Liverpool 1 Reading 0: Results, Results, Results

First 3 points at Anfield this season. So here’s how the Reds managed to take all 3 points against the Royals yesterday afternoon.

In all honesty, Liverpool played with more of a conventional 2 men up front type of formation. Raheem Sterling played a more central role to one that he was more accustomed to – he was almost given a free role, drifting all the way to the right wing to support Suso at times, so that was interesting.

Perhaps what might work would be Sterling as an out-and-out striker with Luis Suarez supporting him on the left, Sterling being deployed in a ‘False 9 position’. He has the pace and the technique to do so, so it might be worth giving it a go.

Sahin’s Runs

If Liverpool are going to make the most out of their men out wide – this being Sterling, Suso and sometimes Johnson – then they are going to need more runs into the box from the midfielders. The reason is quite simply because whilst the Reds have sometimes put in wonderful balls into the penalty box, there hasn’t been anyone in there to tuck those chances away.

Sahin’s running into the box has already been rewarded on numerous occasions this season, and he was unlucky on a few occasions not to add one more to his tally. A young and talented midfielder, and I would like to see him bursting into the box more often. Suso doesn’t go in because he doesn’t have the physique (i.e. strength), whilst Suarez normally drifts off into a midfield area before rushing back into the penalty box when Liverpool have the oppourtunity, meaning that the Reds sometimes don’t have players in the box.

Raheem Sterling is congratulated by his Liverpool team-mates as he scores the opening goal in the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Reading on October 20th 2012 at Anfield, Liverpool, England

Possession Football

At least Liverpool are being more assured with the ball. Brad Jones was confident on the ball, there weren’t any clear cut errors (i.e. errors that led to goal chances for Reading), and in general, I don’t even have a man-of-the-match for this game, as it was more about the team performance rather than individual brilliance that won Liverpool FC the game.

Joe Allen was his economical self, spreading the ball out and drawing defenders in before making the pass and leaving space for his teammates. Steven Gerrard played some superb first time balls yesterday afternoon, whilst Suso kept the ball out on the right flank as well.

Loved the football we were playing, and it is a signal for good things to come in the coming weeks!

The Team

In my opinion, Brendan Rodgers put out the absolute best team that he had at his disposal. He retained the squad that drew against Stoke City 2 weeks ago bar one change, this being Brad Jones coming in for Pepe Reina.

First Team:

JonesWisdom – Agger – Skrtel- JohnsonGerrard – Allen – SahinSuso – Suarez – Sterling

The Game

The first goal is absolutely crucial. It could help open up the opposition, or it can open yourselves up and make you more susceptible to conceding a second goal. Thankfully, Liverpool managed to score the first goal thanks to a brilliant finish from a certain Raheem Sterling.

In my opinion, the Royals gave Sterling way too much room to roam around on that left flank. There were many times where he was in fact behind their defence with the ball, although the attack would stutter, reason being that he had to wait for teammates to get into the box and also because he had to cut in.

You couldn’t help but feel that he would be the man scoring yesterday, as he was busy in the opening exchanges – getting a few shots off – although he made some poor touches to let attacks peter out.

The first half saw lots of home possession, and the second saw a slightly more evenly contested game, as Reading had to come back in search of an equalizer.

In all honesty, Liverpool could have easily have had much more. (yeah, that’s pretty easy for me to say every week) Luis Suarez’s slight knock at the end of the first half could have affected his second performance – leading to a couple of terrible misses – and Sterling could have easily have scored a brace yesterday afternoon.

But all in all, a good performance from the men in red. No individual errors, a goal from our promising starlet, and all 3 points.

The Fringe Players Make Their Case

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 26: Romelu Lukaku (R) of West Bromwich Albion takes on Andre Wisdom (L) of Liverpool during the Capital One Cup Third Round match between West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool at The Hawthorns on September 26, 2012 in West Bromwich, England.

If anything, I think that injuries meant that the fringe players could really make the mark. In my opinion, Brad Jones provided a performance that could give Rodgers some food for thought, as he made splendid goalkeeping decisions – whether to come out or stay put – whilst also managing to catch rather than do a Reina-esque parry to keep Reading at bay. That was a really good performance from the Australian.

Martin Kelly’s and Jose Enrique’s persistant problems meant that Andre Wisdom could keep his place in the starting eleven, and whilst he did not have much attacking output, he managed to stifle out Reading’s attacking threats with well-timed tackles and confident clearances.

Sahin – perhaps the most dispensable of the 3 midfielders – showed why he deserves his place in the first eleven, making fantastic runs into the box and creating nuisance of himself whenever he could.

Suso was also impressive. Despite not creating clear-cut chances with quick through balls, he kept the ball really well for the Reds before being brought off for Jose Enrique.

Post-Match

“He’s got good pace, Raheem, so once he’s on the inside he can break the line of the back four. We’ve been doing a lot of work on that on the training field but all the credit goes to him because he’s got to identify the moment to go in. It was a wonderful finish because he was going away from the goal, and he’s got a quick defender tracking him.”

Brendan Rodgers