Spurs were unlucky to leave Anfield with just a point. The game with Liverpool was an extremely entertaining, end to end encounter packed with goals and incidents. Liverpool started the game better, and Voronin put Liverpool ahead as he was the quickest to react from Robinson blunder. A Gerrard freekick was deflected off the Spurs wall and Robinson reacted well to get to the ball, but couldn't hand on to it and gifted the ball straight to an alert Voronin. Also if not for some overly elaborate play from Voronin, who should have just shot, they should have been 2-0 up by the first 30 minutes.
However, with the potent strike force of Berbatov and Keane, Spurs made Liverpool pay for not taking their chances. Time and time again, they served warning to the Liverpool backline. If anything, these two are the classic example of how NOT rotating your strikers can benefit a team. Their understanding and movement was almost telephatic, and they scored 2 gems of a goal. The first came before halftime and the second came just after the second half started, to make the scoreline 1-2.
But as the commentator rightly said, Liverpool cannot be counted out, especially at Anfield, and they made an almighty effort to get something out of the game. They risked a lot, leaving plenty of space at the back and Spurs should have capitalized on it on a few occasions.
In the end though, Torres scored from a bullet header right at the end. There was nothing Robinson could do about it. The Spaniard has been a joy to watch this season, and did his team a big favour by scoring that equaliser. Alarm bells will be ringing in the Liverpool camp though, as a loss and a draw at Anfield isn't just what is expected at this club.
What a game it was though, a showpiece for what the EPL is all about. It will be hard to believe that Spurs will stay at the bottom of the table if they continue to play like this.
Showing posts with label Fernando Torres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fernando Torres. Show all posts
28.9.07
Benitez looks at 'bigger picture' in rotation row
Fernando Torres has only been a Liverpool player for three months, yet he has already learned not to attempt to second guess the team selection of manager Rafael Benitez.
Four days after scoring his first hat-trick in a Liverpool shirt during the 4-2 Carling Cup victory at Reading, the Spanish forward will have to wait until 1.55pm today before discovering whether he has done enough to retain his place when Benitez pins his starting eleven on the board for the Premier League encounter with Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium.
Torres, the £26.5m summer signing from Atletico Madrid, has made a seamless transition to life in the Premiership having previously spent his entire career in La Liga, but the club's record signing is not safe from Benitez's tinkering.
Benitez is understood to be preparing for Torres to partner Dirk Kuyt this afternoon, but having omitted the 23-year-old from his team against Birmingham City last Saturday, when Steve Bruce's team emerged from Anfield with a 0-0 draw, nothing can be taken for granted.
Last Saturday's team selection, strongly criticised by supporters, appeared to backfire with Liverpool failing to score for a second successive league game. But Benitez insists that he has no regrets over his decision and that it was a statement of Liverpool's intent this season.
Benitez said: "As a manager, you need to see the bigger picture and think about the whole season. If we need to use our big names in every game at Anfield against teams like Birmingham, then maybe we won't be good enough to win trophies at the end of the season. If you say to me that I would have had to play Torres to be capable of beating Birmingham, then I'd say that we couldn't win the league.
"Sometimes I will make mistakes, but I was 100 per cent sure it wasn't a mistake not to play Torres against Birmingham. Kuyt and [Andriy] Voronin had been playing well, and at home at Anfield against Birmingham, I thought we had enough to win.
"Why are we talking about Torres now and weren't when Kuyt and Voronin were scoring in the Champions League? The answer is because we were winning those games. We're only talking about Torres not playing because we drew with Portsmouth and Birmingham."
Unbeaten so far this season, Liverpool have made their best start since Benitez's arrival from Valencia three years ago. Although Liverpool have finished strongly in each of their last three seasons, which two Champions League Finals and an FA Cup win underline, Benitez's reluctance to play a settled team in the early months has not helped the club's league form.
The Spaniard appears to have found the correct blend this year, but he insists that April and May, and not August and September, are the months that matter.
Benitez said: "I've done the same for seven years now and we've been winning trophies. The last 10 games of the season are probably the most important and you won't win anything if your players aren't physically ready.
"Torres can play 20 or 30 games in a row without any problem, but he won't be at the same level in the last few months of the season when we hope to be playing for trophies.
"We've played a final at the end of each season I've been here. Why? Because we've had a big squad without maybe as many bigger players as we have now, and were going into games with fresh legs. That proves that the system can work."
Rafa wants Torres protection talk, not rotation talk
Rafa Benitez insists English football needs to clamp down on the heavy handed approach to Fernando Torres.
The Liverpool manager has been angered by the rough treatment dished out to Torres in the Reds' midweek Carling Cup victory over Reading.
Torres scored a hat-trick in Liverpool's 4-2 victory over the Royals, but Benitez's striking ace was on the receiving end of some robust challenges from Reading centre-backs Michael Duberry and Andre Bikey.
Recent football discussion has been on the subject of Torres' constant rotation from the Liverpool starting XI, but Benitez is adamant attention must turn to protection of the Premier League's stars.
"What puzzles me is why people are talking all the time about Torres when he plays, when they should surely be talking about how we can protect him when he plays," said Benitez.
"There was lots of talk about how Torres coped so well with the kicking he received, but why aren't people saying that kicking was wrong.
"I'm surprised people aren't talking about the need to protect players of quality because if we want to see exciting matches with real quality for the fans then we must ensure the quality players are allowed to play, and not kicked out of it.
"With Torres defenders feel they have to stop him by kicking him and it's up to the officials to stop that.
"I won't comment on the referee at Reading, but you could see yourself. He (Torres) was kicked badly in the first minute, it was a challenge that could have kept him out for a month."
27.9.07
Crouch: He's doing magnificent!
Peter Crouch has paid tribute to strike-partner Fernando Torres for the way he has settled into life in England
Six goals before the end of September have ensured the Spaniard is already a firm favourite on the Kop. And Crouch revealed the new boy is adapting just as well off the pitch.
He said: "Fernando speaks a bit of English, though he's not confident enough to do interviews yet. But in the dressing room he's got a bit about him and it's always good to see a player trying to adapt and learn the language. He's a good lad. The Spanish lads are helping him settle in.
"He was magnificent at Reading. The thing about Fernando is that he's a top-class player but he works so hard for the team. You can see that. The manager obviously likes all the players to work hard and the strikers to track back - he does that extremely well, as well as his more obvious qualities.
The Liverpool striker certainly played well with Torres in the Reading game
"His goals were fantastically taken and it was a superb all-round performance.
"He's a strong lad and he proved that he can certainly cope with the physical side. He comes from a different way of playing - Spanish football is different to English football - but he's an extremely strong physical player. He has pace and attributes to help him cope with that. I'm sure he's going to be a force this year.
"I enjoy playing with a player with such blistering pace as Fernando. I'll hold the ball up and get in the box, he can run onto the loose balls and get in behind defences. I certainly think we complement each other. Fernando can win things in the air as well but the fact that he is pacy and reads the flicks helps him get in behind."
Liverpool are unbeaten in 10 games so far this season, a consistency which Crouch believes is now approaching that of Man United and Chelsea.
"We want to be as consistent as we can," he said. "Chelsea and Manchester United have proved how consistent you have to be to get anywhere near winning the league and we need to turn some of those draws into wins now.
"Ten unbeaten is a good start for us. It could have been even better but we need to get that winning mentality that the other two had last year and I believe we are getting that.
"We've certainly got strength in depth. The manager has a lot of players at his disposal. We are going to challenge on all fronts this year. I really believe that.
"The players the manager has brought in seem to have settled straight away and we've got off to a good start. Sometimes it can take a while to bed in but they've come in and are really firing. That's good for the squad and good for the team."
(Courtesy: www.liverpoolfc.tv)
Six goals before the end of September have ensured the Spaniard is already a firm favourite on the Kop. And Crouch revealed the new boy is adapting just as well off the pitch.
He said: "Fernando speaks a bit of English, though he's not confident enough to do interviews yet. But in the dressing room he's got a bit about him and it's always good to see a player trying to adapt and learn the language. He's a good lad. The Spanish lads are helping him settle in.
"He was magnificent at Reading. The thing about Fernando is that he's a top-class player but he works so hard for the team. You can see that. The manager obviously likes all the players to work hard and the strikers to track back - he does that extremely well, as well as his more obvious qualities.
The Liverpool striker certainly played well with Torres in the Reading game"His goals were fantastically taken and it was a superb all-round performance.
"He's a strong lad and he proved that he can certainly cope with the physical side. He comes from a different way of playing - Spanish football is different to English football - but he's an extremely strong physical player. He has pace and attributes to help him cope with that. I'm sure he's going to be a force this year.
"I enjoy playing with a player with such blistering pace as Fernando. I'll hold the ball up and get in the box, he can run onto the loose balls and get in behind defences. I certainly think we complement each other. Fernando can win things in the air as well but the fact that he is pacy and reads the flicks helps him get in behind."
Liverpool are unbeaten in 10 games so far this season, a consistency which Crouch believes is now approaching that of Man United and Chelsea.
"We want to be as consistent as we can," he said. "Chelsea and Manchester United have proved how consistent you have to be to get anywhere near winning the league and we need to turn some of those draws into wins now.
"Ten unbeaten is a good start for us. It could have been even better but we need to get that winning mentality that the other two had last year and I believe we are getting that.
"We've certainly got strength in depth. The manager has a lot of players at his disposal. We are going to challenge on all fronts this year. I really believe that.
"The players the manager has brought in seem to have settled straight away and we've got off to a good start. Sometimes it can take a while to bed in but they've come in and are really firing. That's good for the squad and good for the team."
(Courtesy: www.liverpoolfc.tv)
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