Topic: Liverpool 3 - 0 RSC Anderlecht - Post game comments

[TheWalrus]

Really enjoyed the match tonight. The crowd were good, including the away fans. Very few quiet periods from where i was sat. My ratings:

Reina - 7
Little to do but was steady. Point deducted for not releasing Djib into space when the lad was screaming for it.

Finnan - 7
TYpical Finnan performance. Gives us balance that we miss badly in his absence.

Sami - 9
Sami was cool as fuck tonight. Textbook.

Carra - 9
Mr Consistent

Riise - 7
Superb and ran his arse off until he got tired after about 15-20 mins into the second half. Then he went missing and started making mistakes. I was expecting to see Warnock come on as JAR was clearly shattered.

Garcia - 8
Great game by thgis lad who never stops running. People who go on about foreigners not putting effort in need to watch this lad closely. He has a fantastic engine. Oh and great goal.

Alonso - 8
This lads composure on the field is a sight to behold.

Sissoko - 8
Great game from Momo. Cleans up superbly, and knows when to keep it simple. I can't wait until he starts scoring.

Gerrard - 6
Not the best from the skipper tonight. Made quite a few bad passes and errors by his lofty standards.

Crouch - 5
Sorry but much as I'd love to see this lad score a goal, he looked out of his depth tonight. Had some good games when he first came but since being booed at the Old Trafford by england 'fans' he has been awful. A spell in the ressies methinks.

Nando - 9
Never stopped trying hard. Great goal, put himself about and was a nuisance to their defence. He's coming back to form rapidly and we'll soon see another red legend emerge, i'm sure of it.


 

[-Gianni-]

The two stikers from the off was notable enough for me. As someone that has long advocated one striker up front and a strong supporting midfield, the last two results and performances at home have shown that 2 up front against weaker teams is probably a better option?

But when we had one up front we were all over them, creating so many chances ans 3 players playing off the front man and getting in the box aswell. Not disagreeing with you,just thought the 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 worked well in the second half.

[kiwimark]

Great win. Misssed my company meeting for the gae, so was glad it was a good result.  Good game all round.  no real weak links which is good tro see. Stevie F just gets better and better as well. having the 2 stevies on the right looks good and solid for now. Stevie G can count on Stevie F covering if he needs to go wondering....

very tasty win 

[Gnurglan]

The two stikers from the off was notable enough for me. As someone that has long advocated one striker up front and a strong supporting midfield, the last two results and performances at home have shown that 2 up front against weaker teams is probably a better option?

Maybe. I still think the main thing is we get at least 3 attacking players in the side. Early on this season we played Crouch, Garcia and then it was Riise and 3 CMs. Towards the end tonight we had Zenden, Kewell, Garcia and Cisse. That's far more attacking. And instead of JAR at LM, we had him at LB.

Hope we'll play Cisse-Morientes in the next game. I believe that pair has potential.

[jward85]

The billionaires losing means we may find qualification still tough. Betis have to win both to go through; we play Betis next. The other game is away at Chelsea.

Anyone elese thought it is going to be tougher?

Otherwise, great result, and great attitude!!!!

Totally agree Vinay, most people are saying that its a good result Chelsea getting beat, in my opinion it just means we now have to get a point from one of the last two games. Easily do-able, but even so I would have preferred for the CL to be wrapped up so we can focus on the League til February.

[Sarge]

Reina - 8
 
Finnan - 8
Hyypia - 8
Carragher - 8
Riise - 7
 
Gerrard - 7
Alonso - 9
Garcia - 9
Sissoko - 8
 
Morientes - 8
Crouch - 7
 
Subs:
 
Kewell - N/A
Zenden - 7
Cisse - 7



different for me

Yes more like it.

[Gnurglan]

Totally agree Vinay, most people are saying that its a good result Chelsea getting beat, in my opinion it just means we now have to get a point from one of the last two games. Easily do-able, but even so I would have preferred for the CL to be wrapped up so we can focus on the League til February.

It would have been great if Chelsea had won. We would have been 100% through. After last season, I think we're wise not to take anything for granted. Hoped Cole would score one of his miss hits, but of course when Chelsea finally fucks up it's not good for us.

[kiwimark]

It would have been great if Chelsea had won. We would have been 100% through. After last season, I think we're wise not to take anything for granted. Hoped Cole would score one of his miss hits, but of course when Chelsea finally fucks up it's not good for us.

well said.  the double edged sword. you don;t want Chelsea to win, they do.  the one time you want them to win, and they don;t.  makes you hate them more I guess...

[Hij]

It would have been great if Chelsea had won. We would have been 100% through. After last season, I think we're wise not to take anything for granted. Hoped Cole would score one of his miss hits, but of course when Chelsea finally fucks up it's not good for us.

Yep very annoying how Chelsea losing is suddenly detrimental to us. I am fully confident that we will pick up the point though.

The poster above me (not Gnurglan, someone else) that suggested that a win over Betis could knock Chelsea out needs to re-do his maths

[BazC]

Accurate? Since when was a number a suitable means of appraising a players performance.

Fair enough. I actually agree. But since everyone likes to give players ratings out of ten- I said that those were the most accurate I'd seen.

I mean, for sure- a number doesn't convey the incredible goals, touches or movement- but it gives an idea of comparison within the team.

I think Kewell should have started today. I noticed his awareness of Cisse's runs. Unfortunately, his passes were blocked- if he was on for longer I think he could have been very dangerous for Anderlecht, and maybe even scored one. Garcia's lob over the defence to put Kewell through in the last seconds was a great opportunity, but he dragged his shot- if he'd had the chance to get a few more shots you would fancy him for a goal.

Zenden looked fired up from his goal. He did ok for me, you can hardly judge a player by 15 or so mins of football, but some of his crosses weren't that good, but he got forward well and took the full back on.

Crouch... his goal will come. When he scores our captain will be the first to congratulate him...

Gerrard. A brilliant captain. He really wants Crouch to score, whenever he has the ball he looks up for Crouch, and was even shouting at Garcia to cross it to him when he hit the side netting. Brilliant sentiment, although may not be to the good of the team in the game.

A brilliant performance by the 2 centre backs. Didn't let anything past them.

If we perform like this every game, then not only can we challenge for the title, we can realistically hope to win it. Let's hope it continues.

[DaveLFC]

Just watching the highlights on ITV and notice that in the studio they have a European Cup, not sure if it is one of ours but there it sits on the floor with 'blue' ribbons on it. WTF is that about, the cup should have red ribbons on it while we are holders.

Just annoyed me.

[whitey1234]

Exellent display,
Hopefully we stay focused against Betis and make sure we do not complicate things.Thety are a good side but at Anfield we must get on top from the off and be positive.

[Obi Wan Gomi]

Reina - Untroubled, didnt have anything to do really. One moment of action when Wilhemson got around Carragher but he dealt with it adequately. He will have far busier games in a Red Liverpool shirt.

Riise - Thought he made a good claim for the left back slot today, which he will realise he will need to do if Zenden and Kewell come into form (and if Gerrard is played out right and Garcia becomes an option on the left instead). Some good support going forward and neat link up play with Garcia. Was part of a back four that kept their concentration well and caught Anderlecht offside on numerous occasions.

Sami and Carra - Largely untroubled by a poor Anderlecht side who gave a much better account of themselves in Belgium. Did what they had to do without any trouble at all and that's all you can ask from your centrehalves.

Finnan - had a decent first half and then got better. He gives us a lot going forward in that he can cross the ball with both feet - his cross led to Garcia's goal. In his first game back v West Ham he crossed perfectly for Morientes to miss a sitter as well. He did a fine job. Had to deal with Wilhemson for stretches and kept him quiet.

Garcia - A bit hit and miss but more hot than cold today. You can't expect him to get it 100 percent right all the time, in every game. Today he didnt lose possesion that often, caused them problems with his movement in that he is so difficult to pick up and scored an excellent headed goal. Rafa will no doubt be pleased and rightly so.

Alonso - has found his passing range again after a couple of off-days. Was very good today and because he doesnt need to bomb all over the pitch he has more than enough energy to track back and provide cover, which he does very often and to good effect.

Sissoko - A decent performance by Sissoko. along with Alonso, he controlled the centre of the park. Granted the opposition wasnt the best but you can only beat whats in front of you and he did that comprehensively.

Gerrard - it seems, on the paltry evidence of two games, that Gerrard on the right gives us better balance. Rafa tried Sissoko out there and it didnt work but it seems with Gerrard that it does. It's not as if Stevie will be frustrated at not being in the centre and in the thick of action because under the system employed today all four midfielders (perhaps with Alonso an exception) were given license to roam and get involved. Add to that the fact that Crouch, and esp Morientes and Kewell if played upfront will always come deep to collect and pass it on - and you've got the makings of a very fluid attacking lineup. which can be very effective and can wreak havoc on opposition defences. it's a long way to go from here to there but it's clearly (i think) something Rafa is thinking about.

Crouch  - thought his touch let him down at times and he shouldve scored that rebound. not the best performance from Crouchie but far from the worst. At least he got involved. He needs a goal though as he looks slightly short on confidence.

Moro - a beautiful strike, wasn't it? a pity he got injured because he was enjoying the game I think. Two encouraging performances in a week. Of course in typical fashion we'll see him out for two weeks with a 'slight knock' now. Not having a go at him, just his rotten luck.

Zenden - came on, did ok. nothing special but looks a lot more sure of himself after his goal.

Kewell - i still have faith in the boy. he's looking like he wants to get back to full fitness. neat little ball for cisse to score. Was involved down the flanks, in the middle when he pulled a shot wide etc during his short time on the pitch. encouraging. needs a haircut.

Cisse - good goal, well taken. Came on at a good time in that we had all the ball and he was a good outlet.

Crowd - couldnt tell because the pub turned off the commentary and played music.

[Rizla]

We would do well to fuck this one up. Losing away at Stamford Bridge is plausible but I would be disappointed if we didnt at least get the point we needed from Betis at Anfield. Tonight's result apart, their away form this season has been, in the main, shite [5-0 loss to Malaga one of the lowlights]

Very confident of us going through as group winners now. Our league form is patchy but in the CL we have the time and space to play our best football, as was shown tonight

[Red Rascal]

I am just so happy that we are getting nearer to the Best XI team now.
Most of the team is playing to their near potential and getting a good result and looking good... I feel so upbeat and looking forward with more great games in the future. No more snidey remarks from the media about a One Man Team or Long Ball Team anymore...Aren't we happy though?

[woof]

Fuck me Kewell and Cisse look like they're going to be some force up front.

My thoughts exactly. I know Anderlecht isn't exactly tough opposition but the real positive out of this game for me is to see Kewell and Cisse combining well. If we were a bit more lucky, the pair could have scored another 2 in addition to Cisse's goal. I bet Rafa will be thinking hard which attacking combination he should use in the future. Was interesting he didn't put Kewell in the left but played him just behind the striker.

After Garcia's goal I thought the boys lost a bit of concentration with some careless play. Nevertheless, we won comfortably and let's thrash Betis at home and give it to Chelsea when we play them at Stamford Bridge. That will build confidence in the team. I hope at along last we have a team that can challenge for the top 3.

[The Red artist.]

Im so glad we are trying to start Riise left back! An attacking full back - thats what all the 'big' teams have - Defending should be the secondary priority - smashing it into the back of the opponents net should be the 1st

Dont agree there mate,a fullbacks priority is defendin,its gotta be.a full back who can attack is a bonus.
Good result tonight,everyone played well,Garcia my mom.Attitude was good and workrate also.Zeneden looked very positive when he came on.Good atmosphere on the Kop.Great night all round and cska Chelsea lost!oh happy days!!Same on satdee would be sound.Well done Redmen.

                                   Y.N.W.A.............J.F.T.96.

[neil4ad]

From the official site, regarding Morientes' substitution:

"...The Reds manager felt it was important for Fernando Morientes to score but said there was an injury scare for the Spanish striker who felt some pain in his knee, but Benitez is hoping it isn't serious.
 
Benitez said: "It was important for Morientes to score and it was good for us. Unfortunately Fernando had to come off because he felt pain in his knee so we will have to wait and see how he is on Thursday."

[Techmick]

Absolutely made up with tonights game,  loads of effort and looking like they wanted to play. It looked balanced and the guys up front look like they are starting to get their act together. I just hope the rent boys result doesn't come back to bite us on the arse. confident we can turn over Betis at Anfield but would rather qualification had been put to bed tonight.

[The_Nomad]

Nando's goal. Anyone else got reminded of Rushie's goal against a certain Blue Shite team at a certain FA Cap match at Wembley? That control and a half volley into the same bottom corner of the net?

[Godmadebloodred]

I remember Chelsea used to play like Anderlecht today in the 70s & 80s.

Ahhh, yes,,, the good ol' days.

[ScouserFreddy]

Congrats lads.....We deserved it

We are so close to qualify

GO REDS

[brunny]

anyone got the clip of alonso muscling a player off the ball then turning and pass to gerrard the other end of the pitch and land on his feet?

[rocco]

Reina - 6
 
Finnan - 7
Hyypia - 7
Carragher - 8
Riise - 8
 
Gerrard - 8
Alonso - 9
Garcia - 8
Sissoko - 7
 
Morientes - 7
Crouch - 4
 
Subs:
 
Kewell - 7
Zenden - 7
Cisse - 7
 
 
 
 


   
 
 

[JOELFC]

Excellent performance from the "team"...just i'm actually starting to feel sorry for Crouch...sorry to offend after a win but the guy is just out of his depth....his positional sense and awarenes is just....need i go on!

[MalRed]

Splendid performance by the lads. Having Anderlecht beat by 3 goals wasn't the highlight for me but rather watching the fluidity and attacking verve that we are so capable of gives me a hard on.

Of course the goals were superb with Nando breaking his drought, Garcia with that arguably as good as Juve goal and Cisse's arrogant nutmeg. Loved to see Finnan supplying Garcia with the cross for the goal. I think Finnan's did well and is very underated by a lot of you. And man, I really hope Kewell and Cisse are hitting it off.....would love to see a blossoming partnership. By the way, I've no issues with Kewell's hair, might lose power ala Samson if he gets it cut.

Momo gave me a few scares though. did well in breaking up play and excellently bossed the midfield with Alonso. I was biting my nails thinking a red card was gonna come for Momo. And it did...only for the guy who swore 'fuck off black' to him. Shame on that worthless piece of shite. Could clearly see it on the slow mo replay as he mouthed it out.

Disappointed slightly that maureen's didn't do the job. Makes it a helluva more difficult for our last 2 games but looking on the bright side, they could get knocked out again eh?

Well then, this sleepy Malaysian (match was shown here live at 0330 hrs) is sporting eyebags but bloody pleased that the boys did well. Onward to Villa then.

[NickoH]

Good win (albeit against a poor side).......good atmosphere on The Kop.

Lets hope the players we were concerned about (Garica, Nando, etc...) are coming back to their best - I thought Luis and Nando worked their bollocks off last night and got their rewards with 2 very good goals.

Fair credit to the Anderlecht fans - brought a good crew and got behind their lads.........even on this terrible run they are having.

[Chivasino]

Made my Diwali a good un what with the rent boys losing

Same here....happy dewali!

I think we've never won three on the spin with Rafa in charge....time to change all that against Villa on Sat.

Come on you redmen.

[leroy]

Great win!

All facets of the team firing at the same time.

Great goals from Moro and LuGa.  He is amazing in the air for such a small guy.  His technique is perfect.

And Cisse's goal, through ball my arse! Harry wanted that goal!!  Good to see him on and runing at the backs tho, he and luis are about the only guys in the team that look compfortable runing at people with the ball at their feet.

Also good to see Djib make an impact as soon as he came on, running down those balls heading to the by line and side line!

[Sajets]

The truth is out! I've solved the mystery of why player ratings in tabloids are always off the mark. They dont watch the games! 

from Mirror:

Fellow Spaniard Xabi Alonso found him on the right hand corner of the penalty area. A good touch, a brief look up and bang... the ball was screaming into the far corner of the net.

The unfortunate Morientes limped off on 51 minutes, a victim of a bruising challenge by Bart Goor just before the interval.

Liverpool brought on Bolo Zenden and pushed Garcia further forward, a move that paid instant dividends as the little Spaniard showed remarkable prowess with his head to deflect Finnan's near-post cross over the despairing grasp of Proto into the roof of the net.



And they give all the credit for great crosses to Gerrard, but the truth is Finnan made most of these.

Anyway it was a great win and hopefully we play against Villa with the same style and composure. Well in lads in red.

[wacko]

Group G

1         Liverpool     4    3    1    0    6    1    5    10
2         Chelsea    4    2    1    1    5    1    4    7
3         Real Betis    4    2    0    2    3    6    -3    6
4         Anderlecht    4    0    0    4    0    6    -6    0

 

Thanks to the Chelsea screwing up when we needed them, we need to take something from Betis to guarantee qualification. So stop it with the mockers   

[Sajets]

Thought it was interesting to see how we changed from two strikers who are good in the air, to a target man in a 4-2-3-1 and then we changed that to a pacier version of the same formation. We scored with all three.

we had 4 good partnerships, they all worked very well and how we changed our formations to suit them was really smooth and looking like a proper team. Unlike against Palace week ago when changeing formations led to chaos.

Crouch-Morientes
Crouch-Garcia
Cisse-Garcia
Cisse-Kewell

Especially pleasing was Kewell-Cisse IMO. They had little time but they seemed to click from the start.

[axel foley]

Thoroughly enjoyed the game.
We would have beaten anyone playing like that.
A lot of nervousness still floating around and for this was hoping Chelsea would beat Betis. But have to be confident we can win the group and remain unbeaten.

Well done fellas.

[RedMike-86-]

Thanks to the Chelsea screwing up when we needed them, we need to take something from Betis to guarantee qualification. So stop it with the mockers   

Take something from Betis at Anfield - we will mate! Relax, deep breaths please! 

[overthebar]

HARRY KEWELL

I wanted to start a new thread about this but thought it might just piss everyone off.

I know Anderlecht are sh1te and that he came on when there was loads of space on the park but didn't you just love his touch and vision? He is head and shoulders above anyone else in that team in the skill category, just light years ahead.

Forget hollywood passes, or charging around the pitch like a raving lunatic, he takes the ball down and simply beats people, opens up defences with skill and genius.

He is slowly coming back into form and it sounds like his injury problems might just be behind him.

He could and I would love him to go down as a Liverpools legend. I know some of you will be pulling your hair out now but Rafa is the man to get the best out of him. I'm almost started creaming myself just watching his skill last night, maybe it was all those beers though. He does look like a girl after all.

It has been years of unfullfilled promise from Harry but there are signs that the good times are coming for him.

[didi]

Thought Kewell looked really sharp again when he came on

[Captain-Carra]

Wish he had buried the shot at the end into the Kop net. Looked gutted not to score and think that goal would have given him a lot of confidence.

Good to here the Kop singing his name after Cisse scored, saluting the slide rule pass from Kewell.

I know its premature but Harry seems to be getting back to his best and hopefully he can povide the cutting edge we sometimes lack.

[Notayesman]

There was something about last night that makes me feel like something has finally clicked. The balance of the team was right, the workrate all over the park was fantastic, the delivery to our strikers was top notch and Rafa made the right changes at the right times, eg Cisse coming on to expoit gaps when they were pushing on. Its often been said that Stevie and Xabi don't compliment each other and that Stevie looks our best option on the right, that too is starting to ring true. Lets keep it going in the league now.

Special mention to Harry as well who looked the part when he came on. Always looking for gaps and found one for Djib.

[Captain-Carra]

The pace and tempo that we set from the start was what made the game feel right.

Last season the games we played outstandingly were v arsenal, juve, bayer and chelsea at home. In those games we started at a good pace and passed the ball quickly, switching it well from left to right. Last night we seemed to get back to that sort of football.

Makes a difference when we have Gerrard on the right as he gives a lot of balance and hugs the touchline. Gerrard and Finnan seem to have a good understanding and play some great one touch football to work openings for crosses. On the left Risse and Garcia also have a similar understanding.

When we play quick, incisive passing football no one can live with us. When we start slowly and teams can get amongst our style of play, that is when we struggle.

[BazC]

Fuck me Kewell and Cisse look like they're going to be some force up front.

I think that with Garcia, those 3 would be our best strike force. I think that those 3 have an understanding that they don't share with other strikers.

Kewell was always looking for Cisse's run, and did pass the ball brilliantly for the goal- he also tried it a couple of times before, but the through ball was blocked. Then Garcia, he actually links up with everyone well- see the little chip pass over their defence to invite Kewell to shoot.