Purposely I delayed coming up with a post, main reason being I wanted to see how long it takes before the elation susbsides, after Liverpool’s shock 2-0 victory over Man U, but was it really any shock when Liverpool won?
I wasn’t shocked, but I was stupefied (woot, is there any difference???), as if Harry Potter had just sneaked into the room, rolled out his wooden wand from under his robes and stunned me with his Stupefy curse.
When Torres flicked his right leg and plundered the ball through Van Der Sar’s goal, my heart skipped, my pulse raced, my mouth gaped and my mind kept flashing the words ‘Is this for real?’ over and over again. It took a long while before I managed to thwart away Potter’s evil spell and then reality sinked in.
And that reality was that there wasn’t going to be a fifth loss, that I wasn’t going to risk not seeing Rafa at the dugout anymore, that no more beach balls was ever going to take away our deserved three points ever again.
Interestingly, due to Reds loss to Sunderland (caused by an inflatable plastic ball) there was more Beach Balls on Anfield, then there’s ever been in the history of East Coast Park (Singapore). In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beach ball at east coast park. It’s usually either the beach-goers throw coconut husks or babies around the waters. J/k about the babies.
Anyway, an even more interesting observation is how the bookies’ rates weren’t really that favourable of a Man U victory. There really was not much of a difference and if it’s anything to judge by, it shows that they are not 100% confident that Man U was going home victorious. So itreally was a game which could tilt either way eh?
Long story short, Liverpool’s Mascherano and Lucas played the game of their life, and the young Brazilian was even made to look so damn good at the end of the game — this after much heavy criticism from all angles. Had Torres not scored, I suppose Lucas would’ve waltzed away with the man of the match award instead.
His performance was at an all time high indeed, very impressive and passionate but he is still showing a little bit of immature at times, where a simple pass or a quick body check would’ve kept possession, although you cannot deny that his final ball, leading to Ngog’s goal was perfectly weighted and angled. Here’s to hoping that this is the game he comes out of the cocoon.
But to credit the victory to Lucas alone is myopic, to say the least, for the whole team defended really well AS a team. Rarely did Insua and Johnson vacated their flanks in favour of an attacking position. These two ensured that their centrebacks was duely protected, just like Masch and Lucas did.
And with that kind of protection, Carragher, Agger and Reina excelled. Every attack was denied succesfully and promptly.
In the wings, Benayoun and Aurelio complimented the forwards and provided options for the midfielders, by either pulling out wide or extending on their middle forward runs. They interplayed the ball well with the two strikers too.
Kuyt, as ever, ran his heart out and made sure Man U’s defenders didn’t have enough time on the ball to think of their next move, while Torres instilled doubts within Man U’s defence with his clever runs.
So was Liverpool truly deserving of the bragging rights over their arch rivals? You betcha!
Just don’t mention about the Arsenal game in the League Cup. Bah~
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