Two points lost. No other words can adequately describe a weekend in which Liverpool failed to capitalize on events elsewhere to cement top spot on the Premiership table.
As I hinted last week, it’s all well and good to beat title contenders like Man U, but it’s consistency that wins titles and that’s precisely what the Reds were missing at Anfield on Saturday.
Of course, had that early Steve Gerrard “goal” been allowed to stand, it would have been a different story and, like the rest of the world, I still can’t understand why referee Andy Mariner ruled it out. Stoke certainly didn’t have an equalizer in them. They managed two shots all game – both off target – and they were obviously set up to defend, with two banks of four in front of the ‘keeper, and they did a fine job of it too.
Yet, Liverpool must expect those kinds of games at Anfield and their ability to break down such pragmatic tactics would go a long way in determining how well they do this season. The truth is, for Liverpool to be real contenders they simply have to put away teams like Stoke at Anfield.
Then again, it’s hard to imagine Liverpool dominating another game this much without getting on the scoresheet. Stoke gave Gerrard and Xabi Alonso the run of midfield and posed so little threat in attack that full backs Alvaro Arbeloa and Andrea Dossena were practically camped upfield all game. But for all that, Liverpool showed little creativity in the final third and most of their 30 shots at goal came from distance. Sadly, neither Gerrard nor Alonso could find their shooting range. Strikers Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres had very few chances, but they weren’t exactly on their best game either. Keane saw two tame efforts stopped by Sorensen and Torres’ booted one high into the stands and saw another – Liverpool’s best chance of the game - deflect off the chest of Leon Cort and out for a corner kick.
So, after last week’s encouraging win, this was quite the let down. And I know there are many detractors who will point to this result as another sign that Liverpool will be off the pace again this season.
They’ll conveniently forget of course that the other big teams have already slipped up this season as well: Chelsea were held at home by Tottenham, Man U drew with Newcastle at Old Trafford and Arsenal lost at Fulham.
Trust me, the Liverpool challenge is far from over.
Elsewhere, Chelsea preserved their incredible unbeaten home run against Man U and one has to wonder what it would take to beat this team at the Bridge. Man U came pretty close this time, sitting on that one goal lead for most of the game before super-sub Solomon Kalou saved the day yet again.
Man U are certainly taking their sweet time getting going, although they have the depth and know-how to be there are thereabouts come May. I think Chelsea look best positioned to win the title – even if my loyalties lie elsewhere – but Nicolas Anelka will have to start finishing better than he did at Stamford Bridge last week.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger’s youngsters have the early lead again and have bounced back very well since the Fulham loss. As they did last season, the Gunners are playing the most attractive soccer in the Prem, even if they still need to resolve the defensive midfield position. Looks like Cameroon’s Alexandre Song might get the nod. He certainly did a decent enough job at Bolton last Saturday and I’ve always felt Wenger was wasting his talents in central defence.
I don’t think Arsenal have been really tested yet though – they are yet to face a top ten side – and I wonder how long they’ll last at the top.
On a final note, isn’t it amazing how easily Amr Zaki has taken to the Premiership? The Egyptian striker has hit four goals for Wigan already, having arrived from Zamalek of Cairo in the summer. Sure, he’s got a good enough reputation in Africa – what with two Nations Cup winners’ medals and 29 goals in 48 appearances for Egypt – but who would have bet that the 25-year-old would have more goals than the likes of Torres and Berbatov at this stage of the season?
So much for all that talk about “Premiership Experience”.
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