EPL Week 3: Aston Villa Stun Liverpool 3-1
August 25th 2009 03:23
After three weeks of play, Liverpool have lost the same number of games as they did for the entire season last year. So far this season, it seems like every time the Reds have faced a team with unquestionable talent, they have been unable to stick to their gameplan without being overrun. On Monday, it was Aston Villa who successfully neutralized the Reds' attack while potting three goals past Reina.
The first sign that something was wrong with Liverpool happened in the 8th minute when a goalmouth scramble ended in a corner-kick for the hosts. The play was surreal as first Gerrard failed to control the ball on the way to the net, then Torres' weak shot was easily blocked by a sliding tackle, then Gerrard's own sliding effort missed the ball before Beyanoun also missed his shot. Finally, Gerrard ended up with the final shot only to see Friedel coming up with an unbelievable save. Nine times out of ten, Gerrard would have put that ball in the back of the net. Here, it simply didn't happen.
Not only did the Reds have trouble converting their scoring opportunities in the opening minutes, they also had to contend with Lucas' poor play in midfield. Although the Brazilian midfielder tries, he's simply not good enough. After losing possession several times in the middle of the park, Lucas drew the ire of the Anfield crowd when he opened the score for Aston Villa by heading Ashley Young's free-kick past Reina - and it was a perfect header too! Although he played the rest of the half, there was no doubt that when the time for substitutions came, Lucas would be the first to go off.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead right before the break, scoring this time on a corner-kick. Rafael Benitez was furious with the referees for that goal since the central referee had continued the play despite the fact that the minute of injury-time given by the fourth official had expired as the half extended to almost two minutes of injury-time. Not a big deal of course, but for Liverpool players and coaches who were growing increasingly frustrated – frustration was the reason why the referee had let the clock run after Reina had needlessly kicked the ball away - those 45 seconds turned out to be the end of the world for them.
Liverpool started the second half with fire in their bellies. Unfortunately, Friedel seemed to be invincible on that evening, stopping everything thrown at him. Torres finally reduced the score in the 71st minute by putting Insua's cross in an empty net. Liverpool's joy wouldn't last long however as two minutes later the man who usually gets the Reds out of tough situations put them into an even deeper hole. Running back to help out his defense, Steven Gerrard completely missed his tackle on Reo-Coker, taking out the player instead of ball, which resulted in a penalty for the visitors. With an impressive amount of cool, Ashley Young calmly converted the spot-kick to put the Villans ahead 3-1.
Although Liverpool continued to attack Villa's end of the field, their heart clearly wasn't in it. In contrast, the visitors gave everything they got to protect their penalty area and goalkeeper as they sacrificed their bodies by blocking shots, coming up with some timely tackles, and just playing into a compact and effective form.
At the final whistle, Liverpool could only retreat to the changing rooms under a chorus of boos, their heads hanged in shame. Three games in and they already have lost two. How many more before Benitez gets on the hot seat?
Liverpool line-up: Pepe Reina; Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Emiliano Insua; Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard, Lucas (Andriy Voronin, 65th); Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun (Ryan Babel, 75th).
The first sign that something was wrong with Liverpool happened in the 8th minute when a goalmouth scramble ended in a corner-kick for the hosts. The play was surreal as first Gerrard failed to control the ball on the way to the net, then Torres' weak shot was easily blocked by a sliding tackle, then Gerrard's own sliding effort missed the ball before Beyanoun also missed his shot. Finally, Gerrard ended up with the final shot only to see Friedel coming up with an unbelievable save. Nine times out of ten, Gerrard would have put that ball in the back of the net. Here, it simply didn't happen.
Not only did the Reds have trouble converting their scoring opportunities in the opening minutes, they also had to contend with Lucas' poor play in midfield. Although the Brazilian midfielder tries, he's simply not good enough. After losing possession several times in the middle of the park, Lucas drew the ire of the Anfield crowd when he opened the score for Aston Villa by heading Ashley Young's free-kick past Reina - and it was a perfect header too! Although he played the rest of the half, there was no doubt that when the time for substitutions came, Lucas would be the first to go off.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead right before the break, scoring this time on a corner-kick. Rafael Benitez was furious with the referees for that goal since the central referee had continued the play despite the fact that the minute of injury-time given by the fourth official had expired as the half extended to almost two minutes of injury-time. Not a big deal of course, but for Liverpool players and coaches who were growing increasingly frustrated – frustration was the reason why the referee had let the clock run after Reina had needlessly kicked the ball away - those 45 seconds turned out to be the end of the world for them.
Liverpool started the second half with fire in their bellies. Unfortunately, Friedel seemed to be invincible on that evening, stopping everything thrown at him. Torres finally reduced the score in the 71st minute by putting Insua's cross in an empty net. Liverpool's joy wouldn't last long however as two minutes later the man who usually gets the Reds out of tough situations put them into an even deeper hole. Running back to help out his defense, Steven Gerrard completely missed his tackle on Reo-Coker, taking out the player instead of ball, which resulted in a penalty for the visitors. With an impressive amount of cool, Ashley Young calmly converted the spot-kick to put the Villans ahead 3-1.
Although Liverpool continued to attack Villa's end of the field, their heart clearly wasn't in it. In contrast, the visitors gave everything they got to protect their penalty area and goalkeeper as they sacrificed their bodies by blocking shots, coming up with some timely tackles, and just playing into a compact and effective form.
At the final whistle, Liverpool could only retreat to the changing rooms under a chorus of boos, their heads hanged in shame. Three games in and they already have lost two. How many more before Benitez gets on the hot seat?
Liverpool line-up: Pepe Reina; Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Emiliano Insua; Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard, Lucas (Andriy Voronin, 65th); Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun (Ryan Babel, 75th).
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