Poor first half, great second half. Steau Bucharest got tired and we exploited that late on in the 2nd.
I don't want to criticise the team too much (we won 4-1 afterall) but i have to disagree with those who had Babel as their MOTM. He was probably our least effective player out there tonight, lost the ball cheaply on many occasions in the first half but at least he tried hard and gave it his all. Maybe it's the level of expectation I have for him but he disappointed me again tonight. I do want him to succeed here but other guys are waiting for their turn ie. Pacheco and he's got to start proving that he can be effective or others will overtake him in the pecking order.
On the positive side I was encouraged with the performance of Raul Merieles. He didn't do anything exceptional but you can tell that he has quality on the ball, always getting into space and looking for the ball and injecting a bit of pace in his passes and movement. Spearing was solid in that position. He looks like a classic defensive midfielder, his positioning was good tonight and looked for the easy pass and pressed well. Good goal by Lucas, perhaps Hodgson will have a rethink on what his best position for Liverpool is. Maxi, for me, makes the team tick. He rarely loses the ball and picks a good pass and links well with the ball players around him ie. Cole, Merieles and co.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing how we do at Old Trafford. I would like us to play positively with Merieles, Cole, Gerrard and Torres in the side but we will probably play a lot more tighter like we did at St. Andrews. I expect a similar system and formation to how we did at Birmingham so would most likely see Poulsen and Lucas sitting with Gerrard behind Torres.