Liverpool had to travel further up north to honour their commitments against Newcastle United, with kick-off a mere forty-three hours after the final whistle at Anfield during the Bolton rout. The Bolton match was deemed one of the better displays of the season, but today was not a mere geographical ascendancy as Liverpool completely massacred Newcastle United, with a final score of 5-1 leaving the latest Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear having no complaints to register and probably secretly thanking his predecessors for leaving him with Shay Given as his goalkeeper. Very rarely hat-trick heroes end up on the losing side, but even rarer a five-times beaten keeper leaves the pitch with his head held up high. Today was one of them though. At the other end of the pitch for Newcastle it was a stark reminder for their captain, that you might geographically move further up north, but eventually in footballing terms you can only go down after leaving Liverpool.
Rafael Benítez, still convalescing after his kidney stones operation, called three changes from the starting eleven that has beaten Bolton so comprehensively. It was deemed as superfluous by many, a case of rotating for the sake of it, as Xabi Alonso, Albert Riera and more controversially the finally on-form Robbie Keane made way for Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva and Ryan Babel, thus leaving Dirk Kuyt as the lone front-man. The deemed superfluousness of the manager though gave the side a superfluidity effect as the red men attacked the Newcastle goal with ease, with the Geordies in no man’s land, properly undone by the incisive passing and single mindedness of the Liverpool midfield to attack at every opportunity.
It took Liverpool and particularly Steven Gerrard half an hour to open the score, and till then the only worry that was admittedly nagging me was if Liverpool would pay a heavy price for the missed chances. My worry was as unfounded though as much as my worries earlier on this year of whether Barack Obama would win the U.S. presidential elections. Five minutes later, Steven Gerrard from scorer turned provider as he curled in a corner-kick which Sami Hyypia simply deposited through his head into the net. Another unfounded worry arose just before half-time when for the till then comfortable Liverpool rearguard switched off to allow David Edgar to head home and flatter the Geordies with a 2-1 half-time score.
Ryan Babel though restored Liverpool’s two goal lead, only five minutes after the restart and gave the result a further sense of credibility. Defending or maybe better trying to defend high up soon left Newcastle more exposed and once again the captain made the most of it as he ran on a Lucas Leiva pass and rounded the advanced keeper.
Shortly before the once again very effective Yossi Benayoun made way to Xabi Alonso, and again Rafael Benítez could afford to tinker with his side without tempering with Liverpool’s momentum as the twice on the score-sheet Steven Gerrard made way for rookie David N’Gog and Martin Skrtel returned into the side for the first time after his horrendous injury at the City of Manchester Stadium for Dirk Kuyt. It took David N’Ggog only seven minutes to make his mark on the game as he made his way into their penalty area only to be upended, and thus giving the opportunity to Xabi Alonso to test his penalty capabilities in the absence of the captain, a test he passed with flying colours.
With Rafael Benítez high in the stands, Liverpool confirmed their lofty position, and this time rather than through their doggedness and resilience, it was with aplomb. Christmas was spent on top of the league, and so will be New Year’s Day. It is now unequivocal that after twenty games, Liverpool are more than good value for their position, the ‘top of the league’ chant couple with the ‘we shall not be moved’ one. The later Chelsea slip at Craven Cottage was a simple reminder that it is the reds of Liverpool that are the team of the moment.
Rafael Benítez, still convalescing after his kidney stones operation, called three changes from the starting eleven that has beaten Bolton so comprehensively. It was deemed as superfluous by many, a case of rotating for the sake of it, as Xabi Alonso, Albert Riera and more controversially the finally on-form Robbie Keane made way for Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva and Ryan Babel, thus leaving Dirk Kuyt as the lone front-man. The deemed superfluousness of the manager though gave the side a superfluidity effect as the red men attacked the Newcastle goal with ease, with the Geordies in no man’s land, properly undone by the incisive passing and single mindedness of the Liverpool midfield to attack at every opportunity.
It took Liverpool and particularly Steven Gerrard half an hour to open the score, and till then the only worry that was admittedly nagging me was if Liverpool would pay a heavy price for the missed chances. My worry was as unfounded though as much as my worries earlier on this year of whether Barack Obama would win the U.S. presidential elections. Five minutes later, Steven Gerrard from scorer turned provider as he curled in a corner-kick which Sami Hyypia simply deposited through his head into the net. Another unfounded worry arose just before half-time when for the till then comfortable Liverpool rearguard switched off to allow David Edgar to head home and flatter the Geordies with a 2-1 half-time score.
Ryan Babel though restored Liverpool’s two goal lead, only five minutes after the restart and gave the result a further sense of credibility. Defending or maybe better trying to defend high up soon left Newcastle more exposed and once again the captain made the most of it as he ran on a Lucas Leiva pass and rounded the advanced keeper.
Shortly before the once again very effective Yossi Benayoun made way to Xabi Alonso, and again Rafael Benítez could afford to tinker with his side without tempering with Liverpool’s momentum as the twice on the score-sheet Steven Gerrard made way for rookie David N’Gog and Martin Skrtel returned into the side for the first time after his horrendous injury at the City of Manchester Stadium for Dirk Kuyt. It took David N’Ggog only seven minutes to make his mark on the game as he made his way into their penalty area only to be upended, and thus giving the opportunity to Xabi Alonso to test his penalty capabilities in the absence of the captain, a test he passed with flying colours.
With Rafael Benítez high in the stands, Liverpool confirmed their lofty position, and this time rather than through their doggedness and resilience, it was with aplomb. Christmas was spent on top of the league, and so will be New Year’s Day. It is now unequivocal that after twenty games, Liverpool are more than good value for their position, the ‘top of the league’ chant couple with the ‘we shall not be moved’ one. The later Chelsea slip at Craven Cottage was a simple reminder that it is the reds of Liverpool that are the team of the moment.
posted by jean paul at 12:07 am
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