Match Verdict: Johnson MOM, Joe was quiet and Pacheco impressed

Liverpool produced a mixed display last night to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League and knock out Turkish side Trabzonspor.

In the first half, the early strike from Teo gave the home team a big lift and got the crowd was fully behind them, while their passing and ball retention made it difficult for Liverpool to get a foothold in the game for the opening half an hour.

On a steadily worsening pitch in difficult conditions, it look the Reds the best part of the first half to come to terms with their opponents and start to impose themselves on the game.

The second half was a different scenario as we passed the ball much better, got people forward quicker to support the lone forward David Ngog, and attacked with greater numbers down both flanks but particularly the right hand side.

In fairness, while never at our greatest during the game, I never felt that the home team were likely to score their second goal and we coped more than comfortably, and as time started to wind down on the second half it became more of a question of whether the Reds would get the goal needed to go through and avoid extra time, not whether Trabzonspor would get their second goal to knock us out.

In the end Johnson’s run and cross produced the equaliser, before Kuyt’s tap in off a parried Dani Pacheco effort won the game for us and gave us our first victory against Turkish opposition in Turkey.

A job well done for the Reds; not a classic performance by any means but a much improved second half display and we saw passages of attack with crisp passing and movement. A difficult opponent negotiated in bad conditions and a very poor pitch; Liverpool got the result that mattered and can look forward to Sunday’s game vs West Brom having gotten the defeat against Man City out of their systems.

Reina – 7. Not much he could do for the opening goal, but made one decent save low to his left after it and took all high balls into the box with authority and confidence, more impressive given the conditions. Didn’t let the laser shone at him phase him at all.

Johnson – 7,5. Just about my Man of the Match for his surging runs forward in the second half, one of which led to the equalising own-goal. Given a bit of a difficult time in defence at times but kept going.

Carragher – 7. Strong in the air and produced one very good sliding block. Captain in the absence of Gerrard and led the team well.

Kyrgiakos – 6. Won his share of challenges and brought the ball forward well at times but was caught a little by some of the passes put through. Important competition for the likes of Soto to get needed game time.

Kelly – 6. Not his finest game but was playing on the opposite to his favoured side. Got forward well but at times did not release the ball quickly enough. Let a couple of crosses get past him in defence as well.

Lucas – 6,5. Kept the ball moving in midfield, mostly neat and tidy but didn’t offer much support in the final third. Heavy pitch probably made midfield running very difficult.

Poulsen – 6. Still finding his feet in the team, a few misplaced passes but also some good ball winning skills shown. Will need more training and games before we see the best of him.

Kuyt – 6,5. Tapped into empty net to seal the win for us late on. Did well down the right flank in the second half but lost it too easily in the first, especially for the goal early in the game. Almost gave him Man of the Match just for saying that he wasn’t going anywhere after the game!

Cole – 5,5. Very quiet performance on a difficult night. We didn’t really create too many attacks through the centre so Cole found it hard to get involved. Nonetheless another 90 minutes will do him good while he serves his domestic suspension.

Aurelio – 5,5. Another one who struggled to get involved too much in the game. Helped out Kelly in defence and sent over a few decent set pieces but not enough presence in attack for one who was essentially playing as our left sided winger/forward. Again, probably still searching for fitness.

Ngog – 6,5. Saw a few slating Ngog for his performance last night but I thought he did well in very difficult circumstances. Didn’t hold the ball up at all in the first half but in the second did much better and created 2 or 3 chances for himself. Missed a great chance with the header but when Torres misses them we say “at least he’s getting in the positions to score”, so I’m afraid the same applies here.

Pacheco – (sub) 6,5. Looked lively and always wanted the ball after he came on, showed some nice touches and looked like he wanted to take his chance to shine. Had a good shot on goal late on which was saved and then tapped home by Kuyt.

Babel – (sub) Didn’t really play long enough to make an impression, although was involved in the build up for Kuyt’s goal, passing to Pacheco. Nice to see him getting game-time playing up front though.

Skrtel – (sub) only played a few minutes at the end but I would question why perhaps Spearing or Shelvey weren’t brought on considering we were already through at that point and a midfielder was taken off for him.

LFC Verdict – 7. Battling and laboured at times, but a bit of class shone through in the end and we got the result that mattered. Now on to our first league victory of the season!

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