Ok, well, I'll start with the result. It was a great result. Very few times this season we have won 3-0, struggling to even remember one in the league, but yesterday, we wnt to a difficult ground, against a newly promoted team, something we often struggle with, and systematically took them apart. The overall team performance was very controlled, and efficient. We were not electrifying, but that is no a problem when you are two goals up by the HT whistle and keeping the opposition very quiet.
Pepe Reina did not have much to do yesterday, which is ofcourse a good thing, but what he did do, he did reasonably well. Pepe has not been at his best this season, and has been as poor as he has in years, and at times this season I have heavily questioned his handling especially, but yesterday he was solid. His distribution was pretty good, and his shot stopping was solid enough.
Enrique looked nervous to me at the beginning of the game, and alot of the time when he got the ball, he just seemed to hit it forward, but as the game grew, so did he his performance. He provided a solid defensive for the left side, and was good going forward.
Agger was Agger. Classy as fuck. The boy is a player, and every time I see him he just steals the show at the back with his passing and strides forward.
Johnson played well also at RB. Delighted to see that last weeks mistake did not have to much of a negative impact on him. He was shaky at times but more often than not, he was solid at the back and going forward, he really is such an asset to this club. The outlet he provides on the right hand side is brilliant, and he is one of the best forward thinking RBs in the league.
Shelvey was good yesterday, very solid in the midfield and all season long a major issue we have had is midfielders breaking into the box, yesterday he did this on more than one occassion. This encouraged me alot as I like to see that from a young midfielder.
Henderson was classy. He gets alot of stick this boy, but for me, he is going to be boss. Yesterday he just did his job, kept the ball moving, kept possession, got the ball and moved it on and was always an option. Him doing this helped to recycle the ball, and is what helped us have a stronghold on possession and the game as a whole. As he gets more and more confident, he will get better and better. Yesterday he helped provide that base that allowed the like of Gerrard to push forward and cause problems. Cannot wait to see this lad playing next to Lucas next season.
Bellamy was good yesterday as well and his pace and tenacity really give us an extra dimension from the left. He likes to cut in and this helped Enrique to have space for the overlap. Good performance, and did what was asked.
Now on to the stars of the show. Mr Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez. These two really are special talents who would walk into any team in the land. Steven started the game a bit deeper, and in the early stages I was very frustrated at seeing him so far back again, but after he pushed forward, everything fell into place. Sensational pressing which led to the 1st goal, as pressing high is something I like to see from the team, and Gerrards pass to Luis was brilliant, he had only one chance at it and got it inch perfect. As the game progressed he got better and better, and showed what an asset he is to this club when he is playing in the CAM position. It frees him up and lets him do what he does best, and that is destroy the opposition.
As for Luis, well, what a performance. A well deserved and beautifully taken hat trick. His refusal to give up is what sets him apart from so many of the worlds best strikers, because this boy would die for the team. The first goal was a great finish, the 2nd even better, and the third, well, goal of the season. The awereness to pull that off is fantastic, and the ability to actually do it is even more sensational than the awareness to spot it. Should have had 4 with the nutmeg then the chip, and that is something that he has been doing all season, wonderful skill to get the chance then fluffing the chance after chance, but yesterday thankfully he only fluffed one and bagged the other three. This lad is something special, and we need to surround him with other quality. Look at what happened yesterday when we had a player like Gerrard close to him. Bringing in quality that cinplements this boy tshould be the target in the summer, and if we need to spend big to do it then so be it. Players like Cavani or Huntelaar for example would help take the goal scoring burden off him and let him just play, and would also take away some of the attention of the defenders who know that Luis is our main goal threat.
You may have noticed I left two players out. Jamie Carragher and Stewart Downing. Thats because they for me were the only two negatives.
Carra was not a negative because of how he played, but because he played at all. Coates for me has to be getting games, and I just cannot understand why Jamie seems to be constantly picked ahead of him whether its a league game or whether its an FA Cup Semi Final. When he got on the pitch he did his usual throwing himself infront of everything and thats what Jamie is best at. If we were playing Barca and going to be camped on the edge of our own box then yeah, maybe play him because he won't have to do much running and the line will already be deep, but yesterday, his constant hoofing was absolutely mental. He was hoofing it under no pressure and not even directing it, this and essentially setting up base camp in Pepe Reina's back pocket brought some needless pressure at poiints yesterday.
Now Downing, well, he just gets poorer every game. The rest of the attack was playing well yesterday and still, he could not make any sort of impact. He had a couple half chances and nice little runs but the majority of the game was spent cutting in and giving the ball away. He just is not good enough and its becoming more evident after every game. I wont be suprised to see him moved on this summer because he is no more than a squad player, and offers nothing that Maxi, Kuyt or even Sterling can't offer.
Overall, good, efficient team performance with very few negatives. Gerrard and Suarez are outstanding. Roll on Tuesday.