March Month Review

4 wins and we are back to title race and into quarter final of Champions League. The month started with a low profile victory against Sunderland. Then we went like crazy and scored at least four goals against three former European Champions. Together with defeats of Manchester and Chelsea, we are now only one point behind although we played one more game. The final eight games will be crucial, and we are very confident that we can will all and then see what may happen.

Players of the month (1) Torres 8.47 (2) Gerrard 8.25 (3) Mascherano 8.13. Torres came back from injury and scored 2 goals to bring us hope. Stevie G also go riot and scored 6 goals in the month. And Mascherano is as hunger as usual in central midfield, with tackles everywhere.

April prediction:
4/4 Fulham (a) Fulham is very strong at home against big 4, so we need to be very careful.
4/8 Chelsea (h) It's so boring to meet Chelsea again... Anyway we need to beat them in first leg before we visit Stamford Bridge.
4/11 Blackburn Rover (h) Blackburn is in trouble and we need to pick up three points agian.
4/14 Chelsea (a) For the Hillsborough victims
4/21 Arsenal (h) A big hurdle to our title bid, but we will be fresher than they are since we do not have to play FA Cup semi final.
4/25 Hull City (a) We lost 2 points at home and need to avoid the same mistake going away.
4/28 Barcelona/Bayern Munich (a) If we pass through Chelsea this will be another hurdle to pass through before we visit Rome for glory.

Match Report 090322 vs Aston Villa: Confidence is the key

5-0 and this is a very good performance, especially when both Manchester and Chelsea faltered. The victory took us to only a point behind, although we played one extra game. We are now back on the title challenge, and who knows what will happen in the coming 2 months.

We bombered the Villa defense from the first minute. After Kuyt scored his great volley Villa tried to hit us back, but Reina was in top form and made two great saves. He even went one step further and provided another great assist to Riera. Then Stevie G took the show and scored a hat trick.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8.5 2 great saves and 1 assist.
Arbeloa: 7.5 Superb defending and support attack.
Carragher/Skrtel: 8 Solid throughout
Aurelio: 8 Superb in attack and defense.
Alonso: 8 Control the midfield well.
Mascherano: 8 Tackles everywhere.
Kuyt: 8 A great goal to open the floodgate.
Gerrard: 9 Two great penalties and one great free kick for his first Premier League hat trick.
Riera: 8.5 Run the left side of midfield and left Reo-Coker well behind.
Torres: 7.5 A bit quite and unlucky not to score.

Substitutions:
Lucas: 7.5 Had a good chance to score but shot wide.
Agger: 7.5 Nice to see him coming back.
Ngog: 7.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8.5 Still not satisfied after 5 goals. But credits to him in peaking us at the right time.

Aston Villa: 5 Really low in confidence, but they need to rebound in the next match.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. First Premier League hat trick.

Momentum

This is the first of nine must win game if we want to win the Champion, and we need to build up from the good news from the past week. Villa is hitting a big slum recently and this is a good chance for us to take 3 more points.

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

Result 2:0

Match Report 090314 at Manchester United: Happy days

4-1 and this is a superb result in their backyard. Once again Rafa's game plan was perfectly executed and we came out as well deserved winner in our biggest victory there since 1936. Although they are still in the driving seat for league winner but we are now more confident to capitalize from any potential slip by them.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Conceded a needless penalty but apart from that he did well in general.
Carragher: 8 Superb defending as temporary right back.
Skrtel: 7.5 Good defending.
Hyypia: 8 Great vision in another superb defending.
Aurelio: 8 Scored a great free kick and worked very hard.
Lucas: 7.5 Made many great tackles and were everywhere.
Mascherano: 8.5 Everywhere on the pitch to make up for the injustice sent off last season.
Kuyt: 8 Worked hard as usual and provided calmness for the teammates.
Gerrard: 8.5 Superb linkage with Torres and scored a great penalty.
Riera: 6.5 Below average performance.
Torres: 9 Superb strike made it happened. Simply unstoppable.

Substitutions:
Dossena: 8 Wonder strike!
Babel/El Zhar: 7.5 Good efforts in a short period of time.

Rafa: 8 Two great results in a week, now we need to keep winning to see if there is any chance to win the title.

Manchester United: 6 Poor display and now the big question is, will this affect their confidence and let us have a chance?

Man of the Match: Torres. Another great goal to keep our dream alive.

Make us dream

A win may not be enough to win the title, but at least we can still dream about it. And you never know...

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

Result 2:0

Match Report 090310 vs Real Madrid: Even Rafa is happy

4-0 and this is a superb result against one of the greatest team. From the first minute our game plan is to attack, and if not Casillas was superb the scoreline can easily be doubled. And if Casillas is their MoM after conceding 4 goals, you know how good we are. Now we need to remember this performance level and do it again for the remaining of the season, and who knows what may happen?

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a few saves to keep another clean sheet.
Arbeloa/Carragher/Skrtel/Aurelio: 7.5 Defense as a unit played very well.
Alonso: 7.5 Nice control of the midfield.
Mascherano: 8.5 Superb performance, everywhere on the pitch.
Kuyt: 8 Worked tirelessly and set up for the first goal.
Gerrard: 8.5 Two great goals to kill off the game.
Babel: 8 Superb performance with many great crossings.
Torres: 9 Did every thing to ensure a Liverpool victory.

Substitutions:
Lucas: 7.5 Composed display.
Spearing: 7.5 Good home debut.
Dossena: 7.5 Completed the game with a well taken goal.

Rafa: 9 Even Rafa is delighted about this performance, but we need to transfer it into domestic performances as well.

Real Madrid: 5 A very poor display and should be glad to concede just 4 goals.

Man of the Match: Torres. Thank God he was born as an Atletico fan.

Clean Sheet

After a weeks' rest the focus is now back to Champions League. Real Madrid will be looking for a win to save their season, and although a clean sheet will be enough to see us through, we still need to try to score goals. We have a few injuries and suspension, and the remaining players need to rise in the moment.

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

Result 2:0

Match Report 090303 vs Sunderland: Bounced Back

2-0 and the team rebound from the setback over the weekend. Although we did not played particular well, we did control the game from the beginning. Chances were rare until Ngog opened his Anfield account. In summary this is 3 points well deserved, and we will keep fighting till the end.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a good save early on, but have not much to do afterward.
Mascherano: 7.5 Very good performance as a temporary right back.
Carragher/Skrtel: 7 Solid as usual.
Insua: 7 Good in defending and help the attacks as well.
Benayoun: 8 Always dangerous.
Alonso: 7 Solid performance in protecting the back 4.
Gerrard: 7 A bit quiet but still managed to create a goal.
Riera: 7 Great crossing to create the first goal.
Kuyt: 7 Worked hard as usual.
Ngog: 7.5 Scored one and created one in his first Anfield start.

Substitutions:
Lucas: 7 Almost scored from a header.
Babel/El Zhar: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be very happy about the way the team responded.

Sunderland: 6 Apart from a scoring chance early on they don't provide any threat.

Man of the Match: Benayoun. A great goal gifted by Sunderland.

Pick ourselves up

After a miserable weekend we need to pick ourselves up with a victory. There will be no Torres, Arbeloa and Agger, but the remaining team will keep fighting for the second place.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Hyypia
Aurelio
Alonso
Mascherano
Benayoun
Gerrard
Riera
Kuyt

Result 2:0

February Month Review

3 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats, and we are out of FA Cup and our dream of winning the league is almost over. We started the month brightly with a convincing victory over Chelsea, but then we get beaten by Everton in the FA Cup, followed by another superb win at Portsmouth. Our title dream then get a big hit as we can only drew Manchester City after the international break, but a superb away win at Real Madrid put us in a good position in the Champions League. However, the month ended with a poor performance at Boro, and our title dream is almost over now.

Players of the month: (1) Benayoun 7.39 (2) Carragher 7.35 (3) Alonso 7.03. Benayoun stood up after Stevie G is injured with many great performances and a great header at Real Madrid. Carragher is solid as ever at the back, and Xabi also did well in general in the midfield.

March prediction:
3/3 Sunderland (h) A win is needed to pick ourselves up.
3/10 Real Madrid (h) We are in a good position to qualify, but we need to be careful as Real is a very strong team.
3/14 Manchester United (a) A match that have lost its significance, but we still need to try our best to capture any possible fall out of Manchester.
3/22 Aston Villa (h) A win vs Villa will almost secure our top 3 status.

Match Report 090228 at Middlesbrough: The dream is all but over

0-2 and our title dream is almost over now. What's worse, we seems to have no heart to fight for it, and the way we lose the game was shameful. We now only have the Champions League and the quest for 2nd to fight for, but both still require a hard fight, and we need to pick ourselves up soon.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Did well to keep the damage down.
Skrtel: 5.5 Did poorly as right back and failed to contain Downing.
Carragher: 5.5 Suffered from heavy legs.
Hyypia: 6 Steady performance.
Aurelio: 5.5 Not much help for the attack.
Alonso: 5.5 Very unlucky to score an own goal.
Mascherano: 6 Solid tackles.
El Zhar: 5 Poor shooting and was scared on his first start.
Gerrard: 6 Only shown patches of sparks.
Babel: 5 No contribution.
Kuyt: 5.5 Missed a great chance to equalize.

Substitutions:
Ngog/Benayoun/Lucas: 5.5 Not much contribution.

Rafa: 5 Would be unhappy about this lack of heart display. Title dream is over now, let's move on.

Middlesbrough: 6.5 Deserved to get 3 points on this day.

Man of the Match: Reina. If a goalkeeper is MoM after losing 2 goals, that tells you how the others were performing.