Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United. FA Cup 4th Round.

Liverpool started off with an interesting formation, with AGger and Skrtel in center defense, Martin Kelly on the right and Enrique on the left.The interesting inclusion was Jamie Carragher. Where would he fit in everyone wondered? We all assumed it would be a five man defense. Liverpool started with Carragher playing in a holding position, probably to hold off Rooney if he ended up being included in the side. Henderson and Gerrard were the midfield pair, while Downing and Maxi were flanking Carroll. United started with De Gea in goal which was a huge help for Liverpool as he was quite nervous and shaky.

The match started off with Patrice Evra taking shit from the Kop and everyone else in the stadium. United dominated possession early, but they couldn’t do anything with it. Maxi applied the first pressure and brought a save from De Gea.

Valencia had the best shot until the 21′ when he easily flew past Maxi and hit a shot that beat Reina, but not the post. The 21′ brought a Liverpool corner through Enrique’s blocked shot. Andy Carroll, the hunk of a man, had three guys and De Gea man marking him. Gerrard’s corner bypasing Carroll where Agger flew in and headed it straight into the goal. Liverpoool 2, Manchester United 0.

The goal cued a warm-up by Lindegaard, no doubt it was some twisted way to give De Gea confidence. It apparently worked as the 27′ hcorner brought a confident De Gea punch.

Until the 39′, United held the majority of possession, but couldn’t seem to get anything out of it. Valencia ran past a flat-footed Enrique and crossed to Park in the box who finished with confidence past Reina. The half ended with more United pressure that easily could’ve amounted to a goal.

The second half started similarly to the first, with United pressure, but Liverpool started to rattle United’s back line. The main problem was Carragher’s inability to influence the match along with the two man midfield being bossed by Scholes, Giggs and Park. Kelly did a great job handling Giggs though.

Liverpool had another chance through the shaky De Gea as he passed the ball straight to Downing inside the box, but Downing couln’t settle it right away and did nothing with the chance.

Dalglish made his first substitutions in the 63′, with Kuyt and Charlie Adam coming on for Maxi and Carragher. It was a much needed change as Carragher couldn’t exert any influence and Maxi was quite poor. Gerrard came off in the 71′ for Bellamy. At first, the change made me appalled, but it turned out working ok as Gerrard had to have been tired from this past week.

With Adam, Kuyt and Bellamy on with 20 minutes to go, Liverpool looked much better, especially after Scholes was taken off for Hernandez. The pressure started to mount quickly with Adam and Kuyt fighting for a winning goal.

United had a quality chance, but Reina decided to play his second best position and swept the ball clear from Hernandez.

Valencia and Welbeck hooked up for a nice move, but Welbeck couldn’t keep it down making it a goal kick for Liverpool. Reina kicked the ball down the field for Carroll to make his contribution. He headed it on to a streaking Kuyt who caught Evra out of position. Kuyt made it into the box and blasted past De Gea giving him no chance to save. Liverpool 2, United 1 in the 88′. The crowd goes wild.

In a last ditch effort to equalize and force a replay, Berbatov came on for Giggs. United couldn’t do anything though because Henderson and Carroll were too busy play around in the United corner killing the rest of time. This brought full time.

After such a thrilling match, it’s hard to pick a man of the match. My money would be put on Carroll though. He was very lively from the whistle and put in a full 90 minutes full of flick-ons and chances.

The defense was solid, only letting one really good chance happen through Park’s goal. Other than that, they played solid and bossed around the United attack.

The midfield was iffy, but they were playing against two legends in Giggs and Scholes. You can’t put too much blame on them as Henderson and Gerrard, then Henderson and Adam all worked hard and hustled all over the pitch trying to gain ground. Carragher is included in here also, but he was particularly quiet having little influence in his 60 minutes.

The Liverpool attack was strong. Downing and Carroll had one of their best matches as a Red. Maxi was unforgettable, further showing why he doesn’t get minutes. Kuyt and Bellamy were great choices and their inclusion late made it possible for Liverpool to get the winning goal. After Kuyt’s long shift on Wednesday, he played 30 strong minutes and finished with his 50th goal as a Red. Congradulations Dirk Kuyt.

In other news, there is a man being detained for making monkey gestures. Fuck that guy and I hope he gets a ban and a huge fine for his shit.

But yeah, even more news.

Liverpool will face Brighton on the weekend of February 18-19 at Anfield. Liverpool handily won against Brighton earlier this year in the Carling Cup and Liverpool will look to continue their Carling Cup success in the FA Cup by advancing to the final eight.

I’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with a preview for Wolverhampton on Tuesday.

Liverpool vs. Manchester United. FA Cup.

In this interwoven world of bells and football and the rivalry’s that come with the two (but maybe not with bells), it was inevitable that Liverpool and Manchester United would have to play each other before Luis Suarez was back, and right after he gets back. But worse things could happen right? Probably not, since United earned more ticket allocation after the Anfield match this year, which means more United fans along with the already pissed off Anfield faithful, this could be an electrifying event that successfully moves the rivalry to new heights. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. The winner advances to the final 16 teams with a chance to move onto the quarterfinals. Three days after advancing to Wembley, the team will probably be slightly tired, but hey, it’s Manchester United, and it we win, that means both Manchester teams are out of the FA Cup also.

Who will start?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Spearing
Henderson–Gerrard
Downing–Maxi
Kuyt

Reina will start in goal, no questions asked there. The defense could see a change, with Martin Kelly possibly at right back since he’s a local lad. Skrtel and Agger played well against Manchester City, and could get a start, but so could Sebastion Coates. Enrique will probably get another start with Jack Robinson injured. Johnson is another choice at left back with Kelly at right. No matter what, this line is going to be important.

The midfield is probably the most important though. Liverpool’s defense has been solid, but their midfield has been shaky at times (Bolton).  If Spearing’s healthy he should get the start, if not, Adam could come off of a semi-good performance to make a three man midfield. Gerrard will easily start as he scored last time and knows just how much everybody hates United. Henderson is probably a go also in central midfield.

The attack of Liverpool is going to be unpredictable again. Is Bellamy going to be able to make it with 70 plus minutes for the third time in a week? Probably not. Downing put in a respectable shift against City and I can see him starting opposite of Maxi or Kuyt. We will post likely play a lone striker. That could be Kuyt or Carroll. Kuyt would be nice to see in this match with his hustle, but maybe Carroll could piss off some United defenders. I would rather see Kuyt though.

How can Liverpool win?

The biggest factor for Liverpool is not to let emotions take them over. If Liverpool can contain their emotions and their visitors, then anything is possible. Liverpool played very well against City in the attack, controlling the majority of the game and scoring two goals. Yes two goals. If they can replicate a performance similar to that, then they can win this match against their northwestern rivals.

Liverpool are going to have to find a way to score though, and that has to be their first goal (no pun intended). Liverpool can hopefully stop the United attack, but only time will tell.

I will be up to watch the match. Stupid FA and TV scheduling it at 7:45 EST time. See you on Sunday.

 

 

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City. Off to Wembley.

Liverpool actually played well against City this time, earning a draw in a nervy match that easily could have gone either way. But in the end, Liverpool advance from a penalty by Gerrard and a nicely played goal by Bellamy, and City must go hom to contemplate what went wrong for the league leaders.

Liverpool started the match strong after a poor clearance that went to Enrique who tried to poke it in, but Joe Hart made the incredible save (notice a theme?). Th e next thing of mention is what Roberto Mancini now finds disgusting, as Charlie Adam made a poor tackle on Dzeko, but Phil Dowd missed it and play goes on.

In the 31′, Gerrard and Adam double teamed David Silva, which left Nigel de Jong open from about 28 yards to shoot, and shoot he did. He slipped and fell, but his shot was perfectly placed and Reina had no chance of stopping it, really was a beauty. To see how this goal was scored, people could blame Adam, but if you’re playing, what would you do? Double team David Silva and let de Jong shoot from 28 yards out, or have one person on Silva and Adam on de Jong? I can’t fault Adam, only on his hustle to de Jong’s shot.

Adam did make up for his “mistake” though. He received a short corner and fired it into the box, which brought the ball to Agger. Agger hit it at goal, but Micah Richards was in the way with his foot, which the ball hit, but it also bounced up and hit his arm. Penalty Liverpool. Steven Gerrard made no mistake finishing it as he did at the Etihad and Liverpool equalized in the 40′.

The teams went into half-time level, and Manchester City came out with some changes. Being an aggregate goal down, they took off the increasingly shaky Savic and brought on Aguero. This change didn’t do much as Liverpool continued to press and scare the bejeebie’s out of Manchester City.

Liverpool applied pressure through Kuyt, Bellamy and even Downing and forced Joe Hart to play a terrific match.

It was a shame the 67′ had to bring a goal though. Dzeko got his first meaningful touch of the match right in front of the net and finished. That’s two shots on target and two goals for City.

Seven minutes later, some brilliant play by Kuyt, Bellamy and Johnson brought a goal for Liverpool. KKuyt slipped and fell as he dropped a pass to Bellamy with only one defender to beat. He passed it quickly to Johnson who passed it right back and Bellamy slotted past Hart.

The rest of the match was City applying pressure, but hardly anything meaningful aside from a Dzeko shot blocked by Agger and Aguero’s bicycle kick straight at Reina. Bellamy left the pitch to thunderous applause as the obvious man of the match. The tie ended 2-2, and that is all Liverpool need to go to Wembley to face Cardiff (another one of Bellamy’s old clubs).

Player wise, Reina was solid, he didn’t have much chance on the two goals that were scored. The defense was solid despite the two chances from City that went in. Poor marking on Dzeko caused the goal, but other than that, there was nothing they could have done better. Agger drew the penalty (again) and the rest worked hard throughout the match.

The midfield should get a hats off as they were the most improved from the disaster at the Reebok. Gerrard was a monster in midfield. He played a more defensive role and was paired with Henderson and Adam who also played well. Adam had his cons, but he also played lovely at times and deserves praise for his recovery from the weekend. Henderson was tidy in possession like always and is still trying to find places to highly influence the game.

Bellamy was easily the most important player on the pitch. He was a nuances to the City defense and got a goal in the process. His running created space and terrorized the league’s best defense into letting in two goals. He is easily the best buy from the summer, and it’s a shame his knees might not be able to hold up for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Manchester United at Anfield.

But on that note, I’m done for today, and I will be back tomorrow with a preview for the FA Cup tie against Manchester United.

Leave your comments about the match in the box. Also, tweet at me and follow me if you haven’t already if you have anything to say.

YNWA. Wembley, here we come.

Liverpool vs. Manchester City. Carling Cup Semi-final 2nd Leg.

A Liverpool match cannot come quick enough after the big loss at Bolton over the weekend. This might not quite be the match that Liverpool would like to recover to, but maybe Dalglish’s call to the media about the disgrace has woken them up to destroy City. But yeah, we expected them to destroy Bolton, and Blackburn and Norwich. Anything is possible at Anfield. I can be slightly pessimistic right? I hope so, but with a 1-0 aggregate lead at Anfield, we should have the upper hand.

Who will start for Liverpool?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Spearing
Henderson–Gerrard
Downing–Bellamy
Kuyt

Hopefully Liverpool like the 4-3-3/4-3-2-1 formation again because the 4-4-2 was a disgrace against Bolton. Reina will start in goal, no surprises there I’m sure. The defense will probably line up with Skrtel and Agger in the center and Johnson out wide on one of the sides. Liverpool might use him as an inverted wing-back on the left side like at the Etihad, but I don’t want to get too tricky in picking the line-up. Enrique starts at left-back if Johnson isn’t there, if he is, Kelly is on the right. There’s also a possibility of a Stoke-esque line-up. In that case, Johnson at the right, Enqirue at the left while Carragher sits in the center with Skrtel and Agger on either side of him.

In midfield, Spearing is key. If he is healthy (no mention of him not being on the official website), then he has to start and his work-rate will be the difference in midfield. If he doesn’t start, we could see Adam again… We will most likely see Gerrard and Henderson in midfield also. Henderson could pair with Spearing or Gerrard. If it’s Henderson and Spearing then Gerrard will be in a more attacking role.

The attacking three will probably be the most difficult to pick. The terrible showing on Saturday hopefully leaves Bellamy fresh still, and we will probably see him on either flank, depending on who the striker is. Downing will probably run the other flank, which side is determined by the striker. If Carroll is lone up top, then Downing and Bellamy will run on the left and right respectively. If Kuyt is alone, then Downing and Bellamy will probably flip-flop flanks and play deeper for some odd reason.

How can Liverpool win?

Liverpool are going to need to need to put out a respective performance. They are going to be able to get through 90 minute of what we saw in the second half of the first leg. They are going to have to play some positive football and will hopefully be able to get an early goal to crush City’s hopes. City is nothing to underestimate ever. Despite Mario Balotelli probably missing after his stomp against Tottenham, Dzeko and Aguero are very scary threats. Their midfield is stacked, but their defense is questionable. If Liverpool can put some pressure on their defense, especially Savic, then their back-line is questionable. Agger drew the penalty in the away leg from Savic, and hopefully they can capitalize again.

No prediction again, I suck. Comment if you want, anything that floats your boat. I’ll be back Wednesday possibly. The Rapture might have gotten me already.

Bolton 3-1 Liverpool. I found out when the Rapture is.

Throw around some strong negative words, just anything, and you will sum up the Liverpool performance. With a lack of seeing the match due to other season ticket obligations, I have no way of judging performances based on what I saw. That doesn’t mean I haven’t read some things and overall, it seems it was a pathetic performance, obviously shown in the goal in the fourth minute along with the defeat at the Reebok to a team with the worst home record in the top four leagues.

Overall, from what I’ve read, that the match we played was absolutely terrible all around. Liverpool didn’t seem to have any heart or any pride in themselves or the team. This was characterized in the post-match reaction of Kenny Dalglish.

I don’t think the approach was correct and I don’t think the way we went about our work was correct.

The foundations of the football club have always been built upon respect for other people and the philosophy that the next game is the most important one – not the one that is two or three (games) down the line.

If they needed a lesson to be taught to them then today was it. If they think they can just turn up and get a result, not be as competitive and not match the opposition for effort and commitment then they’ve got a lesson today.

Dalglish’s words will hopefully have rung with the squad (Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Adam, Gerrard, Maxi, Henderson, Bellamy and Carroll). But what about the tactics? Dalglish again changed the formation, this time to a 4-4-2 with Henderson and Maxi on each flank and Gerrard and Adam pairing in midfield. If there’s something we have learned this year, it’s that Henderson plays best in the middle and Adam is best in a three man midfield since he is incapable of doing many things. And again we were taught the lesson as Adam and Gerrard were miserable in possession and Henderson was miserable on the flank.

The only positives we can take out of the match are we got what we played for and the performances of Carroll and Bellamy. They had no support whatever and still scored one more goal than they did at Anfield against Stoke City. Carroll’s header to Bellamy set up the only goal. Despite Carroll whiffing an easy shot, he still can’t be faulted for the loss. Bellamy worked his socks off and played better than any other Liverpool player.

But just for fun, remember David N’gog? Wish we had him now? Me too. He was excellent against us yesterday.

But if you want another recap of the match, head over to Oh You Beauty and listen to Nate get pissed over the match.

 

Bolton vs. Liverpool Preview.

Liverpool come off a newsless week and into a match that is winnable against Bolton. They have 16 points in 21 matches. Their home record is absolutely pathetic also, with only one win in ten matches. With Gary Cahill gone to Chelsea, Liverpool are in a great position to pick up all three points on the road.

Who will start?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Henderson–Adam
Gerrard
Downing–Bellamy
Carroll

Reina will start in net, since he can even be displaced against Oldham by Doni. The defense should be very similar to what we’ve seen recently in the past matches in the league. Johnson should be ready to go, along with Skrtel and Enrique. The only question is through Agger, who sat out last match with a knock. Carragher could get the start, but Agger seems to be all right according to some injury reports from earlier in the week. Bolton is ranked tenth in total goals scored, one position higher than Liverpool. But our defense has stopped better, so I like our chances.

The midfield is going to be semi-hard to pick. With Spearing questionable, him or Adam could get the start alongside Henderson. We could even see Jonjo Shelvey in the midfield along with Henderson and Gerrard. It seems Henderson is a lock in central midfield alongside the healthy Gerrard. Adam or Shelvey could play a more advanced role either way, but I think a three man midfield is key without Lucas.

Carroll will probably start up top, alone, like always. I can see Downing being displaced on the right and left by Bellamy and possibly Gerrard or Henderson, but I still don’t know how likely I find that. Bellamy will probably get the start also, but I would really like to see him saved for City if at all possibly. Kuyt and Maxi are possible alternatives also.

How can Liverpool win?

Liverpool has won more games on the road than at home this year, which says a lot about the ailing form at Anfield. An even more surprising fact is we’ve picked up more points at Anfield than on the road despite only winning four out of 11 at Anfield.

But these are all just trends, how can Liverpool pick up the three points? Again, finishing. Finishing has always been a problem, and if we can’t convert our chances, then we have no way of winning a match. Without their best defender, they have nothing on defense, so we should be able to create chances, and we will have every chance of finishing them, but can we?

Another thing that’s been a trend this year, but more recently with Suarez gone, is the lack of support in attack. With the amount of goals we’ve allowed, there’s every reason to be optimistic, but it’s definitely messing up the offense. I love to see us not allow goals, and I love to see us dominate possession, but nothing is done to it. Andy Carroll isn’t some 8 foot god who can head balls 10 feet in the air (maybe his pony-tail could). He needs support, and the shit we’ve been giving him isn’t enough for the best striker in the world to do by himself. We need someone to get into the box who is comfortable to score, and that has to be our forwards and Gerrard/Adam. Henderson does it sometimes, but he’s also really good at picking out nice passes (e.g. his passes to Gerrard and Downing this year).

Again, no prediction. Please comment and tell me what you think will happen. Give me some predictions and Liverpool’s keys to winning.

Thank you for reading.

Liverpool make their first action of the window and sign Joao Carlos Teixeira. And other news.

If you have a knack for remembering names, or you have a weird obsession with the Sporting CP NextGen team, then you might remember the name Joao Carlos Teixeira. But if you need a refresher, Teixeira scored the opener at Anfield in the NextGen Series. It was a tidy finish into the bottom corner with no chance of the keeper stopping it.

If you also like rumors that have been confirmed by the Guardian, but not the club, then this is also for you. Joao Carolos Teixeira has signed for Liverpool. Teixeira is a 19 year old (as of yesterday) who is being hailed as the new “Deco.” We have reportedly signed him for £1m, as Sporting is in a poor financial situation and was looking to make money off of the midfielder.

He plays in a attacking midfield position and is very creative. I would imagine he’ll play in a similar role as Suso, but hopefully won’t remove Suso from his chances at coming through. Teixeira also had the quality to train with the Sporting senior team but never made his full debut. He is ready to come into the first team here if we need him, but I can’t see that happening for a couple weeks at least.

In other news, the injury reports are saying Agger is fine. This means he can start against Bolton on Saturday and keep his partnership with Skrtel going through the rest of the year hopefully. There is also news on Spearing who could be touch-and-go up until kick-off time, but could possibly be considered doubtful.

In even MORE news (I know, I’m pretty far behind), Liverpool have officially signed their new kit deal with Warrior. Warrior is an American company that is owned by New Balance. The deal is reportedly worth £25m, which gives us a better sponsorship than Manchester United. It is a good deal for Liverpool as Warrior want to become an international football brand, and they are willing to pay for it.

And again, quickly. The Liverpool v. Man U FA Cup match is Saturday, January 28.

Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City. When is the Rapture Again?

Stoke City, how do they do it? Dominating every key statistic and Liverpool yet again lose big points at home. It’s not to say it’s impossible, but Liverpool’s chances at the top four have jumped farther away, with Liverpool five points behind Chelsea after 21 matches. Obviously a lot can happen, but not when Liverpool fails to win home matches that they should win.

Liverpool started and stayed the entire match in a 5-4-1 with Enrique and Johnson and wing-back while Skrtel, Carragher and Coates made the start in midfield. Apparently Agger got a knock which made room for Coates to make his first premier league start. Henderson, Adam, Gerrard and Downing started in midfield while Kuyt was the lone striker up top.

I have no clue what Dalglish was thinking, playing five at the back, no matter how high up Johnson and Enrique were. It was the formation that broke Stoke down last year, but it obviously had no chance this year. Peter Crouch was the only Stoke threat in attack, and they hardly made it with possession into our half of the pitch. So why didn’t Dalglish make a switch at some point and take off a defender to add someone to attack? Good question, we played the whole match with three central defenders.

Obviously, it’s a disappointing match, so I’m going to highlight the positives and negatives. Which do you want first? The positives? Ok.

The positives. 60% possession.

The negatives…

Despite 60% possession, we never called on Stoke’s keeper to do anything outstanding. This was a more abysmal performance than our loss at the Britannia in the sense that goalkeeping is what kept us out this time. Stoke’s insane amount of defenders left Liverpool without ideas despite having plenty of time to do so.

Our defense was solid I guess, despite Stoke never really getting a chance to control the ball in our zone. The defense didn’t do much really. Everybody was solid when called upon. If you want to call Enrique and Johnson defense, then they were our best options in attack. Johnson played more striker than Kuyt did. Johnson got forward really well and was the only Liverpool player in the box at some points.

The midfield was lackadaisical at best. They all passed well, controlled possession, but no one ever tried to score. Henderson had a very tame left-footed shot at one point, but that was it from the midfield in attack. Adam picked out a couple good long  passes we haven’t seen in awhile. Gerrard was influential, but nothing worth noting.

The attack, highlighting Kuyt was sad. Kuyt’s an outstanding player and has done so much for this club by himself. Just not yesterday. He had no support in the box, and besides a header he got off of a deflection, he had no real chances in attack. Obviously it was a tactical error that left him alone, and he was left alone, only seeing Johnson inside the box really.

Overall, a boring performance and was way worse to watch than a lot of the other home matches and pathetic draws we’ve had this year. We looked completely uninspired, and with a tough string of matches coming up where we’ll see City, United twice, Tottenham and Arsenal, Liverpool better buck up their ideas if want to finish top 4 or in the Europa League at least.

No match until next Saturday, which is away at Bolton. Lets pray to the god’s this week to instill creativity into Liverpool to carve open a relegation prone team. Again, follow me on Twitter and comment on the match. Tell me what you liked (if anything), and what was wrong, and what we can do to fix it.

Liverpool vs. Stoke City

After an interesting match against Manchester City where Liverpool played every form of football imaginable, we move on to play Stoke City at Anfield. The thing about Stoke City is they have this weird fascination for playing absolutely boring football, football that focuses on hard work and grinding a result. A result is what they got the first time these two clubs met at the Britannia Stadium. They almost earned a result the second time if it wasn’t for some brilliance by Luis Suarez. But onto Anfield we go as Liverpool take on Stoke City in the league.

Who will start?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Spearing
Gerrard–Henderson
Bellamy–Downing
Carroll

Reina will start in goal as always. He was very solid against City and will hopefully perform well against a team of less quality. The back line should be changed from the City match with Johnson, Skrtel, Agger and Enrique getting the start. The Johnson start at left-back against City was to counter City’s threat on the left side, and he should be moved back to the right for this match at least, and Enrique should fall back into the left-back role where he has been one of Liverpool’s best performers this year. Skrtel and Agger  have been in a class of their own this year allowing the second lowest amount of goals up to this point (two goals more than City). This pairing has kept club legend Jamie Carragher off the pitch except for libero appearances, most notably against City last match.

The midfield will probably have Henderson for sure. Gerrard will probably get a start, but Adam or Shelvey could slide in here to make sure the captain remains fit, but I don’t see that being a problem with it because the next match isn’t until next Saturday. The biggest question is whether Spearing is fit for this match, I haven’t seen anything that he isn’t, but if i he is, then he gets the start I believe. Dalglish could also stick in Adam or Shelvey for Spearing to save his legs and let him recover, but I think his form has been too good to pass up if he’s healthy.

The attack is going to be have to be based around Carroll most likely since he can plant his ass and try to out muscle Stoke’s muscle. Carroll could prove to be a decided factor if Liverpool can support him with bodies in the box. Downing and Bellamy are probably going to be his support since Bellamy didn’t see the full 90 and he has plenty of time to recover before Bolton and Manchester City again.

How can Liverpool win?

After scoring five against Oldham and one against Manchester City, I don’t want to say our finishing woes are over, but here is a real chance to ensure we can score goals from here on out. If Carroll can grab a league goal, he can silence the haters who attacked him for his “poor” performance against City and his performances overall. Another factor for the Reds is not making stupid mistakes on defense. The quick mistakes are what caused Liverpool to lose the first match at the Britannia and fall behind in the second match. Stoke rely on absorbing pressure and just taking the ball right to the goal. With Skrtel and Agger’s muscle, they will hopefully be able to keep them in check, especially at Anfield.

Again, no prediction since I suck at them.

Please though, comment, tell me what you think is important. Tell me you think Carroll sucks or how excited you are for him in three years. Anything that’s related to Liverpool or this coming match in general. It’s fun.

Also, follow me on Twitter if you don’t already.

Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool. Carling Cup semi-final Leg 1.

Liverpool put on a fascinating display to beat the league leaders on their home turf. Liverpool’s clean-sheet is the first that anyone has held against City at the Etihad Stadium. A confident performance in the first half led to a wall of defenders in the second, but Liverpool a lead back to Anfield and are in complete control of their destiny in the Carling Cup.

The match started with Liverpool pressure onto City, and it almost was rewarded really early when Andy Carroll found himself through, but couldn’t finish as Joe Hart made a fantastic save on Carroll. Liverpool almost scored again, but Joe Hart thwarted Steven Gerrard with an out-stretched save on the captain. The 11′ minute brought along another Hart save, but this time off Downing tries to volley from a corner, but Hart made another save off of a deflection.

The next minute brought exactly what Liverpool needed and kind of what they deserved for their early pressure. On the second corner, Agger controlled the ball with his chest, and on his movement towards goal, the shaky Savic brought him down. Penalty. Again, we have to repeat Liverpool’s penalty woes this year, only making one of five before Steven Gerrard hammered home against Oldham. Again the captain made no mistake and fired past Hart (who dove the right way) and into the bottom corner. 0-1 Liverpool.

Liverpool continued to press and Gerrard had a shot deflected straight to Hart. After City took their first shot at pressure (and failed), what can prove to be a big injury occurred through Jay Spearing who looked like he pulled a hamstring. He was subbed out for Charlie Adam in the 23′.

Balotelli, who was kind of a surprise start reminded everyone of his temper as he got angry and Lee Mason, then at Adam (now known as Bumper car) who patted his head after impeding the Italian striker. Balotelli’s rage ended up with a crushing free-kick into the wall and a 40′ substitution for Nasri.

Nasri’s substitution in created the first chance on goal for City, but it was straight at Reina. City then had another chance through Micah Richards who out-muscled Johnson and crossed to James Milner who was wide open at the penalty spot and still failed to put the ball on target as it was farther away from the goal than he was.

The second half started with City pressure, but nothing on meaning until Kelly’s back-ass that Aguero intercepted, but then failed to do anything with. As City won a corner in the 58′, Liverpool started to part the bus as they brought on Jose Enrique for Stewart Downing. The corner created a great chance, but Reina proved resiliant and saved a good save.

City continued to pile on pressure as Liverpool became content to sit back. If anyone could cut open a defense, it would be City’s and Aguero almost did a couple times, but was kept under check with poor shooting and last-dtich defense. By now, Liverpool are sitting with Enrique, Agger, Skrtel, Kellly and Johnson on defense and are backing into the box even more, with nine men behind the ball.

Much to the dismay of everyone watching, five defenders was apparently not enough as Dalglish brought on Jamie Carragher for Craigh Bellamy, leaving Henderson, Adam and Gerrard at midfield (all playing in the box) and Carroll plopping down in the center circle. City seemed to lack ideas at this point, and no wonder, six defenders and three midfielders packed into the box will do that to you.

Overall, the first half was a good performance, but the second half was more of Mourhino’s Inter show where they parked everyone behind the ball. I guess you take what you can and Liverpool head back to Anfield leading on aggregate.

Overall, the performances were pretty well, they kept a clean-sheet. Reina was fantastic in net stopping every ball that came near him. Skrtel was absolutely fantastic keeping Aguero under check while Agger did much work of the same and deserves mentions. The inclusion of Kelly at right-back and Johnson at left-back left people confused at first, but it turned out being a good tactical move as Johnson shut down City’s threat on the left wing. The inclusion of Enrique and Carragher looked shake at first, but Liverpool sorted it out quickly as confusion took hold for a little bit.

The midfield proved well also. They sat back deeper than normal throughout the entire match, but it left City with few options to even get to the defense. Henderson played a full 90′ along with Gerrard, both were fantastic with Gerrard getting the lone goal on a penalty. Charlie Adam played well, despite being silent, he did everything he needed to as I’m not mad at him today. Spearing’s injury made his evening end early, but it doesn’t look too bad, hopefully just a tight hamstring (reported from the official website).

The attack was obviously built around Carroll with Bellamy on the right and Downing on the left. Both played mediocre throughout the match, but quite well in the beginning. Carroll’s performance can’t really be judged today because of how long he had to himself in the center of the pitch. He can only do so much as a target man in the middle of the park. He did well for the most part and almost took his chance if it wasn’t for Hart’s good save early on.

In other news though, Steven Gerrard signed a contract extension today keeping him at the club for the rest of his playing days. The contract also makes him a club ambassador upon retirement.

Manchester City v. Liverpool v. Kitten