Well a wonderful night at Anfield was more or less taken down several pegs by poor performances all across the pitch. By now most of you, if not surely all of you, are aware that the Reds fell at home to Real Madrid by the score of 3-0. A Real team with no Gareth Bale no less. A Real team that had the potential to be looking ahead to an El Clasico match on the weekend with Barcelona. None of those factors ultimately helped out Liverpool.
The Reds came out on fire and seemed to soak in all the energy and enthusiasm, not only from the Kop, but from the entire stadium. Perhaps even the entire world, as many LFC fans gathered in front of various TV sets or computer screens or whatever media they chose to watch their beloved football club on with memories still dancing in their heads of a memorable performance against Madrid in Champions League history. It was not to be such a magical night on this eve at Anfield though. Liverpool lost their luster fairly quickly. Despite a good opportunity in the attacking third right off the bat, the Reds lost the gleam in their eyes after about 20 minutes of play and the technical prowess of the tactically gifted Galacticos took over.
While his detractors will no doubt say Dejan Lovren could have taken an extra step before trying to clear what would become Christiano Ronaldo's goa., more blame should be laid on the rest of the defense. They failed to follow the run in the first place while Lovren initially stepped out toward James Rodriguez. In the end, it was just a class chip with a top notch finish. While we, as fans, can second guess this or that, there was little to be done that would actually change the outcome of that play.
It was the second and third goals where blame squarely lays with Liverpool. Instead of only being down at the half 1-0, having created a couple decent chances themselves, the Reds continue to falter on set pieces and corners. Taking nothing away from Karim Benzema, but both of his goals could have been and should have been prevented by a team that wants to consider itself top class in the Premier League. Liverpool have failed too often on similar plays throughout the English league season and, despite their lack of scoring, have defense to blame for several poor performances including the 3-1 loss to West Ham and a less than sparkling 3-2 win over Queens Park. This can no longer be tolerated.
While I am quick to defend the manager, Brendan Rodgers, he continues a trend that is disturbingly familiar to this writer and the teams I follow in other sports. Slap some lipstick on the problem, get the supporters to drink the kool-aid and hope it all turns out better. Some times it works out ok, but more often than not you end up with the same problems you went into the offseason with. Set pieces and corners were a problem for Liverpool last season as well. Though I feel Lovren is a quality defender, he hasn't sorted out the problems with the Reds back four as a whole. Martin Skrtel is a decent defender as well. However, he is more concerned with giving the evil eye to the officials and tugging opponents shirts than the ball when it is in flight.
The third Real goal was a perfect example of what really ails Liverpool at the moment. Instead of defenders on their toes, ready to pounce on any loose ball to clear the area, they were flat footed. One may argue whether Simon Mingolet could have done better when diving out for a claim, but the bottom line is there were at least five red shirts all standing flat footed in the six yard area, flailing about and not clearing the ball. How it even bounced to Benzema, who was squarely between two red shirts, really is beyond me. If Liverpool defend those set pieces even remotely better, then this game is still most likely a loss, but a goal differential of -1 looks a lot better than -3. Especially having to go on the road to Real and Ludogorets still to come.
Other takeaways from this game, for me, are that Rodgers is too concerned with his midfield and their mentality. While Sterling, technically, began the game as a companion uptop with Mario he ultimately fell back into more of a midfield role as a winger on the opposite side of Coutinho. I still believe that Borini or Lambert need to be up top as a true striker until Sturridge gets back. If the midfield is so important to BR, then perhaps he could return to the 3-5-2 system he used at times last season. To be honest, the outcomes of the matches don't look like they would get much worse if that system was employed. These are the times I wish I could see training every day, because I can't understand why the strikers aren't options at the top alongside Balotelli or at the very least as his replacements.
In my humble opinion, too much is being placed on Balotelli. Too many people expect him to be Luis Suarez. Very few, if any, are a straight up replacement for Luis Suarez. For those who follow pro basketball, Suarez is comparable to Dennis Rodman. He presents so many problems to his team and headaches for the coach/manager. Yet, his effort and results in-game are second to none. Balotelli simply isn't that player. Even when in top form, Balotelli has never presented himself as a go all-out every second of every game type of player. Right now the man can do no right. By no means did he have a great game against Real, but he was not the reason for the loss and the entire team had a bad game. Against QPR, Balotelli was accused of being too selfish and taking too many poor shots in his effort to get off his goalless stint. On Wednesday he attempted to include his teammates more often and is accused of not being ruthless enough and not showing enough effort.
If we take all bias out of it, then Balotelli has not performed up to snuff. Nobody in a red shirt has lately. The defense has been poor across the board. Raheem Sterling is attempting to do too much and more often than not, either trying to emulate Suarez by going to ground too early or taking too many dribbles right into the path of a defender's foot. Many are praising Adam Lallana's effort against Madrid. On the Liverpool Echo's webpage, he is even in the top three for player ratings, but it led to nothing. He too was guilty of taking balls too close to a defender. Effort does not always mean quality play. This isn't a youth league where we praise someone for running with reckless abandon the entire game.
One could write an entire article on Glen Johnson. The man is a wing midfielder at best and no longer seems capable of playing a solid wingback for Liverpool. Why Manquillo has fallen out of favor leaves some scratching their heads and even Enrique seems like a better man marker than Johnson. What is currently maddening about this club is the talent is there. It is just not coming together. Before the season I boldly claimed that Liverpool would not be this season's Tottenham. Perhaps I was wrong.
Maybe there really are too many new additions to gel together cohesively. Balotelli has loads of talent, but is slowly slipping into a sulk state. Sterling is in poor form and/or trying to put too much on himself. Gerrard looks top class one minute and then clueless defensively another. It seems I still believe a combination of Balotelli and Sturridge will produce goals. I would still have Sterling on the wing of the diamond in a 4-4-2 since he has proven he is willing to get back and help defend. I now think Coutinho should be the diamond's tip and some rotation of the remaining midfielders can be rotated on the opposite wing, depending on form. Rodgers has some work to do. A win on the weekend against Hull will quiet the blood lust of the masses. However, the entire team needs to find its way. Regardless of effort or talent, Luis Suarez should not be that much of a difference from last year to this. Rodgers needs to be a better leader than he is right now and the players need to perform up to their talent levels individually because no one player shoulders all the blame right now.
One or two things cleaned up and this team could be on a completely different note. But that's how football/soccer/sports in general go. By the knife's edge are things decided at times. The season is young enough for quality changes to be made and Liverpool must make them quickly. With so much opportunity to maintain a European presence, it would be a shame for this Champions League season be their last for another year. Walk on.
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