Extend the lead

With us playing before Chelsea and Man United it is a perfect chance to exert more pressure to them if we win the game. Newcastle at home will be tough to beat, but with the team warmed up for the first half, we have the mentality and ability to crush them on our way to glory.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Agger
Hyypia
Insua
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

2008/09 Mid Term Report

All is well in the first half. We played 29 games in the first half with 18 wins, 9 draws and 2 defeats. In the league we have 12 wins, 6 draws and 1 defeats with 42 points and are sitting on top of the league, 1 point ahead of Chelsea. This is much better than the same period last time (P19 W10 D7 L2 with 37 points). We did very well against the other big 4 with 2 wins and 1 draw, but 4 draws at home (3 of them were 0-0 against lower teams) means we cannot extend our lead even more. In the Champions League we qualified with style and will now play Real Madrid, which is a great game for everybody.

Departmental Comments:
Goalkeeper
Reina is as best as usual with 14 clean sheets in 27 games, but Cavalieri is yet to show he can be a decent challenger yet.

Defender
Carragher is doing extremely well in both center back and right back. In the start of the season it was Skrtel who clinched to the other center back position, but once he is injured Agger just slotted in smoothly. Although Hyypia did not get into the Champions League lineup due to the rule of domestic players, he is as reliable as ever when called up in the league and cup games. On the side, Arbeloa is having his best season with us and kept the right back position his own, but on the left Aurelio did well until he was injured, and Dossena is still adapting to the pace of Premier League. But Insua is showing signs he is ready to challenge the position as well.

Midfielder
Gerrard is driving the team forward as usual with many wonderful performances and is our leading scorer. With the transfer saga in pre-season finally over, Alonso is determined to prove he is worth a place in the team and is now back to his very best. Mascherano and Lucas are also playing well in the midfield. On the wings Kuyt is becoming a very good winger, and Benayoun always do well when called upon. El Zhar is also maturing very quickly and is one of the surprised package of the first half. On the left side with Riera joining us we finally have a good left winger who is constantly providing deadly crosses and scoring goals. Howver, Babel is not playing well and as a result he is not getting as many games as he wish.

Attacker
Torres had been sidelined twice in the first half but still managed to score 5 goals, although he is yet to score at Anfield this season. Kuyt is having a great season and had scored many important goals. Despite having a slow start as usual, Keane is showing signs of adapting into the team and had played much better recently. Ngog is yet to show signs to challenge in this department, but his time will come.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Cavalieri: 3G 270M 6GC 0CS 0MoM 5.83
Gulacsi: 2 unused substitutes
Reina: 26G 2370M 16GC 14CS 2MoM 7.13

Defenders
Agger: 15G 1350M 1GS 1A 1MoM 6.83
Arbeloa: 25G 2241M 1GS 1A 0MoM 6.75
Aurelio: 15G 1022M 0GS 3A 0MoM 7.03
Carragher: 28G 2468M 1GS 0A 1MoM 6.97
Darby: 2G 27M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.39
Degen: 2G 157M 0GS 0A 0MoM 5.96
Dosenna: 16G 1298M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.34
Hyypia: 12G 813M 1GS 0A 2MoM 7.22
Insua: 5G 394M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.91
Kelly: 1G 9M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.50

Midfielders
Alonso: 26G 2096M 2GS 2A 5MoM 7.13
Babel: 20G 820M 2GS 3A 0MoM 6.59
Benayoun: 21G 1044M 1GS 2A 0MoM 6.65
El Zhar: 12G 334M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.63
Gerrard: 24G 1969M 11GS 5A 7MoM 7.57
Kuyt: 26G 2250M 7GS 5A 1MoM 7.15
Lucas: 18G 805M 1GS 2A 1.5MoM 6.69
Mascherano: 15G 1279M 0GS 0A 2MoM 7.03
Pennant: 4G 247M 0GS 2A 0MoM 7.05
Riera: 22G 1480M 3GS 1A 0MoM 6.88
Spearing: 1G 14M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.50

Attackers:
Keane: 25G 1634M 7GS 5A 3.5MoM 6.93
Ngog: 8G 365M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.33
Torres: 16G 1153M 5GS 2A 3MoM 7.04
Voronin: 1 unused substitute

Players of 1st half season (1848 mins or above):
(1) Gerrard 7.57
(2) Kuyt 7.15
(3) Alonso 7.13
(4) Reina 7.13
(5) Carragher 6.97

Team: 6.94. The team scoring is actually 0.01 lower than last season but we get more points. This is probably due to more consistency within the team. We did not score enough goals but our defense is solid enough to earn us points. With Torres coming back and Keane starts to score goal with fun, we should be able to score more goals in the second half of the season. As usual we have lots of possessions and shoting chances, but we can still improve especially at home. We need to find ways to break through the stubborn defense of the opponents.

2H Result Prediction
League:
1st-5th place teams (Chelsea H, Manchester United A, Aston Villa H, Arsenal H) 3W1D
6th-10th place teams (Everton H, Hull City A, Fulham A, Wigan Athletic A) 3W1D
11th-15th place teams (Portsmouth A, Newcastle United H/A, West Ham United A, Sunderland H, Manchester City H) 5W1D
16th-20th place teams (Tottenham Hotspur H, Middlesbrough A, Stoke City A, Blackburn Rovers H, West Bromwich Albion A) 5W

Total for 2H 16W3D 51 points
Total for the season 93 points

With 93 points we will win the league .

In FA Cup, Preston North Point will be a tough challenge for the team, but we should be able to pass through and have a good cup run In Champions League, Real Madrid will be tough to beat, but we will be feared in Europe. However the priority is the League no doubt.

Match Report 081226 vs Bolton Wanderers: Keane on fire

3-0 and Keane finally getting back to his best. We were in control of the game and we need to play like this more often. With Torres also edging back to the first team our second half performance should be better.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Not really tested and shown his great vision in creating the 3rd goal.
Carragher: 7.5 Did well as the make-shift right back and almost scored a great goal.
Agger: 7.5 Solid performance.
Hyypia: 7.5 As reliable as ever.
Insua: 7.5 Going to take the left back position as his own.
Benayoun: 7.5 Always threatening.
Gerrard: 7.5 Created two goals.
Alonso: 7.5 Great vision in passing the ball.
Riera: 7.5 A great goal to open the floodgate.
Keane: 8 Two great goals to boast his performance.
Kuyt: 7.5 Another hard working performance.

Substitutions:
El Zhar: 7 Provided width to the team.
Lucas/Ngog: 7 Did well when called upon.

Sammy: 7.5 Would be delighted about this performance.

Bolton Wanderers: 6 Did not do anything to guarantee any return.

Man of the Match: Keane. Did much better in 2nd half as usual.

On top on Christmas Day

It is a good feeling to sit on the top on Christmas day, but we still need to fight till the end to win the league. It is Bolton again, and we need to find ways to crack the stubborn defenses of the opponents and start winning at home again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Insua
Benayoun
Gerrard
Alonso
Riera
Keane
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 081221 at Arsenal: We missed the chance to extend the lead

1-1 and we failed to extend our lead to four points. In truth a draw at Arsenal is not a bad result, and it is only December, but still another draw, especially with a man's advantage, it is slightly disappointing.

Credits to Arsenal, as they were very determined to get something from the game, and their goal is unstoppable. And we did not show enough determination to win the game, so at the end a draw is not a bad result.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Can't do much on the goal conceded, and not much else to do.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A bit over react on getting Adebayor sent off.
Carragher: 6.5 At times finding it difficult to mark Adebayor and van Persie, but in general he was solid as usual.
Agger: 7 Provided a nice pass to Keane's goal, and almost scored in the last minute.
Insua: 7 Impressive performance by the young Argentinian.
Alonso: 7.5 A very good performance and shown us why Wenger wanted to get him.
Lucas: 7 A determined game, always tackle to win the ball.
Kuyt: 7 Had a few great chance but could not score.
Gerrard: 7 Missed a great chance at the end of the first half.
Riera: 6.5 Found it difficult to get pass the Arsenal defense.
Keane: 7 A superb volley to earn us a point.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6 Very poor performance.
El Zhar: 6.5 Had a nice header just off the post.
Ngog: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Sammi Lee: 6.5 Had the hot seat with Rafa on sick leave, but still Rafa was in full control. Would be disappointed not to win the game.

Arsenal: 6.5 Apart from the goal they did not have too many clear cut chances. Playing beautiful does not earn you any point, and with Fabregas out for injury, they have a high wall to climb.

Man of the Match: Alonso. Many lovely passes.

Break another duck

We have yet to win at Emirates Stadium and this game will give us another chance to do so. Arsenal will be up for this game in order to maintain a shout in the title race and keep up with Villa, we will not have Torres, but still the remaining players will have enough power to win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081213 vs Hull City: Missed opportunity

2-2 and after the results of the weekend, we found ourselves missed another opportunity to extend our lead to 4 points.

We started great but gradually Hull was back into the game. From two set pieces we found ourselves two goals down, but fortunately we have Stevie G once again saved the day. We try hard to bomber Hull, but at the end it was another two points dropped.

A big talking point is that Rafa did not play Robbie Keane. While this is a questionable move but as a team we win together and lose together. The manager has his thinking of using or not using a certain player, and there is no point to complain. After all, we are Liverpool and we are a great team with great togetherness.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Should have done better in saving the second goal.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A steady performance.
Carragher: 5 Argued with the referee and let Hull had a fast break that lead to the second goal. Was unfortunate for the own goal, but he should be more attention in the free kick in the first place.
Hyypia: 7 Did well and almost scored from corner.
Dossena: 5.5 Could not cope with the pace of Mendy, although he did well in crossing the ball into the penalty area.
Alonso: 6.5 Did well but couldn't score the winner.
Mascherano: 6.5 Should have provide more protection to the back 4.
Benayoun: 6.5 Always dangerous but was a bit indecisive in front of the goal.
Gerrard: 8 Two great goal to give us one point.
Riera: 6.5 Form gradually getting back.
Kuyt: 7 Hard working but did not score.

Substitutions:
El Zhar: 6 Provide more width to the team.
Babel/Lucas: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to sort out the problem of not winning at home.

Hull City: 7 Credits to Hull, they came here not feared and deserved to take a point home.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Saved the day again.

Extend our lead

With Chelski playing on Sunday this is a perfect time to extend our lead to 4 points to exert some pressure on them. Hull has been the surprised team in this season and we need to be very careful to avoid another setback, but with the big guns rested, we should be ready for the challenge.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Benayoun
Gerrard
Alonso
Riera
Keane
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 081209 at PSV Eindhoven: Job done from team B

3-1 and it was a job well done by our team B. It was particular encouraging to see three local young lads came through the rank and played in this game. Once again Keane did not score but his performance was really good and unselfish. We now finish top and will have the second game of next round played at Anfield, which is good.

Players Rating:
Cavalieri: 7 Did well in the game.
Arbeloa: 7 Consistent display and were unlucky to get a yellow card.
Carragher: 7 Solid as ever.
Agger: 7 Another nice display.
Dossena: 7 Grafually gelled into the team.
Babel: 7 Scored a nice header and did much better.
Lucas: 7.5 A very good performance with a superb assist from free kick.
Mascherano: 7 Composed and was rewarded with the captain armband when Carra is rested.
Riera: 7 Scored a beauty from far range.
Ngog: 7 In general wasteful, but at the end benefited from Keane's superb pass.
Keane: 7 Unselfish act and helped teammates to score.

Substitutions:
Darby/Kelly/Spearing: 6.5 Very encouraging to see three local lads come through the rank.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be happy about the performance in general.

PSV Eindhoven: 6 Tried very hard but at the end the gap of class tells the difference.

Man of the Match: Lucas. Repaid the faith from Rafa.

Fight for the top spot

Although we are qualified for the next round we still should try to top the league, for we can then have the second leg played at home. PSV is also fighting for pride and third place, and Rafa will rest some players, but we still have enough power to take the game. Especially Keane should proof himself and play well.

My Team Prediction:
Cavalieri
Darby
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Benayoun
Mascherano
Lucas
Riera
Babel
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081206 at Blackburn Rovers: Patience pays

3-1 and we won the game thanks to the patience of the players. Blackburn was defended very well in the first hour and it was not until Xabi's excellent placing that opened the gap that we created more chances and won the game. It was a tough game but at the end the win was justified.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Superb one hand save in 1H. Was let down by the defenders in conceding that soft goal.
Arbeloa: 7 Another good performance and superb climb to celebrate the Xabi goal.
Carragher: 7 Superb as usual.
Hyypia: 7.5 Shown he can be relied on when required.
Insua: 7 A good performance despite somewhat losing attention for the goal conceded.
Alonso: 8 Determined to win the game.
Mascherano: 7 Solid performance.
Benayoun: 7.5 Nice performance and was rewarded with a nice individual goal.
Gerrard: 7.5 Created the first goal and finished the last goal.
Babel: 5.5 Disappointing especially for the handball.
Kuyt: 7.5 Worked very hard and created two goals.

Substitutions:
El Zhar: 7.5 Came up and changed the game.
Lucas: 7 Not enough time to impress.
Riera: 7 Unselfish and assisted Stevie G the goal.

Rafa: 7 Would be delighted about the way we played and scored the goal, although he will be upset about the way we conceded the goal.

Blackburn Rovers: 6.5 Defended well for 60 minutes but at the end the result is justified.

Man of the Match: Alonso. Lifted us from another bored draw.

Above us only sky

We are now at the top of the table, and above us only sky. As King Kenny said, we need to enjoy ourselves and result will get in. We are up where we belong, and we will get results along the way, with old boys like Fowler, Ince and Warnock cheering for us.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081201 vs West Ham United: Top of the league

0-0 is enough to bring us to the top of the league, although we should have won the game. We were in control from beginning to end, if not for some dubious referee decision of not giving out handball and for West Ham's superb defense, we should have 3 points in our bag. Anyway it is only December and we still have a long way to go. We need to keep getting results and when May comes, we will be the Champions.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Superb performance as usual.
Arbeloa: 7 An assured performance.
Carragher: 7 Solid as usual.
Hyypia: 7.5 Superb on both ends of the ground.
Dossena: 7 Played with more confidence.
Benayoun: 7 Had a golden chance denied.
Gerrard: 7 Didn't have the major touch this time.
Alonso: 7 Solid display.
Riera: 6.5 Not as effective as he should be.
Kuyt: 7 Did well but couldn't break the wall.
Keane: 6 Need to improve as soon as possible.

Substitutions:
Ngog/Babel: 6 Didn't do much to change the game.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to find ways to break down the opponent defense especially at home.

West Ham United: 7 Solid defense.

Man of the Match: Hyypia. Always there when called upon.

To the top

With Chelsea losing a win will mean we will be 3 points ahead again. West Ham does not have a good season and if we play well we will beat them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Thanks Stevie

Thanks a lot Stevie.

During the past 10 years you have provided us many joyful moments.

You have ups and downs, but it was the low points, particular the Chekski saga, that makes you rebound and keep you running.

You have won most of the glories that the Club has get, and there is still one missing item, which we will win very soon.

Thanks for the first 10 years, and we look forward for the next 10 years with more glories.

November Month Review

3 win, 2 draws and 2 defeats and we are still joint top in the league and qualified for the last 16 of Champions League, despite out of League Cup. We started the month with the first defeat at Spurs and then we drew vs Atletico and beat West Bromwich Albion. We then get beaten by Spurs again in the League Cup, and then we win at Bolton but drawn at home vs Fulham. At the end of the month, another mightly Stevie G goal and we are through in the Champions League.

Players of the Month (1) Gerrard 7.61 (2) Alonso 7.31 (3) Aurelio 7.06. Gerrard scored 3 great goals in the month that also is his 10th anniversary with the Club. Xabi also did well in the month with a nice assist to the winning goal vs Marseille. And Aurelio just get the left back post his own and played consistently well.

December prediction:
12/1 West Ham United (h) West Ham is inconsistent and we need to get points.
12/6 Blackburn Rovers (a) A tough game on the road but we will be ready for the challenge.
12/9 PSV Eindhoven (a) Although we want to finish top but the key is to let the youngsters to gain some experience.
12/13 Hull City (h) Hull is the surprised package but their good run is running out and we need to take our chance.
12/21 Arsenal (a) A tough away game and we need to be at our best to beat them.
12/26 Bolton Wanderers (h) Bolton will want revenge and we need to be guarded to get 3 points.
12/28 Newcastle United (a) A tough away game to end the year.

Match Report 081126 vs Marseille: Job done

1-0 and we are through to the next round of Champions League. Although we did not do too well especially in the second half but at the end Stevie G's 30th goal in Europe is sufficient to see us through. Whether we finish first or second does not really matter, and now we can give the young guns a go in the last game at PSV.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a few great saves to keep another clean sheet.
Arbeloa: 7 Another nice performance.
Carragher/Agger: 7.5 Two rocks in the centre.
Aurelio: 6.5 Did well before his substitution.
Alonso: 7.5 Superb crossing for the goal.
Mascherano: 6.5 A bit moody that affected his performance.
Kuyt/Riera: 6.5 Good performance although not particular shining.
Gerrard: 8 Pin-point header that secured our qualification.
Torres: 7 Edging closer to his peak.

Substitutions:
Dossena: 6.5 Almost conceded a penalty but also threw himself to block many shots.
Benayoun: 6.5 Failed to create another goal.
Lucas: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the result despite a few scary moment in the second half.

Marseille: 6.5 Did their best to resurrect but it was too little, too late.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Another superb European night.

Qualify

A draw tonight will mean we are qualified to the next round, and we need to do it so that Rafa can try some youngsters in the last match. Marseille was the surprised winner last year at Anfield and we need to be guarded to prevent the same to happen again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Kuyt
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Keane
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 081122 vs Fulham: Chance missed

0-0 and we missed a great chance to go ahead of Chelsea on a rare day they slipped at home. With Gerrard, there is really not enough players to drive the team. The only fortunate thing is that the other title contenders also draw or lose, so at least we are not losing ground.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet and he did well at the rare occasions he was called on.
Arbeloa: 7 One of the better player of the night. Went forward as much as he could.
Carragher: 7 Solid as the captain.
Agger: 6.5 Did well in defense, but not much offered for attack during corners.
Aurelio: 6.5 A nice game.
Kuyt: 6 Had a great chance denied.
Lucas: 6 Many missed passes.
Mascherano: 6 A poor game by his standard.
Riera: 6 Form continued to dip.
Keane: 6 Great chance denied.
Torres: 7.5 The only player daring to win the game.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 7.5 Provided many accurate passes.
Babel/El Zhar: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 Would be disappointed about the result. Also need to teach the team to motivate against lesser teams.

Fulham: 6.5 Came for 1 point and got what they wanted.

Man of the Match: 7.5 Getting closer to his peak.

Keep moving on the right track

Fulham has been quite strong and winning the last 2 games. However they are very poor travellers and we should put this in mind and try to get the 3 points and keep moving on the right track.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Kuyt
Alonso
Mascherano
Riera
Keane
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 081115 at Bolton Wanderers: Back on the right track

2-0 and this is a nice win that bring us back on the right track. We controlled the game and apart from a scary spell in the first 15 minutes of second half there is only one leader. At the end two nice headers and the game is over.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not really tested.
Carragher: 7 Played well as debuty right back, although he did not offer much attacking.
Agger: 7 Solid display.
Hyypia: 7 At time unable to cope with the speed of Gardner, but in general he had a good game.
Aurelio: 7.5 Did well going forward with a nice assist.
Alonso: 8 Superb passing and dictated the game.
Mascherano: 7 Tackle and tackle.
Kuyt: 7.5 Scored an acute header.
Gerrard: 7.5 Superb diving header.
Riera: 7 Nice display.
Keane: 6.5 Missed a glorious chance.

Substitutions:
Torres: 7.5 Hardworking and was rewarded with a nice assist.
Lucas: 7 Should have scored from 6 yards.
Benayoun: 7 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the way we control the game, although we cannot score a goal by foot.

Bolton Wanderers: 6 Potential banana skin but did not shown up in 1H.

Man of the Match: Alonso. Playing near his peak for us.

Go back to the right track

After a dismal result at Spurs we now need to go back to the right track as soon as possible. Bolton is a difficult place to visit and we need to be patience to gradually break them through.

My Team Prediction:
Reina

Carragher
Darby
Agger
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081112 at Tottenham Hotspur: Shamble defense

2-4 and we were well beaten. Defense from both sides were shamble, and we may have a penalty denied, but in reality we really don't deserve to win this game at all.

Players Rating:
Cavalieri: 4 Can't be blamed on the first goal, but should have done better for the others.
Degen: 5 Should have win us a penalty.
Agger: 5.5 Poor performance.
Hyypia: 7 The only player to have shown up.
Dossena: 5 Hopeless.
El Zhar: 6.5 Had a few nice runs.
Lucas: 5.5 Sat too deep without helping attack.
Plessis: 6 Scored one but in general sat too deep as well.
Babel: 6 Two nice corners lead to two goals.
Ngog: 5.5 Run into defenders all the time.
Torres: 5.5 Still getting back from injury.

Substitutions:
Insua: 6 Offered very few to the team.
Alonso: 6.5 Installed some stability to the team.
Darby: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 5 Would be upset about the team playing with no heart.

Tottenham Hotspur: 7.5 Have more desire to win than us, and rightly deserved the victory.

Man of the Match: Hyypia. Scored one to restore us some pride.

Second string to shine

After our surprised defeat at Spurs 10 11 days ago we are now back to White Hart Lane and this is a chance for us to revenge. Rafa will only play most of the fringe players apart from Torres, and we need to be at our very best to beat Spurs the defending champion.

My Team Prediction:
Cavalieri
Degan
Agger
Hyypia
Dossena
Leiva
Plessis
Pennant
Benayoun
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 081108 vs West Bromwich Albion: Back on the right track

3-0 and it was a comfortable win. Keane finally opens his account in the league, and Arbeloa scored another superb goal. Apart from the first 15 minutes when West Brom was keeping possession well, we were never in trouble. We always had the ball, and once Keane scored his first we were in complete control. Together with Torres back in action, we can now start another long unbeaten run.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 A comfortable afternoon.
Arbeloa: 8 A very good performance ended with a supreme goal.
Carragher: 7 Solid as usual.
Agger: 7 Defended well.
Aurelio: 8 His best performance for us and involved in the first two goals.
Benayoun: 7 A lively performance.
Gerrard: 7 Not as influential, but there was not a need.
Mascherano: 7 Solid performance.
Riera: 7 Not as sharp as he first joined us.
Kuyt: 7.5 Another hard working performance.
Keane: 9 His best performance for us so far.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6.5 A steady performance.
Torres: 6.5 A long-awaited back to action. Provided some pace to us.
Alonso: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be happy about the performance especially the rebound from the Spurs defeat.

West Bromwich Albion: 6 Credits to them for not parking the bus. However they did not offer much to guarantee at least a draw.

Man of the Match: Keane. Two superb goals.

Rebound

After an unlucky defeat at Spurs and a lucky draw vs Atletico Madrid, it is now time for us to rebound. A loss in the season is not unusual, but if we want to be Champion we need to show the world we can cope of it, and rebound to start another winning streak.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Kuyt
Gerrard
Alonso
Riera
Keane
Torres

Result 4:0

Match Report 081104 vs Atletico Madrid: Lucky Escape

1-1 and it was a very, very lucky and close escape, as Stevie G needs to score a 95th minute penalty before we can get a draw, and the penalty was a bit debatable. We did not do well in 1H and was rightly punished. We geared up a bit in 2H but still couldn't break through, until the very last minute that the referee generously gave us a penalty.

In general the team is tired, and we missed Torres badly. Without him, we just cannot convert chances into goals, as can be seen in the last 5 matches with a single goal only.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do and can't do much for the goal conceded.
Arbeloa/Aurelio: 6.5 Did not go forward too often.
Carragher: 7 Solid defense in general.
Agger: 7.5 Had several chances to score but missed.
Alonso: 7 Dictate the pace well.
Mascherano: 7 Quiet and effective.
Kuyt: 7 Hard working as usual.
Gerrard: 7.5 His never-say-die spirit earned us a point.
Riera: 6.5 Form dipped.
Keane: 6.5 Has a great chance but was too late to shot.

Substitutions:
Babel/Ngog/Lucas: 6 Not much impact.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to address the team's lack of goals. But with Torres coming back, the situation may change.

Atletico Madrid: Did well and were a bit unlucky not to win this game. Anyway, both teams should go through to last 16.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Saved us again.

Qualification

After a disappointing weekend we now have another big game coming up. Depending on result of Marseille vs PSV, a win tonight may see us qualified, which means we can then focus on the league. Torres may be a bit early to start, but expect him to come up as a sub and get the applause from both sides of fans.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081101 at Tottenham Hotspur: Unlucky

1-2 and we suffered our first defeat of the season, and temporarily conceded the pole position. For the first 70 minutes, in particular the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, we did very well and could win by 4:0, but somehow we only scored one and then we get punished for missing so many chances. Carra scored his 3rd own goal against Spurs, and at the end a sloppy mistake by the defense let Spurs out of the lion den with 3 points.

A loss in this context is very hard to take, but over the season we will concede points here and there, and now we need to react and rebound quickly. Show the world we can win the league.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Made a few great saves but was also a bit indecisive. May have affected the defense.
Arbeloa: 6.5 A bit shaky.
Carragher: 6 Was superb until the own goal.
Agger: 6.5 Should have done better in clearing the 2nd goal conceded.
Dosenna: 6.5 Get caught off position for the 2nd goal conceded.
Alonso: 7 Did well and should have scored from a free header.
Mascherano: 7 Did his job effectively.
Kuyt: 7.5 Scored a great goal and should have score more.
Gerrard: 8 Hit the woodwork twice.
Riera: 6 A bit quiet.
Keane: 6.5 Did well in 1H but level drops significantly in 2H.

Substitutions:
Babel/Benayoun: 6 Not much impact.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be gutted in losing the match, but now need to make sure we respond positively.

Tottenham Hotspur: 6.5 Would be glad they win this game. Clearly good luck is more important than good football. And if their luck continues they will avoid relegation.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Very unlucky not to score a goal and win the game.

Beware of the banana skin

After a hard earned victory against Portsmouth we now have a tricky game at Spurs who has a new manager and have high spirit after their amazing come back from 2-4 at Arsenal. Rafa has rested a few players for the midweek game and although Torres seem to be still a few days from a start, we still have the manpower to win the game and maintain the 3 point lead. Keane will be in particular eager to have a great game in his memorial first game back to the Lane.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

October Month Review

5 wins, 1 draw, and we are on top of both the Premier League and Champions League group table. We were perfect in the league with 4 wins, 2 dramatic came from behind followed by a superb win at Chelsea, and then we break down the tight defense of Portsmouth to maintain a 3 point lead in the table. In Europe we continued our good run by beating PSV but a rare mistake let Atletico equalised. In general this is a very good month, but there are still 7 months to go and we need to keeping fighting till the end.

Players of the Month (1) Gerrard 7.85 (2) Kuyt 7.79 (3) Alonso 7.60. Stevie G once again excels with 2 goals and 2 assists in the month, and he has been the engine in driving us forward. Kuyt did very well in the absense of Torres and scored 4 goals including 2 match winners in our comebacks. Xabi also did very well throughout the month, with a highlight of scoring the winning goal at Stamford Bridge.

November prediction:
11/1 Tottenham Hotspur (a) Spurs is on a high after the dramatic comeback at Arsenal, so we need to be at our best to tear the down for Keane's return.
11/4 Atletico Madrid (h) Torres to welcome his buddy, and a win will guarantee our entrance in the last 16.
11/8 West Bromwich Albion (h) West Brom will be defending hard so we need to be patient to break them down.
11/12 Tottenham Hotspur (a) Rafa will rest some key players but whoever play need to be at their best to go through.
11/15 Bolton Wanderers (a) Win this game for Sammy Lee to maintain the momentum.
11/22 Fulham (h) Another stubborn defense to break down.
11/26 Marseille (h) Whichever team Rafa put on for this match would need to perform well to get another 3 points.

Match Report 081029 vs Portsmouth: Patience is the key

1-0 and Stevie G has once again saved the team and won us a crucial 3 points. Portsmouth came with an idea to get a point, and we need to be patient to tear down their defense. At the end our patience paid off, and from a wild needless handball by Diop we earned a penalty, Gerrard converted the resulting penalty with superb precision.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Another cleansheet.
Arbeloa: 7 A nice performance.
Carragher: 7.5 Handled Crouch very well.
Hyypia: 7.5 A convincing performance both up and down the field.
Aurelio: 7 Good performance and constantly attacking.
Alonso: 7.5 Another nice performance in dictating the midfield.
Lucas: 7 Good performance.
Pennant: 6.5 Couldn't deliver the ball from the side too often.
Gerrard: 8.5 Everywhere on the pitch.
Babel: 6.5 Got kicked many times.
Kuyt: 7 Had a few great chances denied by James.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 6.5 Had a good one-on-one opportunity but couldn't convert.
Riera: 6.5 Did well when coming up.
Keane: 7 Had two great chances despite only play for 3 minutes.

Rafa: 7 Would be delighted about the team's determination to win the game.

Portsmouth: 6 Didn't offer much as their intention is to come and get one point.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Determined not to let the points slipped away.

Up where we belong

It has been a long long time since we were top of the table. The pressure is here, but we have enough strength to keep moving towards the title. And this is up where we belong.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hyypia
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Babel

Result 2:0

Match Report 081026 at Chelsea: Records are there to break

1-0 and we finally break the duck and will at Stamford Bridge. What's more, we also ended their home unbeaten run of 86 games, and we did it with style.

We controlled the game well and were never in danger of losing, especially once we went ahead. In fact we should have win by a higher margin. Everybody played well and it was almost perfect.

This win will send a strong message to the rest of the league that we mean business and are now strong title challenger. However, we must not get carried away and we need to keep it up until we win the title. Then we can start thinking of #20 and beyond.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Not much to do.
Arbeloa: 7.5 Probably his best game in a red jersey.
Carragher: 8.5 Rock solid and excelled when we were in trouble.
Agger: 7.5 Approaching his best conditions gradually.
Aurelio: 7.5 Solid defending and one of his best game with us.
Agger: 9 Scored the winning goal and almost scored another. Also dictating the midfield well.
Mascherano: 8 Keep tackling with ease and style.
Kuyt: 8 Hard working as usual and was involved in the goal.
Gerrard: 8.5 Linked up well with the striker and the midfielders.
Riera: 8 Superb performance as usual.
Keane: 7 Slightly affected by the injury but still perform well.

Substitutions:
Babel: 8 A constant threat to them.
Lucas: 7.5 Solid defending in the middle.
Hyypia: 7.5 Headed us to safety despite only played for 4 minutes.

Rafa: 8.5 Tactical genius.

Chelsea: 6.5 Ran out of ideas and were never in threat of scoring a goal. But they will rebound so we need to keep going.

Man of the Match: Alonso. Wonder goal.

Perfect 90 minutes

As Rafa said we need a perfect 90 minutes to end their 86 games home unbeaten league games run. Torres will not be available, but we still have enough strength to win this game. It will be tough, but we can do it.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081022 at Atletico Madrid: Two point loss but one step closer

1-1 and although we blew the chance to be 3 points clear at the top, we are indeed a step closer to qualification. However we have Keane, Alonso and Gerrard slightly injured and we need them to recover as soon as possible to cope with the coming games.

We started the game well and scored one quickly despite Keane seemed to be offside. We then have several chances and a decent penalty claim but were unable to extend the lead. At the second half they moved up a gear and we were unable to coupe with. At the end a draw is a fair result.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Made a few saves but have no chance on the goal conceded.
Arbeloa/Agger/Dossena: 6.5 Defense as a group could not cope with the Ateletico attack in 2H.
Carragher: 6.5 A rare mistake lead to a goal conceded.
Alonso: 7 Dictate the game well until he was forced off.
Mascherano: 6.5 A bit quiet.
Benayoun: 7 Had a legitimate goal ruled out.
Gerrard: 7.5 A pin-point pass to create the goal.
Riera: 6.5 A bit quiet.
Keane: 7.5 Scored a nice goal.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 6.5 Hard working as usual
Babel: 6.5 Missed a great chance to kill off the game.
Lucas: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: Would be gutted not to win this game at his home town. However, he now have more works to do to sort out defense errors and the injures.

Atletico Madrid: 6.5 Slow in 1H but gear up in 2H. It is very likely that both team will qualify for last 16.

Men of the Match: Gerrard and Keane. Nice assist and nice goal taken.

Win it for Torres

It is a pity that Torres has been denied a chance to go back home, but we should have enough strength to win this. A win will mean we will be almost certain to quality for the next round, so we need to sort this out as soon as possible.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 081018 vs Wigan Athletic: The art of coming from behind

3-2 again and once again we need to come from behind to win the game - this time we need to do it twice. Wigan was very strong and they don't just come to get one point but they were targeting for all three points. We made a few silly mistakes at the back, but we try and try and finally we scored two great goals to win the game.

Although this game proves we have the strength to beat any team under any situation, we must not come to this kind of position too often. Rather, we need to try to go up front, kill off the game and then relax a bit. This is good for everybody's health.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 A bit careless for conceding the first goal.
Arbeloa: 6 Did OK but not too impressive.
Carragher: 6.5 At times he found it difficult to cope with Zaki.
Agger: 6.5 Responsible for the first goal but recovered very soon with a nice assist.
Dosenna: 5.5 Awkward defending throughout the game.
Pennant: 7.5 Provided a few great crosses, especially the winner.
Gerrard: 6.5 A poor game for his standard. Also tried too hard to win the game single hand and should trust his teammates.
Alonso: 7 A calm figure in the team and once again his ankle proves the crucial by leading to another sent-off.
Riera: 8 A superb equalizer to open his Anfield account - and it's with his right foot!
Keane: 7.5 Impressive runs throughout the game and was a bit unlucky not to score one.
Kuyt: 9 He did it again in saving us another 3 points.

Substitutions:
El Zhar: 7.5 A superb pass to creat the second equalizer.
Benayoun: 7 Came up to help the attacks.
Hyypia: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be delighted about the fighting spirit but he need to address the problem at the back very soon.

Wigan Athletic: 7 All credits to them. They didn't just come and sit back hoping for a point. But at the end we have more will to win it.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. There's always a place for the flying Dutchman.

Break another duck

This is a season of breaking all the ducks. We finally beaten Manchester under Rafa, and now it is time to beat Steve Bruce's team in the league. We won't have Skrtel, Torres and Babel, but we should have enough firepower to shot them down.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Riera
Keane
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 081005 at Manchester CIty: Istanbul

3-2 and we come from two goals down and win the game in injury time. The players really have the belief to win, and we fully deserve it.

We started brightly in this game but somehow two careless mistakes and we were 2 down. But we never gave up, Torres once again show his skills and scored two to equalized the game. Kuyt has missed twice in 1H but at the end he has the last laugh by scoring the winning goal. The worrying sign is that Skrtel is injured, and we wish him to come back soon.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Could have done better for the two goals conceded, especially the second one.
Arbeloa: 7 Did well going forward especially in the second half.
Skrtel: 6.5 Was exposed by the speed of Robinho and later on injured. Get well soon.
Carragher: 7 Did well as usual.
Aurelio: 6 Cannot keep with the pace of Wright-Phillips.
Alonso: 7.5 Consistent performance throughout.
Mascherano: 6 A rare poor performance.
Kuyt: 7.5 Missed two sitters in 1H, but at the end he had the last laugh.
Gerrard: 8 Over played in 1H but did well to recover in 2H including a superb corner that lead to the equaliser.
Riera: 7 Provided many deadly crosses but nobody at the end to take them.
Torres: 9 Annoymous in 1H, but did well in 2H to score two goals. Also missed another hat trick.

Substitutions:
Dossena: 7 Did well when coming up.
Keane: 7.5 Created spaces for Kuyt and Torres for the winning goal.
Benayoun: 7 Did well in attack.

Rafa: 7 Would be disappointed about the mistakes in 1H, but would be happy about the way we came from behind. However he needs to sort out the defense as Skrtel is injured.

Manchester City: 6.5 Superb in 1H but then offered nothing in 2H. The red card may be a cause but long before that they let us controlled the game.

Man of the Match: Torres. Missed another hat trick though.

Money can't buy you love

Manchester City is the latest team to have limitedness riches, but sometimes money just can't buy you success. City of Manchester Ground is a place we seldom, but they are still not there yet, so we need to take this chance.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Aurelio
Kuyt
Gerrard
Mascherano
Riera
Keane
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 081001 vs PSV Eindhoven: Almost perfect

3-1 and this is a superb performance. We controlled the game throughout and the team is showing signs of ruthless. It was also a night of milestones, with Keane scoring his first goal for us, Stevie G the 100th, and this is Rafa's 250th game and we scored 100 goals in Champions League, and Carra is now in the top ten list of most games for Liverpool.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Nothing to do except picking up the ball from the net which he has no chance to save.
Arbeloa: 7 A very good performance.
Skrtel: 7 A good performance except for a lost of attention that lead to us conceding a goal.
Carragher: 7.5 Rock at the back.
Aurelio: 7.5 Nice performance that capped with a simple assist to Stevie G.
Kuyt: 8 Our Europe King keeps on scoring.
Gerrard: 8 Superb 100th goal at the Kop.
Alonso: 7.5 Disciplined game.
Riera: 7 Quiet but effective.
Keane: 8.5 Opened his scoring account with a superb goal.
Torres: 8 Didn't scored but did very well in creating chances.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7 Effective display.
Lucas/Babel: 7 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8 Would be very happy about this performance, although we conceded a goal needlessly. Now we need to keep this momentum.

PSV Eindhoven: 5 Completely outclassed.

Man of the Match: Keane. First goal of many for us.

Avoid complacency

After a superb derby win it is now back to Europe, and we are facing PSV once again. They are a different team than two years before, and we need to be guarded to beat them. And if we beat them, we will be in a very good position to qualify.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Aurelio
Kuyt
Gerrard
Mascherano
Babel
Keane
Torres

Result 2:0

September Monthly Review

4 wins, 1 draw. We maintained our position as joint top in the league, got 3 precious points at Marseille, and are through to the next round of the League Cup. In the league we beat our two greatest rivals, although we could not break through the stubborn Stoke defense. Definitely we can still improve in October, and there are some tough games coming up.

Players of the Month (1) Gerrard 7.84 (2) Reina 7.50 (3) Carragher 7.34. Stevie G came back from surgery and scored two great goals at Marseille, Reina is strong at the back and add two more clean sheets to his record book, and Carragher is as solid as ever, doing some last man saves.

October prediction:
10/1 PSV Eindhoven (h) PSV is not as strong as they used to be, but we still need to do well to get three points.
10/5 Manchester City (a) They are still not there yet, and we need to take three points home.
10/18 Wigan Athletic (h) We need to break through their stubborn defense and avoid a repeat of Stoke.
10/22 Atletico Madrid (a) Torres return home, would be sensational.
10/26 Chelsea (a) We need to get a result at the Bridge.
10/29 Portsmouth (h) Return of Crouch, Carra will find a method to contain him.

Match Report 080927 at Everton: Torres back

2-0 and Torres is back with two lovely goals. If not for Kuyt's infringement he would have scored a hat trick. We controlled the game with ease and fully deserved the victory.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Rarely tested.
Arbeloa: 7 A good performance.
Skrtel: 7 Solid display.
Carragher: 8 Superb save on the line.
Dossena: 6.5 A little bit quiet.
Kuyt: 7.5 A constant threat.
Gerrard: 7.5 Self-disciplined performance.
Alonso: 7 Quietly but effective.
Riera: 7 Provide a few good crossings.
Keane: 7.5 Great assist to the first goal.
Torres: 8.5 Two great goals that settled the game.

Substitutions:
Aurelio: 6.5 Provided defensive support.
Lucas/Pennant: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Great team performance as we were always at the top.

Everton: 6 Didn't do much to deserve at least one point.

Man of the Match: Torres. Back from the goal drought.

The Derby

After a disappointing weekend vs Stoke we need to lift ourselves up as soon as possible, and a derby win will certainly help to boast the morale. Everton had not win at home yet this season, but they will be up for it, so we need to be strong.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080923 vs Crewe Alexandra: Credits to the railroad men

2-1 and although we are through, we need to give credits to the Crewe players. They gave us lots of pressures and at the end we are strong enough to go through. The youngsters did quite well and Rafa will take note and give them some more chances when available.

Players Rating:
Cavalieri: 6.5 A fair debut.
Degen: 6.5 Unlucky to have injured on his debut.
Agger: 7.5 Scored a great freekick, but is also responsible for the goal conceded.
Hyypia: 7 Solid display from big Sami.
Insua: 6.5 Willing to go forward.
Pennant: 7 A lively performance and provided a great assist.
Lucas: 7.5 Scored a brave header.
Plessis: 6.5 Solid performance.
El Zhar: 6.5 Lively and productive.
Babel: 7 Have a few chances.
Ngog: 6.5 A good full squad debut.

Substitutions:
Torres: 6.5 Have 2 great one on one chances.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid as a make-shift right back.
Keane: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be happy in general about the 2nd tier team performance.

Crewe Alexandra: 7 Raised to the moment and did well.

Men of the Match: Agger and Lucas. Two great goals scored.

Youngsters to shine

League Cup vs Crewe will be the last item on Rafa's agenda, and this is a good chance for youngsters to impress. Hopefully, Keane will open his account tonight.

My Team Prediction:
Cavalieri
Degan
Agger
Hyypia
Insua
El Zhar
Lucas
Plessis
Riera
Keane
Ngog

Result 4:0

Match Report 080920 vs Stoke City: Two points lost

0-0 and this is a very disappointing result. We were robbed by the referee of a Stevie G centurion goal, and then we try our very best but just could not break down the Stoke defense. Credit must be given to Stoke as being so resistant, and they deserved to get a point.

We now missed the opportunity to go to the top of the league, but there are still 33 games to play, so we need to get back to the right track now.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do but he is alert when called to service.
Arbeloa: 7 Doing well in helping the attack.
Carragher/Skrtel: 7 Solid as usual and also helped in attack.
Dossena: 6.5 Did not offer too much to the attack.
Kuyt: 7 Worked very hard but couldn't score.
Gerrard: 7.5 Goal should have count. He tried very hard to win it for us.
Alonso: 7 A nice curler and almost scored.
Riera: 6.5 Did not offer too many crossings.
Keane: 6.5 Have a few half chances but could not make it.
Torres: 6.5 Not back to top fit condition yet.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6 Not much offered.
Benayoun: 6.5 Offered a few sparks but couldn't turn them into goals.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be disappointed about the result, although the team had tried hard.

Stoke City: 6.5 Come to get a point and get what they deserved.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. 100th goal will come very soon.

Roll on

Stoke at home may seems like an easy game, but we still need to pay respect to the opponents. Their strength is their free throws and we need to be strong enough and alert to this big threat.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hyypia
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Keane
Torres

Result 3:0

Match Report 080916 at Marseille: Belief

2-1 and this is the 3rd time in this season that we win from behind. The team really has confidence to beat anyone in any situation.

Marseille was very strong in attack and we got caught by their quick action. Fortunately we have Stevie G and he scored a beauty and a re-taken penalty calmly. The team has a great start in the Champions League and if we perform like this, qualification won't be a problem.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8 Made many good saves to earn us 3 points.
Arbeloa/Aurelio: 7 Solid display and willing to help the attacks.
Carragher: 7 Despite one lose of mind that lead to the first goal, he was rock solid as usual.
Skrtel: 7 Good display.
Lucas: 7 Repaid Rafa's faith in helping to create the equaliser.
Mascherano: 7 A bit quiet but very effective.
Kuyt: 7.5 Clever flick on to assist Gerrard.
Gerrard: 9 Two great goals and bring his total goals for us to 99.
Babel: 7.5 A few great chances but were denied.
Torres: 6.5 A bit quiet on his return.

Substitutions:
Riera/Benayoun: 6.5 Came up to maintain the form of the team.
Keane: 6.5 Not enough time to shine.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be happy about the way we came from behind, but need to work on defense.

Marseille: 7 A good team at home but at the end we edge through them.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. 99 goals and counting.

Keep the momentum

After a nice win over our bittiest rival our focus is now moved to Europe. We beat Marseille 4-0 and their home last year, but they are an improved team now and they won't let this happen again. This is a tough group and we need to be at our best in order to get a result.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Gerrard
Riera
Kuyt
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 080913 vs Manchester United: We finally beat them

2-1 and we finally beat them. And we deserved it. Despite conceded a goal in the 3rd minute we keep pressing and pressing, and at the end we beat them. The whole team did well, and the Kop was very loudly as well. This win give us confidence and this season is going to be exciting.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Superb throughout.
Arbeloa/Aurelio: 7.5 Did well and provided many dangerous crossings.
Skrtel/Carragher: Two rocks in the middle.
Alonso: 7.5 A solid display.
Mascherano: 9 He is everywhere and drives the team in the absence of Gerrard.
Kuyt: 8 Superb workrate.
Benayoun: 7.5 Many clever runs that drags the defenders out of position.
Riera: 7.5 Nice debut.
Keane: 7.5 Good performance.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 7 A composed display.
Babel: 8 Super sub.
Hyypia: 7 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8 Would be happy about the performance especially the response to conceding the early goal.

Manchester United: 5.5 An off day for them despite leading in 3 minutes. They don't deserve to get anything from this match.

Man of the Match: Mascherano. Repaying Rafa's faith.

7 year's itch

It has been 7 years since we last beat them, and this is the time to do it again. We may have a bit fitness problem, but whoever plays will need to be at 100% to beat them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Dossena
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Keane
Torres

Result 2:0

August Monthly Review

3 wins, 2 draws. We are joint top of the league and in the Champions League Group Stage. So far so good. But we have problem in scoring and now that Gerrard and Torres are both injured, and Keane has yet picked up his form. Rafa had a lot of homework to do, especially we have a few tough games coming. The team needs to improve to sustain the run.

Players of the Month: (1) Reina 7.56 (2) Gerrard 7.06 (3) Carragher 6.88. Reina has 4 clean sheets in the month and was the major contributor to the result of the month. Stevie G drives us to victories over victories and scored the winning goal vs Boro. And Carra, the man actually scores and has now scored as many goals as own goals.

September Prediction:
9/13 Manchester United (h) Tough game with Stevie G and Torres doubtful, it's time for Keane to deliver.
9/16 Marseille (a) Kick off of Champions League as where we left in Group Stage last season. We won 4-0 last time and this time it will be tough.
9/20 Stoke City (h) We need to win this game.
9/24 Crewe Alexandra (h) Time for the youngsters to shine. Ngog X Nemeth?
9/27 Everton (a) One of the biggest game of the season, they seems to be weaker and has yet to win at home, but we still need to be at our top to beat them.

Match Report 080831 at Aston VIlla: We missed Gerrard and Torres

0-0 and although the result is not too bad given it is an away game at a tough ground, the performance of the team was really bad. We rarely tested Friedel and at the end we get what we deserve - 1 point. The more worry sign is that Torres will now be out for 2 to 3 weeks. This is a very worrying fact consider who our next opponent is.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not really tested.
Arbeloa/Skrtel/Carragher/Dossena: 6.5 Solid display as a group.
Mascherano: 7.5 Nice performance.
Lucas: 6 Not much help to the attacks.
Kuyt: 6.5 Had a few close shots.
Alonso: 6 Not much help in attack.
Keane: 6.5 Had one of our best chance when played in the middle, but he lacked confidence.
Torres: 6 We are going to miss him.

Substitutions:
Ngog: 6.5 Quite lively.
Aurelio/Benayoun: 6 Not much contribution.

Rafa: 6.5 Seems like he come for a point, and he gets what he want.

Aston Villa: 6.5 Solid display but in reality they did not do enough to win the game.

Man of the Match: Mascherano. Played a better game than the rest of the squad.

Improve our game

We were lucky in our first 4 game, but we need to improve our game quickly before lucky runs out. With Stevie G the other players need to play much harder especially Villa Park is a tough place to go, and they will be up for this after the Barry saga.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Skrtel
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Keane
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080827 vs Standard Liege: Lucky escape

1-0 and we were really lucky to win the game. Standard Liege played very well and Reina was at his best to keep us in the game. It was not until the 118th minute that Kuyt received a great crossing from Babel that ruled out the penalty shootout. In all it was a very poor performance and we were lucky to go through.

Is the problem due to formation? To cope with Keane and due to absense of Mascherano, Rafa needed to change from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2, but it was very clear that we lack wide players. It was not until El Zhar came on that we have more attacks from the side, and Babel was virtually anonymous before the winning cross. Now that Stevie G need to have an operation, Rafa may still need to play 4-4-2, but the next two games are going to be very tough. More works need to be done by Rafa in the next fortnight.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8.5 Another on fire performance.
Arbeloa: 6 Poor performance.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid performance.
Skrtel: 6.5 Solid but not impressive.
Aurelio: 7 Willing to go forward and was one of the better player.
Kuyt: 7.5 Worked hard and at the end he sent us through. But he is not a wide player and lack pace.
Gerrard: 6.5 Affected by injury.
Alonso: 6 Not much contribution.
Benayoun: 5.5 Anonymous.
Keane: 6 Still couldn't gel into the team yet.
Torres: 6 Not many chances.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6.5 Largely anonymous before his terrific cross.
El Zhar: 7 Came on and provided us the much needed width.
Plessis: 6 Time killer.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be disappointed about the performance, and he now has another big problem to solve as Gerrard will be out for 10-15 days.

Standard Liege: 7 Would count themselves unlucky not to go through.

Player of the Match: Reina. 12 million saves.

We need to win

This is a must win game and we need to be gear up to avoid any embarrassment. Standard Liege proved they can be dangerous at their home, but this is Fortress Anfield and the Kop will drive us to another memorable European night.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Skrtel
Dossena
Kuyt
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Torres
Keane

Result 3-0

Match Report 080823 vs Middlesbrough: We created our luck

2-1 and two late late goals from Carra and Stevie G settled the win. Some may say that this is due to luck, but we need to create our own luck. Should Carra not be alert and not take a shot, there will not be an equalizer; Should Stevie G gave up after his wonderful freekick was blocked by Turnbull, there will not be a winner. These are great turning points of the game, and we won the game with the never say die spirit.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 A good performance and had no chance to the Mido goal.
Arbeloa: 6 Did not offer too much going forward.
Skrtel: 7.5 Solid defending.
Carragher: 8.5 Scored one, saved one. Superb.
Dossena: 6.5 Didn't go forward as expected.
Kuyt: 6 Not much offered.
Gerrard: 8 Tried and tried and scored a winner.
Alonso: 6 Was guilty of giving away the ball for the goal conceded, but repaid by involving in both goals scored.
Benayoun: 6 Not much offered.
Torres: 7 Very lively but couldn't scored.
Keane: 7 Much better performance and was involved in the winning goal.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6 Largely anonymous.
Aurelio: 6 Not enough time to impress.
El Zhar: 6.5 Provided more width to us.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the fighting spirit. But we need to improve to beat Standard Liege.

Middlesbrough: 7 A well done performance and they deserve at least one point. But this is Fortress Anfield.

Player of the Match: Carragher. Inspired us to win with short sheeves.

Home win

First home game of the season is vital to give something for the fans to cheer for, and no doubt we need to work hard for a win. Boro was single hand destroyed by Torres last season, and he will be continuing his momentum with the help of Keane and the gang.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Kuyt
Gerrard
Alonso
Benayoun
Torres
Keane

Result 2:0

Match Report 080816 at Sunderland: Torres saves the day again

1-0 and it was the wonder goal of Torres that won us the 3 points. It was a difficult match, and we did not start playing well until 30 minutes. But in the second half it was one way traffic with Alonso coming on, and he almost scored from 60 yards. At the end he provided a killer pass to Torres and what a golden goal it was.

At the end of the day, 3 point away from home is not a bad result, but if we want to win #19, we definitely need to improve a lot.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet as he was not seriously challenged.
Arbeloa: 6 An average performance.
Carragher: 7 A solid performance.
Hyypia: 7 Apart from an early error he was superb especially in his positioning.
Dossena: 7 Good performance especially when going forward.
Kuyt: 6 Average performance.
Gerrard: 7 Good performance.
Plessis: 5.5 Poor in passing.
Benayoun: 6.5 Had a good game and should have win us a penalty.
Torres: 7.5 Two chances, one goal.
Keane: 6 Did not do to well and even blocked Torres' shot.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 8 Superb performance. If he play like this week in, week out Rafa would keep him.
El Zhar/Aurelio: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Still need to improve especially the understanding between Keane and Torres.

Sunderland: 6 Didn't do much to win the game apart from the first 30 minutes, but they are a much improved team then last year.

Player of the Match: Alonso. One assist, and almost scored from 60 yards.

Start perform well

After a disappointed draw at Belgium it is now back to our bread and butter. Sunderland away won't be an easy task and we need to play much better if we are to get a result. Gerrard will be back and give the team more confidence, and Keane and Torres need to play with more understanding. A draw won't be too bad at this early stage, but if we really want to challenge for the title, start with a win.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Kuyt
Gerrard
Alonso
Benayoun
Keane
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080813 at Standard Liege: Wake up, team!

0-0 and we were very lucky not to lose the game. Is it because Gerrard was injured, or just the players are not yet into the game? Thanks to the superb performance of Reina, who made a few good saves especially a penalty save and we can go home with a draw. Still we definitely need to wake up if we are to qualify, as one mistake with a goal conceded will make it very difficult.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8 Superb performance to keep us alive.
Arbeloa/Carragher/Agger: 6 Average performance.
Dossena: 6 Handball almost cost us the game, although it should be out of penalty area.
Alonso: 6 Almost scored from a free kick.
Plessis/Kuyt: 5.5 Very quiet.
Keane/Benayoun: 5 Anonymous.
Torres: 5.5 Not yet back to his normal performance.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 6.5 Came up and brought some confidence to the players.
El Zhar: 6 Insufficient time to impress.

Rafa: 6 Disappointed about the team performance and need to do a lot to improve.

Standard Liege: 6 Would regret not winning the first leg.

Man of the Match: Reina. Saved us from further disgrace.

Season starts

Season will start tonight with a tricky trip to Belgium. Although our focus should be in the league, we still need Champions League money to finance the team, so we need to make sure we can get in. With several injuries Rafa may play some youngsters. Whoever will start tonight, make sure to bring victory home.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Dossena
Agger
Plessis
Kuyt
Keane
Benayoun
Torres

Result 2:0

So Long, Crouchie

Thanks for all your contributions. You really is a class player and in an ideal world you should stay. But you are at a stage that you want to play, so it's really sorry to see you go.

Good luck.

A modest man

More praise on the man. It's rare to see a player so humble yet with so much talent.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article4272547.ece

Fernando Torres: Rafael Benitez pushed me to greatness

Russell Kempson
Few foreign players have adapted better - or as quickly - to the unique demands of top-flight football in England than Fernando Torres. In his first season, after arriving at Liverpool 12 months ago, he scored 33 goals in all competitions.

Yet as the prolific Spain striker ponders how he can improve next season, having set the bar so high, he is swift to pay tribute to the part that Rafael Benítez played in his rapid and spectacular progress. Without the intense guidance of the Liverpool manager, Torres maintains, he might not have made such an immediate impact.

“There are days when you think: ‘My God, this guy [Benítez] doesn't let you breathe',” Torres, a £20.2million buy from Atlético Madrid, said. “At times like that, you don't realise that all he wants is for you to improve.

“When you are in a team where things are going mostly well, players tend to relax. But you must always push yourself. Never become complacent; you try to do your best every single day. At a club like Liverpool, you can't sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say: 'Well, that's it.' After you score 20, Benítez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week.

“He tells you to go off on your own and do new exercises. I want to progress in life, not relax, not be complacent, and you need someone close to you telling you to keep at it. It is impossible to do it otherwise. We don't always fancy someone that close but, in the long term, I am sure that everybody will thank him for it.”

Torres, 24, carried his form into the international arena this summer, scoring two goals as Spain were crowned European champions. His second goal - a trademark effort embracing power and pace - was enough to see off Germany 1-0 in the final in Vienna.

If Benítez's influence has been great, Torres has also reaped the benefit of playing alongside Steven Gerrard, the England midfield player. He has watched Gerrard closely - on and off the pitch - and used the Liverpool captain as an example of how to deal with life in the goldfish bowl that is Merseyside.

“I really admire Steven,” Torres said in an interview in Champions, the official magazine of the Uefa Champions League, said. “I know the pressure he is under every day, everybody talking about him all day long. In the changing-room, in the pubs, in the stadium. I've heard people say he should be stronger, have a stronger personality. I know by experience how difficult it is to deal with that because Liverpool is a huge club. And he's at another level, of course.

“People look at you from a distance and challenge you with their eyes. All that happens to Steve every day and he copes with it, everything that is expected of him all the time. He's always under tremendous pressure to perform and everyone looks to him to show leadership, to lift the team.

“He's a great example, and those of us who have been in a similar situation know how difficult it is to handle. It's incredible the way he carries himself regardless of what is going on around him. I'd love to be captain of another team one day and Steve has shown me how to be a great leader.”

During a career of many highs, Torres has had to endure his lows, too, particularly before his move to Anfield. He would turn to Olalla, his girlfriend, for sympathy and advice. “She has had to suffer much disappointed ranting and moaning, especially when I was at Atlético,” Torres said. “Now, she is also having a good time herself.

“She knows how to calm me down when I haven't been able to see the way out of the tunnel or wake me up when I've been sleeping. She pushes me when I need to be encouraged. The person that lives with you is sometimes the only one capable of helping you up when you don't realise how down you are.”

Viva Espana!

Well done Torres. Next year you will bring us #19!

How did you score that goal?

Finally Riise is leaving us for a new challenge. Although he didn't play too well for the last season, he will always be remembered for all that goal against MU.

Well done John Arne, and all the best!

2007/08 Season Review

In terms of result and trophy, this season seems to be the worst since Rafa take up. But with the boardroom saga clouding for most of the season, we still managed to finish top 4 with a semi final in Champions League, and with a bit more of luck we would be in the 3rd final in 4 seasons.

This season we only lost 4 matches, but we drew too many games (13 in total, co-leader with Spurs) which really hurts. Especially at home, with the 6 draws we only get 42 points whereas Manchester gets 52. Away we are OK, and although we only win 9 games, which is the lowest among top 4, in terms of points we are not that far off except when compared with Chelsea.

In the Champions League, we had a slow start but at the end 3 consecutive wins helped us qualified. We did well vs Inter Milan and Arsenal, but when we play Chelsea we have no luck with Riise's own goal, and the tie was already lost in the 1st leg.

In the domestic cups we also faced Chelsea in the League Cup and was eliminated. Although the draw has been kind to us in FA Cup, we didn't seize the chance and lost to Barnsley.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Itandje: 7G 630M 10GC 1CS 0MoM 6.29
Martin: 12 unused substitutes
Reina: 52G 4710M 40GC 24CS 2MoM 6.90

Reina continues to play well and won the golden glove for the third season in a row. Some critics may feel he sometimes flops in important games as shown when we play Manchester United, and this is certainly an area he can improve. Itandje also get some chances in the domestic cup games, but his performance was so-so and will not be able to challenge Reina yet.

Defenders
Agger: 9G 516M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.08
Arbeloa: 41G 2158M 2GS 1A 1MoM 6.78
Aurelio: 29G 1971M 1GS 3A 0.5MoM 6.63
Carragher: 55G 4789M 0GS 2A 5.5MoM 7.09
Finnan: 35G 2866M 0GS 2A 0.5MoM 6.56
Hobbs: 5G 310M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.56
Hyypia: 44G 3549M 4GS 2A 0.5MoM 6.78
Insua: 3G 206M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.94
Riise: 44G 2956M 0GS 6A 0MoM 6.51
Syrtel: 20G 1662M 0GS 0A 0.5MoM 6.87

Carra is still the leader at the back with yet another impressive season. In the absense of Agger, Hyypia stood up and had another good season with 4 goals and was rewarded an extension of contract. Skrtel is a second half signing and despite a few scary moment when he first joined he managed to adapt well with 20 impressive games. On the side, however, none of the player really impressed. Arbeloa initially played very well but after an injury in the middle of the season he has yet to retain his top level. Riise is a real disappointment and he may leave us in the off season; Aurelio also did well in between his injuries, but then he has too many injuries. Finnan is getting older and slower and Rafa seems to rate him lower than Arbeloa now. The center back area is OK with Carra, Agger and Skrtel as the main players and Hyypia as backup, but Rafa will certainly be looking at strengthening both sides.

Midfielders
Alonso: 27G 2158M 2GS 1A 1MoM 6.78
Babel: 49G 2605M 10GS 7A 2MoM 6.63
Benayoun: 47G 2631M 11GS 8A 5MoM 6.83
El Zhar: 3G 105M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.82
Gerrard: 52G 4194M 21GS 17A 15MoM 7.33
Kewell: 15G 757M 0GS 4A 0MoM 6.64
Leto: 4G 280 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.38
Lucas: 32G 1870M 1GS 4A 0.5MoM 6.71
Mascherano: 41G 3447M 1GS 1A 5.5MoM 7.31
Pennant: 25G 1494M 2GS 4A 1MoM 6.78
Plessis: 2G 180M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00
Sissoko: 14G 915M 1GS 0A 0.5MoM 6.34

Rafa has settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation with 2 holding midfielders and Stevie G moving up. This formation proved to be very effective. Mascherano, Alonso and Lucas take turns on the two holding role, and although Alonso was a bit off this season especially in the second half, he still have a lot to offer us. Mascherano is finally our player and he did very well except for a stupid game. With this new attacking role Stevie G shines with 15 MoM performances, 21 goals and 17 assists. The newcomers Babel and Benayoun also had good debut season with 10 and 11 goals respectively, and 7 and 8 assists. On the right Pennant had a so-so season and he may leave at the right price, especially Rafa is keen to play Kuyt or Babel on the right. Again, we have a strong spine but the sides are weak, and Rafa will be looking to strengthening the sides.

Attackers
Crouch: 36G 1957M 11GS 4A 3MoM 6.97
Kuyt: 48G 3326M 11GS 8A 3.5MoM 6.93
Torres: 46G 3590M 33GS 4A 11.5MoM 7.49
Voronin: 28G 1574M 6GS 4A 0.5MoM 6.72

With Torres we finally has a 20+ league goal scorer. He did extremely well in his debut season with 33 goals scored and broke many records. With Torres so strong we have another problem of other attackers unable to get enough games and score enough goals, but still we managed to have 7 players scoring double digits. Crouch is annoyed with the lack of games and will be sold at the right price. Kuyt rediscovered some of his magic on the right and had a better second half. Voronin was hit by injury but still managed 6 goals.

Players of the season (3204 mins or above):
(1) Torres 7.49
(2) Gerrard 7.33
(3) Mascherano 7.31
(4) Carragher 7.09
(5) Kuyt 6.93

Rafa: 6.89. Rafa still need to work hard to strength the squad especially on both sides, and next season the challenge will be to beat the other big four and convert the draws to wins.

Goal Conversion

With Torres on board goal conversion improved a lot. We have 951 goal attempts (last season: 895) and scored 119 goals (last season 90) and this equals to 12.5% goals/goal attempts (last season 10.1%).

The defense also did a good job. Despite we have more goal attempts allowed (491 vs last season 444) we conceded only 50 goals vs last season of 52 (conversion 10.2% vs 11.7%). We are the most prolific in Europe with 17.9% conversion, whereas we still find it a bit more difficult to score in the league with only 11.0% conversion. Our home games are more open with 13.4% conversion and 11.7% conceded.

Comparing with the other Big Four, we are still below them by about 2% in terms of goa conversion. Clearly this is an area that we need to improve to get #19.

Match of the season
1. 11/6/07 Besiktas (h) Champions League (8-0) : 8.15
2. 9/1/07 Derby County (h) League (6-0): 8.13
3. 12/11/07 Marseille (a) Champions League (4-0) : 8.09
4. 8/28/07 Toulouse (h) Champions League (4-0): 7.67
5. 11/24/07 Newcastle United (h) League (3-0): 7.57

Worst match of the season
1. 3/23/08 Manchester United (a) League (0-3) : 5.66
2. 10/3/07 Marseille (h) Champions League (0-1): 5.84
2. 2/16/08 Barsley (h) FA Cup (1-2) : 5.84
4. 1/30/08 West Ham United (a) League (0-1): 5.98
5. 10/24/07 Besiktas (a) Champions League (1-2): 6.02

May Month Report

2 wins, 2 clean sheets. The team wraped up the season well with two deserved wins. Torres scored 2 goals and Voronin also scored one. Defense also did well with two clean sheets. Now the players can have a break, but still there are a lots of revamps to do during this critical summer.

Players of the month (1) Torres 8.0 (2) Carragher 7. 25 (3) Reina/Mascherano 7.0.

Match Report 080511 at Tottenham Hotspur: Pre-season friendly

2-0 and this game was just like a pre-season friendly. Players are relaxed, weather is hot and even Carra and Torres wear short sleeves. Credit to fans from both teams in trying their best to motivate the players, and at the end we came home with two goals, another clean sheet, and Torres broke the record for most goal in debut season for a foreign player.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet.
Finnan: 6.5 Another solid performance.
Carragher: 7.5 Lead the team to another clean sheet.
Skrtel: 7 Another good performance.
Insua: 7 Will try his best to challenge the left back position.
Gerrard: 6.5 Tried very hard to score one but it was not his day.
Mascherano: 7 Solid display.
Kuyt: 6.5 Run hard as usual.
Voronin: 7 A nice goal taken.
Babel: 6.5 Need to improve his finishing.
Torres: 8 Superb finishing.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7.5 Came on and made a difference.
Finnan/Lucas: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the performance of the team.

Tottenham Hotspur: 6.5 Didn't do much to win the game, but you can't blame them at this stage of the season.

Man of the Match: Torres. Another goal.

Finish the season on a high

After the last game of the season several players will leave, and some new one will join us. Next season we have a lot of works to do in order to challenge the title, but right now, let's try to win this game and finish the season on a high - for the fans!

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Skrtel
Insua
Mascherano
Plessis
Crouch
Gerrard
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080504 vs Manchester CIty: Nice end

1-0 and we finished the last home game with a nice victory. Torres shown us our worth again and now broke Sir Roger Hunt's record by scoring in 8 consecutive home league games. It is good to see Insua has a game, and he certainly will be up there to challenge the left back post.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet and guaranteed a third golden glove for him.
Finnan: 6.5 A nice performance.
Carragher: 7 Another nice performance.
Hyypia: 6.5 A solid display.
Insua: 7 A well deserved home debut, and he did well.
Mascherano: 7 Another well performance.
Lucas: 7 Have a golden chance but was unlucky not to score.
Kuyt: 7 Worked hard and should consider himself unlucky not to score.
Gerrard: 7.5 Provided leadership to the team.
Babel: 6.5 Did well.
Torres: 8 Superb taken goal.

Substitutions:
Benayoun/Alonso/Voronin: 6.5 Not much to do.

Rafa: 6.5 Should start more youngsters. Would be disappointed that we only score 1 goal.

Manchester City: 6 Didn't do too much to win the game, but their fans are as usual class by giving full support to their manager.

Man of the Match: Torres. Broken many records.

Look for the future

Win or lose we will be finishing 4th, so Rafa should look for the future and give the young guns a chance. The fans would love to have a glance of some of the exciting young players, and we should win the game for their continuous support.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
San Jose
Insua
Lucas
Plessis
Voronin
Benayoun
Babel
Crouch

Result 2:0

April Month Report

3W4D1L. And at the end is 1 draw too many. We did well in the Arsenal trilogy and get into the Champions League semi final. In the league we did well with 2 wins and 2 draws that confirmed us 4th place in the league. In the semi final of the Champions League, we tried our best and at the end luck was not on our side and we lost by an own goal. Now the season is over and we should enjoy our final 2 games.

Players of the Month (1) Carragher 7.54 (2) Mascherano 7.39 (3) Kuyt 7.22. Carragher was as usual rock solid at the back. Mascherano also did well in covering the back 4, and Kuyt scored 2 important goals in Champions League during the month.

May Prediction:
5/4 Manchester City (h) A win to finish the season at Anfield.
5/11 Tottenham Hotspur (a) Season finale and we should give the young guns chances.

Match Report 080430 at Chelsea: Dream is over

2-3 and our dream of winning the Champions League is over. In fact the match was already lost in the 1st leg, when we failed to kill them off.

We started the game slowly and let them scored one. In the second half we did better and Torres promptly scored to forced the game into extra time. A penalty conceded by Hyypia proved to be crucial, and although Babel did pull one back, it was too little, too late.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not to be blamed for all 3 goals.
Arbeloa: 6 Too slow and were responsible for the first goal.
Skrtel: 6 Did well but was injured early on, which proved to be crucial.
Carragher: 7.5 Made many courageous tackles, but was not enough to prevent us from losing the tie.
Riise: 6 Tried very hard but was unable to repay Rafa's faith on him.
Alonso: 6 An average performance.
Mascherano: 7 Did well in the holding midfielder role.
Kuyt: 6 Worked very hard but not deadly.
Gerrard: 6.5 A very quiet game.
Benayoun: 7 A surprised starter, but he did well and provided an assist to Torres.
Torres: 6.5 Had a great chance in 1H but hesitated. Not many chance in 2H but he managed to score a goal.

Substitutions:
Hyypia: 6 Conceded a crucial penalty.
Pennant: 6 Not much impact.
Babel: 7 Scored another goal as a supersub.

Rafa: 6 Would be unhappy by the first half performance. Not sure if the Torres substitution is right or not, but he would be satisfied by the performance over the two legs in general.

Chelsea: 7 Take their chances well. Now we wish them to do the double.

Man of the Match: Carragher. Stand up to be counted.

Make yourself a legend

It is time for players to make themselves legends to the Club. True, Chelsea has not been beaten at home for 100+ games, but record is for us to break, and we will do it.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Riise
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080426 at Birmingham City: 4th place secured

2-2 and we are guaranteed at least 4th place now, thanks to Aston Villa. We didn't play well and was punished by letting in 2 goals. But then we wake up and never lose faith, and at the end we scored two nice goals to draw the game. The result is good enough to secure fourth place, and now we can focus on the next game.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6: No chance on both goals.
Finnan: 6.5 A normal performance.
Skrtel: 6.5 Not as impressive without Carra.
Hyypia: 6.5 An average performance.
Riise: 6.5 Try hard to recover the tragedy, and it is clear Rafa wanted to keep him fresh.
Lucas: 7 An impressive performance.
Plessis: 7 Another solid display.
Pennant: 7.5 Did well and so no mercy to his former Club.
Voronin: 7 Created the first goal.
Benayoun: 8 Almost grabbed us the point single hand.
Crouch: 7.5 Cool finishing.

Substitution:
Insua: 6.5 A nice performance.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be happy about the spirit to come back from two down.

Birmingham City: 6.5 Shown us why they may need to relegated by committing some suicial errors.

Man of the Match: Benayoun. Ready to turn it around at Chelsea.

Give kids a chance

We need one point to secure the 4th place, and this is a good chance to give the kids some taste of Premiership football. Birmingham may think it is easy, but let us prove them wrong.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
San Jose
Hyypia
Insua
Lucas
Plessis
Pennant
Benayoun
Voronin
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080422 vs Chelsea: Focus on the second leg

1-1 and it was a disappointed result given we have been the better team for the whole match. In hindsight we failed to kill them off by scoring the crucial second and were then punished. But we know we need just one goal to go through. Difficult task, but we can do it and will do so.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Should have come out and catch the crossing.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Not many things to do.
Skrtel: 7 Solid performance.
Carragher: 8 World class defender.
Aurelio: 6.5 Did a nice job, and his injury proved crucial.
Alonso: 7 A good performance
Mascherano: 7 Solid display in destroying the Chelsea attacks.
Kuyt: 8 European expert.
Gerrard: 7 Not at his best but still posed some danger.
Babel: 6.5 Worked hard and had a nice display.
Torres: 6.5 Had two glorious chance saved by Cech.

Substitutions:
Riise: 5 Another poor own goal, but he had no right foot and thus no choice.
Benayoun: 6.5 A solid display.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the performance but not the result. But we still have 90 minutes to turn it around.

Chelsea: 6 Would be glad to come home with an away goal. And we will score ours.

Men of the Match: Carragher/Kuyt. Too bad it was still not enough yet.

Hat trick

We beat them twice at this stage, and we are confident to do it a third time. Chelsea also had the league champions in their mind, but this will still be tough. And a clean sheet will be crucial. Of course, the Kop will send us through once again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080419 at Fulham: Closing in

2-0 and we need just two points to secure fourth place. Rafa rested a lot of players but we are too strong for Fulham. A nice win, and no one should complain.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Another nice clean sheet.
Finnan: 7 A good performance.
Skrtel: 7.5 Strong display.
Hyypia: 7 A good display in 1H.
Riise: 7 Did well to keep pressure on the left back post.
Pennant: 8.5 Scored one and made a nice assist.
Mascherano: 7 A good performance.
Lucas: 7.5 Great vision in creating the opening goal.
Benayoun: 7 A good display.
Voronin: 7.5 Did well but was unlucky not to score one.
Crouch: 7.5 Cool finishing.

Substitutions:
Carragher: 7 Did well when called up.
Alonso/Aurelio: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 A nice win without moving into second gear.

Fulham: 5 Simply not good enough and is heading down.

Man of the Match: Pennant. Could be an impact player for the Champions League.

Do our best

Although Rafa will rest lots of players we still need to do our best to prepare for the Chelsea game. We have not win at Fulham for 3 seasons, and this will no doubt be another difficult game. But most important of all, we need to play well for the fans and not get injured.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Skrtel
San Hose
Riise
Lucas
Plessis
Pennant
Benayoun
Voronin
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 080413 vs Blackburn Rovers: For the Hillsborough fellows

3-1 and this is a nice way to pay tribute to the Hillsborough fellows and forgot the off the field civil war. We were a bit sloppy in the first half but once Stevie G opened the score, we took control and cruised to another victory. We are now 5 points ahead with 4 games, so we are closer and closer to the fourth. And we may take over Arsenal if they keep on play like this.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Was denied another clean sheet at the very last moment,
Arbeloa: 7 Solid display.
Skrtel: 6.5 Error lead to the goal conceded, and was a bit lucky to only receive a yellow card.
Carragher: 7.5 Lead the troop as usual.
Aurelio: 7 Another nice display.
Alonso: 7 A good performance.
Lucas: 7.5 Superb skills to lead to the first goal.
Kuyt: 7 Another hard working game.
Gerrard: 8 A nice taken goal and a superb assist for his 300th league game.
Babel: 6 Was not at his best.
Torres: 7.5 A superb header for his 30th goal.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7.5 Called up and changed the game.
Voronin: 7.5 A lucky goal.
Riise: 7 Superb crossing for the goal.

Rafa: 7 Would be glad the team is not distracted by the civil war.

Blackburn Rovers: 6 Did not do much to challenge us.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Great goal and assist.

Forget the off the field problems

Once again, the on the field glory is clouded by the off the field problems. Players need to be focused to secure fourth place as soon as possible. Blackburn will be a tough opponent and we need to be physically strong to win this game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Skrtel
Carragher
Riise
Alonso
Plessis
Kuyt
Gerrard
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080408 vs Arsenal: Ghost of 89 finally dies

4-2 and we have finally killed off the ghost of 89! Twice we were out of the tie, but twice we fight back and at the end we are through. This is an absolute superb result to the Club, and now we are marching on to face Chelsea once again.

We started the match with 4-4-2, but was full beaten by Arsenal, and they fully deserved to take the lead. After that they sit back a bit and we hit them back with a nice Hyypia header. In the 2H Rafa converted it to 4-2-3-1 with Crouch up front and Torres on the left, and it paid off with a nice flick on from Crouch to set up Torres. We hang on, but then a Stevie G error lead to Walcott ran the whole pitch before passing the ball to Adebayour to score. But we hit back at the next attack, and Toure's clumsy challenge on Babel gave us a penalty, which Stevie G took brilliantly. At the closing minutes we hang on, and Babel took his chance well to kill off the game completely. Brilliant.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Should have done better on the first goal conceded.
Carragher: 8 Superb performance.
Skrtel: 7 A good display.
Hyypia: 8 Scored a brilliant header to give us hope.
Aurelio: 7 Did well especially in the first half, but couldn't cope with Walcott.
Kuyt: 7.5 Did well as he always does.
Alonso: 7 A whole hearted performance.
Mascherano: 8.5 Run the field up and down.
Gerrard: 7.5 A bit poor in 1H on the left, but became better when moved back into the middle. A great penalty that's down to his nerve.
Torres: 8 A nice taken goal that bring us the lead.
Crouch: 8 Would be happy about Rafa's faith on him.

Substitutions:
Babel: 9 Provided us different options in pace and earned us the vital penalty and scored the goal that killed off the game.
Riise: 7 Did well in defending the league.
Arbeloa: 6 Didn't touch the ball.

Rafa: 9 Superb tactic and great changes to win us the game.

Arsenal: 7 Would be gutted to have lost, but they proved they know nothing about European games.

Man of the Match: Babel. Great contribution to the victory.

Win this one

After two consecutive away 1-1 draws with Arsenal and now it is the last round of the Trilogy. A clean sheet will do, but we need to score to avoid any back slash from Arsenal. And as usual first goal is important, and the Kop will guide us through.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Skrtel
Carragher
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080405 at Arsenal: Good momentum

1-1 and we maintained our momentum into the final episode. Arsenal was frustrated, and we have more determination to win this game then they are. At the end the scoreline remains the same and all is now set for the Final Episode when Anfield roars again.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Still a bit nervous but Kop will help him on Tuesday.
Finnan: 6.5 A good display.
Skrtel: 7 Solid display
Carragher: 7.5 Another marvelous captain display.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Solid display.
Lucas: 6 Another nervous display.
Plessis: 7 Solid debut.
Pennant: 7 Did well on the side.
Benayoun: 7 A master stroke that helped created the goal.
Riise: 6.5 Finishing let him down.
Crouch: 8 A nice taken goal. We still love him and want him to stay.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 6.5 Good warm up for the final game.
Voronin: 6 Poor finishing.
Torres: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Game plan worked in round 2. Now we need a clean sheet.

Arsenal: 6.5 Got frustrated again but chase for title still on for them.

Man of the Match: Crouch. Give him chance and he will score.

Do our best

Round 2 of the trilogy is a game that we can afford to rest some players. To prepare for the final round, we definitely need fresh legs and this is a perfect time for the other players to prove themselves. Crouchy to do a hat trick again?

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Skrtel
Riise
Alonso
Leiva
Kuyt
Gerrard
Pennant
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080402 at Arsenal: Slim advantage

1-1 and this can be considered as a good, if not great result. Arsenal is very strong at home and we managed to score one goal immediately to make the tie in balance. The 2nd leg won't be easy, but at least we know a clean sheet will see us through.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 A bit nervous but in general not much to do.
Carragher: 7 Played at right again to contain van Persie and then Walcott.
Skrtel: 7 Solid display in general.
Hyypia: 6 Was at fault in the goal conceded.
Aurelio: 6.5 Solid display but was exposed a lot.
Alonso: 6.5 Ran across the field.
Mascherano: 7.5 Tackle after tackle.
Kuyt: 8 Scored the vital goal and helped out defense a lot.
Gerrard: 7.5 Drove the team forward with determination.
Babel: 6 Frightened and didn't play well.
Torres: 7 Played upfront without much supply.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 6 Can't do much as we were defending.
Lucas/Voronin: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Spot on with his tactics.

Arsenal: 7.5 Couldn't kill off the game and will regret.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. For his determination.

Round 1

So now the trilogy begins. A good result in the first game will no doubt have a good impact on the remaining games. Both teams will be facing a make or break period, but we know how to play in Europe better, and this may be a slightly edge to us.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Arbeloa
Skrtel
Carragher
Riise
Alonso
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Babel
Torres

Result 2:0

March Month Report

6W1L. We have 5 wins in the league and another win at San Siro, which bring us 5 points cleared in 4th place and a place in the Quarter Final in the Champions League. The defeat came at the usual place of Old Trafford, where we still failed to win for many years. We need to raise ourselves in these big games at our big rivals, especially two are coming up in the next 2 matches.

Players of the Month (1) Torres 7.79 (2) Gerrard 7.53 (3) Carragher 7.14. Torres scored 7 goals in 7 matches and what a guy! Gerrard had been linking up well with Torres with 2 goals and 2 assists. Carra was as solid as usual, both at center back and right back.

April Prediction:
4/2 Arsenal (a): A tough game although a scored draw could be nice.
4/5 Arsenal (a): Another tough game, this time for the league. I won't be disappointed if this is a draw.
4/8 Arsenal (h): Third game in a row.... but we should win this one.
4/13 Blackburn Rovers (h): Blackburn is running low in confidence and we should beat them.
4/19 Fulham (a): Win this game and we could send Murphy to Championship.
4/23 Chelsea/Fenerbahce (a): No matter who we face, this will be a tough away game.
4/26 Birmingham City (a): We could confirm 4th place if we win this game.
4/30 Chelsea/Fenerbahce (h): One more step to Moscow.

Match Report 080330 vs Everton: One step closer to 4th

1-0 and we are once step closer to securing the 4th place. With 6 matches to go and 5 points ahead, we still need to be careful and try our best to secure it as soon as possible, especially when there are still some tricky away games coming up.

We were in full dominance in the first half but somehow can only score one goal. In the second half players are a bit tired, and we let Everton to take control. However they rarely tested us and at the end one goal is enough.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Rarely tested in his 100th league game.
Carragher: 7 A good performance on the right with some dangerous crosses.
Skrtel: 7 Solid performance as usual.
Hyypia: 7.5 Just like his good old days.
Riise: 7 Hungry, but was a bit unlucky not to scored.
Alonso: 7 A solid display.
Lucas: 6 Very nervous.
Kuyt: 7 Another good performance and should have scored one himself.
Gerrard: 8 Tried very hard but couldn't score.
Babel: 7 A much better performance.
Torres: 7.5 Makes scoring goals look easy.

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

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about this performance.

Everton: 6 Didn't do enough to win the game, but to be frank, lack of manpower costs them very much.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. This time he didn't allow passion to gone over.