Liverpool 1 Man Utd 2
Mata 14 Mata 59 Sturridge 69
Juan Mata scored two good goals
One came before Stevie G’s red card, one after it..
It’s a sad fact that Liverpool’s style of play is still based on a player who is no longer there.
With Luis Suarez they could play high-tempo football because Suarez could do two things. He could find spaces in the box to have a shot. And he could find spaces in the box to set up shots for other players.
Sturridge had best season of his career because of that. And Sterling improved hugely because of that.
But new strikers Balotelli and Lambert can’t do any of the things that Suarez did so energetically, game after game after game.
Liverpool’s game here was stymied, blocked, baffled, frustrated.
As commentator Martin Tyler said ten minutes after Mata’s first goal, “United are making Liverpool play 3-6-1.”
When Sakho gave Lallana a hospital ball, Phil Jones bulldozed through Lallana and almost put him in hospital.
Liverpool stuttered and staggered, looking confounded, paralysed.
They had no composed possession.
When Raheem Sterling plays on the left, he is a playmaker who can score. When Sterling plays on the right, he is a plank. A spectator who can’t do anything.
When Liverpool got a throw on the right flank, Sterling took it.
When they ball went out again, they got another throw and Sterling took it again.
Brendan Rodgers has been studying football tactics every day for 25 years. But he’s got his best footballer, his match-changer, playing on the wrong side of the field and taking throw-ins!!!
Emre Can could throw that ball to Sterling in the box. Henderson could throw it to Sterling in the box.
And Sturridge never wants the ball in a position where he has to pass.
After 35 minutes of frustration I decided to tweet at half-time: MEMO TO BRENDAN RODGERS: Put Sterling nearer to Coutinho!
But I didn’t tweet because the phone rang at the same time as the whistle blew and I was on for about 17 minutes.
Gerrard replaced Lallana at half-time and sent himself off after 38 seconds for stamping on Herrera.
RED MIST TIME. The red mist came down. Stevie G was kicked and he kicked back and ref Martin Atkinson saw it and sent him off.
GAME OVER, I said.
Then Mata played a one-two with Di Maria and scored his second with an acrobatic volley.
Sturridge replied for the 10 men with a shot that deflected in off the boot of left back Danny Blind.
Rooney’s answer to that was a spiteful kick on Mignolet’s ankle.
Second half, with Raheem in the left in a 4-3-2, Liverpool functioned better.
More than that I don’t wanna say.
The whole farce was just too disappointing to dwell on.