EPL, England, Keeping it real, Leagues POSTS
Team of the Week: It couldnt be anyone else – Liverpool
Published by Andrew Reilly on March 16, 2009
Are you a soccer fanatic? Do you have strong opinions about the game? Think you have the chops to write about it? Contact Us then...There is no point in trying to argue it, Liverpool have to be the team of the week. Sure, Celtic fans will be delighted at smashing their bitter rivals in the final of the Scottish League Cup and Arsenal fans will be relieved to be back in the top four but it really is all about the Anfield assassins. The yearly financial reports indicating the top earning teams usually sees Manchester United and Real Madrid battling it out for top spot but in the space of five days, Liverpool overcame both teams. And to be fair, they didn’t just overcome them, they demolished both teams, scoring eight goals in the process with the concession of just one.
The double delight for the Merseysiders started with the second leg of the Champions League knock-out match where the Red held a 1-0 lead from their trip to Spain. Regular observers of Rafa Benitez would have predicted a cagey performance from the Liverpool side, perhaps hoping to shut the game out but Liverpool started in whirlwind fashion. Fernando Torres blasted them into an early lead with the only surprise being how long it took for the home side to break the deadlock as Casillas was in fine form in goals for the Spanish Champions. Gerrard notched another from a dubious penalty but Liverpool were in complete control and their dominance was shown with two further goals in the second half.
However, for all that the victory over Madrid was a major triumph, many still expected Liverpool to struggle when they traveled to Old Trafford knowing they had to beat Manchester United to stay in the title race. Things looked bleak when Ronaldo blasted home a penalty but Fernando Torres and Stevie Gerrard, with another penalty but at least this one was deserved, turned things around before half-time to give the ‘Pool a 2-1 lead.
Again, Liverpool dominated in the second half and the nightmare day of Vidic of United was completed when he was red carded for hauling down Gerrard and before Vidic would have been in the shower, United were 3-1 down thanks to a stunning free-kick from Aurelio. The final flourish was created by Dossena with a late strike to finish the scoring and send United to a crushing 4-1 home loss.
Although the two results would have been enough to make Liverpool outstanding candidates for team of the week, it was the manner with which they achieved their wins which was most impressive. There was fast flowing attacking football and constant pressure applied by Liverpool and some major cracks in United’s armour was exposed by the hard work of the away team on Saturday. You cant forget that United lost more goals on Saturday than they have lost in the league in total since the start of November. That fact alone makes the case that the past week definitely belonged to Liverpool.
If Rafa Benitez could just find some way to beat the Wigan’s and Stokes of the Premier League the way he can defeat the best teams in the world, Liverpool would be romping home with the league title. As it stands, you cant help but think the league title still remains just out of their grasp.
**Picture courtesy of toksuede**
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Nabyl Charania on Tue, 17th Mar 2009 11:05 am
“Anfield Assassins”! ha, they did slay some major dragons in Real Madrid and Man U this week, but like you say if they can consistently beat teams like Wigan and Stoke they’d be rolling in the silverware
Ian John on Tue, 17th Mar 2009 5:15 pm
Yep, it’s the form against the lesser sides that is holding Liverpool back. They’ve taken 12 points off Chelsea and United this season, but given them all back with 6 home draws against some of the poorer sides in the league.