Run in starts

With the team marching into last 16 of Europa League the focus is now back to the race for fourth. We have been goal shy recently, with only 3 goals scored by Kuyt in our last 6 games, but as Torres is edging back and Gerrard and Babel back on form, we will have more gunpower in this crucial period of the year. We were held back by Blackburn at Ewood Park and we need to get a better result at Anfield.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Kelly
Carragher
Agger
Insua
Aquilani
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Benayoun
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 100225 at Unirea Urziceni: Progression despite early scare

3-1 and we are now through to the last 16 of the Europa League. We were one down from a poorly defended corner, but the team response well and scored three goals in return. This is the first time we score more than 2 goals since September and the win see us comfortably progressed.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 Can't do too much on the goal conceded.
Carragher: 7 Solid defense and provided a supreme crossing that lead to the equalizer.
Skrtel: 7 Solid defense but was unfortunately injured.
Agger: 7 Defended well throughout.
Insua: 6.5 Out-jumped for the goal conceded.
Mascherano: 7.5 Scored an absolute beauty.
Lucas: 7 Solid display in the middle.
Benayoun: 7.5 Superb run that lead to Gerrard's goal.
Gerrard: 8 Scored and become the leading British scorer in Europe.
Babel: 7.5 Scored the winning goal that killed off the opponent.
Ngog: 7 Worked hard at the front.

Substitutions:
Kelly: 7 Solid performance in his European debut.
Kyrgiakos: 7 Did well in defending.
Aurelio: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be delighted with the response of the players after conceding an early goal.

Unirea Urziceni: 6.5 Did well to give us an early scare but at the end the difference in class tells the difference.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Leading European scorer.

Progress

With a slight 1-0 lead we are traveling to Romania for the second leg of the Europa League. Unirea will need a win so they will try to attack and there should be more space for our players to work on. First goal will be key, so we need to try very hard to score one early and we will then be very comfortable for the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Agger
Skrtel
Aurelio
Aquilani
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Benayoun
Babel

Result 2:0

Match Report 100221 at Manchester City: Losing ground

0-0 and together with result elsewhere we have lost some ground in the race for fourth. The stake of losing the game is too high so both team just played very cautiously, and at the end a draw is not too bad. We still have 33 points to play for and we need to improve our form.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Made a great save to keep another clean sheet.
Carragher: 6.5 Failed to help the attack and at times unable to contain the City wingers.
Skrtel: 7.5 Back to his top form with a couple of superb tackles.
Agger: 6.5 Solid at the back in general.
Insua: 6.5 Unable to support the attack.
Lucas: 6 Too many miss passes.
Mascherano: 7 Played with commitment as usual but was lucky not to be sent off.
Kuyt: 6.5 Did not do too much.
Gerrard: 6.5 Getting closer to top fitness.
Maxi: 6 Almost anonymous.
Babel: 6.5 Get a rare chance to start but did not do too much.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7 Very active and could have won us a penalty.
Torres: 6.5 Good to see him back.
Aquilani: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be delighted to see Yossi and Torres back, from now on we need to work out our attack and score more goals.

Manchester City: 6.5 Both team will be there for the race for fourth.

Man of the Match: Skrtel: Superb tackles helped us for another clean sheet.

Fight for the fourth

Manchester City and us are chasing for the fourth place and both teams will be making sure not to lose ground. City is very strong at home so we need to perform some magic if we want to bring 3 points home.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Insua
Mascherano
Lucas
Kuyt
Gerrard
Babel
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 100218 vs Unirea Urziceni: Tough win

1-0 and Unirea has defended well and it took us 81 minutes to find a way to score. Despite we have the majority of possession and 24 shots we still lack the cutting edge and so we can only score 1 goal. Nevertheless it is a clean sheet and a lead into the second tie so we are in a pole position in this match up. When Yossi and Torres are back to the squad things will change.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Very rarely called upon service.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid in defense but failed to help the attack.
Agger: 6.5 Solid in general.
Skrtel: 6.5 Almost scored from one corner.
Aurelio: 6.5 Have a few chances from free kick but failed to hit on target.
Aquilani: 6 No space to work on and still a bit off form.
Mascherano: 7.5 Driving the team forward with his never-say-die spirit.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard as usual but should take more shots.
Gerrard: 6.5 Still picking up his form after the injury.
Riera: 6.5 Have a few long shots.
Ngog: 7 Worked hard and is rewarded with the winning goal.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7.5 Came on with an impact and provided the winning cross.
Pacheco: 7.5 Win an assisting header despite being the smallest player on the pitch.
Lucas: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be delighted about the clean sheet but still need to address the problem of lack of gunpower.

Unirea Uziceni: 6 Came for a draw but at the end failed to hang on. Would expect them to gear up in the next round.

Man of the Match: Mascherano. Always play with 100% dedication.

Into unknown territory

After a disappointed defeat at Gunners we are now into the Europa League. Unirea Urziceni may be an unfamiliar opponent but Rafa has done his homework and we will find the suitable players and tactic for the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Kyrgiakos
Agger
Insua
Aquilani
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 100210 at Arsenal: Referee stole points

0-1 and once again the referee stole points from us. We did not played particularly well but we have 2 genuine handball claim denied and one of it could be a penalty. A draw would be a fairer result. The defeat ended our 7 game unbeaten run and we are now equal in points with Manchester City, but played two more game. The next match at City will be very crucial for our fight for 4th place, and we need Torres and Carragher to be back from injury for this match.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Did well in general but could not do anything for that goal when he is fully exposed.
Carragher: 7 Performed very well before the injury.
Skrtel: 6.5 Solid in general but was at the wrong place for the goal conceded.
Agger: 6.5 Solid performance.
Insua: 6.5 Did well in defending.
Lucas: 6.5 Have a nice chance to score but missed.
Mascherano: 7.5 Compact in the middle to protect the back four.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard as usual.
Gerrard: 6.5 Form improving and should have equalized in the last minute.
Maxi: 6.5 Still adopting with the Premier League pace.
Ngog: 6.5 Not enough ball provided to him.

Substitutions:
Degen: 6 Completely missed his marker for the goal conceded.
Babel: 7 Did very well and almost scored for us.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be disappointed about the result. Need to solve the goal scoring drought. Maybe Babel up front with Ngog?

Arsenal: 6.5 Lucky to win the match. Probably will occupy the third place spot now.

Man of the Match: Mascherano. Always played with heart.

Break the duck

We have not win at Emirates yet and not win away at Arsenal for a decade, and it is now time for us to break the duck. The gunners will be played like wounded animal after two recent defeats, and we need to contain them well and hit them with counter attack if we are to win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Insua
Lucas
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 100206 vs Everton: Team sprit drives us through

1-0 and despite playing with 10 men for two third of the game, we were clearly on top and was the deserved winner of the game. The referee made some poor decisions and put us in a disadvantaged position. But the players played very hard and bring us the victory we needed that put us back to top 4 spot going into the next two crucial away games.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a superb save in 2H to protect us to another clean sheet.
Carragher: 7.5 Excelled at both right back and center back.
Kyrgiakos: 6 No complaint on the red.
Agger: 7 Stylish display at the back.
Insua: 7 Solid at the left back.
Lucas: 7 Tackles and tackles.
Mascherano: 7.5 Superb performance as a slot-in right back.
Kuyt: 8 Scored a beauty as his 50th goal.
Gerrard: 7.5 Inch perfect corner for the goal.
Maxi: 6.5 A bit quiet into the big game.
Ngog: 6.5 Worked very hard as lone striker.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6.5 Provided fresh leg to stretch the toffee defense.
Aurelio/Skrtel: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Would be delighted about the fighting spirit and another clean sheet.

Everton: 6 Did not do much despite with a man advantage for most of the game.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. Right man at the right place at the right time.

Tough Derby

Every derby is tough but this one is especially tougher. Both teams are in a good run recently into this game, and both teams need points for going to Europe. We are still without Torres thus lack of gun power, but the players are up for the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Kyrgiakos
Agger
Insua
Aquilani
Mascherano
Kuyt
Gerrard
Riera
Ngog

Result 2:0

January Month Report

2W3D1L and we are out of the FA Cup after two matchups with Reading. In the league we did better with 2 home wins and 2 away draws in light of the injury problem. We now sit 1 points behind Spurs but City are level with us with two games on hand, so the race to fourth is still tough, especially we have 3 tough games coming up in February. It will be very crucial, but we are now in a better form approaching the challenges coming up.

Players of the Month (1) Kyrgiakos 7.25 (2) Reina 7.2 (3) Carragher 7.08. Kyrgiakos has finally come to age with a few find defensive performance. Reina also did well 3 clean sheets in the month, and Carra has been great in the defense, no matter as right back or centre back.

February prediction:
2/6 Everton (h) Both Merseyside teams are on form so this would be a tough match.
2/10 Arsenal (a) Gooner are not doing well recently but we need to avoid any backslash from them.
2/18 Unirea Urziceni (h) Start of Europa League but Rafa should let the kids to do the playing. Focus should be in the league.
2/21 Manchester City (a) A 6 pointer for the race of fourth and it is almost a must win game for us.
2/25 Unirea Urziceni (a) As mentioned above Rafa should let the kids gain experience in this matchup.
2/28 Blackburn Rovers (h) We lost two points at Blackburn and this is time for us to get a revenge.

Match Report 100130 vs Bolton Wanderers: Confidence growing

2-0 and although the win is not that beautiful, yet confidence is growing. We did not play very well in 1H and was lucky to go one up thanks to another great Kuyt effort. We played better in 2H, and cruised to a two nil victory. It is another victory and we are now 4W2D in our last 6 league games, and it is very important to enter the crucial February in fine form.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another solid performance to keep another clean sheet.
Carragher: 7 Lead the defensive line to another clean sheet.
Kyrgiakos: 7.5 Another outstanding performance with a goal line save.
Skrtel: 6.5 No nonsense display.
Insua: 7 Defected shot to make it 2-0.
Aquilani: 6.5 Had a superb assist but otherwise too many miss passes.
Mascherano: 7 Protect the back 4 well.
Kuyt: 7 Scored the winner at the right place.
Gerrard: 7 Was tightly man marked in 1H but did well to get rid of it in 2H.
Riera: 6.5 Had a few good crosses.
Ngog: 6.5 Missed a sitter.

Substitutions:
Lucas: 7 Came on and changed the swing of the game.
Maxi/Babel: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be delighted about the result and another clean sheet.

Bolton Wanderers: 6.5 Although they have a few great chances but the difference in class counts.

Man of the Match: Kyrgiakos. Another fine display of defense.