EPL Week 1: Liverpool Stumbles At The Lane
August 17th 2009 05:41
After the victories of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, Liverpool had no choice but to grab three points against Tottenham to keep up with their Big Four rivals. Unfortunately for them, manager Harry Redknapp had other plans in mind and thanks to an almost flawless execution, Tottenham provided the first surprise of the season by defeating Liverpool 2-1.
Defender Assou-Ekotto was the one to open the score for the Spurs with a powerful strike two minutes before the break. The scoreline definitely reflected the direction of the game. While the Spurs' midfield and defense did an excellent in containing Gerrard and Torres, the Liverpool defense seemed overwhelmed by the Modric-Defoe-Keane-Lennon line. Keane looked like a man on a mission as he looked to prove to Benitez just what he's worth after his miserable half-season at Anfield. Unfortunately Reina always stood in his way, even stopping his point-blank header in the 29th minute.
As was often the case last season, Liverpool got a penalty-kick early in the second half and Gerrard promptly put them back into the game. Since the Reds didn't deserve a draw, much less a win in my mind, I unconsciously started to root for the Spurs. You cannot imagine the joy I felt when Bassong put Tottenham ahead with a header just three minutes after Gerrard's equalizer. The entrance of Benayoun provided a spark for Liverpool in the final twenty minutes, but the Spurs' defenders, backed by their twelfth man, kept up the good work to finish with a much deserved win.
For Liverpool, you have to wonder why Benitez opted to start Babel instead of Benayoun for that game. Last season, the Israeli winger showed that he was essential to the Reds' success with several excellent performances in the final stretch. Altough Babel has a lot of potential, he was simply ineffective in that game.
The Reds will look to win their next game to catch up with the rest of the Big Four who seemed primed for a good run this season.
Liverpool line-up: Pepe Reina; Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel (Daniel Sanchez Ayala, 74th), Emiliano Insua; Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard, Lucas; Dirk Kuyt (Andryi Voronin, 78th), Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel (Yossi Benayoun, 67th).
Defender Assou-Ekotto was the one to open the score for the Spurs with a powerful strike two minutes before the break. The scoreline definitely reflected the direction of the game. While the Spurs' midfield and defense did an excellent in containing Gerrard and Torres, the Liverpool defense seemed overwhelmed by the Modric-Defoe-Keane-Lennon line. Keane looked like a man on a mission as he looked to prove to Benitez just what he's worth after his miserable half-season at Anfield. Unfortunately Reina always stood in his way, even stopping his point-blank header in the 29th minute.
As was often the case last season, Liverpool got a penalty-kick early in the second half and Gerrard promptly put them back into the game. Since the Reds didn't deserve a draw, much less a win in my mind, I unconsciously started to root for the Spurs. You cannot imagine the joy I felt when Bassong put Tottenham ahead with a header just three minutes after Gerrard's equalizer. The entrance of Benayoun provided a spark for Liverpool in the final twenty minutes, but the Spurs' defenders, backed by their twelfth man, kept up the good work to finish with a much deserved win.
For Liverpool, you have to wonder why Benitez opted to start Babel instead of Benayoun for that game. Last season, the Israeli winger showed that he was essential to the Reds' success with several excellent performances in the final stretch. Altough Babel has a lot of potential, he was simply ineffective in that game.
The Reds will look to win their next game to catch up with the rest of the Big Four who seemed primed for a good run this season.
Liverpool line-up: Pepe Reina; Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel (Daniel Sanchez Ayala, 74th), Emiliano Insua; Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard, Lucas; Dirk Kuyt (Andryi Voronin, 78th), Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel (Yossi Benayoun, 67th).
| 44 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
