The sight of Jamie Carragher limping off the Anfield turf after just 10 minutes of the Reds’ final pre-season friendly on Saturday struck fear into the hearts of Kopites dreaming of ending the club’s 20-year wait for the championship.
With Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger both also racing against time to prove their availability ahead of the big kick-off this weekend, losing the heart of the Reds defence could have disastrous consequences.
Carragher and Rafa Benitez were both quick to allay fears about the seriousness of his injury, but the true damage to his twisted left ankle is unlikely to be diagnosed until he returns to training.
“Jamie’s injury is not serious, just a twisted ankle,” offered Benitez after the final whistle. “But with our injury problems which include Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, we felt we needed to take him off as a precaution, just in case.
“We will keep an eye on him for two or three days to see how he reacts, but I feel he will be OK. Hopefully, Agger or Skrtel will be fit too.
“Agger has a back problem, and that should be OK in a couple of days. Skrtel is nearly over his hamstring injury, he’s nearly there.
“He is training again and I believe that at the end of this week both of them will be fit to play.”
Privately everyone at the club will be praying those words ring true as the alternatives were handed a tough lesson here.
Danny Ayala looked assured and confident alongside Carragher early on but once the vice captain was replaced by Mikel San Jose the pace and power of the visiting forward line exposed the two young Reds.
Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and Argentina hitman Sergio Aguero would be a handful for any defence in the world – never mind a partnership with a combined age of 38 – and helped themselves to a goal apiece inside the opening 45 minutes.
Lucas Leiva restored a little parity with his late, albeit much deserved, clinical finish but Carragher’s early bath took the shine off an entertaining friendly in front of a packed Anfield, that featured plenty of positives.
Both sides enjoyed a glut of chances and this one could easily have finished 6-6.
Especially if portly Premier League referee Phil Dowd had given even one of the four legitimate penalties on offer, three of which were deserving of the home side.
In Glen Johnson and Emiliano Insua, Rafa Benitez has two of the most talented full-backs in the Premier League at his disposal. Both were up and down the flanks all afternoon while their deliveries into the box were often an embarrassment of riches.
Fernando Torres came close on more than a handful of occasions, hitting the inside of the post and dropping no less than four headers into the relieved hands of visiting keeper Sergio Asenjo.
And marksman Lucas continued his summer of progress with another eye-catching display, which was just as well as Javier Mascherano was stuck in third gear.
The young Brazilian clearly views Xabi Alonso’s departure as his opportunity to secure a regular starting place and he was full of energy and desire once again, breaking late into the box and working simple but effective one-twos all over the park.
With the colourful 44,000 crowd still debating the consequences of Carragher limping from the touchline, Atletico took the lead.
One-time Anfield target Simao broke down the left flank and whipped in a testing ball behind Ayala and stand-in centre-half Mascherano which Aguero snapped up, deflecting a diving header inside Pepe Reina’s left hand post.
And Forlan doubled the tally when Lucas was caught napping on the edge of his own box, allowing the former Manchester United striker to pick his spot in the top left hand corner after ghosting onto a return back-heel from Simao.
Lucas made up for his error with his own super finish in front of the Kop in the second half with 10 minutes left on the clock.
But that was only after Andriy Voronin’s arrival led to Steven Gerrard dropping into a more traditional centre midfield role alongside Jay Spearing.
The Reds skipper seemed to revel in the extra space afforded further back and for the final 10 minutes orchestrated a bombardment of forays forward which resulted in chance after chance.
Lucas, who beat the offside trap by slipping in under the nose of Atletico centre-half Tomas Ujfalusi, found himself all alone with the ball at his feet, bearing down on the Kop goal.
But he showed an impressive level of maturity to calmly stroke the ball home under Asenjo’s and inside his right hand post.
Lucas’ form at least allays initial concerns that new Italian playmaker Alberto Aquilani will not be available for at least six weeks.
But it is the injury-ravaged Reds backline which will ensure Benitez suffers from a bout of insomnia over the next six days.
The question now is whether he can get two of his starting three centre-halves fit enough to start at White Hart Lane or whether it is the cheque book or the fragile Academy kids who shoulder responsibility in the Reds’ first game of the season.
With Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger both also racing against time to prove their availability ahead of the big kick-off this weekend, losing the heart of the Reds defence could have disastrous consequences.
Carragher and Rafa Benitez were both quick to allay fears about the seriousness of his injury, but the true damage to his twisted left ankle is unlikely to be diagnosed until he returns to training.
“Jamie’s injury is not serious, just a twisted ankle,” offered Benitez after the final whistle. “But with our injury problems which include Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, we felt we needed to take him off as a precaution, just in case.
“We will keep an eye on him for two or three days to see how he reacts, but I feel he will be OK. Hopefully, Agger or Skrtel will be fit too.
“Agger has a back problem, and that should be OK in a couple of days. Skrtel is nearly over his hamstring injury, he’s nearly there.
“He is training again and I believe that at the end of this week both of them will be fit to play.”
Privately everyone at the club will be praying those words ring true as the alternatives were handed a tough lesson here.
Danny Ayala looked assured and confident alongside Carragher early on but once the vice captain was replaced by Mikel San Jose the pace and power of the visiting forward line exposed the two young Reds.
Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and Argentina hitman Sergio Aguero would be a handful for any defence in the world – never mind a partnership with a combined age of 38 – and helped themselves to a goal apiece inside the opening 45 minutes.
Lucas Leiva restored a little parity with his late, albeit much deserved, clinical finish but Carragher’s early bath took the shine off an entertaining friendly in front of a packed Anfield, that featured plenty of positives.
Both sides enjoyed a glut of chances and this one could easily have finished 6-6.
Especially if portly Premier League referee Phil Dowd had given even one of the four legitimate penalties on offer, three of which were deserving of the home side.
In Glen Johnson and Emiliano Insua, Rafa Benitez has two of the most talented full-backs in the Premier League at his disposal. Both were up and down the flanks all afternoon while their deliveries into the box were often an embarrassment of riches.
Fernando Torres came close on more than a handful of occasions, hitting the inside of the post and dropping no less than four headers into the relieved hands of visiting keeper Sergio Asenjo.
And marksman Lucas continued his summer of progress with another eye-catching display, which was just as well as Javier Mascherano was stuck in third gear.
The young Brazilian clearly views Xabi Alonso’s departure as his opportunity to secure a regular starting place and he was full of energy and desire once again, breaking late into the box and working simple but effective one-twos all over the park.
With the colourful 44,000 crowd still debating the consequences of Carragher limping from the touchline, Atletico took the lead.
One-time Anfield target Simao broke down the left flank and whipped in a testing ball behind Ayala and stand-in centre-half Mascherano which Aguero snapped up, deflecting a diving header inside Pepe Reina’s left hand post.
And Forlan doubled the tally when Lucas was caught napping on the edge of his own box, allowing the former Manchester United striker to pick his spot in the top left hand corner after ghosting onto a return back-heel from Simao.
Lucas made up for his error with his own super finish in front of the Kop in the second half with 10 minutes left on the clock.
But that was only after Andriy Voronin’s arrival led to Steven Gerrard dropping into a more traditional centre midfield role alongside Jay Spearing.
The Reds skipper seemed to revel in the extra space afforded further back and for the final 10 minutes orchestrated a bombardment of forays forward which resulted in chance after chance.
Lucas, who beat the offside trap by slipping in under the nose of Atletico centre-half Tomas Ujfalusi, found himself all alone with the ball at his feet, bearing down on the Kop goal.
But he showed an impressive level of maturity to calmly stroke the ball home under Asenjo’s and inside his right hand post.
Lucas’ form at least allays initial concerns that new Italian playmaker Alberto Aquilani will not be available for at least six weeks.
But it is the injury-ravaged Reds backline which will ensure Benitez suffers from a bout of insomnia over the next six days.
The question now is whether he can get two of his starting three centre-halves fit enough to start at White Hart Lane or whether it is the cheque book or the fragile Academy kids who shoulder responsibility in the Reds’ first game of the season.
1 comment:
If it is any consolation, Spurs are worse off with all their first choice central defenders ruled out from the Liverpool game through injury and suspension.
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