Liverpool Gunned Down by Arsenal

The international break was not very kind to Liverpool Football Club.  Following an incredibly disappointing performance against Manchester United, that saw the Reds fall 2-1, many had hoped that a little breather would be beneficial.  It was not.

Arsenal came out and dominated the match right from the get go.  If not for two great saves from Simon Mingolet, Liverpool would have been down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of the match.  Instead, the Belgian keeper bailed out his club and they settled into the match - for the midsection of the first half anyway.  Unfortunately for Liverpool, if the first half was a sandwich, the middle would have been a sweet tasty jam, but the bread was riddled with mold.

Liverpool were dominated in the first ten minutes, settled in and created chances in the middle of the first half and then fell to pieces in the last ten minutes.  In a span of eight minutes, Hector Bellarin, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez all bulged the net and Liverpool were finished.  Even more interesting was how quickly things turned.

The Reds were actually on the charge just prior to Bellarin's goal.  They had pressed their way into the attacking third, were stringing together passes and actually looked threatening.  Liverpool, by all rights, should have taken the lead in the match when Lazar Markovic elected not to take a shot and passed it off to Raheem Sterling.  The pass was too far for Sterling to get a foot on and as went the chance, so went Liverpool's offense for the rest of the game.

Liverpool did manage to score a goal from a Jordan Henderson penalty kick in the 76th minute, but really that came down to a lack of urgency from Arsenal.  Being up 3-0, the Gunners took their foot off the gas pedal and got sloppy.  They stood back and absorbed a little bit of pressure and Bellarin tackled Sterling, leading to the penalty.  Arsenal would get another goal in stoppage time against a 10 man Liverpool squad when Olivier Giroud made the Reds' defense look silly and banged home the Gunners' fourth.

The bottom line is, Liverpool never had a chance and that's a scary thought.  The Reds were the in-form team for the better part of four months, but when they are off they struggle to look like a team that is better than mid-table.  For two games there has been a lack of form, a lack of defending, a lack of mental fortitude and worst of all, a lack of fire.  As fans and observers, it seems unthinkable to be unable to get up to face your biggest rivals with so much on the line.  Two games in a row that would have put them in the top four for sure had they won.  Instead those two games may end up being their downfall.

Liverpool now find themselves in a position of trying to hold onto fifth place, standing only one point ahead of Southampton and Tottenham.  They are not eliminated from a top four finish, but they have taken it out of their own hands.  With only seven games remaining in the Premier League season, Liverpool are now seven points behind fourth place.  The Reds have plenty of winnable games, outside of a match with Chelsea in early May, but manager Brendan Rodgers will have to work his magic touch and figure out a lot of what ails his club.

Liverpool find themselves in a situation that even the great Bill Shankly could not guide them out of.  Not only have they played poorly the last two matches, but hair pullingly bad decisions have put their future in question.  Steven Gerrard, Martin Skrtel and now Emre Can have all taken themselves out of competition with poor choices.

Brendan Rodgers was forced to play a defensive midfield comprising Joe Allen and Lucas that was ineffective at best and incredibly inept at worst.  The back three, a lineup of Can, Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho looked immensely uncomfortable on the ball and often put their own goalkeeper in tenuous situations.  Now, with Can out, Rodgers must continue to tinker with a lineup that has increasingly few good options.

Liverpool must find a way to overcome this adversity.  Whether there are problems in the locker room or if this is just one of the valleys for a team that has had plenty of peaks and valleys, the Reds have to figure out a way to come together.  They simply cannot regress the way they have.  Much like the beginning of the season, the midfield is non-existent.  There is a void between the defense and the attack.  Much of that is due to players being out of position or getting playing time following long layoffs, but there just cannot be excuses at this point of the season.

Markovic did little to affect the game other than the missed chance.  Joe Allen and Lucas were not working together and Lucas was awful on the ball to begin the game.  Toure and Sakho looked like high school freshmen, the way they passed and looked shaky.  Jordan Henderson played very hard, like a captain should, but was listed as part of the top three to begin the game and after about three minutes, was playing behind Markovic.  Sterling was back in a striking role after spending a couple weeks as a wingback, which is puzzling in and of itself.

Liverpool must regroup and quickly.  They have an FA Cup tie, on the road, on Wednesday.  On paper, it could be the perfect opportunity to turn things back around.  In reality, it has just as much a chance to dash all preseason goals.  Liverpool will be without three key players for the FA Cup match and next Monday's league game.  The Reds still have much to play for, but they are not making it easy, for their fans or themselves.

Random Thoughts:

- Is Europa League even worth it?  Arguments can be made that any extra competition would be beneficial to teach a young team how to prepare for extra matches.  However, Liverpool's run a year ago and Manchester United's charge back this year would argue that not having the distraction of European matches and getting extra training time may be more beneficial.  By no means would any right thinking person want Liverpool to tank, but if the team cannot finish top four then finishing behind Southampton or Tottenham may not be so bad.

- Raheem Sterling better get things figured out quickly.  I fully understand wanting to maximize your earning potential, but the games against United and certainly Arsenal prove that he is not to a caliber that deserves 150,000 a week.  Sterling is only a promising prospect.  He has great skills and speed in spades, but his shot is poor and weak and he dribbles into defenders too often.  He needs to sign the deal in the offseason, continue to grow as a player and person and then the bigger contracts will line themselves up.

- Brendan Rodgers needs to be more proactive.  He can be a top manager, when he is on his game and things are working well.  However, he tends to react a bit too slowly.  He hesitated to switch from a back four formation early in the year and the team labored.  Now he stuck too long with his 3-4-3 and given the troops available, was made to pay the price due to its ineffectiveness.  It will be interesting to see, not only who lines up but how they line up against Blackburn.

A Happy Easter to you all.  And as a shameless plug, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQi3KGDK7lDPU0AyvCbBOfA.  I discuss the hot sports topics, with a Midwestern slant during the week.

Walk On.