Topic: Liverpool 2 - Blackburn 1, 28/02/10 - In-Game Commentary & post-match reaction

[Bangers N Masch]

Wish Allardyce would hurry up and die.

Wouldve liked to see Babel start over Yossi, who was clearly tired. Maxi actually looked a player today, combining well with the monster - MOTM - and assisting for Torres - great to see him back.

[skidz73]

Decent result but we didn't look comfortable for long periods of that game. Not even like Blackburn parked the bus, and yet we didnt create a great deal.  I don;t think there were any standout performances, and if we carry on showing those kinds of nerves on this run in for fourth, well we'll have no business playing in the Champions League. To think how solid we were in the nerves stakes last season going for the title. This should be a fucking cake walk.

[rafathegaffa83]

Maxi's best game for us so far. Reina was outstanding and Masherano was very good as well. Yossi never really got into this one. A shame about Aurelio's injury. I thought we could have been a bit better with posession in the last thirty minutes, as we let Blackburn creep back into a game they had no right to be in with a chance.

Anyone know why the cameras seemed focused on the police on the touchline following half-time and after the match?

Did Wiley leave his red card at home? Some things never change Sam's shithouse tactics being one of them.

N'Zonzi should have been sent off. Diouf probably should have gone as well and Kalinic was definitely treading on a thin line too. The way Blackburn were roughing up Reina, I'm sort of glad Aquilani didn't feature against that shower.

[The Infamous_LFC]

If Fabio has a tear in his thigh how long will he be out for? Also isn't his contract running till the end of the season?

Possibly his last ever game for Liverpool?

[thegoodfella]

I am fuming and flabbergasted, why didn't the ref show a single red card is beyond me, absolutely beyond me. It was as if he wanted to see some blood before showing red.

[Gaz123456]

I thought that we looked great for about 60 minutes, but Torres and Yossi tired and we lost some momentum and were hanging on at the end.

Still, it's a good three points and great that we are getting back to a full team again

[faithplusone01]

Next game is on a Monday right? I'm loving this fixture schedule. After this game, they give us 8 days to recover from the "bumps and bruises" that Blackburn got away with giving us. We owe the fixture nazis a lot folks...

[astowell1]

In my opinion Yossi hasn't looked quite the same since coming back, maybe he needs time I don't know.  But whenever I wait for the team line up, I hope to see Riera, Maxi, Babel and even Aquilani ahead of him at the moment.

[Fanxxxxtastic]

Sorry, I'm too angry to give any rational analysis.

Fucking c*nt manager, vile, dirty fucking bastard players, incompetent, disgraceful ref.

Wanna cave their fucking heads in the c*nts.

I hope your talking about Blackburn here

[usernamefc]

Slightly annoyed the BBC haven't mentioned the horrible lash out on maxi.

[buzzing]

Good win. Roll on Blackburn.

MOTM. Reina.

Beginning to fall in love with him.

God damn man, how slow is your stream...still watching Thursday's game

[Regi]

As much as I hate Diouf, and believe me I do, Masch dived for the booking...simple as that.
What exactly are people saying Diouf should have been sent off for?

[rocco]

Next game is on a Monday right? I'm loving this fixture schedule. After this game, they give us 8 days to recover from the "bumps and bruises" that Blackburn got away with giving us. We owe the fixture nazis a lot folks...

"I Don't Like Mondays"

[Karthik]

Don't wana bring the mood down but I thought we were poor, and at times downright woeful.
Blackburn came to play their usual nonsense, but we were lucky as fuck to win.
Apart from Stevie and Pepe I didn't see anyone who impressed... Masch and Nando in patches, which was plenty given he is just back.
Points are what matters but it wasn't a performance to build momentum.

We have become so dependent on counter-attacking that we seem to have totally lost the ability to control possession...we drop so deep it's untrue and when we attack we are too prone to playing ambitious balls.

A bit of keep=ball and possession in the style of old would not go amiss from time to time...not much to ask...10 maybe 15 passes to slow the game down and look for gaps. Surely we have the players capable of that

Maybe in the second half but we did pretty well in the first

[Regi]

Slightly annoyed the BBC haven't mentioned the horrible lash out on maxi.

By Chimbonda?
Dirty yes, but he barely touched him.

[MidwestWool]

Slightly annoyed the BBC haven't mentioned the horrible lash out on maxi.

It was good to hear Sky pick that up and say that it should have been a red.

[Regi]

Maybe in the second half but we did pretty well in the first

After we scored we were OK for a bit...prior to that we were shite

[walshys_mullet]

Awful performance.

Totally played into their hands, especially second half. i couldnt believe how easy we made it for them to just pump a long ball. Sitting on the edge of our box time and time again, we have Reina to thank for us not dropping points. At one point gerrard was centre half, its bloody ridiculous.

And as for a master tactician i think rafa needs to go the library and find a football basics book, like the kind you had in school as a kid because he hasnt got a bloody clue. Bringing everyone back constantly on free kicks and corners just caused mass confusion, players tripping over themselves, getting in each other way etc. The Black burn pen came as a result of too many men back, getting in the way of each other and basically playing like school kids in the yard.

Also what was our formation for the first 20-30 minutes? i couldnt work it out we were all over the shop.

Wiley never covered himself in glory either should have sent two of them off. Again season cant end soon enough.

[RyanBabel19]

As much as I hate Diouf, and believe me I do, Masch dived for the booking...simple as that.
What exactly are people saying Diouf should have been sent off for?

I didnt get the red card calls for him but that was never a dive, diouf went straight through him and made absolutely no contact with the ball

[xavidub]

So so performance, good in the first half not so good in the second. Great to see Torres and Gerrard on the score sheet and to see Maxi gain an assist.


However, I can never understand the wisdom of bringing Torres off. Even if he is tired, his mere presence on the field makes the opposition keep two players back. Also, when we bring him off, it effectively says to the opposition, "we have done enough here to beat you" and it invariably lifts them and makes them come at us harder. Fair enough if we are three or even two goals up, but one goal ahead is too easily overturned. But for Pepe this would have been a disastrous result conceded by gifting the momentum to the opposition 

[ohh_v]

By Chimbonda?
Dirty yes, but he barely touched him.

Its malicious intent. That should be punished fullstop. Just because Chimbonda didn't get clean contact doesn't mean it isn't a red.

[buchigo!]

1. good performance from the team. no matter how the press will spin it (the press here are it already- "this game is a stop start game" while saying at the same time we never seemed to have the control of the game- try controlling the game where you're kicked out of the park and as you've said it yourself- it was fucking stop-start...)- it was a good performance from the boys. never buckled held on, when they tied we came back.  and won.

2. idiot ref. really. just the sheer utter idiocy of that man.

3. and the one thing that destroyed an otherwise ok game for me- el hadji diouf. just a twat. at least there's an argument drogba has the talent to back his twattiness up, but the kicking (in light of the horrible thing that happened yesterday, i fear it's not one of those nasty two footed lunges that will really really hurt someone and force refs to finally call games better but those petulant types that diouf is a master of- and i hope i'm wrong with that), the infuriating pirouette after committing an obvious foul, the whinging, the arguably most punchable face (that good dental care forgot) in football . god. i hope ingerlund's brave john terry rips ligaments and drogba has a broken metatarsal, but goddamn, i hope diouf breaks his legs in 6 places and never plays again (just those three players). just a fucking unbelievable and rare specimen of the unique trifecta of twattery, douchebaggery and general cuntiness. gawd. 

[Kite]

Masch needs to be careful, another performance like that and he'll make that position his own.  Some periods of play today with Gerrard in the middle we seemed to have a real nice balance, we were zipping the ball around really well, better than I've seen us do it for a while.

I've never been a major fan of Lucas, but he played really well today, perhaps people should stop asking whats wrong with Aquaman and focus more on the fact Lucas might just be keeping him out on merit.

Some nervous moments as you'd expect with a makeshift defence, but overall I thought it was a very good performance. 

Blackburn are filthy dirty bastards, and could have easily lost 2 or 3 players to a red card today.

[J-Mc-]

By Chimbonda?
Dirty yes, but he barely touched him.

How did he barely touch him? he pushed his studs into Maxi's chest!

[impz]

Nice to see Sam is creating another team of butchers at Blackburn.  Realistically they should have had 2 or 3 players sent off in that game, and it was an absolutely shocking performance from the ref.

Gerrard proved today that he is what we're missing in the middle of the park.  He faded in the second half as we were obviously set out to defend our lead, but when we were looking to create he was the best player on the pitch.  His goal threat is no less from CM, and he improves everyone else around him.

Torres, love him, glad he's back. 

Kuyt was pretty good. 

Maxi was superb, but perhaps lacking confidence, was a couple moments he could have been more dangerous if he had gambled.

Thought Lucas was poor today.

Masch, motm for me, he was everywhere, he did everything, and even from RB he was our second best player in the middle for passing and creation.

I thought Gerrard was poor today myself. Thought he was dwelling on the ball and a bit lost at times when we didn't have the ball.


Other than that thought Lucas had a pretty decent game.. Peach of a pass into Torres for the second should really have been an assist. Was doing his and Gerrard's defensive duties at times.  Only one team came out to play football what a stinker Mr. Wiley

[rocco]

How did he barely touch him? he pushed his studs into Maxi's chest!

= red card .. violent conduct

[Karthik]

General thoughts not relating to the game. Disappointed that babel didnt get much game time especially after he had good performances in the last two games. No idea what aquilani was doing on the bench (or why he was even bought if we are not going to play him. 20m wasted). Kelly could have been given a chance too especially with johnson coming back soon he may not get much of a chance.

[Ultimate Bromance]

Thought we did quite well in the first half, second half got worse as time got on, and the last 15 minutes were just unbearable. Still quite disgusted at those horrible Blackburn twats, some real dirty tackles, and I'm surprised that it finished 11v11. Could have had reds and injuries all over the place, and Wiley did not help. Seems like him and Dowd have submitted their performances for "Worst refeering display of 2010" early. Disgraceful.

Anyway, game won, thanks largely to Pepe at the end there. Good to see Nando back.

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Delighted Nando is back and scoring, and also Gerrard - he had a good game today.

[Regi]

I didnt get the red card calls for him but that was never a dive, diouf went straight through him and made absolutely no contact with the ball

Look at it again mate...sorry to say it but Masch was going down before Diouf got to him.
No sympathy for Diouf at all...just stating it as I saw it

[astowell1]

Delighted Nando is back and scoring, and also Gerrard - he had a good game today.

Definately the difference today.  With Reina, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres all playing we have a world class core to the team, its in games like todays where you see the difference such players make.

[unusg]

hate blackburn, hate allerdyce and hate the away he and his team play football. That shower of shit would put a pub team to shame with their thuggish behaviour

[Regi]

How did he barely touch him? he pushed his studs into Maxi's chest!

For fuck sake mate come on...have footballers become so precious that the merest touch of a stud has a player writhing in agony?
It didn't hurt in the slightest.
I'm not saying the act deserved to go unpunished, but it's fucking embarrassing seeing players rolling about having been barely touched.

[Una cerveza, por favor]

Definately the difference today.  With Reina, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres all playing we have a world class core to the team, its in games like todays where you see the difference such players make.

Yeah good point.

[Regi]

Its malicious intent. That should be punished fullstop. Just because Chimbonda didn't get clean contact doesn't mean it isn't a red.

I didn't say it should go unpunished...I just said he barely made the slightest contact...hence Maxi was playacting.
Nothing more or less

[Finn Solomon]

For fuck sake mate come on...have footballers become so precious that the merest touch of a stud has a player writhing in agony?
It didn't huirt in the slightest.
I'm not saying the act deserved to go unpunished, but it's fucking embarrassing seeing players rolling about having been barely touched.

But like the Nzonzi push on Lucas showed the referee will never show a red if the victimised player just gets up again like a man.

[se9R.F.L]

Mascherano, Maxi and lucas had really good games for me, not to mention Pepe.

Masch slotting in at right back might seem a strange decision to neutrals but we all know Masch is  secretly the best right back in the league. He was everywhere down that right side and got stuck in as usual, getting booted all over but still bossing things linking up well with the impressive Maxi.
Rodriguez looked classy today, he has a superb touch and linked really well with Masch and Kuyt. He got stuck in too and received a bit of a kicking but never hid. Did well with the assist for the winner too.
I thought lucas had a very good game, a couple of bad passes and his customary yellow card aside, he's starting to look like a fine midfielder. Obviously he's still learning his trade but he's progressing quickly this year. loved him putting the boot in, only fairly, towards the end showing that he wasn't phased by the shitehouse tactics blackburn played all day.
Pepe Reina is the best around, that save at the end won the game for us. There aren't many who could have saved that, fortunately we had Pepe in goal. Truly unbelievable save for those that haven't seen it yet, it was the highlight of a not boring match and you won't see many better.
We played some nice stuff going forward at times and it's great to see Torres starting, his goal gave him a real boost but he faded, understandably toward the end.
Blackburn are the dirtiest bastards i've seen us play for a long time, practically their whole team got booked and it's a travesty that they didn't get at least one red card if not two or three.
still we showed some guts in defence and saw off everything they threw at us.
Hard fought three points against fat sams hoofers. Par for the course.

[ohh_v]

But like the Nzonzi push on Lucas showed the referee will never show a red if the victimised player just gets up again like a man.

I think this is the truth. It's sad that it's come to this, but these days you won't get a foul unless you make it look like you are fouled.

[RyanBabel19]

Look at it again mate...sorry to say it but Masch was going down before Diouf got to him.
No sympathy for Diouf at all...just stating it as I saw it

I've seen it enough times but i'll be sure to look again on MOTD later.

As for the barely touched him calls for chimbonda, he threw his foot up at him. Its malicious and has no place in football. I dont care if he grazed the badge on his shirt with a stud, he purposely forced his foot up at the player its disgusting. Just like if someone threw an elbow in your face on the field, it doesnt have to even touch you, as people have said its malicious intent.

[usernamefc]

For fuck sake mate come on...have footballers become so precious that the merest touch of a stud has a player writhing in agony?
It didn't hurt in the slightest.
I'm not saying the act deserved to go unpunished, but it's fucking embarrassing seeing players rolling about having been barely touched.

He wasn't barely touched, clearly kicked in the chest. Grab a pair of studs and get someone to "lightly" kick you in the chest. It's gonna hurt.

Either way, there were two lash outs, one the hand was raised to the face and pushed after already holding Lucas by the neck. The other lashes out by kicking a player with his studs, clearly a red card.