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.