In the last few games, fortunes could well be described as mixed for Liverpool, one Capital One Cup loss, a draw in the Merseryside derby, a Europa Cup victory and a Premier League win. Premiership form is worrying to say the least, only 10 points scored from a maximum of 27 is pretty poor form; the current form puts Liverpool in 12th in the league, 12 points off league leaders, Chelsea.
Let’s start by talking about Liverpool V Swansea in the Capital One Cup; a trophy that Liverpool won last season under Kenny Dalglish. Frankly Liverpool were put down by a vibrant Swansea, the visitors were the better team, it’s really that simple. Questions need to be asked about Brendan Rogers team selection, why were Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez left on the bench until half time?
Swansea dominated play in the first half and rightfully went in at half time a goal up; Chico Flores’ 34th minute header, the difference between the two teams. Despite the inclusion of Suarez and Gerrard, it was the visitors that extended their lead, Nathan Dyer making it 0 – 2 with 20 minutes remaining. Gerrard and Suarez combined to pull a goal back for Liverpool in the 76th minute but Swansea were too strong, Jonathan De Guzman dashing any Liverpool hopes of a point with a third Swansea goal in second half added time, well played Swansea, the better team won the game!
In the Merseyside derby, both sides gave great performances and 2 – 2 is a fair result. Luis Suarez was the headline maker for both the right and wrong reasons. The Uruguayan scoring both goals for the Reds, while having a goal disallowed and was lucky to not see red for treading on the back of Sylvain Distin’s leg. Liverpool were denied a winner by the linesman’s flag; ruling Suarez’ goal offside, Sebastian Coates’ headed Gerrard’s pass into the path of Suarez to prod the ball across the line. Replay’s showed that the linesman got it wrong, much to the bemusement of Liverpool fans.
You could argue that the disallowed goal is justice given that Suarez really should not have been on the field; the Uruguayan’s attack on Distin’s leg should have been a straight red; Suarez is a lucky boy to not be sitting out the next three Liverpool games, another referee would have shown red!
And finally for Liverpool; two 1 – 0 victories; the Reds take a narrow 1 – 0 lead into the second leg of the Europa Cup game against Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala. Stewart Downing scoring the only goal of the game at Anfield, a very unlikely goal, Downing is hardly prolific in front of goal; let’s see if the Reds can hold onto that advantage when they visit Russia. The second 1 – 0 victory was over Reading at Anfield, Raheem Sterling scoring his first Liverpool goal to claim all three points.
Meanwhile Plymouth Argyle suffered a second sucessive defeat in the league, going down 1 – 0 to Rotherham United at the New York Stadium (Rotherham, not New York). Plymouth put up a valiant defence but were letting themselves down with some sloppy passing. The home side finally broke down Argyle in the 73rd minute, Kieran Agard’s six yard low drive undoing Argyle’s resolve.
Argyle should count themselves lucky; former Pilgrim Kari Arnasson had a goal disallowed for offside while Gareth Evans, Lee Frecklington and Ben Pringle all went close for Rotherham, could have easily been 4 – 0 on a different day. I can see goal difference being important come the end of the season, League Two a incredibly competitive league. This result means Argyle drop three places to 18th in the league, Argyle really can’t afford to go away empty handed from games in this league.