As derbies go, yesterday’s was fairly uneventful. Other than a little flair-up after a Besic tackle on Ibe there was no fighting to speak of, and chances were an equally rare occurrence. Despite dominating for large portions of the game Liverpool struggled to create any clear goalscoring opportunities: Ibe came closest with a ferocious long-range drive that struck the post. The match ended goalless, meaning the reds failed to capitalise on Arsenal dropping points.
The main positive from the game is that the team managed yet another clean sheet. After the first six weeks of the season it was unthinkable that our defence would soon become one of our strongest assets but, remarkably, it has improved beyond recognition. Rodgers managed to resist being stubborn, and bravely dropped his new signing Dejan Lovren in place of the excellent Sakho. As well as this, he made the inspired decision to move Emre Can into the defence – his composure and skill on the ball combined with his excellent defensive qualities make him an ideal candidate for our back three. Thanks to these two managerial calls we are now keeping clean sheets as a matter of course – sadly, things aren’t going quite so smoothly at the other end of the pitch.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
In stark contrast to last season, the team are finding goals hard to come by. Perhaps the loss of Luis Suarez has hit the team harder than most fans are prepared to admit, or perhaps it is simply a byproduct of having such an inexperienced team; whatever the cause, not being able to take their chances is costing the side dear. Once Sturridge makes his way back to full fitness then this problem will hopefully be at least partially alleviated, but for the time being it is imperative that the team find a way of adding more goals to their game. Dominating a game is pointless if you can’t win it: if our top four push is to have any substance to it, we need to start hitting the back of the net regularly again.
Spurs are up next for Liverpool – this is a fixture that the reds have done very well in of late, and the team will surely see it as a great chance to not only gain on their rivals for a champions league spot but also to get back to goal-scoring ways. The reverse fixture (at White Hart Lane) was a comfortable 3-0 victory for Liverpool; if they can replicate a scoreline like that, both the table and the overall situation will start to look a whole lot more positive.
James Martin
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