Liverpool Win the Game But Lose the Injury War in League Cup Match

The Capital One Cup, as ever, is a competition of major consternation for fans.  Some see the value, especially if things are not going well in the league, and others see it as nothing but a distraction.  In the opening 45 minutes of the semifinal against Stoke, both sides would see their opinions validated.

Liverpool saw things come crashing down in the grand scheme of things, as an already injury riddled team was bitten once more.  Hamstring injuries cost both Dejan Lovren and, perhaps more importantly, Coutinho their days very early in the contest.  On the flip side of that coin, one of the substitutes, Jordan Ibe, provided the moment of brilliance that would put the Reds on top of the match.

Ibe put in a left footer in the 37th minte.  After initially controlling what appeared to be a mishit shot by Joe Allen, Ibe neatly tucked it into the side netting on the far side to finish off one of many first half chances by Liverpool.  Unfortunately for the Reds, it was their only score of the half when they should have had several.  Even the commentator, Jon Champion, mentioned that it should not have been a surprise that Liverpool had the lead but by how many.

That failure to score more than one in the opening half looked like something Liverpool might rue once the second opened.  Stoke, having received a stern talking to in the locker room no doubt, came out strong and tested the weakened Liverpool backline.  Due to Lovren's injury, James Milner came on as the sub and Lucas was pushed into a de facto center back role.  This worked fine when Liverpool were on the attack early in the game, but was decidedly a disadvantage in the second.

Liverpool created the odd chance, but never seemed to fully regain their grasp on the game.  Even when seemingly defending well, things almost went wrong.  In the 77th minute, a deflected shot almost chipped Simon Mignolet.  Fortunately the keeper was on his toes and able to poke it over the crossbar.

The night seemed to get worse as it went on.  Kolo Toure was suffering from a hamstring injury with all the Reds' subs used up.  As he soldiered on, Jonathan Walters almost equalized right at the death but saw it scrape the face of goal and go wide.

Liverpool will count their blessings with the 1-0 victory.  While they should have won by more and should be disappointed to once again fail to score more than a goal and rely on defense in the second half, they will be glad to have scored the all important away goal and kept their hopes of a Wembly final alive and well.

Fans will, no doubt, lament the injuries.  Liverpool could well be without any of their center backs going into their FA Cup match against Exeter on January 8th.  Depending on severity, they could be without Coutinho for awhile with important matches in the league coming up.  Sadly, given the team's league form of late, the focus may need to stay on cup competitions.  At this stage, all fans can do is wait for the ever-growing injury report.

Random Thoughts:
- It was nice to be able to see this match on television.  It won't last, since it is only a free preview of BeInSports for ATT-Uverse, but at least I didn't have to worry about virus-laden links to online viewing.

- Liverpool will almost have to turn to their youth teams for defending in their next match, regardless of how much importance they wish to put on a cup match.  With every single central defender currently hobbled, it might not be worth the risk to send anyone out there at less than 100%.  Especially when none of them might even be at 50%.  LFC's best hope is that Toure only had a cramp.

- Jurgen Klopp's recent comment about hating hamstrings is going from an amusing comment to an actual disdain.  Since few, if any, of those reading this (and certainly myself) have not played at a professional level, we can't fully understand the complexities of injuries and how the amount games or lack thereof can impact it.  That being said, it seems too coincidental that almost all of Liverpool's injuries seem to be hamstring related.  Either the training staff needs to be examined or the training methods.

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