Liverpool FanZoner Rich Garnett looks ahead to Saturday's clash with Chelsea and wants the same defensive solidity shown at Real Madrid.
Even in times of adversity, there's never a dull moment at Liverpool Football Club.
Picking the bones out of the Reds' miserable defeat at St James' Park last Saturday looked like a thankless task so Brendan Rodgers' decision to dump half of the starting 11 for the trip to the European Champions can be considered a godsend for the common football writer.
Rodgers came in for some considerable flack for not fielding his 'first eleven' in the Bernabeu on Tuesday night but with seven defeats in their first 16 matches of the season one could be forgiven for assuming such a thing does not actually exist yet.
Of course, the method behind the madness cannot be truly measured until Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday lunch time when Rodgers will either emerge as a strategic genius or just a maker of bad calls.
One thing that most certainly can't be denied is that the Liverpool team who lost 1-0 in Madrid this week fared considerably better than the one which lost 3-0 to the same opposition at Anfield.
'Rodgers ressies' might not have offered much punch up front, but defensively they were as tight as any Liverpool performance this season, none more so than the outstanding Kolo Toure.
There is little doubt that Rodgers always intended to recall Dejan Lovren for the match against Chelsea but Toure has now given the Anfield boss a serious selection dilemma and if he wants to send the right message to his underperforming stars then he must surely now hand the Ivorian a starting birth on Saturday.
The performance in Madrid was one of aggression, solidity and collaborative effort. Where has that performance level been?
Losing Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge is a massive void to fill up front but the Reds can do themselves a huge favour by shoring up the defensive holes that have blighted the current campaign whilst a sustainable solution up top is established.
Whether that includes retaining Steve Gerrard in a defensive midfield role is another matter for fierce debate.
With younger legs around him in the team that can arguably cover more ground to protect the back four, Gerrard - like everyone else - must show his value to the place he occupies.
He is still good value for a place in the side, but it is difficult to argue with the notion that his most worthy contribution remains in the attacking half of the pitch.
Liverpool need no reminders of their last Premier League encounter with Chelsea (though there will be plenty) so there will be no shortage of incentive for the broken of hearts of last season to get one over their unbeaten visitors on Saturday lunchtime.
In a way it would be fitting if Anfield marked the end of Jose Mourinho's undefeated start to the season, but it will take a team effort on par with that encouraging performance in Madrid to make that ideology a reality.
The Liverpool starting eleven is anyone's guess, but it makes for some fascinating debate that could just work in the manager's favour.
By Liverpool FanZoner Richard Garnett. Follow him on Twitter here, and don't forget you can follow @FanZone too!
petikan dari LiverpoolTeamTalk
About the Author
0 comments: