EPL Week 2: Late Comeback Gives Liverpool Edge Over Middlesbrough
August 24th 2008 20:00
Something different this week. Since I knew I was going to miss Arsenal's match against Fulham (which the Gunners ended up losing 1-0), I watched Liverpool's game instead to keep this week's number of match reports at three (Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United), but don't expect me to follow the Reds every week. So, on to the game.
I really hate this kind of match. You wake up early in the morning to watch a game (the time difference makes almost every Premier League game start early in the morning in Quebec, on weekends no less!!), then it turns out that nothing happens in the first half, so you end up losing one hour of sleep. Then, the action picks up considerably in the last twenty minutes, giving you a great dramatic ending but you're still pissed at the fact that you could've been sleeping until that point. That's how I felt yesterday after Liverpool's second match of the season.
The first half was relatively boring as Liverpool's midfielders seemed to be stuck in a haze, unable to do anything right. Up front, Keane and Torres were not yet completely in sync so it was hard for them to combine except for some hints of a blooming partnership here and there. The beginning of the second half was more of the same with both Gerrard and Benayoun looking disinterested – I don't think Benayoun made one successful pass forward in the whole game, neither did Alonso when I think about it. Since his club seemed able to keep up with the Reds, Gareth Southgate took a gamble at the hour mark replacing Brazilian striker Alfonso Alves by Mido in an effort to go for the win. After looking dangerous on a couple of breaks, Mido opened the scoring at the 69th minute, stunningly putting Boro ahead of Liverpool for the first time in a long time. Down 1-0, the home team finally decided to wake up, keeping Middlesbrough pinned inside of their own half for the rest of the match. The visitors held on for as long as they could, but the repeated waves of attack by the opposition were too much for them. At the 84th minute, Carragher's strike from outside the 18-yard box deflected on a defender and made its way past goalkeeper Turnbull. Then, in extra-time - the last action of the game – Steven Gerrard fired one of his signature rockets past Turnbull for his team's second goal.
In the end, the local boys came through. It was a heartbreaking loss for Middlesbrough who were convinced that they were going to win this one. Liverpool didn't deserve the win, this was a robbery plain and simple. Middlesbrough were the better team on that day, they deserved more than that.
Liverpool's line-up: Pepe Reyna; Jamie Carragher, Andrea Dossena (Fabio Aurelio, 74th), Martin Skrtel, Alvaro Arbeloa (Nabil El-Zhar, 83rd); Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun (Ryan Babel, 64th); Robbie Keane, Fernando Torres.
I really hate this kind of match. You wake up early in the morning to watch a game (the time difference makes almost every Premier League game start early in the morning in Quebec, on weekends no less!!), then it turns out that nothing happens in the first half, so you end up losing one hour of sleep. Then, the action picks up considerably in the last twenty minutes, giving you a great dramatic ending but you're still pissed at the fact that you could've been sleeping until that point. That's how I felt yesterday after Liverpool's second match of the season.
The first half was relatively boring as Liverpool's midfielders seemed to be stuck in a haze, unable to do anything right. Up front, Keane and Torres were not yet completely in sync so it was hard for them to combine except for some hints of a blooming partnership here and there. The beginning of the second half was more of the same with both Gerrard and Benayoun looking disinterested – I don't think Benayoun made one successful pass forward in the whole game, neither did Alonso when I think about it. Since his club seemed able to keep up with the Reds, Gareth Southgate took a gamble at the hour mark replacing Brazilian striker Alfonso Alves by Mido in an effort to go for the win. After looking dangerous on a couple of breaks, Mido opened the scoring at the 69th minute, stunningly putting Boro ahead of Liverpool for the first time in a long time. Down 1-0, the home team finally decided to wake up, keeping Middlesbrough pinned inside of their own half for the rest of the match. The visitors held on for as long as they could, but the repeated waves of attack by the opposition were too much for them. At the 84th minute, Carragher's strike from outside the 18-yard box deflected on a defender and made its way past goalkeeper Turnbull. Then, in extra-time - the last action of the game – Steven Gerrard fired one of his signature rockets past Turnbull for his team's second goal.
In the end, the local boys came through. It was a heartbreaking loss for Middlesbrough who were convinced that they were going to win this one. Liverpool didn't deserve the win, this was a robbery plain and simple. Middlesbrough were the better team on that day, they deserved more than that.
Liverpool's line-up: Pepe Reyna; Jamie Carragher, Andrea Dossena (Fabio Aurelio, 74th), Martin Skrtel, Alvaro Arbeloa (Nabil El-Zhar, 83rd); Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun (Ryan Babel, 64th); Robbie Keane, Fernando Torres.
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