There are plenty of positives to take from Tuesday night’s victory in Holland.
In the absence of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, we’ve seen goals – and good goals at that – coming from other areas and other players.
Daniel Agger has come back into the side and put in a top performance alongside the ever reliable Jamie Carragher. The pair were probably our best players, but Robbie Keane also showed some good touches, particularly in the second half, which indicates his doubters may well be eating their words soon.
Hopefully, Robbie’s confidence is on the rise now because we all know what a good player he is.
Other players who the fans have been unsure about also put in much improved displays, which can only auger well for the rest of the season.
But the person who deserves the biggest pat on the back today is probably the manager.
Rafael Benitez, along with his staff at Anfield, had clearly done his homework on PSV and it showed.
He’s often been criticised for rotating too much – it’s a concern I’ve shared on occasion – but no-one is mentioning that today, are they?
Rafa had obviously done his scouting on the Dutchmen and made a number of changes which worked well and saw us control the game.
PSV aren’t a good side nowadays and they visibily wilted at half time as Babel put Liverpool level. There was only going to be one winner after that.
I’ve said before the Dutch League isn’t up to standard these days and if PSV have been Holland’s champions over the last few years, it doesn’t say much for their set- up.
But you can only beat what’s in front of you and that’s what we have done, and pretty emphatically.
Riera’s goal was a beauty and Ngog finished off the sort of pass from Keane which I’m sure the Irishman would like more often to be on the end of himself.
So, after all the stuttering performances recently, we’re top of the Premier League and have also topped our Champions League group with a record points haul.
Of course, it’s only December, and no-one gets any prizes at this time. But it’s not looking too bad... is it?
In the absence of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, we’ve seen goals – and good goals at that – coming from other areas and other players.
Daniel Agger has come back into the side and put in a top performance alongside the ever reliable Jamie Carragher. The pair were probably our best players, but Robbie Keane also showed some good touches, particularly in the second half, which indicates his doubters may well be eating their words soon.
Hopefully, Robbie’s confidence is on the rise now because we all know what a good player he is.
Other players who the fans have been unsure about also put in much improved displays, which can only auger well for the rest of the season.
But the person who deserves the biggest pat on the back today is probably the manager.
Rafael Benitez, along with his staff at Anfield, had clearly done his homework on PSV and it showed.
He’s often been criticised for rotating too much – it’s a concern I’ve shared on occasion – but no-one is mentioning that today, are they?
Rafa had obviously done his scouting on the Dutchmen and made a number of changes which worked well and saw us control the game.
PSV aren’t a good side nowadays and they visibily wilted at half time as Babel put Liverpool level. There was only going to be one winner after that.
I’ve said before the Dutch League isn’t up to standard these days and if PSV have been Holland’s champions over the last few years, it doesn’t say much for their set- up.
But you can only beat what’s in front of you and that’s what we have done, and pretty emphatically.
Riera’s goal was a beauty and Ngog finished off the sort of pass from Keane which I’m sure the Irishman would like more often to be on the end of himself.
So, after all the stuttering performances recently, we’re top of the Premier League and have also topped our Champions League group with a record points haul.
Of course, it’s only December, and no-one gets any prizes at this time. But it’s not looking too bad... is it?
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