Liverpool | 2-2 | Everton |
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Well. The match that nobody looked forward to suddenly became the game of the decade. The gloom and resignation around Anfield had been lifted. Yes, we had problems. Yes, we need to invest in a squad that - no matter what your opinion on how we got here - requires reshaping and rejuvenating. Yes, we're a few points off the relegation zone. For the first time in what seems a long while, excitement returned to the Red half of Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish was back. Forget United, forget Blackpool, this was the game everyone anticipated.
It went without saying it needed to be a Flag Day and that we needed to welcome home the King. Of course, our neighbours across the park were keen to spoil the party and came for their cup final in high spirits, despite the relative famine of the Yak leading him to pastures anew - temporarily - and no Saha.
Liverpool lined up in what on paper looked like an adventurous 4-3-3 formation:
Reina (c); Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson; Spearing, Lucas, Meireles; Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez, TorresWe saw a glimpse of this set up against Blackpool, with Dirk and Jovanovic aiming to support Torres with width while Meireles and Lucas roamed in behind. This time, Maxi took his place on the left while Spearing pushed Lucas back as we looked for goals from the off.
Everton put out this team:
Howard; Coleman, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Arteta, Phil Neville (c), Osman, Fellaini, Anichebe; BeckfordVery quickly, Moyes switched Neville and Coleman around, which saw the Everton captain have an interesting game at right back to say the least. Everton didn't look for width but instead chose to send different midfielders forward to try and pull the Liverpool defenders apart.
First half we attacked the Annie Road end, roared on by a full house expecting and dreaming. After a raptuous welcome for Kenny, Torres decided to remind us who our current heroes are by going straight up to the Everton box and drilling a shot on. This served as an early warning that we were planning on taking the game to Everton and to try and instil some pride in our play. Spearing, the surprise inclusion to the midfield, proved to be in no mood to be overwhelmed by the occasion. My first proper look at him was a limp performance at the Stadium of Light, where he didn't manage to win a single tackle. Jay did himself proud this time, putting himself about in a controlled way that disrupted the passing of the away side.
Despite a lack of pace through the side, we looked to try and draw Everton onto us and then spring onto them, bringing our midfield past theirs to attempt to make space for our second wave. This played to Torres strengths, since he would latch onto any loose or through balls and run at the Everton centre backs for the afternoon, Distin and Heitinga. The former stuck with Torres for most of the day, as Heitinga struggled to contain Liverpool's number 9 and was lucky to escape a booking for a shove. Everton were lucky not to have many decisions go against them, as will prove to our cost later on.
The first 15 minutes were promising, no repeat of the insipid performance that summed up our malaise under the previous manager (How good does it feel to be able to utter those words and not result in a 100 page thread arguing the intricate details?). Nerves started to take hold, though, as hope ebbed away and the fear that even Kenny couldn't steady this ship set in.
Lucas and Spearing battled manfully against the Everton midfield, who in this humble author's unbiased eyes saw many an unpunished push and elbow left in to disrupt the balance and composure of our centre. Meireles looked to support Kuyt, who flagged early on in the game worryingly. This was not a vintage Dirk Kuyt performance by any means. Often Torres would chase a misdirected ball or look for his overlapping run only to find him jogging behind or holding position. It reached a point that on winning a fortunate corner from yet another Dirk Kuyt special through pass, he apologised profusely to Torres for selling him a duff one.
As we passed the midway point of the first half, we looked the more likely to score with Torres being, unsurprisingly, the main threat. He looked dangerous running at the impressive Distin, who had a good battle with him and was probably Everton's best player on the day. He couldn't keep Nando quiet, though, with Torres unlucky not to get revenge for a nasty challenge on him that went unpunished by referee Phil Dowd by cutting onto his left and firing a shot onto the post, with the onrushing Kuyt unable to slot the rebound home.
A special mention should go to the full backs, with Kelly proving himself to be an excellent prospect yet again, powering down the right flank as well as drifting infield and almost gliding with the ball into the middle. I shall refrain from suggesting he has a good touch for a big man but the lad has great technique for a defender and really deserves his place in the side on merit. Johnson on the other side started off a bit nervously, having not performed with great distinction at left back against Blackpool but found his feet (almost literally at one point, when he seemed confused which foot to trap the ball with on the touchline) and ran at his opposite number time and again.
It was the pressure from the full backs that fashioned the first goal, with Kelly and Johnson taking turns to put balls in, until finally a cross came in causing havoc for the Everton defence, resulting in Howard parrying out a Kuyt shot to the waiting Meireles, steadying himself to lash in his first goal for the club and make Anfield rock.
Refreshingly, the goal didn't make us go into our shell. Everton ended the half with a couple of chances, Beckford going close to meeting an inswinging ball just in front of Pepe. We went into half time 1-0 to the good, though, unlucky not to be 2 or even 3-0 ahead.
The fans were in good spirits as the second half got underway, even with the surprise change of Kyrgiakos for Agger. The worry was he was injured again, but the Greek had played well this season and extra strength wouldn't go amiss. Some fans had barely taken their seats, though, when Everton were awarded a dodgy corner. I couldn't see it at the time, as the challenge happened just out of sight but having seen the replays, I can't see how the ref can't distinguish between a blue boot and a red one.
Still, the corner came in and again our defensive instability came to bite us hard. Distin rose above everyone to power a header that Johnson was unable to prevent going on, putting it against bar and post for the blue pocket beneath us to celebrate wildly. To be honest, it stunned most people in the ground as we'd been caught cold by a set piece that should've been dealt with but like many others in the past few months, haven't.
A sense of unease started to filter around the ground but as we tried to get a head of steam, Everton shocked us again. This time it drew the ire of everyone in the stands and on the pitch, as a high ball was challenged by Anichebe and Kelly leaving the young Liverpool defender crumpled in a heap on the floor. Our defence hesitated for a second and that gave Beckford the chance to run onto the ball, chased by Meireles struggling to even get a hold of his shirt. His foot caught the Everton striker, who stumbled as he slotted past Reina to give Everton a shock lead. They celebrated like crazy as our stand in captain ran to the referee enraged with him allowing play to continue. After the match, opinions were split on the challenge with one popular sentiment being 'if that was a Liverpool player on a Blue, we'd be mad if that was given as a foul". However, having seen the challenge a few more times, Anichebe flew in dangerously in my mind and the goal shouldn't have stood.
Still, debates about the challenge had to wait for post match - or at least continue amongst those outside the stadium. We needed a comeback to make sure that Kenny's comeback wasn't to end in defeat. The players looked deflated, a sense of deja vu even the experienced members of the team seemed unable to shake. The lethargy returned and honestly, I was scared that we were beyond repair.
We kept going, though, even if our passing wasn't as good and we struggled to control the ball in the centre of the park as Everton's players (particularly Fellaini) threw themselves into every challenge to try and let it break through to Beckford. In fairness to our opponents, they made a much better fist of the game in the second half. How much of that was down to their early goal we'll never know but they took their opportunity and fought hard.
Despite the inelegance of our attack, Maxi Rodriguez tried manfully to involve himself in the game and our best move of the second half came with him getting the ball from a mixture of Johnson and Lucas, cutting infield and dancing past Everton challenges before eventually losing out just outside their box. That run sparked up the crowd though and a few minutes later, another Liverpool attack saw us encamped outside the Everton box trying to find a way through. We started to win corners in front of the Kop that roused the crowd from their fear and depression, and with over an hour gone, a ball that came into Maxi just in front of the keeper was enough to tease Howard out of his goal and the keeper's rash attempt at diving at Maxi's feet brought him down for a blatant penalty. No card was forthcoming, which seemed surprising but when you're 2-1 down to the mortal enemy you'll ask those questions later.
Up stepped the ineffectual Dirk Kuyt who grew a foot in height after he easily slotted home the penalty. He loves scoring against the Bluenoses and for 2-2, we'll take that.
Anfield stepped up their efforts and it showed in the players. They really did find an extra yard of pace after that, challenges were made with vigour and 50-50 balls were falling our way. The managers started to take centre stage, with Moyes throwing on substitute after substitute to try and turn the game, Vaughn, Rodwell and Bilyaletdinov all coming on with decreasing effect, Vaughn replaced Beckford, who despite his goal and a couple of chances didn't offer much. Most of the danger came from the Everton midfield trying to pull the centre backs apart. Osman and Anichebe went off, who despite working hard didn't impact much quality on the game. It sounds strange, especially if you compare this to Everton reports, but going forward Everton didn't offer much beside Fellaini and Arteta pressing the ball high up the pitch.
For the last ten minutes, Shelvey replaced a flagging Meireles who got a standing ovation for his opener. The three man midfield, overall, worked well. Spearing and Lucas broke up many of Everton's attacks and Lucas was my man of the match for sweeping up and one slip aside kept possession magnificently. Spearing has come on leaps and bounds in the last year, proving a lot of people - including myself - wrong that he was a complete write off.
As the minutes ticked closer to the end of the 90, we found ourselves pushing hard for the winner. Pepe's distribution was fantastic, passing it short and long with relative accuracy (one sliced clearance out to touch we can ignore) and in stoppage time he was the catalyst for our last two attacks. Pepe, for me, embodies the style of play that we should try to achieve. It's not about the short ball or the long ball, it's about the right one. Spraying passes all around, he almost lead from the back and nearly inspired us in the last few minutes to score the winner. Nearly.
Our last chance saw the ball bounce wide of the post and a few seconds later as Everton went to take a throw the full time whistle went. 2-2 the final score and both teams felt a little hard done by not to take all three points - one side based on play, the other based on perception.
Man of the match? Toss up between Kelly and Lucas, the former has to be first choice now and caused Everton to make their first tactical switch early on. But Lucas did what he does best. Screening the defenders while keeping it tidy, he takes the ball and redistributes it where it's safest. He lets the full backs push on and the midfield rotate around him. Kenny, keep the midfield V and keep Lucas at the base. Lucas edges it for me for importance to the side.
Moan of the match? Dirk, I've been a defender of yours for a long time but you're tired and things just aren't working for you. Miscontrols, misplaced passes and misplaced shots. Even his famed energy deserted him. His game could be summed up by two moments. A coolly taken penalty to gain a point and attempt to control a long ball and bringing down Coleman to earn himself a yellow card.
Chant of the match? Everton fans, ever eager to push the notion that they are the people's club, endeavoured to let us know we should return to Norway as the city is all theirs. Anfield's response? You stupid bastards, your captain's a Manc.
Positives are, well, our positivity. More attacking intent, more cohesion going forward and more support for Torres. As Everton played deeper and he had less space to play with, he involved his team mates more and became a creative force rather than just an outlet. It was interesting to see how our tactics changed as the second half went on. Babel warmed up to come on but Kenny changed his mind after Dirk scored. However, looking at that side, Dirk is one of the few senior players available and one of the few who could inject passion into proceedings, if not guile. I had hoped to see Pacheco come on and switch sides with Maxi and I was tempted to put Fabio on for the ill Agger and shuffle our defence. However, Skrtel's shaky performance probably required a commanding head next to him, so I cede to the more knowledgable one.
