Prepare for a rough game

Bolton is a rough team and there will be lots of crashes in this game. We have not win at Reebok for a long time and this is a perfect time to break the duck. Although Rafa said he will try not to rotate that much, but expect some changes to coupe with the physical nature of this game. And as Everton is playing Portsmouth, they may drop points and this is a perfect game for us to catch up.

My Team Prediction:

Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Skrtel
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Babel
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

February Month Report

3W1D1L and we are out of the FA Cup but we are in a very strong position to qualify to the Quarter Final of Champions League. In the League we are still fighting hard with Everton for the 4th post, and this fight may continue until the end of the season. From now till the end of the season, Rafa will try his best not to rotate that much, and we shall keep on fighting till the end.

Players of the Month (1) Torres 8.00 (2) Mascherano 7.63 (3) Gerrard 7.32. Torres scored 4 goals including a nice hat trick in our 2 League victories, and we need him. Mascherano is as usual class and a permanent deal will be finalized soon. And Stevie G, he has been slamming the team on the performance, and how right he is.

March Prediction:
3/2 Bolton Wanderers (a) A tough and ugly game but we need to win it.
3/5 West Ham United (h) The game in hand and we should win this to close the gap.
3/8 Newcastle United (h) Newcastle is in trouble and we need to show no mercy.
3/11 Inter Milan (a) Although we have a 2 goal lead we still need to be cautious approaching the game.
3/15 Reading (h) We lost 3 precious point there, and we need to take it back.
3/23 Manchester United (a) Very tough game but we have a chance to finish their title bid.
3/30 Everton (h) This game may decide who will finish 4th, and we need to be at our top form to win it.

Match Report 080223: Torres! Torres! Torres!

3-2 and this game belongs to Torres. Without Carra, the defense was really a shame. Fortunately Torres is instinctive and scored 3 great goals. Now he became the first Liverpool striker to score more than 20 goals in a season, and is on his way to have the best debut season ever for us.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not at fault for both goals.
Finnan: 6.5 Need to improve in defense.
Arbeloa: 6.5 Make-shift center back and was at fault at times.
Hyypia: 6.5 Getting tired.
Aurelio: 6.5 Didn't offer much in attack.
Lucas: 6.5 An average game.
Mascherano: 7 Good as usual.
Gerrard: 7 Dynamic as usual.
Babel: 6.5 Gradually improving.
Kuyt: 7 Did well playing out-wide.
Torres: 9.5 Individual brilliance.

Substitutions:
Benayoun/Riise: 6.5 Not much contribution.
Crouch: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to address the defensive problem.

Middlesbrough: 6.5 Credits to them in really pushing us hard.

Man of the Match: Torres. 21 goals and counting.

Second battlefield

After the superb mid week win now we are back to the second battlefield in our quest for 4th place. Without Carra the defense need to be extremely careful, and we need to break down the Boro defense to score goals.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
Skrtel
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Benayoun
Torres
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 080219 vs Inter Milan: Well deserved win

2-0 and this is a well deserved win. We dominated the game even with 11 vs 11, and try hard and hard to win the game despite the strong defense of Inter. At the end we never give up and scored two wonder goals to win the game. But the match is not over and we still need to visit San Siro and get a result. Anyway, this is a marvelous result and we should keep this up and try to win the 4th place as well.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do.
Finnan: 7 Did well in defense and occasionally helped the attack.
Carragher: 7.5 Rock at the defense.
Hyypia: 6.5 Apart from a few nervous moment he is fine. Had a nice header saved at the beginning.
Aurelio: 6.5 Did OK.
Gerrard: 8.5 Sheer determination and drove us to victory. The second goal is really superb precision.
Mascherano: 9 Superb.
Lucas: 6.5 Did well in controlling midfield with Mascherano.
Babel: 7 A lively performance.
Kuyt: 8 Superb goal.
Torres: 7 Very dangerous and caused lots of troubles to the Inter defense.

Substitutions:
Crouch: 7 Came on and provided us more gunpower.
Pennant: 7.5 Two nice assists that guided us to victory.

Rafa: 7.5 Master of Europe.

Inter Milan: 6.5 Didn't do much to win the game especially with 10 men. But we still need to be careful not to act foolishly in the second leg.

Man of the Match: Mascherano. Everywhere on the pitch.

Do it again

Could this be the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning? This is our only chance for a trophy this year, and we need it very much. It will be very difficult, but we did it before. Have faith, and we will do it again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Skrtel
Carragher
Arbeloa
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Babel
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080216 vs Barnsley: Shameful

1-2 and this is a very shameful performance. Yes we did score the first goal, but then we try and try and couldn't kill off the game. Rafa even send Stevie G but at the end we were punished by another sloppy performance. Credits to Barnsley, they fully deserve it.

This game shows again that without Stevie G and Torres we are just a very ordinary team. No matter who will be the manager next season we need a major overhaul. But where is the money if those bastards are still owning the Club? Now we only have Champions League and the quest to 4th place for the year. Where are we going?

Players Rating
Itandje: 5.5 Should have done better.
Finnan: 5.5 Not much offered.
Carragher: 6 Not as good as he should be.
Hyypia: 6.5 Did well but we need everyone to play well.
Riise: 5.5 Another disappointed performance.
Benayoun: 5.5 Should have done better.
Alonso: 5.5 Very disappointed.
Lucas: 5.5 Get knocked all the time.
Babel: 7 Did very well and should not be subbed if our next game is not Inter.
Kuyt: 6.5 Finally broke the duck but it was not enough.
Crouch: 6 Lots of chances but couldn't convert.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 5 On his way out.
Gerrard: 6 One man is not going to save the boat.

Man of the Match: Babel. Did well in a bad day.

Play well and win this game

Although Barnsley is only a Championship team we still need to be guarded not to be complacement. The draw has been kind to us, and if we play well we will win this game.

My Team Prediction:
Itandje
Finnan
Carragher
San Jose
Riise
Pennant
Alonso
Lucas
Benayoun
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 3:0

Match Report 080210 at Chelsea: A much improved performance

0-0 and although this means we are now 3 points behind Everton with a game in hand, this is actually a good result and good performance especially if you look at Chelsea's home game result. we have enough chances to kill off the game in 1H but didn't take it, and at 2H they came back but we managed to hold them off. In fairness no team deserve to win or lose so a draw is a fair result, especially if you look at our long long injury list.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 51st clean sheets with only a few tame shots to handle with.
Finnan: 7 Solid defending.
Skrtel: 7.5 Strong and solid. A much improved performance as he is getting familiar with the teammates.
Carragher: 7 Solid display as usual.
Riise: 7 One of his best game of the season to date.
Gerrard: 7 Always determined to drive the team.
Mascherano: 7.5 Excellent display in 1H but faded out in 2H due to tireness.
Lucas: 7 A solid display for the young Brazilian.
Babel: 7 Did very well in attack in 1H but then faded out in 2H.
Kuyt: 7 A much improved performance after he was dropped.
Crouch: 7 Have 4 chances but couldn't take any one of them.

Substitutions:
Pennant: 6.5 Had a good chance towards the end but couldn't take it.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the performance in general, although the finishing still need to be improved.

Chelsea: 7 Very strong performance at home but at the end a draw is a fair result. Will probably need to settle with 3rd place.

Men of the Match: Skrtel/Mascherano. Excellent defensive works.

Against all odds

With Chelsea unbeaten at home for a very long long time and the fact that Rafa has yet to pick up a point away from home against the other Big Four team, and adding the misery of many injuries and Xabi's suspension, it will be very unlikely that we will win at Stamford Bridge. But we need to try to break the duck. Miracle happens.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Lucas
Benayoun
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 1:0

Match Report 080202 vs Sunderland: Good result unconvincing performance

3-0 and the result really flattered us as we did not play that well. Thanks to the referee Sunderland had two shouts of penalty denied, and at the end we got another one and scored. But a win is still a win and we need to build up from here, although it will be tough as next game is away at Chelsea, but at least we should try.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Became the quickest Liverpool goalkeeper to reach 50th clean sheet.
Carraher: 7.5 Surprisngly played as right back but unsurprisingly played very well with an assist.
Skrtel: 6.5 Still a bit nervous but he is getting there.
Hyypia: 7 Did well in helping Skrtel.
Aurelio: 6 A poor performance.
Pennant: 7 Lively performance.
Gerrard: 7 Lead the team in attack.
Mascherano: 7 Another superb defensive performance.
Lucas: 6 Not convincing as a winger.
Torres: 7.5 Scored a superb goal.
Crouch: 8 Scored one and assisted one.

Substitutions:
Finnan: 6 Did OK as left back.
Benayoun/Kuyt: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be happy about the result, but we still need to work hard and improve.

Sunderland: 6 May find themselves unlucky not to get at least a point.

Man of the Match: Crouch. Should start more games.

Back the team

After a disappointing week we now need to back the team. Sunderland has revived a little bit recently, and it is up to us to show some class if we want to beat them. Confidence is low, and so Kop should be there to cheer the team. In Rafa we trust.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Fnnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Babel
Torres
Crouch

Result 3:0