The Reds lined up with the same team that won the derby two weeks back. This was the right decision – the players deserved to be given another crack after their fine performance at Woodison. This line-up (or certainly this formation) is ideal for away games – there are plenty of options, both from out wide and through the middle and lots of chances are created.
Stevie playing in Didi's role stops him having much of an influence further forward, but with Vladi, HK and EHD all given licence to get up in support, that doesn't seem to be a problem.
Unfortunately, just a couple of minutes in, Milan landed awkwardly after a (perfectly fair) Babbel challenge. It was obvious straight away that something serious was wrong as Milan indicated to the bench that he would have to come off. It's a shame for the lad as he had made a fine start to the season and I'm sure it wouldn't have been long before he got off the mark. All we can hope is that he makes a full recovery and that after Christmas we'll see the same Milan we've seen in the last few months. Get well soon lad.
The opening quarter continued to be frenetic with incidents aplenty. Matt Jansen opened the scoring for Blackburn after 8 minutes with a really well-taken goal which gave Jerzy no chance. The way the goal came about – a long ball which wasn't dealt with properly is a little worrying. Igor didn't look comfortable under the high ball all game and even though he's done okay, I'll be glad to see Steph restored to the defence. That said, only one goal conceded in 4 games suggests that things are fairly solid at the back.
Of course, the news of Carra's injury after a scandalous challenge by Lucas Neill put another huge damper on the day. Carra has been ace for ages now – he's as solid as they come and the best defensive full-back we have. For him to be missing for up to six months is a huge blow for ourselves, but also for Carra. It won't do his Euro 2006 chances any good either – I’m sure he'll be gutted about that!
Neill knew exactly what he was doing. It was a terrible tackle. He hasn't even apologised for it today, which doesn't really surprise me. He's a snide and the Rovers' fans are as small-time as they come, booing Carra off when everyone could see he was seriously injured. Hotpot-eating fools. The shame is Neill only gets a three-game ban, while half of Carra's season is written off. Where's the justice in that? I also notice the lack of media outcry – as opposed to the reaction to Stevie's challenge on Boateng a couple of seasons back and on Naysmith last season. Bastards.
Anyway, get well soon Carra – we need you back as soon as possible.
This is even more so because Riise is likely to play at left-full in Carra's place. Of all the players, Riise is the one who disappoints the most. He (still) looks like he needs a good kick up the arse. He's dodgy looking at the back and tends to lump it more often than not now. Finnan looked like he wanted to get forward and play a bit – and he linked up really well with Dioufy on the right.
The long ball to Heskey or Michael from the full-backs has been one of the major bugbears, which is why it's disappointing to see Riise doing it so often. If he is going to play at left-full in Carra's absence, let’s hope that he can improve and that him and HK can link up and give us the same as EHD and Finnan seem to be building on the right.
Dioufy really looks ace at the moment. He works really hard (which is expected anyway), but he is beginning to look a real threat this season. Last season he didn't set the world on fire by any means, but he's settled in now and seems to have found his ideal position out on the right wing. He commits defenders and gives us an option we didn't really have last year.
He won us the penalty after 12 minutes by taking on Greko. Michael tucked it away really well. Michael never inspires confidence when he steps up to take a spot-kick, but you've got to admire his courage for continually taking them.
Liverpool dominated the rest of the first-half, with Stevie going close with a long-range effort, well saved by Friedel. Michael had a great chance one-on-one, but tried to chip Friedel when a low shot or rounding the keeper seemed like better options.
Vladi also did well to make space for a shot, but blasted over from the edge of the box. The Reds created a few good chances and lots of corners yielded no return. The set-piece delivery wasn't the best – it's an area where we really miss Gary Mac.
Near the end of the first-half when Davey Thommo and GH had a go at each other. GH was defending Riise, but Little Thommo was having none of it. He was all over the place. He was "at it" all game and left his leg in a good few times – and on one particular occasion ran 50 yards to nail Heskey (which I've often wanted to do myself to be honest).
To be fair, his eagerness can't be questioned, but I thought he took it too far a couple of times, with lots of niggly stuff going on. It was the same on the touchline all game, with things looking like they could kick off at any minute between GH, Phil Thompson and Souness.
Blackburn came strong at the beginning of the second half, with Flitcroft going close with a shot from 18 yards. Apart from that brief spell, Liverpool dominated, with plenty of shots on goal, including efforts from Michael, Emile and Igor. However we still tend to sit a bit too deep and invite teams on to us. The lack of pace at the back doesn't help of course.
Michael did the business again. He might have had five or six and no doubt he'll be criticised for failing to take at least four gilt-edged chances. But the main thing about this is the fact that he actually got four or five chances and this is really encouraging. Between Chelsea, Spurs and Villa, he had about two 'shots' on goal. In the last couple of games he's had about ten, which is surely a good sign. Give Michael the chances and he’ll score the goals.
The comment about "the first time I've seen the goalposts this season" after the derby was telling. He must have had a word, because the frustration against Spurs was there for all to see. A word on Brad too, who was excellent on goal for Rovers. He denied Michael on two occasions in the second half and is continuing his fine form from last season.
Kewell disappointed on the left, but he still chipped in with a goal and didn't do much wrong. Let's just hope he starts running at people like EHD does and then we'll have threats from everywhere. That's because Vladi has found the position he's best in. I think it's always been said that him playing off the front two at the top of the diamond is where he's most effective.
He went for the whole 90 minutes (although he would have been withdrawn had Stevie not come off) and set up the two second-half goals – doing really well for Michael's. The lack of depth up front after Milan's injury is a little worrying, but Emile, to be fair, did really well yesterday.
He took a while to get into it in the first half, but he actually threw his weight around for once. When Vladi got up in support of Michael and Harry, Heskey tracked back really well. It was in sharp contrast to his display at Villa a few weeks ago where he looked totally off the pace. I remain unconvinced by him – he had one shot in the second half, but couldn’t quite turn on it quickly enough – and he'll struggle to get a dozen goals this season, but with Milan out, he's going to play, so hopefully he'll keep the work rate up and get a few goals to supplement Michael. The hope is that complacency doesn't set in.
The secret is to keep playing this way. I'm still more confident away from home and the true test is can we beat a poor Leicester team on Saturday. We struggled against Spurs (that "Champions League contenders" thrash has been shown up after their defeats to Fulham and Chelsea) at home, but with a bit of confidence from these two victories, let's hope that Leicester are taken asunder.
Up to a few weeks ago I was severely pessimistic. I'm not saying all has changed – playing against ten men on Saturday undoubtedly helped (although I think we still would have won against eleven), but things seem to be going in the right direction. Arsenal will be a really good test, but if we can keep this formation, commit to attacking football and play to Michael's strengths, we might be in for a bit of excitement in the next few weeks.
The players are there, we have the best striker in the business and if the midfield four is given the licence they've got in the last two games, they can supply him with the chances.
A word on the support as well, which was superb. It continued from start to finish, but after Michael's goal in the second half, it was LOUD. 'Fields' was really good, as were the recaptions for Markus and Brad at the start of the second half. There was also a majority(?) which let there be no doubt about their opinion on Souness.
There is obviously an impossibility here of trying to separate Souness the Player from Souness the Man. For all his great achievements as a player, what he did to the fans is overshadowed. Betrayal is, understandably, impossible to forgive for many.
Quick word on Le Tallec too. Class (that's the quick word).
Star man has got to go to Diouf. He was on fire all day. He looks threatening every time he gets it now. When he stayed on the right in the second half, it gave us better balance. His tendency to drift infield sometimes means we're a bit lopsided, and he's at his most effective out wide. The one thing he needs to add to his game is goals and once he gets one, he will hopefully go from strength to strength.
Liverpool: Jerzy Dudek; Steve Finnan, Igor Biscan, Sami Hyppia, Jamie Carragher (John Arne Riise); El Hadji Diouf, Stevie Gerrard (Anthony Le Tallec), Vladimir Smicer, Harry Kewell; Milan Baros (Emile Heskey), Michael Owen.
