Liverpool Start Post-Torres Era Strong

Although the first game after El Nino's departure was the 2-0 midweek win the battle at the Bridge had everyone's attention. Torres's performance was nearly anonymous. He lasted just over an hour without ever seriously threatening Pepe Reina's net. The lone goal came from Raul Meierels who partnered Dirk Kuyt up front. I know everyone has been saying the "off the leash" approach Dalglish has taken to R.M. has transformed Liverpool, but because it is so true and so important, I will say it too. He looks like a different player from earlier in the season and the club are better off for it.

What I really took away from this game was that Carlo Ancelotti did not give his men the best chance to win. While Liverpool came out in a very flexible (nominal) 3-5-2 he opted for a 4-3-3 that allowed him to play the new signing along with Anelka and Drogba. While I understand the temptation to force all the talent onto the pitch this created a numbers game in favor of Liverpool in the middle of the field. Add to this the fact that none of those three are players who track back and labor when out of possession it seemed from the start that Chelsea were putting themselves at a disadvantage. To be fair I wouldn't say the Chelsea midfield were over run, but their inability to flow play toward their dangermen up front was evident.

And then the substitutions... this game reminded me of the loss to Arsenal over the holidays when Carlo blew his 3 changes on like for like moves that didn't impact the game. He brought Torres off which was probably the right call but slotted Kalou in his place. A drop in quality without really changing the dynamic. Next he took off Jon Obi Mikel in favor of Florent Malouda, presumably to chase the game. This makes sense because Malouda has been very dangerous this season but if you are in a 4-3-3 this either burden's him with defensive responsibilities that nullify his attacking play or it is begging to get countered and double the deficit. Finally the introduction of David Luiz for Jose Bosingwa seemed more an excuse to show off another new big money signing than anything else. He doesn't add an attacking dimension and if anything the Brazilian looked a little wobbly.

To further underline the triumph for Liverpool they pulled off the away win without the use of either of their new strikers. Meanwhile the Blues spent what they had and it wasn't enough. A 50 million pound signing is made with the long term in mind and given that he may be at his most usefulthis season in the CL I won't say it was a flop. But the first round clearly went to Liverpool.

All Alone-So

Due to reasons of AC malfunction I happened to be home early from work and catch the Liverpool-Aston Villa game. It is the second time I have seen LFC play this season and for the second time they looked like a team well below their top 4 pedigree. When a team suffers a 3-1 loss at home there are many culprits but the one glaring weakness in this squad is the hole left by Xabi Alonso's departure for Real Madrid. Lucas Leiva has been in his place for now and he is horrible. I know he has had strong moments in the past and being a Brazilian international is not something that happens by accident, but today he looked miserable. The own goal was bad, but even if that were stricken from the record he gave the ball away needlessly more than once, won barely any balls in the midfield, and was unable to start anything even relatively productive going in the other direction. Javier Mascherano looked pretty good at times, breaking up plays that could have resulted in Villa goals, but having Leiva next to him just shows how much Alonso was worth as his partner in the middle of the park.

I know Alberto Aquilani is likely to assume the spot when he heals from injury but even then Alonso's absence will haunt Liverpool. It is too bad for them because the rest of the big 4 seem to have come back to earth a bit (on paper anyway) and the rest of the Liverpool team is pretty solid. They might lack depth but they can put out a solid squad.