Man of the match - Game 49 - Benfica - Home - EL

[jsjazz]

1. Dirk. Just shaded it from Lucas as he scored and set up 1 (or was it 2?), and did his defensive job brilliantly as well. Every time needs an ugly fooker, and Dirk is ugly, plays ugly, scores ugly goals- but boy are they important ones.

2. Lucas. Good game, but quite a few of his passes were wayward, putting us under pressure.

3. Nando. Looked knackered and as if he was carrying an injury, but still scored 2.

Honorable mentions to Nick the Greek, Carra, Agger.

[Torvald Utne]

Kuyt

Lucas

The big Greek lunatic. Fucking love him.

 

As above, Kuyt by a distance.

[Unrighteous]

1. Kuyt - He was everywhere and involved all over the pitch

2. Lucas - Can you believe it? His best game for us, easily

3. Torres - Sexy bastard.

[BexBissel]

1/ Lucas 'Fucking' Leiva

2/ Fernando 'Fucking' Torres

3/ The Big ' Fucking' Greek

[William_Ulsterman]

1. Kuyt

2. Torres

3. Lucas

 

if kuyt could do that week in week out we would be in a different position in the league. I thought he was immense and skinned that brasilian left back a few times, great control and his passing was a world of difference from the usual shite he serves up.

[Lefti]

1. Kuyt

2. Lucas

3. Carragher

[lebron]

1. Dirk - fantastic effort and overall performance - threw in a nutmeg as well!

2. Lucas - controlled the midfield together with Masch, gets into the top three with a peach of a goal!

3. I'll have Torres in for the same reason as above.

 

Honourable mentions to the rest of the team, thought they played very well after the first goal. Perhaps our poor performances have something to do with confidence after all (not just the manager)?

[razor]

Johnson

Torres

Carra

[llego]

Kuyt Lucas Greek-

 

who says Rafa can't do low-budget transfers well?

[Trumo]

Reina - was more forceful when coming for the ball on corners, and very strong when holding onto a couple of long-range strikes. A little unlucky with the goal as the wall opened up allowing the ball to whizz past him.

 

Johnson - not particularly involved going forward, but he did superbly to shackle DiMaria, who looked very ineffective as a result. Kept things simple, and mopped up anything loose around our penalty area.

 

Carragher - strong and committed, and very influential in keeping Benfica restricted to long-range potshots. As the game went on, he was instrumental in reducing Aimar to a passenger. Another who kept things simple, even when Benfica were applying a bit of pressure.

 

Kyrgiakos - dealt with everything extremely well, and another who kept things simple. Did not overcommit himself so didn't leave space behind him as a result. Quick to clear any loose balls, and was only really beaten once in the air, when Cardozo headed a corner wide.

 

Agger - unusual role for him tonight, but handled it with relative ease. Not much influence coming forward, but he was tidy in possession, and did a couple of his trademark surges upfield. Strange that Benfica didn't push Ramires against him, considering we were expected to be vulnerable down our left.

 

Mascherano - usual all-action display from the Chief as he got amongst the Benfica midfield. In the first half, the ball was often bypassing our midfield as Benfica sprayed it about. In the second, he got hold of Martins so well that Benfica ended up replacing him. Also with the defence's assistance, he started to minimise Aimar's influence.

 

Lucas - the best compliment I can pay him is that I initially thought it was Torres through on goal! Took his goal brilliantly, and again kept things simple. After being given the runaround for the first half-hour or so, he started to get on top of Benfica's midfield by closing the spaces and snapping into tackles. He again showed he has it in him to make an impact attacking wise.

 

Kuyt - utterly dynamic, and deserved his goal. David Luiz struggled to handle him despite having the advantage in pace. Kuyt countered this with a more thoughtful approach, and found space all the time, dragging Sidnei out wide constantly. Superb crosses into the box, one of which resulted in a goal.

 

Gerrard - not quite an all-action performance, but he didn't really need to because of how effective his teammates were around him. His corners were generally, bar one, very dangerous and kept Benfica penned back. Benfica's defence were not sure how to handle him because of his positioning and movement.

 

Benayoun - close to the form he showed towards the end of last season, when he was on fire. Constantly on the move, he was dragging his marker infield where he didn't want to be. Also helped Agger out, thus turning the team's potential weakness into a strength on the night. Booked for a foul, but that just showed how much effort he put in to keep the team on the front foot. Involved in the killer 3rd goal with a deft switch of play.

 

Torres - Another kicking from defenders taking it in turns. Another commentator worried he had injured himself. Another pundit claiming he looked tired. Another game where he was often on the fringes of play. Another two goals. Thankfully, some things don't change. Lovely quick thinking to get ahead of his marker for his first goal, and how many times have we seen him score goals like his second? Brilliant.

 

Ngog (sub for Torres) - not much time to get involved, but he did play a nice through ball from which Benayoun was just offside.

 

Aquilani (sub for Gerrard) - no time to do anything, but the gig was up by then.

 

El Zhar (sub for Benayoun) - time wasting sub, and I don't think he got a touch. His win bonus to playing impact is seriously skewed!

[The Chef]

1.The Greek

2.Lucas

3.Dirk

[Bubble]

1. Kuyt

2. Lucas

3. Agger

[SCOUSE TAPAS]

1. Kuyt

2. Lucas

3. Carragher

 

Same for me.

[kalasoma]

1. Kuyt

2. Torres

3. Agger/Kyrgi

Honourable mention for Lucas just because I don't want to get in over my head.

[Newport]

1. Kuyt

2. Torres

3. Mascherano

[sh#t waffle]

Dirk

Lucas

Torres

[jackofdk]

Mascherano

Torres

Lucas

[coachpotato]

1. Kyrgiakos

2. Lucas (!)

3. Torres

 

4. The Crowd (much better tonight than recently)

[Fowlers God]

1. Lucas- Credit where its due. Best performance in a long time

2. Dirk- Always hardworking

 

Now I am torn between Fernando and the big mother fucking greek.

 

Fernando for being sheer class and the Greek who I think should really be given more games was just outstanding again. As the Greek had such a good game and came in from not having played at all, it goes to him.

 

3. The Greek

 

Also notable mention to Agger also. Maybe a position for the future months?

[hamstrung]

Kuyt

Torres

Lucas

[ZonkoVille77]

Torres

Lucas

Masch

[Kurt]

Many top performers making this a hard choice. I`d go for ..

 

Lucas

Kuyt

Torres (For the goals and for yet again writing history in becoming the first Liverpool player to score twice in 4 consecutive matches at Anfield )

 

Honourable mentions to the greek. For all his shortcomings one thing i`ve noticed is he also makes his partners play better. Carra, Skrtel and Agger all heve played some of their better performances this season alongside the greek. A very astute signing.

 

Gerrard as well hasnt been mentioned much, but assisting the first two goals played a major part in securing the win. We tend to take his greatness for granted, and with another name on his shirt would probably make top three.

 

Benayoun was a bit hit and miss, but again his ability to run with the ball and go past players played a vital role in the 2nd and 3rd goal. This season has been ruined by loads of niggling injuries, meaning he has never been given a run of games. But his creativity is vital for us when he is on form.

 

And last Agger. Played very well out of position, and you could`nt tell this was his first game in that position for us.

[Guest Dog Chaser]

Kuyt

Lucas

Torres

 

A good team performance to dispose of arguably the best team in the competition other than us.

[Vincent Vega]

Difficult decision after a good performance and it is harsh for some to miss out - Yossi had his best game in a long time, Agger was outstanding at left-back, Kyrgiakos slotted in brilliantly and Carragher was usual self in these big games - outstanding, but for me the three who shone most were:

 

1. Kuyt - at his best, fantastic work-rate, got the goal that got us going and showed no shortage of skill in setting up Torres for the third.

2. Torres - world class, really wanted it last night and I think he's obviously hungry for winning the UEFA.

3. Lucas - good all round performance, took his goal very well and superb tackle that helped set up the all important fourth goal.

[derykw]

Kuyt

Agger

Lucas