Liverpool were held to a point against Birmingham at St Andrew’s on Sunday, thanks to some horrendous finishing from the Reds.
By Vincent Lai
Steven Gerrard opened the scoring for the Reds, and Liam Ridgewell managed to equalise for the Blues, and Liverpool are now four points behind Manchester City in the race for fourth spot in the Premier League standings.
Birmingham:
Joe Hart: 6
Solid all throughout the game, save for a moment when he accidentally let the ball out for a corner in the first half. Pulled out the save of the game denying Maxi Rodriguez in the 35th minute! Could do nothing about the goal as the ball crept in at the far post.
Stephen Carr: 6
Rolled back the years as he locked down Yossi Benayoun and Emiliano Insua. What he lacked in pace and explosiveness, he compensated with experience.
Roger Johnson: 6
Part of the second-best defence in the league, with his marking of Torres, Kuyt and Ngog leading to Liverpool taking wild shots from 25 yards.
Scott Dann: 6
Dann played his role well, camping in his penalty area to clear crosses and form a shield in front of his goalkeeper.
Liam Ridgewell: 8
Completed the rugged crew that denied the Reds the win as the Blues fought tooth-and-nail to preserve their point. Scored Birmingham's equaliser with his man-region from two yards out to deny the Reds all three points.
Craig Gardner: 6
Gardner could occasionally be found on the right wing, but spent most of his time helping the defence as he shadowed Benayoun, Rodriguez and Insua constantly.
Barry Ferguson: 6
Was the lone creative force in a gritty Birmingham side, too bad he lacked the pace to separate himself from Liverpool's defence when the Blues did get out on the break.
Lee Bowyer: 5
The once-formidable attacking midfielder of a fabled Leeds side was reduced to another shield in the seas of bodies thrown in front of Hart. Fluffed a chance to win it all for Birmingham as his scuffed shot rolled harmlessly wide.
Keith Fahey: 5
Another bullet-proof vest for Hart.
Cameron Jerome: 6
Birmingham's prolific striker was forced to feed on scraps as they could hardly string three passes together, opting for the long ball to the burley hitman most of the time.
James McFadden (off 78'): 5
Hardly had a sniff at goal. Much like Ferguson, lacked the explosiveness to do something productive with the ball.
Subs:
Kevin Phillips (on 78'): 6
Came on for the final stretch and was productive as he carved out at least two chances for the Blues. Too bad he could not repeat his heroics against Arsenal.
Liverpool:
Pepe Reina: 4
The safe hands of the Spaniard weren't to be found anywhere in the vicinity as he fluffed at least two crosses. Was caught out as Liam Ridgewell nudged the ball past him and into the back of the net.
Glen Johnson: 5
Johnson's scuffed volley found Gerrard on the wing and that led to the Liverpool skipper scoring. The right-back was constantly overlapping to provide extra width and another option for the Reds, and that prove to be Liverpool's Achilles' heel as he was nowhere to be found when Ridgewell scored.
Jamie Carragher: 6
Stuck to his role perfectly as he snuffed out the threat of Jerome and McFadden with ease. Solid for most of the game.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos: 4
Gave the ball away needlessly at times, and went to ground easily when clashing against Jerome. Shaky at best.
Emiliano Insua: 5
Had the occasional foray forward, but stuck to his mission of limiting Birmingham on the break.
Yossi Benayoun (off 71'): 5
Provided some creativity and vision in the middle, but had his passes picked out too often.
Steven Gerrard: 7
Gave Liverpool some hope with a goal in the 47th minute as he latched onto the ball and took a dribble into the area before firing it low past the outstretched hand of Joe Hart!
Lucas: 4
One more match for Lucas Leiva, one more time he's crown "The King of the Side Pass".
Maxi Rodriguez: 6
Could have scored from a clinical finish in front of goal had it not been for the slightest of touches from Joe Hart. Provided some pace and craft, but could not break down the stubborn Birmingham backline. Missed a great chance to win all three points near the end of the game.
Fernando Torres (off 65'): 4
Gets a four for sulking like Nicolas Anelka. The Birmingham defence frustrated the heck out of the Spain international, and he was rightfully substituted after 65 minutes.
Dirk Kuyt (off 81'): 6
The Dutchman huffed and puffed, but only managed to equal the work ethic of the Birmingham defence. Still, Kuyt put in a commendable effort to track back and tackle when the situation called for it.
Subs:
Alberto Aquilani (on 81'): 3
Brought on as a final gamble by Rafael Benitez, Aquilani repaid his manager's faith by taking one for the team, the team in blue, that is.
Ryan Babel (on 71'): 4
Twenty minutes of Ryan Babel is twenty minutes of headless chicken running. All pace no football IQ.
David Ngog (on 65'): 3
Gets a three for missing three perfect chances to score. Ngog first headed a great cross wide, then proceeded to shoot another past the far post. For his final act, the striker fluffed a one-on-one chance to complete Liverpool's miserable outing at St Andrew's.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น