too late.

The game probably sums up this season: Lots of chances created but unable to convert, key players misfiring at key moments, lack of luck, and we still lack something to push for the title.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 A hard finish for the great guy. Had no chance on the first goal, but could do better for the second.
Finnan: 6 A solid display but just not enough in the final.
Carragher: 6.5 Another 100% display but still failed to bring us glory.
Agger: 6 Should done better to prevent the second goal.
Riise: 6 Same as Finnan.
Pennant: 7 One of his best performance this season, especially during first half.
Mascherano: 7 A very good display that kept Kaka's threat to a minimum. And as soon as he was substituted, Kaka played that killing pass to Inzaghi.
Alonso: 6 Came close to score in the first half but then found himself guilty of giving away the freekick that lead to the first goal.
Zenden: 5.5 A poor display that ended his Anfield career.
Gerrard: 6 Failed to drive us to glory this time. Would change the game should he equalized early on during second half.
Kuyt: 6.5 No supply to him.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 5.5 Failed to have an impact to the game.
Crouch: 6.5 Rafa should have him on earlier.
Arbeloa: 6 Not enough time to shine.

Rafa: 6 Would be disappointed to have lost the game in such a way. A huge rebuilding work is now ahead of him.

AC Milan: 6.5 They get their revenge. And we should learn from them on how to rebound.

Men of the Match: Pennant/Mascherano. Should play bigger roles next season.

This is the moment

Yes, this is the moment. Another European Final, Fowler's farewell, and my trip to Liverpool to watch the game. We are certainly better than 2 years ago, but so is Milan. This will be a tough match for us, and Milan will certainly want to gain revenge. But we have Rafa. We have Gerrard. We have Carra. We have Fowler. We have all the players that are hunger to win their first or second Champions League medal. And last, but not the least, we have the Kop and all those great fans. Let's make history again. In Istanbul we won it five times. In Athens, we win it six times.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Mascherano
Zenden
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070513 vs Charlton Athletic: That's Life

2-2 and we did not get what we want, as Fowler was substituted just before we get a penalty. But he still has one last chance to scored a goal in the CL Final - just like what Smicer did.

The match was another non-event and although Rafa fielded a strong team, everybody's mind is on the Final and try to avoid injury. Padelli has a poor debut that he probably wants to forget, and the defense were making lots of errors. Fowler and Gerrard tried very hard to win the game, but at the end a draw is a fair result, and it's really nice to see Kewell coming back and I won't be surprised if he started in the Final.

Players Rating:
Padelli: 5 Poor communication with teammates. Need to learn English ASAP...
Finnan: 6 A nice run-in to keep his form up.
Carragher: 6 A good performance.
Agger: 6 Solid display.
Riise: 6 Not providing much assist in attack.
Arbeloa: 6 Missed a glorious chance where he should have pass the basll to Fowler - get caught in two minds.
Gerrard: 7.5 Wanted to win the game more than anybody else.
Mascherano: 6 Lost the ball cheaply that lead to the first goal.
Zenden: 6 A fair performance.
Fowler: 6.5 Missed a few chance but we still want to thank you for all the goals over the years, but one more in the Final will be even better.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard as usual.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 7.5 Scored a penalty and created a goal.
Alonso: 7 Coolly scored a goal.
Crouch: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Could forgive the player of not trying too hard in getting injuries, but the timing of the Fowler substitution was really bad.

Charlton Athletic: 6.5 Fight hard for glory but it was too late. Good luck to them and hope they will bounce back soon.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Only player tried hard enough.

Thanks for all the great performances

Today we will say goodbye to two of our heroes, Fowler and Dudek. Fowler has been doing well since he's back but still we need to move on and chances for him will be remote. For Dudek, who can remember that night two years ago? Although he can never pick up his form since then, we shall still be thankful for him for bring us Champions League glory. And let's give them our biggest roar to the final home game of the season, and to prepare for another glorious night 10 days later.

Thanks for all the great performances, and no matter where you are, you'll never walk alone.

My Team Prediction:
Padelli
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennant
Mascherano
Sissoko
Kewell
Fowler
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070505 at Fulham: Another poor display from the 2nd tier

0-1 and once again Rafa made a lot of changes but the second tier just failed to deliver. Sometimes you need to start worrying for if we want to win the league we need to have a bigger squad with better quality. But no doubt Rafa will be looking at improvements.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Made a few good saves.
Arbeloa: 5.5 A poor performance.
Paletta: 5 Not up to Premier League standard yet.
Hyypia: 6 Did well and at times need to sort out the mess created by the other defenders.
Insua: 5.5 Still too young, but time is on his side.
Pennant: 6 A good performance.
Alonso: 6 Need to pick up his form very quickly for the Final.
Sissoko: 6 Need to improve a lot.
Fowler: 6.5 Missed a glorious chance.
Bellamy: 6.5 Worked very hard but couldn't find the net.

Substitutions:
El Zhar: 6 Another taste of Premiership but still need to learn a lot.
Finnan: 6.5 Provided better shelter on defense when came on.
Kewell: 6 Glad to see him back and he will push for a place in the Final.

Rafa: 6 Will need to worry on the injuries, the missed chances and the level of the second tier.

Fulham: 7 Battled hard and should now be safe.

Man of the Match: Reina. Reduced the damage to a minimum.

Secure Third

With a win today and Arsenal lost to Chelsea, third place will be secured. Of course all minds are now on the Champions League Final and Rafa will rest lots of big guns like Carra and Gerrard, but there will be 18 places in the squad for the Final and so the players will have to fight for the place. Surely this is enough motivation for us to win?

My Team Prediction:
Padelli
Arbeloa
Hyypia
Paletta
Insua
Pennant
Hobbs
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Fowler
Bellamy

Result 3-0

Match Report 070501 vs Chelsea: When Carragher cramps, we win the penalty shoot-out

1-0 and we won the penalty shoot-out 4-1! Reina is absolutely class in saving penalties. He is going to be a legend.

The match itself was actually very poor. Both teams just tried to pass the ball to the strikers as quick as possible. Rafa surprised everybody by putting Alonso on the bench and started Zenden. At the end it worked and Zenden also scored a beautiful penalty. Agger answered some of the critics by having a good defensive performance and also scored a well practiced goal. On the other hand, it is sad to see Dudek not even on the bench, after his poor performance over the weekend. His days in a Liverpool jersey is now finally over. But we will never forget his heroic performance that night two years ago.

Players Rating:
Reina: 10 Perfect performance. Master of penalty saves.
Finnan: 7.5 Provided the much needed balance to the team.
Carragher: 8 All over the pitch for defending.
Agger: 8 Answered the critics by scoring the goal. Did well in defending too.
Riise: 7 Did well both attacking and defending.
Pennant: 7.5 Very lively performance and provided many dangerous crossings.
Gerrard: 8 Did well in lifting the team.
Mascherano: 8.5 Would be my MoM in normal plus extra time. He's everywhere trying to help the defense.
Zenden: 7 Somehow it worked. And he repaid Rafa's faith with a nice penalty.
Kuyt: 7.5 Tried very hard but he can only managed to hit the bar and another one marginally ruled offside. But he had the last laugh with that last penalty.
Crouch: 6.5 Was not too effective.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 6.5 A nice display.
Bellamy: 6 Not much impact.
Fowler: 6.5 Almost provided the winning pass to Kuyt. And it is really nice to see Rafa putting his faith and let him be the last penalty shooter.

Rafa: 9 Perfect game plan. Don't know why he start Zenden, but it worked.

Chelsea: 6 No matter what Mourinho said, they just didn't play very well. No excuse. The best team won.

Man of the Match: Reina. Single-handly guided us to the Final over two legs.

Moment of Truth

We need to win by 1-0 or more than 2 goals to proceed. We have done so before, in 1977, in 2005 when we were one down and need to score 3, and we have faced Chelsea at this stage. We need to did what we have done before, and we will be in the Final again. In Kop we trust.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Hyypia
Agger
Finnan
Gerrard
Alonso
Mascherano
Riise
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

April Month Review

5W1D2L and we secured top 4 in the league, but need to overturn Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League Semi Final. It won't be easy, but we did it before and can do it again. With the help of the Kop.

Players of the month (1) Kuyt 7.32 (2) Reina 7.25 (3) Carragher. Kuyt scored 3 nice goals 1 assist in April then helped us to secure top 4. Reina had 5 clean sheets in the months and keep our Champions League dream alive. Carragher just played well as he always does and is in pole position of the Player of the Match award of liverpoolfc.tv

May Prediction:
5/1 Chelsea (h) We are going to win 2-0.
5/5 Fulham (a) We need to win this game to secure top 3.
5/13 Charlton Athletic (h) Final home game and could be the last game for Fowler and Dudek in a red jersey.
5/23 CL Final (n) If we get there, we are going to be underdog. Make it six.

Match Report 070428 at Portsmouth: Not good enough

1-2 and although the result meant nothing, the performance is really bad. The reserves didn't have any hunger to fight and the youngsters were too green. This game showed that we still need to improve a lot to fight for the title.

Players Rating:
Dudek: 5 At fault for the first goal although he did made two great saves. He will probably have two more games in a Liverpool jersey.
Arbeloa: 5 Did poor in this make-shift defensive lineup.
Paletta: 5 Still too green to play in the first team.
Hyypia: 6.5 Did very well in the game and is in line with a first team recall.
Insua: 5 Very nervous in his first game.
Bellamy: 5.5 Worked hard but didn't have much impact.
Alonso: 6 Probably reserving some energy for the Chelsea game.
Sissoko: 5.5 Another poor game. I am worrying he may become another Traore.
Zenden: 5.5 Another ineffective game.
Gonzalez: 5 Very disappointing.
Fowler: 6 A nice assist. But you don't expect much from him as a lone striker.

Substitution:
Pennant: 6 Didn't change the game much.
El Zhar: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 5.5 Would be disappointed by the performance although he has his mind fully in the Chelsea game. Defense is especially poor.

Portsmouth: 7 Well deserved of getting all three points. Still have a slight hope of getting a UEFA Cup spot.

Man of the Match: Hyypia. Pushing for a starting place tomorrow.

Give them a chance

Rafa will rest a lot of players and this is a good chance to give some old squads and youngsters a chance to shine. We will face James and Traore, and what a chance for Fowler to score some goals for fun.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Peltier
Paletta
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennent
Sissoko
Mascherano
Gonzalez
Linfield
Fowler

Result 2-0

Match Report 070425 at Chelsea: We need to improve

0-1 and it was a very poor performance in the first half that cost us the game. There were too many miss passes and we let them controlled the midfield. Second half was better but we lack the killing touch to grab the vital away goal. Now we need to go back to Anfield and let the Kop to guide us to the Final once again.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Did made at least two great saves to keep the scoreline.
Arbeloa: 6 A bit slow to let Joe Cole scored the goal.
Carragher: 7 Did well in defense when the others didn't.
Agger: 6 Cannot contain Drogba and let him crossed the ball for Cole.
Riise: 6 Not at his best.
Gerrard: 6.5 Had a nice shot superbly saved.
Alonso: 6 Failed to run the midfield.
Mascherano: 6 Very quiet and a bit too soft to fight the ball.
Zenden: 6.5 Did a reasonably good job.
Bellamy: 5.5 Largely disappointing.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked very hard but what we need is the killer instinct.

Substitutions:
Crouch/Pennant: 6 Didn't change the game much.

Rafa: 6 He would be angry about the first half performance. We need to change a few things in the return leg.

Chelsea: 7 Played hard and deserved the win. But this is only half time and we will bring on the Kop.

Man of the Match: Reina. Keep the scoreline for another famous Anfield night.

Do our best

Stamford Bridge is a bogey venue for us but it would be nice to break the duck tonight. The managers are playing mind games, and no doubt we are better prepared both physically and mentally. With the players fully alert we will ensure we are in pole position coming next week.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Pennant
Alonso
Mascherano
Gerrard
Bellamy
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070421 vs Wigan Athletic: Stage 1 cleared

2-0 and we secured Champions League qualification without Stevie G. Rafa's game plan was executed perfectly with us keeping lots of possession and finding ways to peel off the Wigan defense. Now we can focus on Chelsea and finishing third.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 A quiet afternoon but did made a world class save to warm up for the Chelsea game.
Arbeloa: 7 Solid display again.
Carragher: 7 A fine display from the stand-in captain.
Hyypia: 7 Another solid display and he will be ready should Rafa wanna play 3 at the back.
Riise: 7 Another nice display on both ends.
Pennant: 7.5 A very good display and he will be pushing for a start for the Chelsea game.
Alonso: 7 A solid display and dictated the midfield.
Zenden: 6.5 A bit too quiet.
Gonzalez: 6.5 Still haven't settled in.
Kuyt: 8.5 Two nice goals but he should have a hat trick.
Crouch: 7 Nice display.

Substitutions:
Bellamy: 7 Came up and made an impact.
Gerrard/Agger: 6.5 Came up when the game is all settled.

Rafa: 7.5 Excellent game plan executed well by the players.

Wigan: 6 A poor display and they need to really gear up or they may be relegated.

Man of the match: Kuyt. Two great goals.

Get the qualification tonight

With a win today we will be guaranteed Champions League status. Rafa is thinking to rest Gerrard ahead of the Chelsea game, but not matter who is starting we need to be at our best to get the job done.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Pennant
Alonso
Mascherano
Gonzalez
Fowler
Kuyt

Result 2-0

Match Report 070418 vs Middlesbrough: One step closer

2-0 and we are one step closer to Champions League qualification. Thanks to Stevie G's goals we break through the stubborn Boro defense after an hour's work, and it was due to Stevie G moving back to central midfield.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Solid display with not much to do.
Arbeloa: 7 Another comfortable display.
Carragher: 7 A rare lapse almost lead to a goal, but other than that he is solid as usual.
Agger: 7 Solid defense works
Riise: 7 Reliable if not spectacular.
Pennant: 7.5 Created lots of problems to the Boro defense.
Sissoko: 6 Still tried too hard and complicated matters, and missed a glorious chance.
Mascherano: 7 Another well display.
Zenden: 7 Played well against his former club and almost scored.
Gerrard: 8 Ineffective as a second striker, but shone after moving back to central midfield.
Crouch: 6.5 Should have done better apart from getting a penalty that sealed the game.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 7 Provided more gun power and made an impact to the game.
Gonzalez: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Did well in bringing Kuyt on and moved Gerrard back to central midfield.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Sealed the three points for us.

Finish top 4 by weekend

Should we win tonight and then on Saturday, we will be guaranteed a top four finish. With Arsenal won last night we also need to win to get pass them. And the key is how Rafa can keep the teams away from distractions from Champions League.

Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Gerrard
Mascherano
Alonso
Zenden
Fowler
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070414 at Manchester City: Disappointed

0-0 and as Rafa said we should be disappointed about the performance. With Arsenal winning the quest for third is still on, although the quest for Champions League seems to be almost finished as we need only 6 points to guarantee first 4, which could be done before this weekend. As Hyypia said we need to sort this out ASAP, so that all minds are focused on the semi final.

On a minor note, this result means mathematically we will not be able to finish first.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do. And the bar saves him one more time.
Finnan: 6.5 Worked hard.
Carragher: 7 Had a good chance from a Pennant corner but only hit the side net.
Agger: 6.5 Done well in defense.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A good display.
Pennant: 6.5 Did well in 1H but gradually faded.
Alonso: 7.5 Almost score from own half again.
Mascherano: 6 Very quiet performance.
Riise: 6 A poor performance and could not provide any width.
Gerrard: 6 Very sloopy. Need to gear up ASAP.
Kuyt: 7 Worked very hard. But once again he can't score if he always run to midfield or left wing. Teammates need to support him.

Substitutions:
Gonzalez/Crouch/Zenden: 6 Not shining in the match.

Rafa: 6 He's rightly disappointed by the performance. We need to penetrate through the width but failed to create any impact. And as Chelsea also plays a counter-attack tactic but better than City, we definitely need to sharpen up ourselves.

Manchester City: 6.5 They played for a point and get it. But they definitely need to improve their firepower for next season. One thing that worth to mention is that City showed very big respect to the Hillsbourgh victims, with the flag half down and Barton presenting flowers to the crowd. You'll Never Walk Alone.

Player of the match: Alonso. Too bad he didn't score.

Get the third place first

Before we play Chelsea we need to sort out the qualification of Champions League. With some help from Bolton we could be all but settled for third place if we beat Manchester City. And let's present Rafa a nice birthday gift.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Arbeloa
Gerrard
Alonso
Mascherano
Riise
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Math Report 070411 vs PSV Eindhoven: Now bring on Chelsea

1-0 and the job is done. From the beginning this won't be a spectacular game, and we don't intend to let it be one. We were very professional, and after the unexpected red card by the referee, there is only one winner and we promptly take it. So now we have to face Chelsea the 14th and 15th time in 3 seasons...

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Did well to deny PSV from scoring at the beginning of both half. Essentially killed off any false hope for them.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A solid display.
Agger: 7 Another solid display.
Hyypia: 7 Maybe the last time he will start a game as our captain, and he did well.
Riise: 7 Another impressive display and it was his 40 yard shot that lead to the winning goal.
Pennant: 7 Another nice performance and was unlucky not to have scored.
Alonso: 7 Solid if not too impressive.
Sissoko: 6.5 A better performance than last weekend due to the presence of Xabi.
Zenden: 7 Tried hard to score against his former club.
Bellamy: 6 Too bad he is injured so early.
Crouch: 7.5 Grabbed the winning goal well.

Substitutions:
Fowler: 6.5 A nice instinct for the assist. Fans still love him and Rafa please take note.
Gonzalez/Paletta: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 There is not much he can do as the match was essentially over before it has started.

PSV: 6 Although they have lots of injuries, but they should at least play better. If they play like this they will lose the Dutch title as well.

Men of the Match: Reina/Crouch. Bring us the win from both ends.

Perform well

At 3-0 lead all we need is to perform well, and we will be through. Although I hate to meet Chelsea again, but if we are through Rafa will be ready to bring us to the final. But we still need to get through first. Don't slip up.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Zenden
Fowler
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 070407 at Reading: A hard fought victory

2-1 and we almost threw it again but thanks to Rafa's shrewd substitutions, Pennant and Kuyt created the winning goal 4 minutes from full time. As Arsenal beaten at home to West Ham we are 5 points ahead of them with one game more played. The road to third place is now completely in our hands, so grab it.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 A fine performance.
Finnan: 6.5 Good display in general.
Carragher: 7 Solid as usual.
Hyypia: 7 A nice performance despite not playing regularly recently.
Arbeloa: 7.5 A nice taken goal and a good defensive display. Broken the scoreless jinx of Liverpool #2.
Gerrard: 6.5 Missed a glorious chance.
Mascherano: 7 Another solid performance.
Sissoko: 6 Need to improve his passing.
Gonzalez: 6.5 Not much impact from Speedy.
Bellamy: 6 A poor performance.
Crouch: 6.5 A nice assist and a nice header that almost conceded an own goal.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 7.5 A nice goal that gave us all three points.
Pennant: 7 A nice assist.
Riise: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Another nice tactical change from Rafa.

Reading: 7 Nice atmosphere, but next season will be tough for them.

Men of the Match: Arbeloa/Kuyt. Two nice goals than gave us three points.

Keep going

As Rafa said we need to keep going to fight for the third place - for the fans. With the Champions League tie almost guaranteed Rafa will file a strong team this time. And why not let Fowler score some goals for fun?

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Gerrard
Sissoko
Mascherano
Gonzalez
Fowler
Bellamy

Result 2-0

Match Report 070403 at PSV Eindhoven: Great win!

3-0 and this is beyond our expectations. The result also highlighted how good Rafa a coach is, especially in European games. Now we are one step inside the final 4, and with a careful game plan, we will be there.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 A comfortable display with not much to do.
Finnan: 8.5 A superb performance with 2 assists.
Carragher: 7.5 Captured the first attack of the night.
Agger: 7.5 Solid at the back.
Aurelio: 6.5 A bad injury. Hope he is recovering soon.
Gerrard: 8 Superb performance and broke Rush's European Cup goals record. Set the tone for the night.
Alonso: 7.5 Effective in the middle.
Mascherano: 8 Another good performance.
Riise: 8 Another great goal.
Kuyt: 7 A good all-round performance with a nice yellow card that make sure he will be available for the semi-finals.
Crouch: 8 Another nice header.

Substitutions:
Zenden/Gonzalez/Pennant: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Even Rafa won't imagine we won by 3 goals. A great performance overall.

PSV Eindhoven: 5.5 They should be embarrassed on their defense.

Man of the Match: Finnan. Just getting better and better.