LIV vs. WEST BROM: ANALYSIS & OTHER STUFF OVER TEA

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And there bursts the bubble…

Any lingering hopes of Liverpool finishing in the top four were laid to rest in a typical ‘smash-and-grab’ affair by West Bromwich Albion to give Liverpool, a bad start to a crucial week in which they play 3 games in 6 days. This game again highlighted the fact that Liverpool are consistently inconsistent & they do turn up against the Big Boys. The familiar statistic that Liverpool have yet to beat a team in the top half – continues the theme so far, to the point of infuriation for any Reds fan.

And we jump straight to the viewpoints before my bashing becomes repetitive.

PRE-MATCH:

Liverpool were expected to beat West Brom after their impressive upturn in form and their recent performances against the Champions and Arsenal. The baggies on their part didn’t help their cause either, with only one draw in their last six outings. This was exactly the kind of game where Liverpool were expected to get the job done (much like Spurs have been doing) to have any faint hope of reaching the top 4.

Brendan Rodgers did Steve Clarke a huge favour when announcing his team sheet without Sturridge, who is nurisng a thigh strain. Steve Clarke had selected his strongest XI for the game. The only thing more negative for West Brom apart from their recent form, was the presence of Peter Odemwingie on the bench.

THE MATCH:

Liverpool started with a 4-4-1-1 with Shelvey playing in just behind Suarez. Carragher retained his place ahead of Martin Skrtel. The match started with Liverpool in control and fashioning the first opportunity on 8 minutes when Shelvey put the rebound in the net from a dipping Johnson shot, which was correctly ruled off-side.

West Brom then set their stall up. It was evident they came here to defend with Liverpool enjoying majority of the possession and the game being played in West Brom’s half. As the half wore on, Liverpool missed two glaring opportunities, both via Daniel Agger, who should have scored with both of his chances. With half time approaching, West Brom became more confident and tried to counter-attack. Glen Johnson was not having a good game so far, losing possession 4 times while trying to nutmeg Liam Ridgewell and failing to provide any sort of tangible output to his forward runs. Downing, meanwhile, was the best player on the pitch producing some classy touches, neat flicks, one-twos and having a go at the West Brom defence. With the HT whistle, Steve Clarke, obviously the happier of the two managers went in the dressing room, with Brendan Rodgers looking poker faced on the touchlines.

The 2^nd half started pretty much in the same vein as the 1^st, but Liverpool had upped their tempo and seemed much more of a threat. However, as the time passed, the game began to resemble more and more like the one against Aston Villa with Liverpool Full Backs roaming forward without any end product. One moment in the 2^nd half on 60 mins summed up Liverpool’s night with Jose Enrique demonstrating on the pitch that there should be more movement further up the pitch, to enable him to come up and pass the ball.

The crowd began to get anxious and that transmitted through to the team. Rodgers sent on sent on Borini and Sterling for Shelvey and Henderson in search of a goal. In the 70^th min, Downing played a raking diagonal 60 yard ball to Sterling on the left flank, who unselfishly passed the ball to the oncoming Gerrard, whose crisp & perfectly timed shot was saved incredibly by Ben Foster. That was the save of the match and showed why Ben Foster was rated so highly at United. Now, Liverpool looked the more likely to get a goal.

Steve Clarke sent on Romelu Lukaku in search of a winner, believing Liverpool would slip up at the back. Liverpool patience finally hoped to be paying rewards, when on 75 mins, they were awarded a penalty, only their 2^nd of the season, for a nudge on Suarez by Olsson. Steven Gerrard stepped up to take the penalty and his shot was saved by Foster, who guessed correctly diving to his lower left.

The game then changed from that moment on, as Gerrard was left to rue his missed opportunity as West Brom scored from their next attack via a corner. Twice in two games Agger let his man pass by, as McAuley leapt unmarked in the 6 yrd box to head home an unstoppable shot on 81 mins. West Brom fans jumped in rapturous joy, while The Kop stood stunned harking back memories of the Villa game. West Brom had scored from their second shot of the match while Liverpool had more than 20 attempts to show for nothing.

Just before the goal, Brendan Rodgers sent on Coutinho in place of Downing to give him his debut. The substitution was harsh on Downing, with him having his best game in a red shirt. Liverpool tried to up their tempo after the goal as Clarke sent on Marc Antoine-Fortune to crowd the midfield. West Brom broke forward on the counter with Lukaku and scored their 2^nd with just their 3^rd shot on 90 mins. It was a classic blitzkrieg with the West Brom players performing their roles to perfection.

In stoppage time, Suarez was booked for venting his frustration at the referee, as he felt he should have had another penalty. The FT whistle brought an end to Liverpool’s misery, but it was a thoroughly deserving victory for West Brom as they bagged their first league double over Liverpool for 46 years. And the fact that it came over his old employers, made the victory even sweeter for Steve Clarke.

POST MATCH:

Liverpool now trail 4^th placed Tottenham Hotspurs by 12 points with 12 league games to go. It is impossible to see Spurs dropping 12 pts so that Liverpool could catch up. With the kind of form spurs are enjoying, Liverpool need to win all of their remaining games and hope Spurs get 24pts or less from their remaining 12 games, to even have a chance of finishing 4^th, especially with Arsenal and Everton also hovering. Realistically, 6^th position would be an achievement for Liverpool with this squad.

TACTICAL ANALYSIS:

Liverpool started the game with a standard 4-4-1-1 with Suarez as the lone striker and Shelvey in a No. 10 role behind him. Steve Clarke second guessed Liverpool’s tactics and started with a rigid 4-5-1 with Shane Long as the lone striker.

West Brom came to defend and were organized brilliantly. They negated the threat of the Liverpool fullbacks by having an extra man for both Johnson and Enrique. At the same time, having an extra man in midfield allowed the Baggies the breakdown Liverpool’s play. Yusuf Mulumbu and Claudio yacob did their job to perfection against Gerrard, Henderson & Co. Coupled with Liverpool’s unusual sloppiness in possession and the work rate of Shane Long and the Baggies midfield, it was very difficult for Liverpool to up the tempo. Glen Johnson had a game to forget, while Jonjo Shelvey won’t be starting another league game anytime soon as he was wasteful in possession and was caught off-side more often than not. Everything good about Liverpool seemed to go through Downing. He played like a man possessed, showing good vision, a bit of trickery and class.

Too often it looked like Liverpool are controlling the game, but it’s was the other way round. With West Brom packing the central midfield area and not allowing Liverpool to slice through the centre, Liverpool ended up using fullbacks to cross the ball with no one in the box to aim at. This was the same tactic used by Paul Lambert in the Villa game.

Oh! How they missed Daniel Sturridge! His absence rendered Liverpool lacking in pace, movement and unpredictability in the final third. This link explains the above two observations in further detail - (http://www.eplindex.com/24927/daniel-sturridge-solves-liverpools-tactical-problems.html)

As Liverpool tried to look for a goal, Rodgers sent on Sterling and Borini, substituting Downing and Henderson. This effectively disturbed the balance of the side. While Liverpool looked threatning, the Baggies were comfortable in defending as they allowed the reds only long range shots with no real penetration.

Clarke decided to gamble for high stakes, sending on Lukaku, hoping that Liverpool will somehow slip up to concede. It happened exactly as he had hoped, with Agger failing to mark McAuley for the goal. Now, I’m not against zonal marking but someone needs to be alert to thwart any potential danger. Zonal marking, despite being a successful system, has its flaws. Liverpool in the space of two games conceded 3 goals due to defensive individual errors. They need to address this issue quickly, or whatever is left of the season is quickly in danger of slipping.

The following pic perfectly describes the way the game went –

All in all, Steve Clarke set up his side with the perfect way to play against Liverpool and got the deserved reward, with Lukaku’s goal, the icing on the cake. His side won despite being thouroughly outplayed. Meanwhile, Liverpool were left to reflect on another game of what might have been!

WINNERS & LOSERS:

WINNERS:

Steve Clarke

Got his tactics spot on. Even his substitutions were perfectly timed. Gave a flawless tutorial on “How to play against Liverpool?”

Ben Foster

Had an excellent game in goal. It’s a pity he is not keen on international football.

Stewart Downing

Downing was the best player on the pitch by miles. Probably had his best game in a red shirt. If he keeps this up, then Roy Hodgson would be forced to consider for an England call-up.

Romelu Lukaku

Its easy to forget that the striker is still only 19! Yet he has scored 10 Premier League Goals! Chelsea have a real gem on their hands.

Daniel Sturridge

Before his arrival at Liverpool, popular conception about Sturridge was “Even if Sturridge is half as good as he thinks he is, then he is twice as good as he actually is.” Pundits opined that “Sturridge thinks he has a divine right to shoot at will!”

May be that’s what Liverpool have lacked, as this game showed. To say they missed him sorely is an understatement. Sturridge has taken to Liverpool like a fish to water. He offers terrific pace, movement, hold-up play plus an ability to shoot at will in the final third, everything which Liverpool have lacked.

It is becoming increasingly impossible to see a Liverpool team without Sturridge now-a-days, such has been his impact.

LOSERS:

Jonjo Shelvey

The player must have recognized why he has’t started a game since the defeat to Stoke. After this performance, he won’t be starting a game anytime soon. If he keeps playing this way, he might even be shipped out.

Glenn Johnson

Had an absolute shocker of a game! That’s it…nothing else to say.

Brendan Rodgers

He has to figure out a way of playing against such systems, otherwise Liverpool risk continuing their theme of not scoring despite dominating. A manager is hired to make such decisions.

Daniel Agger

Twice in two games, he has let his man pass by! He must concentrate more.

The Liverpool Defence

Why do they fall asleep in the most crucial circumstances?

THE VERDICT:

Liverpool need to buckle down and start finishing the chances they create. They still need to sort out their defensive issues. There are signs of improvement, but progress must be shown in terms of points. 4^th place is mostly out of reach now, but the Europa League places are still to play for. Not everything is doom and gloom, as Liverpool still play in the Europa League this season. Winning the Europa League or doing well in the tournament might just be the start of something special!