The Reds March On

The Reds March On

 

After a terrific display against an in-form Tottenham side there is a definite sense of hope among many Liverpool fans.  Despite being 5^th in the league we are only 1 point off a champion’s league place and with increased momentum we definitely have a chance to finish in the top four.  Beating Tottenham will definitely boost our confidence especially Mario Balotelli’s after that dramatic winner he scored! Also after beating Southampton there is big chance we will make it.

On Tuesday night we encountered an in-form Tottenham side that had the likes of Harry Kane who just could not stop scoring! With 15 minutes played Lazar Markovic breached the deadlock with a great solo effort but it really should have been saved by Hugo Lloris. But, our Achilles heel this season, once again let us down with Harry Kane equalizing in the 23^rd minute at that moment in time I genuinely thought that Tottenham were going to core again and win the match. With half-time looming Daniel Sturridge, on his first start since injury, almost scored an amazing goal with an attempted back-heel after some great work from Jordan Ibe.  The second half began with a bang as Daniel Sturridge earned Liverpool a penalty. Looking at the replays it was a clear penalty and it was absolutely ridiculous that Danny Rose thought it was not!  But then again we conceded right after and it was back at 2-2.  One of our main problems this season, apart from our defence, is our inability to score goals and this was highlighted when we only had 60% of our shots on target during the match.  Eventually the inevitable happened and Mario came on. I was dreading this moment.  But in the 83^rd minute he somehow managed to put the ball in the net! Though it was his goal most of the credit should go to Adam Lallana after his brilliant pass across the goal. The game finished and we had won, we can take many positives from this win and I believe that we will make the champion’s league position by the end of the season.

Despite all the praise mainly going towards the attackers, the person who I thought was the best player on the pitch was Emre Can. He had an absolute peach of a game as he lead from the back. At the age of 21 he certainly has a great football brain and he is one of the upcoming superstars from the premier league.  I was also extremely impressed in how he just ran forward from the defence and showed his true strength. Many Liverpool fans will compare him to the next Yaya Toure! Another young and upcoming player is Jordan Ibe whom has showed true premiership class.  The way he runs is truly fearless especially when he takes on experienced defenders baffles me, I certainly think he has the potential to become a superstar and show off some true British talent.

After the Tottenham match we had a hectic week ahead of us with matches against Crystal Palace and Besiktas. First of all we had to play our FA cup tie against Crystal Palace. Being a Liverpool fan I would know that any match is nervous but particularly this match considering the last few result against the opposition. After Palace scored early on I was definitely worried, but the thing that annoyed me most was the sloppiness of the defending with a poor clearance from Martin Skrtel. As the second half began Daniel Sturridge quickly scored with a brilliant volley after a superb pass from Jordan Henderson.  Then Adam Lallana quickly put Liverpool in front with an instinctive finish. The game ended 2-1 to Liverpool and this gave us a major boost in all the matches that came as we have a difficult history against Palace.  Our next game was against Turkish leaders, Besiktas.  After a dull and goalless 84 minutes the game came to life when Liverpool where awarded a penalty after brilliant work from young Jordan Ibe. But the controversy came when Balotelli took the penalty instead of designated penalty taker, Jordan Henderson. And Mario being Mario decided to take the penalty which therefore caused the question in whether Mario is going back to his old ways. Despite this he scored and Liverpool had won the first tie 1-0. But the toughest of the lot has to be Sundays encounter against Southampton at St Mary’s. The game started of brightly with Coutinho scoring one of the goals of the season with his superb effort which went into the top corner. But Southampton was relentless with their pressure as they just kept going forward but our defensive improvements showed as we held on. After surviving the half at 1-0 I was very scared as Southampton were paying extremely well. With the wind and rain effecting play there was bound to be a mistake.... and their was when Matt Targett slipped allowing Raheem Sterling to finish. The game ended and Liverpool showed their drastic improvements as they kept their 5^th successive clean sheet in the Premier League. With a 2-0 away win against our fierce competitors I definitely think we have a chance in beating other teams to get that 4th position or maybe even 3^rd position.