Liverpool Earn Wembley Appearance

Liverpool earned their way into an appearance at Wembley Stadium for an FA Cup semifinal match with Aston Villa.  A hard fought replay against Blackburn Rovers went the Reds' way with a 1-0 win.  In very few ways, if any, was this the game Liverpool fans were hoping for, but it was a victory.  Following two bad losses to Manchester United and Arsenal in the league and several weeks of controversy surrounding the contract status of Raheem Sterling, Liverpool simply needed some positivity.

It wasn't the prettiest of games.  Much of the first half, for Liverpool, was spent in possession that went nowhere.  The Reds had the ball, knocked it around the back, pushed forward now and then but really created nothing.  There was a nice flick back by Daniel Sturridge in the 16th minute that almost led to a chance.  Coutinho had a sharp angle chance blocked in the 18th minute and Liverpool attacked reasonably well in the 20 minute stages.  However, there was very little true pressure placed on Blackburn's keeper Simon Eastwood.

For a bit, it even seemed as though things would continue to pile up on Liverpool.  Mamadou Sakho picked up an apparent hamstring injury and had to be subbed off in the 27th minute.  The Reds were already shorthanded with suspensions to key players and the chosen substitute, Kolo Toure, was about as far from anything resembling good form as you can be in his time against Arsenal.

Things continued in the woe category as Coutinho appeared to have a golden chance in the 36th minute, when his shot seemed destined for the bottom right corner only to have Eastwood come up with a last second save.  Eastwood was screened until the ball was about four yards out, which made the stop even more improbable.  On the flip side of that coin, Simon Mingolet was called into action in the second half as well.  Two huge saves, both diving to his left, probably saved the result for his club.

Mere moments after leaping to stop a drive heading for the upper left side of the goal, Mingolet kept one out of the bottom left with a save rivaling his counterpart.  The Belgian keeper saw it very late and was screened by several of his own players.  There was also a question of potential handball by Joe Allen, and by the letter of the law it may have been, but it was unintentional and did not alter the shot in any manner.  That moment was really a catalyst for Liverpool.

They turned up the pressure in the 50th minute onward.  They did allow the occasional counterattack or two, but really steadied the game.  Kolo Toure had an excellent block in the 66th minute, not totally erasing his previous performance, but at least putting him back in a more positive light.  Finally, Coutinho broke the deadlock in the 70th minute.  Coutinho replaced Jordan Henderson on the corner kick and did not have a very good attempt, in all honesty.  However, the Brazilian recouped possession, took a quick pass from Henderson in the box and rocketed a shot across the face of goal and in off the post.

One knock on the Reds' squad was their lack of urgency the rest of the half.  Plenty could have gone wrong in the final 20 minutes and despite Liverpool's dominance of possession, they did not really seek out that second goal.  It almost came back to bite them when Eastwood  had a brilliant turn and shot in the box.  Mingolet saw the shot late, but got down to block it and smother the 94th minute attempt and ultimately the Reds got the win.

Things haven't gone Liverpool's way lately and a win was sorely needed.  While positives weren't abundantly available, they were there. The Reds did not crush the second tier opponent and did not look like world beaters, but they got the job done.  They overcame the obstacle of suspensions to Steven Gerrard, Martin Skrtel and Emre Can.  Toure did a reasonably good job of coming in and defending.  Dejan Lovren was solid in possession and made no mistakes.  Joe Allen will never be anyone's first choice, outside of perhaps his manager, but he did a solid job and did exactly what was asked of him in every way.  Mingolet continued his top form.  Sterling and Coutinho looked very positive as well.

Nobody will ever confuse Blackburn for a true stern test, but Liverpool did what was necessary and took enough away from the game to look forward instead of worrying too much about the last two games.  That said, questions still linger for this side as they progress.  Though Manchester City continues to leave the door cracked, gaining a top four spot will be incredibly difficult.  The specter of a Europa League spot also looms.  A league match against Chelsea is still on the horizon, but a date in Wembley Stadium is a pretty sweet carrot to put in your pocket.  Now the team must simply look to themselves and do the best they can.

Random thoughts:

- I understand he was playing out of position, but I was confused to see Jordan Henderson constantly in the center of the field when he was technically listed as a wing back.

- Springboarding off that idea, again I realize that Henderson, Sterling or Adam Lallana are all out of position in the wingback position, but you have to put your best players in their best position and let the rest fall where it may.  Sterling has been useless in the wing position and should always be part of the attacking trio in the current set up.

- Liverpool's defending corp needs to catch a break.  Can will be available in the next match, but the injury to Sakho now throws more cloudiness into an already murky situation back there.

- Speaking of injury, given his recent history, Sturridge's asking to be subbed off was a bit troubling.  He did not appear to be laboring, but one still worries when he asks to be removed.

- Liverpool supporters will always do their best to support whoever slips on the red kit.  However, changes have to be made to this squad.  Age and injury have played a huge role but players like Allen and Lucas just aren't good enough to be consistently relied upon and regardless of what formation Liverpool use going forward, they have to find a true wingback.  The constant rotation on the outside is frustrating as a fan and provides no stability from a team standpoint.

- Things have been set up in a positive way for Liverpool.  Aston Villa is probably going to be more concerned with staying out of the relegation zone and is in poor form to begin with.  A finals appearance is not assured, but seems likely.  Unfortunately, Liverpool may be forced to see an in-form Arsenal team once more, should that finals spot be attained.

Walk On.