Post match thread v A.Madrid

[wiw]

Agger is as hard as nails. Don't know if it was on tv but he was wincing in agony as they reset his finger

[Shanks]

Champions League Group D, Matchday 4
Liverpool vs. Club Atlético de Madrid
Tuesday, 4th November, 2008 - 2045 (CET)
Anfield, Liverpool


:: PreMatch Video ::

Benitez on Torres
Click Here for Video

:: Goals ::

0-1 M.Rodriguez Min.37
Click Here for Video

1-1 Gerrard P.K Min.94
Click Here for Video

:: Extras ::

R.Keane Chance Min.14
Click Here for Video

Agger Header Min.56
Click Here for Video

Gerrard Shot Min.70
Click Here for Video

Excellent work.

[1 True Red]

Agger is as hard as nails. Don't know if it was on tv but he was wincing in agony as they reset his finger

So would i bud especially if it was my middle finger

[The Red Cardinal]

On a more upbeat note.... when did Gerrard suddenly become so good at penalties.
Portsmouth and tonight pretty much unstoppable!

[Laddsy]

On a more upbeat note.... when did Gerrard suddenly become so good at penalties.
Portsmouth and tonight pretty much unstoppable!

I must admit that I thought he was gonna miss this morning. I mean how long can this run go on for? Hes on FIRE!!!

[lfc1394]

I don't see why we are playing with 1 striker at home especially with Torres out?
Poor showing by Rafa tonight tactics and subs

[-V-]

Yeah shocking work by Rafa. How dare he take us to the top of the league and keep us unbeaten at home and how dare he start turning anfield into a fortress again

[lfc1394]

Yeah shocking work by Rafa. How dare he take us to the top of the league and keep us unbeaten at home and how dare he start turning anfield into a fortress again

Sorry mate, but you think tonights tactics and subs were good?

[-V-]

What was wrong with 4231 tonight? Yes it doesnt suit Keane to play that role but with Torres out injured it was necessary. Rafa called it right, he knew that Madrid would play 451 and have 3 in the middle so he did the same. We dominated most of the game and if we had put our chances away everyone would be calling Rafa's tactics a masterclass

We dominated so the team was right and we should have won.

[Bari]

We created plenty. We had 22 shots to their 4. We're just not taking our chances and it's becoming a bit of a habit. Not one of the front 4 deserve any credit at all. The platform the CMs gave us was awesome and we just could not make the most of it. AM must have left their own half only once or twice during the 2nd half.

SG 5 shots none on target
Keane 2 shots none on target
Kuyt 2 shots 1 on target
Riera 1 shot none on target

Add in El Jefecito with 3 and none on target, and it's pretty clear where the problem is.

http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/...=stats&cc=5901

And just to re-inforce the point the stats for the Spurs game were:

Alonso 3 shots none on target
SG 6 shots 2 on target
Kuyt 4 shots 1 on target (and what a shot it was)
Riera 1 shot none on target
Keane 1 shot none on target

The reason for the results is right there.

Totally agree with you lads we need to move the goalposts.

[MrMichael]

Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitted he had doubts over whether his injury-time penalty was a spot-kick but he was grateful for the chance to make it 1-1 in their Champions League clash at home to Atletico Madrid.

The England midfielder was harshly ruled to have been fouled by Mariano Pernia as they challenged for an aerial ball and he picked himself up to fire home.

Liverpool had dominated the game but had trailed Maxi Rodriguez’s 37th-minute opener, which made the equaliser all the more important.

“I think we controlled the game but first half we weren’t good enough,” said Gerrard.

“We raised it at half-time and it finally came in injury time. I’m not sure it was a penalty. I got their first and I think if that is outside the area you get a free-kick.”

The penalty award sparked huge protests from Atletico and Gerrard admitted he had some sympathy.

[lfc1394]

What was wrong with 4231 tonight? Yes it doesnt suit Keane to play that role but with Torres out injured it was necessary. Rafa called it right, he knew that Madrid would play 451 and have 3 in the middle so he did the same. We dominated most of the game and if we had put our chances away everyone would be calling Rafa's tactics a masterclass

We dominated so the team was right and we should have won.

Madrid came to play it tight and hit us on the break. Which they did. They were never going to come and play expansive attacking football.

The 4231 works with Torres as he is a bit of a freak in striking terms, in so far as he actually plays better on his own up top. He ain't there!

Dominating possesion and creating / scoring goals are 2 different things. If you have a team of good technical ability they can pass the ball around all day without really being a threat.

One of our best performances at home this year was against UTD, how did we set up then?

Even if you think the setup was correct to begin with, can you justify the subs? We're a goal down and we swap one DM for a slightly less DM? Makes no sense to me.

If we'd won 2-0 then yeah it would have been a tactical masterclass but from where I was sitting it wasn't, the fact is were lucky to get a point.

Is it a disaster no, are we joint top of the group and 2nd in the league? Yeah course, but I'm just hoping we will be there come end of the season, we need more post chelsea game subs and 2nd half performances if we want to be in the mix come end of the season and less like tonight.

[-V-]

Like i said, the tactics would have looked great if we put our chances away. Madrid barely got a sniff in the 2nd half.

I wouldnt say that Lucas is a DM at all. I would say he is a CM who can do an all-round job and when he came on we were playing very high up pitch and idea was for him to get stuck in and move the ball around into wide positions.

Ngog coming on obviously didnt work out great but if he got a couple of shots in and could of got a goal

[Craig_H]

We created plenty. We had 22 shots to their 4. We're just not taking our chances and it's becoming a bit of a habit. Not one of the front 4 deserve any credit at all. The platform the CMs gave us was awesome and we just could not make the most of it. AM must have left their own half only once or twice during the 2nd half.

SG 5 shots none on target
Keane 2 shots none on target
Kuyt 2 shots 1 on target
Riera 1 shot none on target

Add in El Jefecito with 3 and none on target, and it's pretty clear where the problem is.

Depends where they were shooting from. 22 shots doesnt necessarily mean we created real chances.

[Craig_H]

What was wrong with 4231 tonight? Yes it doesnt suit Keane to play that role but with Torres out injured it was necessary. Rafa called it right, he knew that Madrid would play 451 and have 3 in the middle so he did the same. We dominated most of the game and if we had put our chances away everyone would be calling Rafa's tactics a masterclass

We dominated so the team was right and we should have won.

The fact that a one-striker system doesnt suit the one striker we played up front, should tell you what's wrong with it. If you play just one striker and the system doesnt suit him, that eliminates a large proportion of our threat going forward. Basically, our one striker is negated by the fact that he isnt very good at playing that role in that system.

I dont think Rafa called it right, we were poor and lucky to snatch a last minute draw at home to a side we're better than. How's that getting it right?

Our chances were hopeful in the most part, rather than clear chances. We dominated possession yes, but their gameplan was to snatch a goal and allow us possession, while making it difficult for us to carve them open and create clear cut chances. Their 'sit back' approach was inviting us to play 2 strikers and go for them, but we negated to take the invitation.

But for an insane refereeing decision, Madrid played the perfect away performance in europe.