Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool.

With only a day off between Manchester City and Chelsea, Liverpool had their work cut out for them. The Red’s shrugged it off and beat Chelsea for the second time in less than two weeks at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool’s victory solidified the fact Chelsea are still shite and hardly worth what the Russian oligarch pays for them. The victory also sends Liverpool to the two-legged Carling Cup semi-finals where they will face off against one of Manchester City, Cardiff and most likely Manchester United.

Liverpool controlled the match in the opening minutes as the weakened line-ups fought for a semi-final berth. Spearing, Maxi, Bellamy, Coates, Kelly, and Carroll all started while Chelsea brought out  some reserves with Lukaku, Bertrand, Romeu, Turnbull and Mr. Torres started up front. Liverpool proved to be the aggressors and only seemed to be dominated at the beginning of the second half as Chelsea hit the crossbar and just had the follow-up blocked wide.

Carroll had the first chance on a penalty on Alex’s handball in the box. Carroll looked set to add to his goal tally until he crushed his pk right down the center for Turnbull to save. The scores were even at the break, but Liverpool looked most likely to threaten. The second half started with a brief spell of Chelsea possession, but the crossbar and Coates saved the Reds. Maxi opened the scoring with a beautiful pass from Bellamy who made a perfectly timed run through the Chelsea defense. It didn’t take long for Liverpool to draw a dangerous free-kick and take a 2-0 lead. Bellamy’s free-kick was put in the perfect spot for Kelly to make contact and head in for his first senior goal. Mata and Malouda were introduced to try and kick-start the Chelsea offense, but they couldn’t get a goal and Liverpool proved to be the superior side yet again at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool’s man of the match was probably Bellamy. He picked up two great assists just two days after he was withdrawn from the City match because of the grave death of Gary Speed. Lucas played wonderfully also, but had to leave with a knee injury on a stretcher, which didn’t look good. Kelly and Maxi were also standout performers and both picked up goals and hustled their ass’ off all over the field to make sure Chelsea were nullified. Despite the words going on around about how Carroll is shit, he made a good showing. He hustled all over the field, tracking back and even owning Torres at one point and time. His penalty kick was the only spot on his performance as he was solid. Spearing put in a very convincing performance and will probably see more time if Lucas misses any games. Coates and Carragher were completely solid. Enrique was probably the worst performer in the back-line. Henderson was aggressive and set up Maxi’s goal with his wonderful pass to Bellamy.

Lets hope the best for Lucas.

Chelsea v. Liverpool: League Cup.

With one day off between two difficult matches, Liverpool travel back to London to visit Stamford bridge for the second time in less than two weeks. This time it’s for the Carling Cup and should prove to be an interesting affair. Chelsea are coming off of a 3-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton at the Bridge and confidence will be high, along with a lust for revenge. Liverpool are coming off a strong draw with the league leaders, but fatigue will be a factor and will definitely influence the staring XI.

Who will start?

Reina
Kelly–Carragher–Agger–Agger
Spearing–Coady
Kuyt–Bellamy–Maxi
Carroll

For lack of ideas at a guess at the line-up, it will prove to not be perfectly accurate, but I think Kelly will get the nod, along with Carragher. Coates could get the second central defender spot, but Skrtel or Agger could also sure up the line. If Enrique is fit to play a match, he should start, but Aurelio and Agger are both possible options for the left-back spot since Agger played a good match against Stoke. Spearing should see the start in midfield over Adam since Adam played a full 90′. Lucas could even see time along with someone else who started yesterday getting  a start. It’s a fairly unpredictable line-up since we don’t know the fitness, but it will be weakened.

How can Liverpool win?

As against Chelsea last week, it will come down to locking down the back line and stopping penetration while bringing the game to them on offense. Villa-Boas will have an unpredictable line-up, but I can see him coming for blood with Torres starting up front (not that that’s too scary), and an almost league starting XI to get the nod. Liverpool will have to contain and attack, while finishing whatever chances they get. Daglish has shown winning silverware is a priority no matter what kind it is, so he will field the best squad he can to make it to the final four.

Prediction.

Cue another terrible prediction.

Chelsea 1
Liverpool 1

Unpredictable winner in PK’s, but I like Reina as the best keeper in the match.

 

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City

Sorry for the long wait and me not posting for awhile. Thanksgiving break was a killer for anything productive for me and I was very busy at home. But onto the news.

Liverpool tied the current leaders at home. Tying City seems to be a good result after we’ve seen them destroy the other top clubs like a bull destroying glass in a china shop. I’m actually very ok with tying City despite the fact we fashioned plenty of chances in the second half to win the match.

The first half started out with Liverpool confident on the ball, but couldn’t complete a string of passes. City started off on the front foot with a front-line of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Samir Nasri. Liverpool had Suarez up front with Stewart Downing and Dirk Kuyt on either flank and Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Lucas in the midfield. Kenny Daglish pressed hard like always against the top teams looking for a lapse in judgement leading to a goal.

The first goal came through Vincent Kompany. His shoulder got on the end of a Nasri corner and City were up 1-0. Luckily, 107 seconds later, Adam took a rather harmless shot from distance. It looked like a routine save for Hart until Joleon Lescott decided it needed to be deflected and he sent it into his own net.

Liverpool came out strong in the second half and played a game that even the leaders couldn’t contain. Liverpool was confident in possession, Downing played possibly his most effective match as a Red and almost snagged a goal. Adam was solid throughout the match, making a couple tackles and causing the own goal for City. Kuyt was a workhorse and Lucas was solid as always and is my pick for Liverpool’s man of the match.

As the second half pressed on, Liverpool were fluid and came close to scoring many times. The introduction of Mario Balotelli was City’s idea to try and cause some havoc up front again, but Balotelli was silent when actually playing football. Balotelli picked up two quick yellow’s to be sent off much to the disgrace of Roberto Mancini. Liverpool seemed to only have one way to go, and that was up. The introduction of Andy Carroll was a good choice, but could’ve been too late as he played pretty solid up front.

Joe Hart has to be the man of the match though for City. Liverpool bombarded Hart’s net late, but Hart held his ground after several chances and mis-hits. He ended the match with a world-class save off of a Carroll header to thwart Liverpool’s last chance at victory.

Overall, it was a solid match by the men in red.  A win would have been deserved, but you can’t be too picky when playing the current leaders especially considering they destroyed United at Old Trafford. Onto Chelsea and a match preview tomorrow.

Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool

Celebrate good times come on!

That was my afternoon after watching Glen Johnson score that late winner to put us again against Chelski. The Starting XI included Kuyt, Suarez, Bellamy and Maxi. They were faultless during their time on the field.

It started out early with Liverpool pressing high. There was pressure all over the field from both teams, both looking for a small mistake to start a quick attack on the opposing net. The first chance came off of a ball that fell to Juan Mata, but he couldn’t control his volley at the net from just outside the post. Drogba had the next chance that the entire crowd along with Gary “Rat-face” Neville thought was in from the press-box. It turns out the ball had just gone wide and bounced behind the goal. Adam finally showed some defensive worth when he froze John Obi Mikel and stole it firing to Bellamy who played a cheeky one-two with Suarez. It seemed a goal was definitely an  probable outcome from Bellamy, but he dropped it to Maxi who put it past an already diving Peter Cech. 1-0 Liverpool. The rest of the first half had little action.

The second half started out with Chelsea trying to defend the bridge. Liverpool fell back to defend and Daniel Sturridge was brought on and Mata was put in the center for more attacking power in a 4-2-3-1 shape. Dropping Mata in the center created havoc and Liverpool were unable to create any opportunistic. Chelsea equalized off of Florent Malouda’s poor shot, after a lapse in defending, and Sturridge being at the back post to knock in the array shot, after a lapse in defending. It was a tough pill to swallow since we had been playing so well against Chelsea this time around and last year, but more was to follow. Pepe Reina proved again he is one of the top keepers in the world as he made a spectacular save to keep the scores level at one.

The arrival of Torres and Meirless for Chelsea and Downing, Henderson and Carroll for Liverpool did little. Adam again showed what he was worth as he did a great job finding Glen Johnson. Johnson put on a spectacular one man show and beat the Chelsea defense and put a nice little left-foot shot into the opposite corner beyond the reach of Cech and Liverpool were up 2-1 in the 87′. The clock hit zero on Chelsea and Liverpool leave Stamford Bridge with all three points for the second year in a row.

It was a great win against a strong Chelsea side, and even if it wasn’t a strong side, I will take a win against Chelsea any day. Adam played his best game in a Liverpool shirt, he contributed in both goals and was solid defensively throughout the day. Skrtel and Agger were solid at the back and Reina put on one of his best performances this year. Johnson played his usual game at right-back and provided the winning goal. Enrique played one of his worst games of the year as his lapse in concentration led to the goal by Sturridge. Lucas was solid yet again and proved why he was Liverpool’s player of the year last year. Maxi was solid along with Bellamy and hopefully their understanding with Suarez will lead to future starts. Suarez played one of his worst matches also. He lost possession a couple times and made some bad passes. Kuyt was Kuyt, running all over the field in the first half, but he is apparently lacking fitness as he got tired in the second.

Overall, there’s so much to worry about in the near future with City and Chelsea again at the Bridge, but for now, we can bask in the glory of beating Chelsea and making Torres and Meirless look like fools.

 

Chelsea v. Liverpool. Bring on the bridge preview.

A Sunday game always brings me excitement–when I can actually watch it. But despite that, football goes on. After a rather eventful week, Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea who are only three points above Liverpool in the table. This could prove a huge match since Liverpool need to challenge the top teams to get to the top 4. Liverpool won both matches against Chelsea, but both scorers are now wearing blue instead of red.

Who will start?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Lucas–Henderson
Kuyt–Adam–Downing
Suarez

Reina is always an easy pick, along with Enrique. Johnson will probably start after a strong international break despite Kelly scoring and playing great for the U-21′s. Skrtel and Agger will hopefully get the start in the center of defense since they have kept balls out of the goal and are faster than Carragher. Lucas is automatic as he is probably the most important player in this side. Hopefully Liverpool will go for a three-man midfield since Chelsea play a 4-3-3. That leaves Henderson and Adam in with Lucas. Henderson in the middle gives Kuyt room out wide along with Downing who seems to be Daglish’s choice over Bellamy and Maxi. Suarez should be up top despite all the controversy going on with him.

How can Liverpool win?

 Chelsea is a formidable squad. Villa-Boas’ 4-3-3 is very fluid and can create a lot of havoc for our back four. Hopefully Daglish brings out a three man midfield to match Chelsea’s, since we saw what our two man midfield did against Swansea who played a three man midfield. The biggest thing for the Red’s though is going to be stopping the Chelsea front-line. Chelsea deploy’s three up top and they can interchange and do it all. Torres will be the middle-man, and he is in much better form than last time we visited Chelsea. If Daglish deploys Carragher, I can see us getting in trouble with the speed and attacks of Chelsea. Also, as always, we have to finish our chances. Hopefully being on the road against Chelsea will spur our players to convert because we won’t have as many chances as we normally do since Chelsea are a solid squad.

Prediction

Continuing on my miserable predictions…

Chelsea 1
Liverpool 1

 

And just because this is probably my favorite edition of Best Goals of the Week in awhile…

World World III and the English FA.

After news came out that the FA was going to charge Luis Suarez with racism, the whole Liverpool world went mad. What will happen from now on? It’s impossible to tell since the FA took forever to get out their terribly vague statement, and who knows how long it will take to finally get his hearing underway. It’s impossible to tell which way the verdict could go since it seems the evidence isn’t there, but maybe Evra’s statements could be enough to ban him for a long while.

Whatever happens though, we still get to look upon the time in a couple years when we’ll no doubt be at the top of the league since we’re Liverpool (sarcasm noted). Gus Poyet has made this time a lot more tolerable by accusing Mr. Evra of “crying like a baby.” Poyet also went on to say, “I played football for seven years in Spain and was called everything because I was from South America, and I never went out crying like a baby.” Poyet backs Suarez along with the Uruguayan embassy who also believes that Suarez’s ‘crime’ is a simple cultural difference if anything and that he is completely innocent.

Sir Alex Fergusen also chimed in with his infinite knowledge calling Poyet “silly.” Fergie also said that Poyet’s comments were absolutely “inappropriate.” Although I do agree that Poyet had spoken out of turn and his public remarks are kind of a disgrace to the current state of English football and racism, Poyet also has a point. It seems Saurez’s comments, if racist, were used in a different cultural sense than the English culture, were probably lacking any power in his semantics. It also seems to be a ploy by Fergie and his Man U junkies to destroy Liverpool and any chance they have to revive into the top 4.

I firmly believe Suarez and Liverpool should face a penalty and ban if the FA does rule in favor of Evra, but Suarez plans on pleading not guilty which should set him up for a hearing at some point and time. Hopefully the future is bright for the spectacular Suarez and I will back him until the FA can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Suarez made racist comments.

 

 

The End of International Friendlies and the NextGen Series.

Two topics to touch upon today, finally. International friendlies are finally over and everyone is coming back with out anything broke or torn. Knock on wood but we seem to have pretty good luck regarding injuries and international friendlies.

On the results side, everything seemed to go well for Liverpool. Suarez dropped four goals against Chile, Agger scored, and Bellamy scored for Wales. Downing was possibly England’s best player against Sweden and my beloved US beat Slovenia.

More important news regarding Liverpool, the NextGen Series’ group stages end today for Liverpool as the squad takes on Sporting CP. Sporting CP wore down the U-19 squad and beat them in the end at Anfield. This match is in Portugal, so the match doesn’t look quite as bright, but hopefully we can see some bright spots and get a result.

Look for the regular starters along with some other not consistent Academy/Reserve squad starters. With Sporting already topping the group and Liverpool already moving on, Rodolfo could be looking to get some others some playing time (Marc Pelosi please!). Should be similar to the first result at Anfield.

You can catch it on the NextGen Website. The match will start at 3:00 pm EST.

Liverpool Prospects

Pep Guardiola has been quoted as saying, “Liverpool Academy is the only one who can compete with ‘La Masia’. “ This has created lots of commentary about the Kirkby Academy and its progression forward. With Rodolfo Borrell in charge of the reserves and Mike Marsh in charge of the Academy, Liverpool has seen a lot of promise regarding their prospects this year. Between the Reserve League, Academy League and the new NextGen Series, Liverpool’s youth have been given a chance to succeed and push into the first team. Here is my list of the top ten Liverpool prospects in alphabetical order with videos attached to their name when possible. The only rule is they must still be a teenager.

Vollyan Bijev

18-year-old Vollyan Bijev hardly hit headlines when he signed at Liverpool over the summer. He is an American striker or attacking midfield that has been described as a “wonderkid” on the American scene. Before signing with Liverpool, he averaged a goal a game for the California Odyssey. He impressed the Liverpool coaching staff on his trial when he scored five goals and notched two assists in two matches for the Academy team. He was quickly loaned out to second tier Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Conor Coady

The 18-year-old, Liverpool born, has captained Liverpool’s youth team and also captained England’s U-17 squad to their first every U-17 European Championship in 2010. Conor Coady is able to play in central midfield, where he is tidy with possession or in central defense where he is a tough, physical presence. Coady is currently part of the reserve set-up, but has had tastes of the first-team as he traveled to Sparta Prague and was on the bench against Birmingham City. Coady had his first success at the first-team this year when he traveled with the squad to Asia and scored against Guangdong Sunray Cave.

Jon Flanagan

18-year-old Jon Flanagan has already seen solid first-team action at right back when he debuted against Manchester City after the injuries of Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson. He performed excellently as Liverpool won 3-0. He played solidly whenever called upon, even knocking out Jamie Carragher with his head at one point. He was rewarded for his solid play when he was named Young Player of the Year in 2010-11. Flanagan has also been part of the set-up this year as he started the first match of the year against Sunderland and has made various Carling Cup appearances. His play has resulted in an England U-19 call-up that he wasn’t able to attend due to a calf injury.

Adam Morgan

Liverpool born, Adam Morgan remains in the youth system at Kirkby at 17 years of age. Morgan had a wonderful year for the Academy in the 2010-11 season playing as striker. He scored 21 goals and led the squad to second in the league. Morgan has been firing this year also as he is second in goals for Liverpool in the NextGen Series scoring two in the club’s five matches. Morgan has already appeared at the U-19 level for England and appeared in the U-17 World Cup. The future looks promising and he can hopefully pick up some first-team action in the next couple years.

Jack Robinson

Jack Robinson made his first appearance for the club at the young age of 16 years and 250 days. The 18-year-old left back has impressed people throughout the ranks with his ability to get forward. Robinson had his greatest impact when he appeared against Arsenal and Birmingham City during the 2010-11 season. Robinson still sees first-team action but has dropped behind the impressive Jose Enrique in the depth chart but has been featuring in the Carling Cup. Robinson has also played for many of the youth levels of England, playing in the U-16, U-17, U-18 and most recently the U-19 level.

Jonjo Shelvey

The 19-year-old Jonjo Shelvey was solid for Liverpool last year and is currently on loan at Championship side Blackpool where he has been a pivotal player. Shelvey came from Charlton Athletic where he made his first appearance at 16 years and 59 days. Shelvey came to Liverpool in 2010 and was given first-team rotations almost immediately as he played in the Carling Cup and Europa League.  Shelvey’s Blackpool loan is giving him the necessary time he needs to improve, if he can do better than a hat-trick against Leeds United or five goals in seven appearances for the club. Shelvey has also represented England’s youth team at the U-16, U-17, U-19 and U-21. He has captained the U-16 side and U-19 side.

Toni Silva

The fiery Portugese winger has made an impact at the club after signing in 2009. Despite being very tall for his age, Toni Silva is known for his ball skills and pace. He likes to thunder down the wings and overwhelm full-backs and has down so well for Liverpool’s youth and NextGen squad. During the 2010-11 Academy year, Toni Silva scored 10 goals in 29 appearances, which was the fourth most for the Academy squad. This year, Silva is leading the NextGen squad in goals with three and looks to keep his tally going as Liverpool advanced past the group stages.

Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling has only been described as a wonderkid. He is 16-years-old and has impressed the Liverpool faithful already after signing from Queens Park Rangers in 2010. Sterling is known for his plastering speed and his flair on the ball. At 15, he received his first substitute appearance for the first-team against Borussia Moenchengladbach in a friendly. Sterling has been solid for the Academy and NextGen Squad, but his most notable achievement occurred in the FA Youth Cup. On February 14, 2011, Sterling netted five of Liverpool’s nine goals against Southend United. He has played for England’s U-17 squad in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and scored a beautiful long-range goal for a victory against Rwanda.

Suso

The former Cadiz CF midfielder joined Liverpool in the summer of 2010 at the age of 16. Suso is known for his skills on the ball, whether it’s dribbling or his passing skills and has been compared to the likes of Iniesta and Fabregas. He was snatched up from the likes of Barcalona and Real Madrid and has been called Liverpool’s next Robbie Fowler. Suso appeared for the first-team in a friendly at 16 and now resides Reserves and the NextGen squad. Suso has also made appearances at the U-17 level for Spain. Suso looks to impress for Liverpool and make it into the first team on a regular basis in the near future.

Andre Wisdom (can’t seem to find a video)

18-year-old Andre Wisdom already has made a mark for club and country. Wisdom generally plays as a center-back, but can play at right back or in the center of the midfield. Wisdom is part of the reserve team, but was a centerpiece in Liverpool’s effort to reach the 2009 FA Youth Cup final. Wisdom also has many accolades at the international level. He was part of the England U16 team that won the 2008 Victory Shield and was an integral part of the U-17 European Championship victory over Spain as he scored for England. Wisdom has also worn the captain’s armband for the U-19 side after a fellow Red (Jonjo Shelvey) was substituted.

Suarez, Gerrard and Pelosi.

Suarez has been in the news a lot recently, from the Evra incident, to saying publicly that the club is under performing.

On regards to the Evra incident,

“The FA will have to clarify things with [Evra]. There is no evidence I said anything racist to him. I said nothing of the sort. There were two parts of the discussion, one in Spanish, one in English. I did not insult him. It was just a way of expressing myself. I called him something his team-mates at Manchester call him, and even they were surprised by his reaction.”

I still think there’s a lot up in the air to analyze. It will be interesting when the FA releases their report (if they release a report) to see what the conclusion is. Hopefully it resolves in Suarez being let off the hook since there is no video evidence.

Suarez also appears in the Guardian where he spoke about how Liverpool is under performing and there is more from him and the club coming up.

“As a striker I am always going to get plenty of chances and I could probably have converted one or two more,” he said. “I also know strikers go through periods where they are trying so hard to score and they don’t always go in. The main thing is I am playing well and the whole team is playing in the right manner.

Since we’re on international break now, and everyone is dreading the fact half of our players could come back injured since that’s what seems to happen at Liverpool, Gerrard decided to speak out about his international career. It’s not secret Gerrard is aging and has spent more time injured recently than Daniel Agger and Fabrio Aurelio  combined (holy shit). He spoke about how he hopes to make it back to the England squad for Euro 2012. The Liverpool Offside talks about it here.

Onto some exciting news, for an American at least, Marc Pelosi has officially been signed by Liverpool. There was talk over the summer about Pelosi signing for the club, but his papers finally went through and he is officially a red. He is expected to be floating between the reserves and youth team. He made his first appearance for the youth side against Crewe, and was an unused substitute for the reserves against Blackburn. This is probably one of the things I’m most interested in. I don’t see Pelosi fitting in anywhere anytime soon with Adam and Lucas solidifying central midfield, along with the injured Gerrard, Shelvey, Henderson and Spearing. In the youth and reserves we have Conner Coady and Suso. I’m hoping since Pelosi can play anywhere on the left side, he can fit in as a winger, or in a central spot as a box-to-box midfielder. It will be interesting to see if he can make any impression at Liverpool.

 

Here’s a goal by Pelosi Jamaica.

Liverpool 0-0 Swansea

Well, I was ready for some football. That was until Liverpool again played a terribly mediocre match and lost points to a team they could and should have beat. But that is life I guess.

Liverpool continued on with the same line-up as against West Brom. They kept a deep defensive line with Agger and Skrtel, and Carroll and Suarez started up top, flanked by Henderson and Downing. It was a terribly mediocre match, with Carroll offering an early chance, but with Liverpool luck, smashed it off the cross bar when that was the only thing he could have hit besides the back of the net. Swansea’s first promising chance came off poor defending (so surprisingly). Swansea was free and only had Reina to beat from a couple yards out, but the Spaniard made a brilliant save. And again in Liverpool luck, Swansea’s Vorm had his game of the year as he denied almost every offensive player in brilliant fashion.

After watching the highlights, it was a terribly played match. It was a surprise neither side came out ahead. Reina made a couple mistakes that could have been costly including almost letting in a goal from being unaware of the man running straight at him. Downing was exceptionally poor and Henderson was subbed off at half after Daglish realized his tactical mistake. Liverpool made again a poor second half after trying to come off strong (Nate from Oh You Beauty talks of Liverpool’s strong starts and poor finishes). Summed up, Liverpool’s passing starts strong and the players take advantage of chances and slowly break down and start kicking long balls and getting desperate. It’s a poor effect that has taken over Liverpool this year.

Hopefully another poor performance by Liverpool raises questions about the starting line-up. Daglish has been picking similar starting XI’s this year, including Downing getting automatic starts after so many poor performances. Maxi was phenomenal last year and has done well when called upon this year. Bellamy has been solid too. I hope they can get included in the line-up soon as Downing has been under performing. Adam also fits in the category for under performing. Adam hasn’t had a terrible season so far, but it would be nice to see something different in central midfield. Henderson is a central midfielder by trade and Spearing has always been solid when paired with Lucas.

Now we have a break for international friendlies, pointless as always. England is taking on Spain in a high profile match between two international powers. Johnson and Downing have been called up for England and Reina for Spain.