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Is Saturday’s Record Club Stat A Sign Of Things To Come?

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SATURDAY’S 5-2 away victory at Carrow Road against Norwich City was by far Liverpool’s best performance of the season and, for me, the most impressive performance from the Reds in a long time.

A lot of people spoke before the game that this match was the unofficial start to Brendan Rodgers’ reign at Liverpool and if this is what the future holds then the supporters of Liverpool Football Club have a lot to be excited about.

During the match, Liverpool managed 734 passes – the most by any Liverpool side in the history of the Premier League. Is this a stat that suggests Rodgers’ ideas are finally beginning to mould into shape? The team passed with great fluidity and the quick, sharp moves that Liverpool put together were as good as any team has managed this season and the sort of football that has been missing from the club for a long period of time. The link-up play between Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard provided the catalyst for Raheem Sterling, Suso and Luis Suarez to put in an attacking masterclass; one the Norwich defence simply couldn’t handle.

Speaking of Suso and Sterling, both of these teenagers played on Saturday with a style that made them look like they had been playing top level football for many years. Suso is amazingly comfortable with the ball at his feet and is constantly looking to create chances while Sterling has managed to add game intelligence to his pace and skill. Both young lads will certainly have a huge part to play in the remainder of the season and gives the other youth players the confidence that there’s a chance to break into the first-team sooner rather than later.

Luis Suarez also proved his doubters wrong by scoring a fantastic hat-trick with three great finishes. The Uruguayan played one of his best games at the club since arriving and every Liverpool fan will be hoping he can keep this goalscoring form up in our time of need in the attacking department. Another impressive performance on Saturday came from a great friend of Suarez; on-loan midfielder Nuri Sahin. The Turkish international was confident with possession and had a creative spark that made him a constant threat to Norwich. Sahin also managed to grab another goal – his third in two games for Liverpool. In my opinion, tying Sahin down to a permanent contract should be high on the list of priorities at the club.
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One negative to come out of Saturday’s victory was another goalkeeping mistake from the out of form Pepe Reina. The Spaniard spilled Russell Martin’s shot and allowed Steve Morison to slam home the rebound. Fortunately for the Reds the goal came when they were 4-0 up and held no great importance, however, another mistake by Reina shows the 30-year old still lacks mental strength after his dip in form. The main question is – do Liverpool need to bring in a new goalkeeper to properly challenge our number one in order to bring the best out of him? For me, the answer to that is most definitely yes.

The defending was again sloppy and Martin Skrtel slipped up for Norwich’s second goal, allowing the ball to bypass him in a dangerous position with Grant Holt punishing the Slovakian for his docile defensive play. The Reds continue to have a negative goal difference and need to tighten up at the back in order to progress this season.

Reds fans will do well to keep their feet firmly on the ground following Saturday’s result but there certainly is reason to be optimistic as Brendan Rodgers looks to stamp his authority on the squad and take Liverpool back to the glory days the fans truly deserve.
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1 comment

  • Chan says:

    I am still not convinced of BR (and i think i am not alone on this matter). No disrespect, we are talking about Norwich who like us are winless before the match (they still do). For all the promise shown by our youth, BR is a very one dimention tactical wise, if his copy-cat tiki-taka does not work, expect the same fate as shown by the Baggies and Gunners. Days like those at Carrow road would be few and far in between. Heck even the hapless RH got a few wins during his time and he DID NOT make the worse start in a century.

    The 2 goals conceded is a good example, if not for the brialliance of Suarez with his hattrick, it would be another draw. Under BR our team have striking,defensive and goalkeeping issues. In the not too distant past, we only have striking issues.

    We can play a passing game but it must be introduce gradually which is something BR does not understands. Wonder what doesthat 180 page dossier of his actually says?

    I am hoping for the club’s sake i am wrong of course and prepared to be serve a huge dose of humble pie, but i think it’s not likely. See how our neighbour is doing, in 2nd place and ahead of Manure.

    I would say it again, IT’S A MISTAKE NOT TO RE-APPPOINT RAFA, i just hope we would not end up like Blackburn or worse Leeds.

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