Liverpool 2 Fulham 0 - Prem (Nov 10 2007)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 2 Fulham 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) – Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard (pen) Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Saturday 10 November 2007 Star Man – Sami Hyypia

 

 

 

 

Just when you think you have Rafa figured out, he goes and does the unexpected again. There aren’t many managers who would change a side that had won 8-0 a few days before, but all the smart money would have been on Benitez doing it. Listening to the radio on Saturday afternoon, reds’ legends John Aldridge and Jan Molby even had a little wager with eachother over how many changes there’d be.

Big Jan tried to get Aldo to go for an unchanged side, but he was having none of it and went for two changes. Molby went for ‘more than two’, and who can blame them? The papers were all anticipating at least one change, with some tipping Crouch to be relegated to bench duty again to make way for the fit-again Torres. So what does Rafa do? He shocks everyone and went for the straight forward option of saying ‘same again’.

It was the right decision for me, as although the temptation to bring back Torres must have been huge, the players who performed so well against Besiktas deserved another crack. You could have made a case for Babel starting instead of Riise (who did ok in midweek but is having a wretched run of form), but Rafa is adopting a cautious approach where Babel is concerned, and for me he’s handling him extremely well.

I must confess I was really worried about what team Rafa would select, and I was bracing myself for the worst. Had Crouch been left out I’d have been really frustrated and angry, but I have to admit I was half expecting Torres and Kuyt to start after neither got any playing time against Besiktas.

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the team, and even though we had to wait until near the end to break down Fulham, I was actually pretty pleased with the performance too. With around 15 minutes to go I was thinking about how I was going to approach this report if we didn’t find the breakthrough, and I’d already decided it would be positive because I was happy with how we approached the game.

Was it as spectacular as the Besiktas display? Obviously not, but silly as this may sound I don’t think there was too much difference between the two performances. The main difference being Fulham’s defence were resolute and disciplined, whereas the Turks gave up after they let in those quick goals just after half time.

Had we scored a couple of early goals against Fulham then who knows, but we didn’t get the breakthrough and they made life difficult. Having said that, we didn’t panic and we just gradually turned the screw on them, building up a momentum which eventually saw them crack late on. We passed the ball around well, and the movement of the forward players was very good.

Often this season the man in possession has been desperately short of options due to the lack of movement, but that wasn’t the case here. We played pretty well, but we found it hard to beat Anti Niemi, who was outstanding.

It was always going to take something to special to beat him, and it was provided by Torres. Andriy Voronin went close several times, and had another fine match. He earned another standing ovation when he was replaced, and he’s clearly a very good player. Torres however, is on another level. The difference between a very good player and a great one can be defined perfectly by this substitution.

This is not meant as a slight on Voronin in any way, as like I say I thought he had a really good game. But what Torres produced was simply breathtaking, and only special players can do that. When he’s on the pitch, you always feel we can score. He makes things happen.

The goal he scored was amazing, because it came out of nothing. When Pepe sent a long pass in his direction, I doubt Laurie Sanchez was too concerned. Even when Torres immaculately brought the ball down on his chest, there seemed little danger. Had it been anyone else on the field in that situation, there would have been no danger. But Torres had no other thought in his head other than to run with the ball and score and that’s just what he did, prompting Reina to dash the length of the field to join in the celebrations. They love a goal celebration do the Spanish lads, you only have to look at how Arbeloa is always either first or second on the scene when a goal is scored!

Torres just made it look so easy, but in reality it wasn’t even really a chance until he made it one. He’s got a habit of doing that, as the Chelsea goal looked effortless too, as did his first against Derby. When he actually collected the ball in all of those situations there wasn’t a goalscoring opportunity until he turned it into one. It’s great to have him back, he makes us a much more dangerous team.

Credit to Rafa too, as all three of his substitutions were well timed and had the desired effect. Torres for Voronin was an obvious one (even if I did have a feeling it would be Crouch getting the hook), but bringing Babel on for Riise when he did made a big difference, and Lucas also made a contribution when he came on for the tiring Mascherano.

Too often I’ve been left scratching my head at Rafa’s changes, so it’s nice to be able to give credit and say his changes won us the game. The impact Babel had was very significant, as he scared the Fulham defence and gave them lots of problems with his pace and positive approach.

I mentioned earlier how I think Rafa is handling him very well, and whilst he is looking so good coming off the bench I’d continue using him that way. He hasn’t been so good when he’s started games, but when the game gets stretched and defenders are a bit tired, he can make a real difference. His confidence is growing by the week, whereas if he had been starting every game and struggling his confidence could be shattered. He’s very raw, but he’s exciting and he is improving by the week now.

It was his burst through the centre and perfectly weighted pass to Crouch that won us the penalty that allowed Gerrard to put the seal on the victory. TV replays showed that the offence occurred just outside the box, but when it happened it looked a blatant pen and it certainly never even occurred to me that it may have been outside. My seat was directly in line with the offence, so the linesman had the same view as me, and like I say I thought it was well inside the box at the time. The linesman couldn’t be blamed for not seeing it because looking at the way Crouch fell and where he landed, it just seemed an obvious pen.

Typically, Sanchez had a moan about it, claiming it made all the difference and they were robbed. Fuck off you absolute fucking nobody. You were shit as a player and made your name from one fucking flukey goal against us, and you’re a shit manager too. I hope Fulham go down, solely because of this tit. I actually quite like them as a club and have no beef with them, except for their twat of a manager. Cheeky fucker even claimed Crouch tripped over his own long legs. Prick.

The penalty was irrelevant, as once Torres made the breakthrough that was the three points in the bag. Fulham offered nothing in an attacking sense, and were never going to score against us in a million years. Every attack they attempted was snuffed out by Carragher and the imperious Sami Hyypia.

The big Finn has occasionally looked a bit vulnerable whilst standing in for Agger, but against Fulham he was flawless, constantly stepping in and dispossessing their forwards and even going close to a goal himself when his well struck left footer from 25 yards was superbly saved by his compatriot Niemi.

The overworked keeper also denied Voronin a couple of times as well as making superb saves to deny Torres and Aurelio. His finest moment was a full stretch save to deny the once again impressive Yossi Benayoun.

Whenever I’ve caught match of the day this season it seems like Niemi is pulling off all manner of great saves every week. I’d even go as far to say that if you swapped him with the Besiktas keeper then the scorelines of the two games wouldn’t have been much different.

I’m not kidding myself that we were anything special against Fulham, but I was encouraged by a number of things. The main positive I took from it was Rafa. Sometimes I feel he tries to be too clever, wanting to do the unexpected all the time and making unnecessary changes. Not this time, I was made up with him keeping the same team, and his substations were spot on too. More of the same please Rafa.

Also, I was heartened by the way the players remained calm and continued to play their football. We just wore Fulham down in the end, and I like that we never allowed ourselves to get frustrated and panic, even when time looked to be against us.

The movement was very good, which makes it so much easier to play attractive football. The final pass or shot wasn’t always the best, but the movement impressed me and I thought we played some very attractive football in this game.

Other positives were obviously Torres’ return to action, Babel’s continued improvement, Voronin’s all action display and Crouch being allowed to play another full ninety minutes. He played well too, and deserved a goal. The closest he came was a looping header that hit the bar in first half stoppage time, but he also won us the penalty and maybe at long last we’ll get to see him and Torres given a run out together next time out.

It’s also good seeing Aurelio back in the side. I love watching him play, he’s such a good footballer and has a wonderful left foot. With Riise struggling, let’s just hope Fabio can stay fit as he helps us play better football as he keeps possession very well and rarely wastes a pass.

The downside is the injury to Yossi, who’s doing great at the moment. Still, it is slightly amusing to me given how England seemed to have pinned their hopes on him! Never mind guys, you can still root for Idan Tal! Seriously though, we’ll miss Yossi, especially with Pennant still out. Maybe now Babel will have to start, or it could be that Gerrard moves out wide. I hope not, as he’s playing so well in the centre right now I wouldn’t want to change it.

Personally I’d consider letting Dirk have a go at re-inventing himself as a right midfielder. He spends a lot of time out there anyway, and it would take a bit of the pressure off him when it comes to goalscoring. He certainly works hard enough to play there, and I think he’d do a good job for us. It would also mean we can keep Gerrard and Babel in the roles that they are filling so well at the moment. I doubt it will happen, but it was just a thought.

Torres probably should get the star man as he was the reason we won the game. However, he was only on the field for twenty minutes, and Hyypia was our most impressive performer over the whole game. Besides, it seems people (me included) generally only mention Sami these days when he's looked a bit ropey, so credit where it's due, Sami's my star man.

Team: Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio; Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano (Lucas), Riise (Babel); Voronin (Torres), Crouch: