Liverpool 3 Anderlecht 0 - CL Group Match (Nov 1 2005)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 3 Anderlecht 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Fernando Morientes, Luis Garcia, Djibril Cisse Half Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Tue 1 Nov 2005 Star Man - Luis Garcia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luis Garcia provided the tricks and the treat as the reds proved much too strong for a defensive Anderlecht side and powered to the top of group G with two games to play. Chelsea's defeat in Spain means that our own qualification still isn't confirmed, but another performance such as this one in the next game and we'll be in the last 16 for certain.

I wrote in the West Ham report at the weekend that the performance had been decent but that there was certainly room for improvement. Well we improved, a lot. I really enjoyed this game, and not just because of the scoreline. The team looked well balanced, and played some great football at times. Every area of the side functioned well, and for me it was the best all round performance of the season.

Maybe Anderlecht aren't the greatest of opponents, but they're better than most of the shite in the Premiership (not to mention Palace) that we struggle against. You can only beat what's in front you as they say, and we did it in some style. We were rightly criticised in the media after Fulham and Palace, so we should be praised after this performance. Don't hold your breath though.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the game was that even though Peter Crouch had been recalled to the side at the expense of Cisse, the team never resorted to the easy option of hitting it long towards the big fella. The football was played on the ground, although perhaps Anderlecht's approach to the game made that easier for us?

When teams pressure us and don't allow us time on the ball, players will often just take the 'safe' option of looking to hit Crouch. The Belgian's didn't do that and their formation allowed us to dominate possession and attack at will. They played with five at the back (not wingbacks, just five defenders) and that meant our full backs had the freedom to come forward whenever they liked.

Riise in particular needed no second invitation, and spent ninety, lung busting minutes on cavalry charges into the Anderlecht penalty area. The Norwegian has been in better form in the last couple of weeks, and this was possibly his best display of the season. Finnan got forward a fair bit too, and linked very well at times with Gerrard, especially in the first half.

It was easy for the defenders to get forward, because there was so little to worry about from the visitors. Wilhemsson did cause a few problems, some with his trickery but more with his persistant diving. Any time a red shirt came within three feet of him he hit the turf, and frustratingly referee Kim Milton Nielson seemed oblivious to what was going on and kept awarding free kicks. Wilhemsson undoubedly has skill, but he's a cheat. The Swedish Joe Cole if you like.

Aside from him, Anderlecht were pretty toothless and Hyypia and Carragher were in commanding form at the back. Sissoko and Alonso picked up where they left off at the weekend, dominating the midfield and relentlessly breaking up attacks and regaining possession. Sissoko was given a harsh booking, and did remarkably well to get through the rest of the game without a second one, as the Belgian's targetted him and tried to draw fouls wherever possible.

I would have taken him off, as I was convinced it was only a matter of time before he was sent packing. That's not a criticism of Momo, more an observation of Anderlecht's gamesmanship and the lack of faith I had in the referee. In Nielson's defence however, he seemed to realise what was going on after the break and began to ignore the visitor's constant calls for free kicks.

By then we were a goal up, but it should have been at least three. From the opening whistle Liverpool had a real purpose about their play. In the first minute Gerrard crossed for Crouch, but he couldn't direct his header properly. I have some reservations about Crouch and Morientes as a pair, mainly because of the lack of pace. They're a couple of slow coaches, meaning they rely heavily on getting the right kind of service. That means crosses from wide, and in the first half they did get some decent service.

Crouch almost opened his account for the reds when Finnan played in Gerrard down the right. His cut back found Crouchy at the near post, but he was well marked and the defender looked to get a good block in. Nielson awarded a goal kick though so maybe Crouchinho got the final touch.

Morientes had a glorious chance to open the scoring from another great cross from the right (not sure if it was Gerrard or Finnan) but he managed to hit it straight at the keeper from about three yards out. As he went for the rebound it looked like he was fouled, but play went on and Crouch turned on the loose ball but couldn't get his body angle right and the ball went wide. It summed up how things are going for him at the moment. It wasn't the easiest of chances, but it was one which he'd probably have scored if he was on a bit of a goalscoring run. Again, his performance was good (although he's played better) but he just can't buy a goal at the moment.

But if Crouch needs to draw any encouragement, he need only look towards his strike partner on the night. Morientes has missed about ten great chances so far this season. He missed about five in one game against TNS, he could have had a hat-trick against Blackburn the other week and he had a couple of good chances against Palace.

Nothing would go in for him, and when he missed that chance from close range against Anderlecht, he probably wanted the ground to open and swallow him up. But he kept going, didn't let it affect him and the next time he got a sight of goal he made no mistake.

It was a great goal from start to finish. Garcia showed incredible agility to direct a ball which had gone over his shoulder into the path of Alonso. He swiftly picked out Gerrard and the skipper chipped a ball over the full back to Morientes on the corner of the box. The control on the chest was matched by the accuracy of the finish and Nando's relief was there for all to see as he celebrated by the corner flag.

It was the type of goal he was scoring regularly in the CL for Monaco a couple of years ago, and let's just hope it kick starts his Liverpool career. The problem with Morientes is that he just looks so damn fragile. He reminds me of Jari Litmanen in so many ways. He moves like him, he possesses the same silky touch and football brain, and he's like fine china. The slightest touch and he breaks.

He would later hobble off early in the second half after being clattered, but hopefully it was just a precaution and he'll be fit for the weekend.

I didn't want the first half to end, as I was really enjoying it. The only thing missing was more goals, as there's always the worry that the longer it stays 1-0 the more anxious things will get and we'll be left hanging on.

When Morientes went off, the surprise was that it was Zenden and not Cisse who was brought on. The change saw Garcia go up front, and it worked well. Garcia had been very lively out wide once again, carrying on from his excellent display at the weekend. When he moved up front he was even better, and was at the heart of every good attack.

He got the goal his performance deserved when he made a clever run across the defence and produced a stunning header from Finnan's driven cross which left the keeper with no chance. It's a part of Garcia's game which is really impressive, for someone so small he does seem to get a lot of headed chances. The reason for that is because he doesn't just stand around in the box, he's always moving and that makes him difficult to pick up. He had a similar chance at the weekend when he headed a cross from Zenden just wide, but this time he found the far corner.

The second goal killed Anderlecht. You could visibly see them wilt after that. Offensively they hadn't done much, but they were putting up dogged resistance in midfield and defence. Once the second went in though we ran right over the top of them.

When Cisse was preparing to come on, Crouch seemed the most likely to make way. I was really hoping he'd be left on though, as Anderlecht were wilting and surely he'd never have a better chance of getting his first goal? Crouch clearly felt the same way, as he looked gutted when he saw his number go up.

For what it's worth, I'd have taken Sissoko off and moved Gerrard into the centre for the last 20 minutes. Sissoko was excellent, but after his harsh booking he had given away a couple of free kicks before half time. They were nothing serious, but it worried me that the next one he did could see him red carded, especially if the player fouled made a meal of it (which chances are they would have).

Thankfully the ref got his act together after the break and it was an Anderlecht player who ended up getting his walking papers, ironically after an incident with Sissoko. At the time it was unclear exactly what had happened.

As I saw it, the player had tried to gain a free kick at Momo's expense. Understandably, Sissoko was furious because had Nielson been taken in by the deception, a second yellow card may have been forthcoming. The players came together, words were exchanged, but the referee was on the spot and wasn't going to take any action. Then all of a sudden he pulled out a red card to the Anderlecht player.

There were only three possibilities for me. Either he said something to the ref, said something to Momo, or maybe he'd spat at him. It was only once I got home I found out what had happened. Good on Mr Nielson for taking the action he did. Let's hope UEFA act with the same decisiveness.

So two down and a man short, and the visitors were now cannon fodder. Cisse looked lively from the second he set foot on the field. Some will say that shows he should have started the game, but you could also argue that it was the perfect time to bring him on. Crouch and Morientes did their job, and as the game wore on more space developed - especially with them being a man short - and the situation was perfect for Cisse's pace.

He had a couple of good chances before he finally scored. First he somehow didn't get a touch on a great cross from the left, and then his low shot was well saved by the keeper. He was very lively, as was fellow substitute Kewell. The Aussie has looked good since his comeback, and long may it continue. It was Kewell's direct run which led to Cisse giving the scoreline a more accurate look with a good finish through the keepers legs in the last minute.

As I say, it was an excellent display in which every area of the team worked very well. We attacked down both flanks and had a lot of joy. The midfield controlled the game, two of the strikers scored and the defence were largely untroubled.

As for the atmosphere, well it wasn't the greatest European night we've had by any means. It was better than you're average Premiership game though. Anderlecht brought loads of fans over, and made their presence felt with a plenty of songs, most of them in English, including: "Steven Gerrard is a fucking arsehole". It was hard not laugh at that, although I'm sure Steven was wondering what he'd done to deserve singling out like that. I swear I heard them singing 'Sign On' as well at one point.

They were a pretty menacing looking bunch, I saw a group of them before the game all Burberried up, and I've never seen such a heavy police presence on Anfield Road after a game. There were about 20 police vans, loads of police on horseback and a couple of hundred on foot. I didn't see any trouble, but the police weren't taking any chances that's for sure!

All in all it was an excellent night's work. Had Chelsea done their job we'd be through to the last 16 already, but I was actually delighted they came unstuck against Betis. The ideal scenario is that we go through after the Betis game, and have the chance to knock them out at the Bridge. Now that would be sweet, and Fernando Morientes would able to stick two fingers up to the 'Special Needs' one and say "I told you so".

Star man was once again Garcia, with honourable mentions to Alonso, Sissoko, Hyypia and Riise.


Team: Reina: Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Gerrard (Kewell), Sissoko, Alonso, Garcia; Morientes (Zenden), Crouch (Cisse):