Merseyside Derby Victory Kickstarts Liverpool Late Premier League Charge

Liverpool came off the Merseyside derby with a 2-0 victory, their third successive league wins at Goodison, but there was little to be proud of. In terms of entertainment value, the game was about as bleak as the rainy weather.

For David Moyes, his club remains mired in a relegation battle but they can hold their heads up high. It is hard to connect, based on this performance, Everton’s rough patch of two league wins out 16 as they edged out Liverpool in every aspects except finishing. Moyes rightly declared that “I don’t feel we’ve come off the pitch losers.”

In the first half, the Reds struggle to hold their defense together and were flirting with calamity. If not for the composure of goalkeeper Pepe Reina, the mood in the Reds dressing room will have been vastly different. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will again have to fend off barbed questions on his management during the post match interview.

Besides Reina’s superb form, Lady Luck has also conspired against David Moyes to render hard work and enterprise irrelevant. In the 12th minute, Javier Mascherano fired a shot which took a firm deflection of Joseph Yobo’s left foot to put Liverpool ahead.

It was a gift from heaven but Liverpool’s second goal was a gift from the Everton’s backline. Yobo was the vilian again when he he failed to intercept a crucial pass Dirk Kuyt lobbed in Gerrard’s direction. That allowed Gerrard to set up the shot for Albert Riera which Tim Howard palmed out and Kuyt immediately pounced upon for the second goal.

Not surprisingly, David Moyes was left fuming at such elementary errors. He said, “In any games but especially big games, you hope you don’t get into situations with those mistakes.” Moyes substituted Yobo with Lucas Neill but the damage was done already.

If Everton’s defense was a shambles, Benitez has little to gloat in this department too. Fortunately, Reina was magnificent between the posts. He saved a Jo’s effort from point-blank range in the first half and Tim Cahill’s free header on 71 minutes. The double save, which came with Liverpool 1-0 up, essentially sealed Everton’s fate.

Everton had their chances to draw level as they found the net twice but Jo was judged to be offside. Jo is not a clinical poacher and that pretty much sums up the attacking options David Moyes has at his disposal. Even purchasing Peter Crouch or having Louis Saha back from injury will improve Everton’s finishing.

Overall, this is a performance which should give David Moyes and the fans some encouragement. I am impressed by Steven Pienaar’s creativity. Moyes made a shrewd move by switching him to the right flank instead of the usual left. If not for a niggling knee injury, he may have wrought greater damage on Liverpool’s defense.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, in Pienaar’s usual berth, was also up to the task but he spurned two gilt-edged chances, including one chance which skewed off his left shin after an elegant flick of Tim Cahill’s head.

Everton’s position remain precarious, sixth bottom and three points off the relegation zone. There are also stiff challenges looming – Tottenham at home and Chelsea away. However, I believe if they continue to get their fundamentals right, like in this derby, get some defenders during the January transfer window (either through loans or transfers), they should be climbing up the league table very soon.

As for Liverpool, they did little to convince their critics that the worst is over. There was little fluency and possession in their game. Steven Gerrard may have united the troops with a rallying call but he has not led by example on the pitch. Gone was his crisp passes and marauding form up front, even though he contributed with a match-winning effort.

Liverpool fans can heave a sigh of relief that their captain can still turn a match around in a moment of brilliance. However, the inability to dominate proceedings is worrying and he needs to improve on his match fitness. A half fit Steven Gerrard is still an useful asset to Benitez but with a flurry of matches coming up, there is a risk that he may get injured again.

I believe this victory has given Rafael Benitez a repreive. He came into this game with his future highly uncertain , a similar predicament to David Moyes. Liverpool has crashed out of the Champions League as the top seed in the group, with a game still left to play in the group phase. That is arguably Liverpool’s worst performance in recent years.

While Liverpool did enough to beat Debrecen, fate was not in their hands as Lyon failed to score an equalizer. The fact that Liverpool won but have to depend on the benevolence of others to qualify means, in the words of Steven Gerrard, “they only got what they deserved.”

Besides the absence of Champions League football, Liverpool fans have to contend with a lack of money and quality players, squabbling owners, long injury list, new stadium plan shelved, and an inability to rack up victories consistently in the previous 10 games.

Not all factors are within Rafael Benitez’s control but as the manager, he cannot shirk his responsibility that the players who started regularly are not good enough, out of form or lose their focus. Liverpool can’t defend set pieces and have an unhealthy dependence on Gerrard and Torres.

For how long can the Reds base their foundation for success on the performance of so few individuals? Extraordinary talents they may be, but they are not robots and will fall short eventually.

The acquisition of Alberto Aquilani is also baffling. It is too early to pass judgment as the player has hardly seen any action, but for a relatively thin squad, there is little sense to sign a player who would miss the opening three months of the campaign.

To be sure, stepping out of the shadows of Xabi Alonso is no easy task as the Spaniard has five years of stellar service. Rafael Benitez may have assumed that Lucas is ready for the big stage, or at least stand-in until Aquilani was ready, but that faith was misplaced as Liverpool often cede possession in midfield.

That’s not entirely Lucas’s fault as he did put up some commendable efforts. The problem with Lucas is that he was never cut out to be a playmaker of Alonso’s calibre. Mascherano is a holding midfielder and can’t do that either, which is why Liverpool looked short on creativity and penetration this season.

Alonso not only linked up play in the final third of the pitch with his vision and accurate passes but he was also able to bring out the best in his team mates. Hopefully, Aquilani will have that effect and can last the pace of an arduous season.

Rafael Benitez is not in a hurry to rush Aquilani into action, which could be a wise move as the player will have more time to integrate into the team and prevent aggravating his injury. Only time will tell if Aquilani can repay the faith, patience and money lavished on him.

With the influx of foreign players, managers and owners, the Premier League is getting more competitive by the year. Outlier clubs like Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa are now breathing down Liverpool’s neck, trying to squeeze into the top four. Instead of keeping up with their rivals, Liverpool have, however, gone backwards, after the events of this summer.

Xabi Alonso was sold and replaced with someone who is injury prone and has not started a game yet. Glen Johnson was recruited and while that wasn’t a bad deal, there are no further funds for Benitez to bolster his squad, after improved contracts for key players and Benitez. That left Liverpool with a weaker squad and more vulnerable to injuries.

It’s time for Rafael Benitez to take an honest hard look at the reality and stop splurging money on players who have to be sold off later or languish on the bench because they fail to perform. Financially, Liverpool are on a knife edge and losing their football powerhouse status is not an option.

The consequences of not finishing in the top four of the EPL, and missing out on a shot at Champions League glory are disastrous. Just think of the demise of Leeds United.

Rafael Benitez is coping with the pressure so far, and has insisted that he will see out the five-year contract he signed earlier this year. If he does not want to be sacked prematurely, there are a few departments which needs tweaking right now.

The defense is running low on confidence – Skrtel is having a terrible run of form and Agger is injury prone so Liverpool will definitely benefit from the arrival of quality defenders. The club will also need to strengthen its attacking department. N’Gog is trying his best but he’s not ready to act as a back-up to Torres.

The rumor mill has placed Ruud van Nistelrooy as a candidate to arrive at Liverpool. This may not the best option because of his age but being cash-strapped, van Nistelrooy will be value for money. He is an experienced striker (certainly no slouch in the Premier League) and should be able to deliver the goods. In fact, if Ruud van Nistelrooy is not beset by injuries, he will still be among the top scorers in the La Liga.

In order to raise cash for recruitment purposes, Benitez will do well to offload some of the deadwood in his current team. Babel, Degen, Voronin, Plessis and Dossena are a massive drain on the wage bill and don’t pull their weight adequately. I believe Liverpool fans will not miss them if they were to be offloaded tomorrow. Some of the players who have moved on like Sissoko, Crouch, Hyypia, Alonso and Riise are more effective than the current bunch of laggards.

There are some promising lads in Liverpool reserve squad including Pacheco, Spearing, Kelly, Eccleston and Amoo. None of them have the same finesse as Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen or Robbie Fowler and are likely to become utility players, if Rafael Benitez gives them opportunities to break into the first team. Thanks to budget constraint and injuries, we may just see more of these youngsters soon.

Will Liverpool ever win the Premier League? This is a question which a lot of people are asking. Unfortunately, as is so often in the past, just when the dream appears within grasp, it slipped away. Last season, Liverpool secured 86 points. At one stage, the Reds were free and clear of United and looks likely to clinch the Premier League title, with a comfortable cushion to boot.

A capitulation resulted in Manchester United winning their third league title in a row, but Liverpool humiliated the Red Devils with an impressive win, proving that the champion may not be the better team.

Regardless of what Alex Ferguson insinuated that second spot is already Liverpool’s best position, the fans are sold on the idea that Liverpool have made good progress and the club would win it next year. All they need is to go that extra mile.

Yet four months later, this “progress” has been destroyed. Liverpool are out of contention for the Premier League title and have to make do with the Europa League. Silverware may once again be missing in Liverpool’s cabinet.

Nevertheless all is not lost and I am loathe to dismiss all of Benitez’s efforts during his tenure. The fans have to remember that it wasn’t smooth sailing last season too. Benitez was in the middle of negotiating a contract extension, the owners tried unsuccessfully to sell the club, Liverpool were bogged down by wretched draws at home, etc.

It was only in the later part of the season that things settled down and Liverpool went on a fantastic run. If Rafa remains committed to the Liverpool cause and is willing to work with what he has, the rewards for having a stable team will eventually come.

The team is happy again as the winning feeling is back. There is a renewed team spirit in the squad with many of Liverpool’s best players backing Benitez after pressure mounted on him to resign. Skipper Steven Gerrard has called for unity, while Fernando Torres and Jose Reina have said Benitez is the right man to lead Liverpool back to the top of Europe.

Rafael Benitez reflected on his first away clean sheet of the season and the momentum that successive wins can bring. “Winning a derby is very difficult and also very important but we are higher in the table now, everybody is happier and hopefully we will keep winning some games,” he said.

Liverpool may well win the Europa Cup, FA Cup and finish in the top four come the end of the season. The fans would then hail the campaign as a great success and forget about the shortcomings in the squad. The season may get even sweeter if Manchester United stumble in their title campaign and fail to achieve a record 19th league title.

Liverpool are now back to fifth in the Premier League table and just two points behind fourth place Arsenal. This bodes well for their customary late Premier League charge. Don’t write off Liverpool just yet as Rafael Benitez thrives on a siege mentality and the Reds are at their most dangerous when the chips are down.