FOR the first time since the 2008/2009 season Liverpool FC have won their first two Premier League games, courtesy of another great goal by Daniel Sturridge.
Rodgers named the same starting 11 that played against Stoke on the opening day.
Thank you to www.eplindex.com for providing the formation statistic graph which highlights how the starting 11 performed in the match.
Sturridge finish the difference for Reds
Daniel Sturridge made it two in two when he scored on 21 minutes at Villa Park.
Liverpool had 70% of the possession in the first half and they were awarded for their efforts when Sturridge, who started the move in creating the space, passed to Jose Enrique. Coutinho then allowed the Spaniard’s low cross to run across him and into the path of Sturridge. The former Chelsea striker took the ball around Antonio Luna, beyond the sprawling Brad Guzan and poked it high into the roof of the net with his left foot.
Daniel Sturridge | 18 Apps | 13 Goals | 5 Assists | £12m
Sturridge scored the 100th goal under manager Brendan Rodgers.
LFC official statman Ged Rea tweeted: “@ged0407: Daniel Sturridge’s goal was the 6th scored by him in his last 142 minutes of playing time away from home. #LFC”
Liverpool bossed the opening 45 minutes with a swagger and fluidity that, at times, Villa were unable to contain. Midfielders Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva were imperious and Philippe Coutinho was a constant threat as Liverpool’s frontline swapped places at will.
Lucas was vital in breaking up attacks and winning the ball back throughout the game. He lost possession twice in second half but his passing, as you can see via this diagram, shows how much of a contribution he is making.
Kolo Toure – Defending at its best
I admit when we signed Toure on a free transfer I was sceptical as to where he would fit in and how many games he would take part in. I have been very impressed with him so far.
Like I mentioned last week in my analysis of the Stoke game, Kolo’s presence in the defence would be factor if we were to achieve three points on the road.
As you can see from the three diagrams Kolo demonstrated his defensive ability by his 11 successful clearances but also his passing was very tidy throughout the game, 43 successful passes out of a possible 45.
Most importantly Kolo won 75% of duels and 66.7 % of aerial duels. Benteke’s corresponding stats were 35.3 % and 41.7 %. Toure and his defensive colleagues restricted the Belgian to just 37 touches and three shots.
Final thoughts
Liverpool were excellent in the first half but in the second half at times they struggled to hold on to the ball and the Villa players were able to move through our midfield with ease.
Again, as time ticked by in the match and we struggled to find that important second goal the team was too deep as they tried to fend off Aston Villa attacks.
Mignolet made two important saves in the match both from Benteke. He showed the occasional nervy moment – firstly with his distribution up field, he needs to look before trying to boot it up field. Secondly when he tries to pass the ball out to his back four he needs to ensure the players around him are aware of opposing players nearby. A prime example was he gave the ball to Agger, Daniel was not able to turn with the ball so he passed it back to the keeper, the ball then bounced off Mignolet and out for an Aston Villa corner.
Mignolet was accurate with 4/4 short passes vs Villa, but only 1/11 long.
Coutinho is the most tackled player (18 times) so far this season. Gerrard and Johnson also made telling contributions in the match.
Glen Johnson had passing accuracy of 88% . He made 3/3 tackles 6/10 header duels 4/4 clearances
Gerrard did a great defensive job today. Interceptions – 4 Clearances – 2 Tackle Success – 75%
Since Sturridge joined the Reds in January he scores a Premier League goal every 106 minutes.
Lucas has made the most tackles (13) so far this campaign.
A tense game but the Reds dug in and got the positive result that was required. Hopefully the two wins will help the team be mentally tough and ready for when Moyes and Manchester United come to Anfield next Sunday afternoon.
Follow me on Twitter @MRSSG
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Thanks for a great article. True the team is starting to gel well together. Now all they need to do is continue to get positive results. Looking forward to another positive result for the Man U game 🙂