The Kopite View

West Brom 1-2 Liverpool Match Report

Liverpool travelled to the Hawthorns for a very tricky tie as they try to defend the trophy they won last season. Liverpool would be looking for a bit of revenge after being humbled 3-0 on the opening day of the season by the hosts. West Brom have made a good start to the season, whereas Liverpool are still looking for their first league win after losing at home to Manchester United on Sunday.

The Team

Brendan Rodgers made 11 changes to the team that lost to Manchester United, as his main priority is the league. But his changes made way for many of Liverpool’s youngsters to receive an opportunity to impress. Jamie Carragher and Stewart Downing gave experience to a very youthful side which included Wisdom, Coates and Robinson alongside Carragher in defence in front of Brad Jones who replaced Reina. Sahin partnered Henderson in the middle of midfield with Assaidi on the left and Downing down the right flank, Pacheco supporting Yesil upfront.

The Match

Liverpool were stunned in the first couple of minutes when Liam Ridgewell floated a pass into the heart of the Reds’ penalty area and Jones rushed out to intercept; however, the ‘keeper spilled the ball into the feet of Tamas, who fired into the empty net behind.

Moments later Romelu Lukaku went close to doubling their advantage. The Belgian darted past Jamie Carragher but the veteran Liverpool defender made amends for his momentary lapse in concentration by hurling himself in front of the striker’s attempted finish.

Lukaku was causing Liverpool’s defence all sorts of problems as the visitors tried to stay in the game and in 7 minutes he cut the ball back to Rosenberg , his low powerful effort was well saved by Jones.

Assaidi made Liverpool’s first real chance when he darted down the left flank before crossing towards Foster’s near post but the arriving Yesil just failed to connect.

The attack seemed to galvanise the visitors as they started to come into the game. The away fans, packed into the stand behind Jones’s goal, played their part as they chanted ‘One Brendan Rodgers’ in a passionate show of support for the manager and, within a minute, Sahin had fired past Foster to level proceedings.
Stewart Downing found Andre Wisdom out on the right wing and the young full-back showed composure when he rolled the ball to Sahin, who took a touch before smashing home from 30 yards. Foster should have dealt with the effort but the Reds were not complaining.

A tempestuous minute of play, just prior to the interval, saw Wisdom flick a powerful free-kick yards wide of his own goal before Jack Robinson hooked the ball to safety and the Reds broke. Assaidi fed Yesil, who was visibly caught as he attempted to break free of the West Brom defence but the young striker remained on his feet allowing Jonas Olsson to dispossess him.

Liverpool started the second half brightly and were looking a threat going forward. The Reds started brightly after the interval. First Daniel Pacheco and Yesil exchanged passes on the edge of the West Brom box but Yassine El Ghanassy poked the ball clear as the Spaniard shaped to shoot.
Then Assaidi crossed deep towards the back post, Billy Jones ducked out of the cross but the loose ball caught Downing by surprise as he arrived at the far post to nod home.

Then Yesil spun and fired at Foster from range, the ball bobbled between the stopper’s legs before bouncing over the crossbar.

Sahin was influencing the play from the middle of midfield as Liverpool looked for a winner, West Brom’s attacks were rare as Liverpool’s youngsters continued to impress.

Pacheco went close with two efforts. First he twirled past a marker after bringing the ball down with a delicate touch before looping a shot over Foster and onto the crossbar. Then he fired low and hard at the ‘keeper, who managed to push his goal-bound effort wide.
Sahin whipped a tantalising pass in behind a back-tracking West Brom defence and Sebastian Coates barged his way to the front of the pack to divert the ball towards goal but Foster was there once more.
With 10 minutes of normal time remaining, 16-year-old Jerome Sinclair became the youngest-ever Liverpool player when he replaced Yesil and Suso came on in place of Pacheco.
And within seconds Suso unlocked the West Brom back four sliding a pass into Assaidi who squared play for Sahin to tap home.
Liverpool held out for the remaining minutes as West Brom tried to stay in the Cup. A tremendous win for Brendan Rodgers and his young side as they now look forward to a home tie against Rodgers’s old side Swansea in the next round.

The Summary

11 changes from Sunday’s team and worries of a squad that lacks depth, after this performance against West Brom many people will take on a different view of Brendan Rodgers’ squad. After falling behind so early many teams with so many youngsters could have crumbled, but this Liverpool team showed great character to respond in the way they did and fully deserved the victory. Jamie Carragher martialled the younger players brilliantly from the back, who played some very good stuff, with great passing moves with a high tempo on winning the ball back. Sahin was instrumental in midfield and capped of a great performance with his two goals. Yesil looked very sharp up front with Pacheco supporting him and Assaidi was a box of tricks as he looked to run at defenders whenever he received the ball. Every player was superb in a terrific team performance that must give everyone connected with Liverpool so much encouragement in this difficult start to the season.

Respect To Munich And The 96

Yesterday’s match at Anfield was a very emotional occasion as it was Liverpool’s first home game since the release of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report being released. With Liverpool playing against bitter rivals Manchester United put the whole occasion under intense scrutiny as to how everyone would behave.

For many years sections of both supports have chanted about each other’s tragedies, and in the lead up to this fixture, both managers called upon the supporters to end this sick activity. Sir Alex Ferguson in particular was very intent on ending the vile chanting as he issued letters to Manchester United supporters going to the match about their conduct.

Manchester United Football Club made a tremendous gesture with the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton gifting Liverpool’s legendary striker Ian Rush a bouquet with 96 red roses. Both teams warmed up with track suit tops on with the number 96 on their backs. Then team captains Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard released 96 balloons into the sky prior to kick-off. Then supporters in sections of the crowd held up red and white leaflets portraying simple poignant messages :” the truth”,” justice” and “96”. The handshakes between both teams before the match was also scrutinised, focusing on Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez whose recent history has not been friendly to say the least, headlined by their “racism row” which resulted in Suarez receiving a lengthy 8 match ban, followed by Suarez’s refusal to shake Evra’s hand prior to kick-off last time both teams met.

But respectfully both players shook hands on this occasion and set the tone for the afternoon ahead where the football and respectfulness of both clubs and supporters took the headlines. United won the match 2-1 but for once the result felt secondary to the occasion that was marked with great respect from two great rival football clubs.

Reports suggested that a couple of Liverpool supporters made aeroplane gestures after the match where United supporters retaliated with chants of “Always the victims” and “Murderers”. But a couple of “Morons” should not be allowed publicity to overshadow a tremendously honoured respectful occasion which both sets of clubs and supporters deserve great credit for.

The authorities should deal with this very small element of idiots harshly and ban them from ever entering a football ground again, and the media must stop encouraging these idiots by giving them headline news which they thrive on.

Hopefully this example of respect by Liverpool and Manchester United will end the “tragic” chanting as both clubs and supporters have shown that they can be respectful rivals. To both Manchester United and Liverpool, to the tragic souls who lost their lives in Munich and to the 96 who died at Hillsborough :

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United Match Report

Liverpool at home to Manchester United is always an emotional encounter, but this time it was even more so, with Liverpool playing their first match at Anfield since the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report was released. Both managers called for respect from both sets of supporters as the rivalry has recently got very bitter with disgusting chants relating to the tragedies that both clubs have suffered.

The Team

Brendan Rodgers made a number of changes to the team that played against Young Boys on Thursday, with first team regulars Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Kelly, Johnson, Allen, Gerrard, Sterling and Suarez coming back into the side after being rested.

The Match

Before the game got underway red and white coloured leaflets were raised by the Kop and sections of the Centenary and Anfield Road stands, portraying three simple yet poignant messages: ‘The Truth’, ‘Justice’ and ’96’.

To commemorate the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report, the mosaic was held as You’ll Never Walk Alone rang around Anfield and remained in place for the first minute of the game.

Liverpool started the match brightly and Suarez went close when he smashed the ball across goal which Lindegaard got a hand to as Gerrard looked to finish off the move.

Borini was then denied after Suarez pivoted sharply and threaded an instinctive pass between a wall of United defenders for him to chase. However, when the Italian found himself a yard clear of any marker and clean through on goal, his first touch was too heavy and Lindegaard was out quickly to smother his effort.

With Liverpool dominating possession Gerrard side footed into the side netting after a short free-kick. Then Evans bundled Agger to the ground in the penalty box, but referee Halsey waved away Liverpool’s appeals.

Suarez slalomed towards the United goal as defenders swarmed around him in an attempt to pre-empt his next move. The Uruguayan shuffled the ball onto his right foot and tried to whip it into the top corner of Lindegaard’s net but his strike dipped over the bar.

United seemed content on defending deep and trying to hit Liverpool on the break, but they continued to give possession back to Liverpool.

However, on 38 minutes Anfield was stunned when Shelvey launched himself into a 50-50 challenge with Evans and Halsey deemed him to have come over the ball with two feet and the midfielder was sent off.

Deflated only momentarily, the home side refused to surrender momentum. Suarez sent a free-kick crashing towards Lindegaard’s left but the ‘keeper was down smartly to parry. Allen fed a pass into Borini, who cut the ball back from the touchline but no Liverpool player could turn home his inviting pass.

Suso came on for Liverpool to start the second half and he made an immediate impact being involved in the move that led to the opening goal. His attempted cross was blocked and Johnson picked up possession. The full-back darted into the United penalty area where the ball bobbled up to Gerrard. The skipper controlled with his chest before volleying left-footed into the corner of Lindegaard’s net.

Anfield was rocking, but it was stunned into silence 4 minutes later when Rafael curled an effort into the top corner past Reina from just inside the box.

On the hour mark Suarez let the ball roll across his body as he swivelled on the edge of the penalty area and fired low towards the corner of Lindegaard’s goal. Once again, however, the ‘keeper was not found wanting as he palmed the ball to safety.

United crept back into the game as time wore on. Alex Ferguson’s men looked more dangerous on the ball as van Persie lurked on the shoulder of the Liverpool defence.

And despite a short spell of possession for the home side, Antonio Valencia seized upon a mix-up for the Reds and ran half the length of the field before going to ground in the box.

Reina was booked, a penalty awarded and Van Persie side-footed the ball home to give United the lead.

Liverpool tried to respond in the latter stages with Kelly going close with a header, but United held out for their first victory at Anfield in the league since 2007.

Summary

A very emotional day today and tremendous tributes and respect shown by both teams and supporters prior to kick-off. Great to see Suarez and Evra finally shake hands too. Liverpool played very well and deserved to take something from the match, but when you are struggling things don’t go your way and the two big refereeing decisions went against Liverpool. Evans could very easily have been sent off with his two footed challenge with Shelvey and Valencia went to ground very easily at the penalty. Great goal from Gerrard and some good performances by Suarez, Allen and Kelly was superb, young Suso did brilliantly when coming on too. But another defeat and now Liverpool are in the bottom three and need to start winning very soon.

                                 Young Boys 3-5 Liverpool Match Report

Liverpool’s first match in the Europa League group stages was a trip to Switzerland to face Young Boys in a tricky away match for the Anfield side. With one eye on Sunday’s clash with Manchester United, Brendan Rodgers took a very young squad to Switzerland.

                                           The Team

With first team regulars like Gerrard, Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson and Suarez being left at home, Brendan Rodgers fielded a very young side. Experienced players like Carragher, Enrique, Downing were complimented by youngsters making their debuts, Assaidi, Suso and Andre Wisdom at right-back. Sahin and Jordan Henderson were handed another chance to impress Brendan Rodgers.

                                          The Match

Although Liverpool started the match with an unfamiliar line-up, the passing style of the team was still the same as the men from Anfield set out to pass their way to victory.

Passing, moving, stopping and turning, Rodgers’ men stunned the home side with a combination of subtle movement and precise passing to carve an opening. The ball found its way out to Stewart Downing on the right flank and he burst towards the byline and whipped a cross into the centre where Juhani Ojala turned the ball past his own ‘keeper for 1-0.

Moments later the home side responded when Raul Bobadilla sprung the offside trap and latched onto a perfectly-weighted pass over the top of the Liverpool back four but Jones pushed his vicious effort into the side netting and behind.

Assaidi shot wide via a deflection after Pacheco found him down the left wing. Just after the half-hour mark, Jose Enrique bustled Zarate to the floor and the Greek referee Michael Koukoulakis indicated the player had been fouled outside the box, much to the frustration of the home crowd. However, the danger passed for Liverpool when Alexander Farnerud put too much power on his attempted cross and the ball sailed over Jones’ crossbar.

Suso almost doubled Liverpool’s lead when he burst into the box leaving defenders in his wake, but instead of shooting, the youngster tried to cut the ball back to a team-mate.

Moments later, Young Boys drew level. Enrique took control of a loose ball inside a packed penalty area but the full-back took one touch too many as the opposition closed in around him and the Spaniard could only clear to Raphael Nuzzolo, who fired home for 1-1.

But the celebrations of the raucous home support lasted for just two minutes as Wisdom wrote his name into the Liverpool history books by becoming the Reds’ fourth-youngest European goalscorer when he slammed home a towering header.

Liverpool took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room at the interval. But Young Boys responded in the second half by applying all the pressure as Liverpool’s defence battled against a series of onslaughts.

The home side got their reward when Bobadilla whipped a fine cross into the area towards Ojala, the defender made amends for his earlier error by ducking in behind Coates and diverting the ball past Jones to equalise with a fine header.

Moments later, Young Boys took the lead for the first time when Bobadilla used his strength to barge Jamie Carragher off the ball before outmanoeuvring the advancing Suso and threading the play into the path of Zarate. His pace took him away from Enrique and when Jones rushed out to meet him, the attacker lofted the ball beyond the ‘keeper with a delicate chip.

Rodgers brought on Borini and Shelvey in the second half and they made a huge impact. Borini won a corner in response to Liverpool falling behind for the first time in the match.

The ball was swung in from the right and Coates was head and shoulders above the Young Boys defence to power a header home as Borini tried to get on the end of it.

In an enthralling contest with both teams going for the win. it was Liverpool who grabbed the lead again, when Borini played a low pass across the penalty area to Jordan Henderson, who tapped the ball back into the path of Shelvey and the midfielder side-footed home for 4-3.

Shelvey wasn’t done there, however, and he wrapped up the win with a late drive to put the seal on a memorable night’s work in Switzerland.

                                               Summary

Rodgers gambled by leaving so many regulars at home, but he got away with it, just. Great experience for the youngsters who Rodgers put his faith in, and they didn’t let him down. Assaidi showed flashes of his potential, and Suso showed what he is capable of with some confident runs and passes. Pacheco worked his socks in an unfamiliar role. Andre Wisdom looked a regular at right-back and capped off a superb performance with a tremendous goal. Jordan Henderson impressed in the middle of midfield with good passing and amazing workrate. Disappointing to lose so many goals as Liverpool continue to have problems in defence. Enrique had a nightmare and looks a totally different player to the one that started last season. Borini made a huge impact when he came on as substitute, but was upstaged by Shelvey who came on to score two brilliant goals and looks certain to start against Manchester United on Saturday. A great win away from home in Europe and to score five goals is very encouraging.

Sunderland 1-1 Liverpool Match Report

After such an emotional week for Liverpool Football Club, where the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report was released, after 23 years fighting for justice. Liverpool turned back to football matters. An away trip to Sunderland was Liverpool’s schedule, with both teams looking for their first league win of the season. It seemed a long time ago since Liverpool lost at home to Arsenal because of the international break.

The Team

Enrique was replaced by Glen Johnson at left-back with Martin Kelly slotting in at right-back alongside Skrtel and Daniel Agger in Liverpool’s defence. Jonjo Shelvey coming in to the team for new signing Nuri Sahin was the other change to the side that lost at home to Arsenal.

The Match

Prior to kick off, Liverpool’s players took to the field with the number 96 printed on the back of their anthem jackets in tribute to those who lost their lives in the disaster, as well as the families, survivors and fans who have campaigned for so long.

Sunderland too showed their support by flying the flags at the Stadium of Light at half-mast in light of events this week, while they also paid their respects with a message displayed on the two big screens inside the ground as the game got underway.

Liverpool started the match on the front foot with Shelvey dragging a shot wide of target on 4 minutes.

Next, Suarez spun into space 25 yards from goal before seeing a similar effort evade the far post.

Liverpool was dominating possession as Sunderland looked to hit the visitors on the break.

On 18 minutes Borini pounced on a slack header by Cuellar only to see his prodded effort blocked by Mignolet.

Liverpool were by no means in complete control, but they were to threaten again soon after. Another finely-executed passage of play saw Shelvey slip a neat reverse ball into the path of Suarez’s run into the box. The Uruguayan produced a first-time lay off to set up Borini on the edge of the box, and his snap-shot was beaten away by Mignolet.

Then on 29 minutes, Liverpool was stunned when Sunderland took the lead with their first effort on target.

Gardner skipped beyond two challenges on Liverpool’s left before delivering a teasing centre that evaded the hand of Pepe Reina and allowed Fletcher to tap in from close range.

Liverpool continued to dictate the play after this set-back, but they could not get the goal to give them parity before the break.

A positive start to the second half was the order of the day for the visitors, and after Shelvey had tested Mignolet from distance, Glen Johnson cannoned a curler against the crossbar after collecting possession in space down the left.

Sunderland dominated a spell of pressure before Gerrard shaved the base of the post with a side-footed effort after good work by Sterling and Shelvey.

The chances were now starting to come more frequently and Skrtel’s glance goalwards from a deflected Gerrard strike almost caught Mignolet off guard, but a lack of power meant the ‘keeper was able to collect.

Johnson saw a tremendous curling effort smash of the Sunderland bar as Liverpool cursed their luck.

Then, on 70 minutes, Sterling’s ball to Suarez created a shooting opportunity for the No.7, however his attempt was deflected away into the path of Johnson, who drilled over the bar.

Sterling’s influence on the contest was growing – and it was, therefore, no surprise he played a key role in Liverpool’s equaliser a minute later.

The 17-year-old danced into space beyond Danny Rose before feeding the ball into the danger zone. Titus Bramble was unable to clear, allowing Suarez to slam home with aplomb.

It was no more than Liverpool deserved and Liverpool now looked for a winner. But for all their pressure they had to settle for a point, with Shelvey going the closest in the final stages , bringing out a good save from Mignolet.

Summary

Liverpool deserved more from this match they dominated. But once again Liverpool’s failure to finish off chances proved costly. Raheem Sterling put in another great performance and instrumental in Liverpool’s equaliser. Glen Johnson made some great attacking forays down the left flank. A very encouraging performance from Liverpool , but disappointing to only take a point from the match.

96 Red Angels

On a week where the truth about Hillsborough has finally came to light

What a shock to the country at the extent of the cover up

Where 96 poor souls died at a football match

Those poor souls who never returned will never be forgotten

They had hope in their hearts and now they never walk alone

The Reds will carry on playing for these 96 angels with hope in their heart

23 years ago King Kenny led Liverpool through those dark days

Kenny carried the city of Liverpool

The Reds triumphed for the 96 angels in the final that year
Just like Shankly and Paisley they will never be forgotten

Etched in the fabric that is the history of this famous club

The 96 angels have made this club stronger

The fight for justice and the truth of that fateful day

The cover up

The lies

The blame on Liverpool supporters

But this club stood firm

The family that is Liverpool Football Club is unique

With more history than any other club

There have been many triumphs and disasters

But Liverpool will go on making history

This week provides another chapter

One of togetherness and what Liverpool supporters will fight for

When the odds are stacked against them

At last the families have won their fight against corruption

Now everyone knows the truth

The fight for justice will begin

But at long last the 96 Angels can rest in peace

You Will Never Walk Alone