Sky Sports pundit Alan Curbishley believes Brendan Rodgers has paid the price for failing to make marquee signings in the summer.
Rodgers spent £116million on 10 new players in the summer transfer window and Curbishley feels he has signed quantity over quality.
Chelsea had nearly the same net spend as Liverpool in the summer and Jose Mourinho adopted a different strategy to Rodgers.
Curbishley hailed this strategy and said Rodgers now has an unsettled squad, due to the recent influx of signings.
“A lot of managers would have gone another route like Mourinho. Marquee signing up front, marquee signing in midfield, marquee signing at left-back," Alan Curbishley told The Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ.
“Brendan Rodgers decided to spread the money thinly and bring in numbers. He maybe should have been advised to go marquee, marquee, and marquee and bring the players in that were going to do the job.
“Perhaps, bringing in so many players destabilised the squad. Now Brendan has got selection problems.
“There is a lack of confidence there. I think they desperately need to get the results in the Champions League, so that they’re still competing in that. In the Premier League they are slowly drifting down, they need results, but they need a settled side.”
Curbishley admits he always expected Liverpool to struggle to meet expectations this season without Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge suffering continual injury problems.
The two strikers were instrumental in Liverpool’s title challenge last campaign and the club have been unable to rely on either player, so far, this term.
The Reds have struggled for firepower upfront and Curbishley added that is a big worry.
“That’s got to be a major factor, so many goals and so many assists. I think both of them when they were playing last season upset back fours," he said.
“When they lose two big players like that they have that’s a big problem.”
Sky Sports pundit Alan Curbishley believes Brendan Rodgers has paid the price for failing to make marquee signings in the summer.
Rodgers spent £116million on 10 new players in the summer transfer window and Curbishley feels he has signed quantity over quality.
Chelsea had nearly the same net spend as Liverpool in the summer and Jose Mourinho adopted a different strategy to Rodgers.
Curbishley hailed this strategy and said Rodgers now has an unsettled squad, due to the recent influx of signings.
“A lot of managers would have gone another route like Mourinho. Marquee signing up front, marquee signing in midfield, marquee signing at left-back," Alan Curbishley told The Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ.
“Brendan Rodgers decided to spread the money thinly and bring in numbers. He maybe should have been advised to go marquee, marquee, and marquee and bring the players in that were going to do the job.
“Perhaps, bringing in so many players destabilised the squad. Now Brendan has got selection problems.
“There is a lack of confidence there. I think they desperately need to get the results in the Champions League, so that they’re still competing in that. In the Premier League they are slowly drifting down, they need results, but they need a settled side.”
Curbishley admits he always expected Liverpool to struggle to meet expectations this season without Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge suffering continual injury problems.
The two strikers were instrumental in Liverpool’s title challenge last campaign and the club have been unable to rely on either player, so far, this term.
The Reds have struggled for firepower upfront and Curbishley added that is a big worry.
“That’s got to be a major factor, so many goals and so many assists. I think both of them when they were playing last season upset back fours," he said.
“When they lose two big players like that they have that’s a big problem.”
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Mark Holmes blasts Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers for lying and suggests Tottenham have a 'rotten core' which will not be fixed any time soon.
Rodgers wrong to lie to fans
When Brendan Rodgers made seven changes for Liverpool's Champions League tie at Real Madrid, he was doing what he believed was best for the team.
Having seen his first-choice side beaten 3-0 at home by the European champions two weeks previously, Rodgers came to the understandable conclusion that it would be of greater benefit to rest some of his star men for the trip to the Bernabeu than it would be to play them from the outset in a game Liverpool would probably lose anyway.
With a Premier League game against Chelsea to follow four days later, there was definitely logic behind Rodgers' decision. Jose Mourinho's men were in European action 24 hours later than the Reds; it was certainly feasible their unbeaten run could be ended at Anfield against a largely rested side.
It didn't quite work out how Rodgers had hoped, of course - we will come to that - but not every decision a manager makes pays off. This one didn't, but Rodgers still has plenty of credit left in the bank following last season's heroics.
However, while the Northern Irishman doesn't deserve derision for the actual decision, he certainly does for the rather patronising, disrespectful way he tried to explain it, i.e. by denying he rested anyone against Madrid.
"We knew we had a real tough game tonight, but I didn't rest players for Saturday," he insisted after the game. "I picked what I thought could get the result for us tonight, and I think the performance showed that. I don't think any other players I could have put in tonight could have put in the performance we put in."
A battling performance and narrow 1-0 defeat in Spain earned Rodgers some breathing space - fans bought into the idea the manager had dropped rather than rested his underperforming so-called stars - but it also caused him a problem. The stand-ins impressed.
However, rather than stick with the likes of Kolo Toure and Fabio Borini against Chelsea, Rodgers reverted almost completely back to the team that had lost at Newcastle in the Premier League the weekend before.
He suggested a meritocracy was in place after the Madrid game yet, despite an improved team display, Emre Can was the only player among the eight stand-ins to keep his spot against Chelsea. Dejan Lovren, Mario Balotelli and co. returned straight to the starting XI.
Rodgers lied to the fans. Many backed his decision to leave out the big names in Spain, but only on the proviso that they had indeed been dropped.
Now knowing that Rodgers had in fact played what he believes to be a second-string side, how many of them feel differently? It is not every day you get to watch your team take on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, yet Rodgers did not pick the side he believes to be his best.
In one way the narrow defeat justifies his selection, but it may also leave fans wondering 'what if'. On a night that Real did not play well by their standards, did Rodgers pass up the opportunity of another famous win?
Rodgers in dire need of improvement
It is all ifs, buts and maybes, of course, but the bottom line is that the gamble did not pay off - and that puts Rodgers' decision-making this season further under the spotlight.
Why, for example, despite adding Simon Mignolet, Mamadou Sakho, Kolo Toure, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno and Javi Manquillo to his squad, are Liverpool still so poor at the back?
Is it because of tactics or coaching methods - that would perhaps explain why the Reds continue to leak goals from set-piece situations - or is it Rodgers' procurement that is the problem?
Of the 14 players that got on the pitch against Chelsea, nine - Mignolet, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Philippe Coutinho, Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Joe Allen and Fabio Borini - were signed by the current manager. It is early days for some of them, but only Coutinho and at a push Allen could claim to have justified the money spent on them so far.
Rodgers' most successful signing, of course, Daniel Sturridge, is currently out injured, and there is no doubt that Liverpool's fortunes will improve once he is back in the team. He may well bring out the best in Balotelli, too.
However, it is not a great indictment of Liverpool as a team that they appear to be so reliant on one player, and it is not a great indictment of Rodgers' tactical nous that he has been unable to formulate a successful game plan in the absence of Sturridge.
Using the departure of Luis Suarez as an excuse only adds to the feeling that Liverpool's relative success last season was down to brilliant players rather than brilliant management.
Rodgers is a good manager, and it is too early in the season to truly judge him post-Suarez, but so far in that era the 41-year-old has made many more bad decisions than good ones.
Pochettino not the problem at Spurs
Yet again, just 11 games into the Premier League season, there are questions being asked of the latest Tottenham manager.
Most of the criticism has come from supporters, which is understandable, but it is hard to shake the feeling that Daniel Levy's fingers may be starting to twitch again.
This, of course, is a man that has sacked eight different managers in his 13 years as chairman at White Hart Lane, including three in the last 29 months. He will almost certainly not hesitate to add Mauricio Pochettino to that list if results do not pick up shortly.
However, the penny should surely have dropped by now to everyone associated with the club that the manager - this one and a number of the previous ones - is not the problem. The squad simply isn't good enough.
Former Spurs striker Mido on Sunday described the current team as the worst he has seen in 10 years, and it is hard to disagree. But that is not Pochettino's fault, or Sherwood's, or even Andre Villas-Boas'. The former has bought in only a smattering of his own players so far, and the latter claims to have objected against four of the seven signings made by the club last summer.
Spurs' transfer business in recent times, both in and out, has been disastrous, and blame must lie with Levy and technical director Franco Baldini, the two constants aside the managerial merry-go-round.
Baldini's head must roll for the mistakes, and Levy, having appointed Pochettino, must now give the Argentine time to build his own team at White Hart Lane. Only then will Spurs stand a chance of getting back to where they want to be.
Tottenham's rotten core
Pochettino is not the main problem at Spurs and cannot be blamed for the sub-standard squad at his disposal, but that is not to say he has not made mistakes during his short time in charge.
Why, for example, did he play two strikers in the recent, admittedly hugely fortunate, win at Aston Villa only to revert to one in attack for the home game against Stoke on Sunday? Why did he choose to finally hand young Harry Kane a Premier League start as a lone striker despite all the evidence suggesting he works much better with a partner?
Why did he pair Federico Fazio with Younes Kaboul in defence, despite the fact that neither of them are left-sided? With Jan Vertonghen, Spurs' best defender, sat on the bench, Fazio and Kaboul swapped sides for the second half after an alarmingly bad first-half performance had seen the hosts fall two goals behind.
Pochettino seems no more capable of successfully rotating his squad for Europa League and Premier League games than Villas-Boas was before him. It is not, as stated, his fault that the likes of Danny Rose and Kyle Naughton are required so much, but he should still have realised that the team he picked to face Stoke was not good enough.
Surely, after a successful 18 months at Southampton, he knows better than to underestimate the likes of Stoke, Newcastle and West Brom, all of whom have won at White Hart Lane this season?
All that said, Pochettino cannot account for the raft of individual mistakes his players made on Sunday, the complete lack of leadership shown by captain Kaboul, and the lack of fight displayed by several players, not least substitute Emmanuel Adebayor, to get Spurs back into the game.
The club has a rotten core - and it will take years to sort it out.
Mark Holmes blasts Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers for lying and suggests Tottenham have a 'rotten core' which will not be fixed any time soon.
Rodgers wrong to lie to fans
When Brendan Rodgers made seven changes for Liverpool's Champions League tie at Real Madrid, he was doing what he believed was best for the team.
Having seen his first-choice side beaten 3-0 at home by the European champions two weeks previously, Rodgers came to the understandable conclusion that it would be of greater benefit to rest some of his star men for the trip to the Bernabeu than it would be to play them from the outset in a game Liverpool would probably lose anyway.
With a Premier League game against Chelsea to follow four days later, there was definitely logic behind Rodgers' decision. Jose Mourinho's men were in European action 24 hours later than the Reds; it was certainly feasible their unbeaten run could be ended at Anfield against a largely rested side.
It didn't quite work out how Rodgers had hoped, of course - we will come to that - but not every decision a manager makes pays off. This one didn't, but Rodgers still has plenty of credit left in the bank following last season's heroics.
However, while the Northern Irishman doesn't deserve derision for the actual decision, he certainly does for the rather patronising, disrespectful way he tried to explain it, i.e. by denying he rested anyone against Madrid.
"We knew we had a real tough game tonight, but I didn't rest players for Saturday," he insisted after the game. "I picked what I thought could get the result for us tonight, and I think the performance showed that. I don't think any other players I could have put in tonight could have put in the performance we put in."
A battling performance and narrow 1-0 defeat in Spain earned Rodgers some breathing space - fans bought into the idea the manager had dropped rather than rested his underperforming so-called stars - but it also caused him a problem. The stand-ins impressed.
However, rather than stick with the likes of Kolo Toure and Fabio Borini against Chelsea, Rodgers reverted almost completely back to the team that had lost at Newcastle in the Premier League the weekend before.
He suggested a meritocracy was in place after the Madrid game yet, despite an improved team display, Emre Can was the only player among the eight stand-ins to keep his spot against Chelsea. Dejan Lovren, Mario Balotelli and co. returned straight to the starting XI.
Rodgers lied to the fans. Many backed his decision to leave out the big names in Spain, but only on the proviso that they had indeed been dropped.
Now knowing that Rodgers had in fact played what he believes to be a second-string side, how many of them feel differently? It is not every day you get to watch your team take on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, yet Rodgers did not pick the side he believes to be his best.
In one way the narrow defeat justifies his selection, but it may also leave fans wondering 'what if'. On a night that Real did not play well by their standards, did Rodgers pass up the opportunity of another famous win?
Rodgers in dire need of improvement
It is all ifs, buts and maybes, of course, but the bottom line is that the gamble did not pay off - and that puts Rodgers' decision-making this season further under the spotlight.
Why, for example, despite adding Simon Mignolet, Mamadou Sakho, Kolo Toure, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno and Javi Manquillo to his squad, are Liverpool still so poor at the back?
Is it because of tactics or coaching methods - that would perhaps explain why the Reds continue to leak goals from set-piece situations - or is it Rodgers' procurement that is the problem?
Of the 14 players that got on the pitch against Chelsea, nine - Mignolet, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Philippe Coutinho, Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Joe Allen and Fabio Borini - were signed by the current manager. It is early days for some of them, but only Coutinho and at a push Allen could claim to have justified the money spent on them so far.
Rodgers' most successful signing, of course, Daniel Sturridge, is currently out injured, and there is no doubt that Liverpool's fortunes will improve once he is back in the team. He may well bring out the best in Balotelli, too.
However, it is not a great indictment of Liverpool as a team that they appear to be so reliant on one player, and it is not a great indictment of Rodgers' tactical nous that he has been unable to formulate a successful game plan in the absence of Sturridge.
Using the departure of Luis Suarez as an excuse only adds to the feeling that Liverpool's relative success last season was down to brilliant players rather than brilliant management.
Rodgers is a good manager, and it is too early in the season to truly judge him post-Suarez, but so far in that era the 41-year-old has made many more bad decisions than good ones.
Pochettino not the problem at Spurs
Yet again, just 11 games into the Premier League season, there are questions being asked of the latest Tottenham manager.
Most of the criticism has come from supporters, which is understandable, but it is hard to shake the feeling that Daniel Levy's fingers may be starting to twitch again.
This, of course, is a man that has sacked eight different managers in his 13 years as chairman at White Hart Lane, including three in the last 29 months. He will almost certainly not hesitate to add Mauricio Pochettino to that list if results do not pick up shortly.
However, the penny should surely have dropped by now to everyone associated with the club that the manager - this one and a number of the previous ones - is not the problem. The squad simply isn't good enough.
Former Spurs striker Mido on Sunday described the current team as the worst he has seen in 10 years, and it is hard to disagree. But that is not Pochettino's fault, or Sherwood's, or even Andre Villas-Boas'. The former has bought in only a smattering of his own players so far, and the latter claims to have objected against four of the seven signings made by the club last summer.
Spurs' transfer business in recent times, both in and out, has been disastrous, and blame must lie with Levy and technical director Franco Baldini, the two constants aside the managerial merry-go-round.
Baldini's head must roll for the mistakes, and Levy, having appointed Pochettino, must now give the Argentine time to build his own team at White Hart Lane. Only then will Spurs stand a chance of getting back to where they want to be.
Tottenham's rotten core
Pochettino is not the main problem at Spurs and cannot be blamed for the sub-standard squad at his disposal, but that is not to say he has not made mistakes during his short time in charge.
Why, for example, did he play two strikers in the recent, admittedly hugely fortunate, win at Aston Villa only to revert to one in attack for the home game against Stoke on Sunday? Why did he choose to finally hand young Harry Kane a Premier League start as a lone striker despite all the evidence suggesting he works much better with a partner?
Why did he pair Federico Fazio with Younes Kaboul in defence, despite the fact that neither of them are left-sided? With Jan Vertonghen, Spurs' best defender, sat on the bench, Fazio and Kaboul swapped sides for the second half after an alarmingly bad first-half performance had seen the hosts fall two goals behind.
Pochettino seems no more capable of successfully rotating his squad for Europa League and Premier League games than Villas-Boas was before him. It is not, as stated, his fault that the likes of Danny Rose and Kyle Naughton are required so much, but he should still have realised that the team he picked to face Stoke was not good enough.
Surely, after a successful 18 months at Southampton, he knows better than to underestimate the likes of Stoke, Newcastle and West Brom, all of whom have won at White Hart Lane this season?
All that said, Pochettino cannot account for the raft of individual mistakes his players made on Sunday, the complete lack of leadership shown by captain Kaboul, and the lack of fight displayed by several players, not least substitute Emmanuel Adebayor, to get Spurs back into the game.
The club has a rotten core - and it will take years to sort it out.
Brendan Rodgers has jumped to the defence of his transfer record while in charge at Liverpool, insisting the club "has done everything" to attract elite players.
Despite leading against Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday, Rodgers' side eventually succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, leaving them 11th in the table with 14 points from their opening 11 games.
As a result, pressure continues to mount on the Northern Irishman, with his success rate in the transfer window coming under particular scrutiny.
Since the 41-year-old joined the club in the summer of 2012, Liverpool have signed 25 players at a total cost of over £200million, with big-money signings such as Dejan Lovren (£20m), Mario Balotelli (£16m) and Mamadou Sakho (£15m) struggling to make an impact.
It was one of Rodgers' known previous targets - Diego Costa - who scored the winner at Anfield on Saturday, and the Brazilian-born Spain striker is one of the 'marquee' signings that Liverpool have missed out on in recent transfer windows.
Costa's current team-mates Willian and Mohamed Salah, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and, earlier this summer, Chilean star Alexis Sanchez have all been pursued by Rodgers in that time, with the Merseysiders losing out each time.
Despite the knockbacks, Rodgers believes the club have done enough to try and attract the elite stars, but players are now making their future decisions based on "more than just football terms".
"We know what targets we wanted and what was out there," Rodgers said.
"For one reason or another they are not here and gone elsewhere.
"We work with what we've got and look to improve what we've got and get back to somewhere near the level we've shown over the last 18 months."
Only Manchester United outspent Liverpool in this summer's transfer window, with Adam Lallana headlining £116.8m worth of talent.
However, the Reds have struggled to rekindle their sparkling title-challenging form of last season, and already sit 15 points behind early pace-setters Chelsea.
Rodgers admits that last season's runners-up finish gave the club more of a fighting chance in a competitive market, and has praised the club's transfer approach despite missing out on initial targets.
"We were in a great position at the end of last season, with Champions League football and a way of working, but we just have to work harder and smarter to convince these players to come," he said.
"As I said the club has done everything it could over the course of the summer to get the players who are going to improve us.
"But players look for more than just football terms. They look at where they want to live, they look at all these social factors and that's something we can’t control.
"If someone gets offered say more money to come here but they want to go elsewhere, they want to go to London, there's not much you can do.
"I think the club have shown their hand in terms of they will be prepared to pay the wages of top players, but whether they want to come here is a different matter.
"I think it's where we're at.
"We need to work harder and smarter again.
"We have brought in a raft of players who can hopefully develop and mould into a way of working and be better in the future."
Brendan Rodgers has jumped to the defence of his transfer record while in charge at Liverpool, insisting the club "has done everything" to attract elite players.
Despite leading against Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday, Rodgers' side eventually succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, leaving them 11th in the table with 14 points from their opening 11 games.
As a result, pressure continues to mount on the Northern Irishman, with his success rate in the transfer window coming under particular scrutiny.
Since the 41-year-old joined the club in the summer of 2012, Liverpool have signed 25 players at a total cost of over £200million, with big-money signings such as Dejan Lovren (£20m), Mario Balotelli (£16m) and Mamadou Sakho (£15m) struggling to make an impact.
It was one of Rodgers' known previous targets - Diego Costa - who scored the winner at Anfield on Saturday, and the Brazilian-born Spain striker is one of the 'marquee' signings that Liverpool have missed out on in recent transfer windows.
Costa's current team-mates Willian and Mohamed Salah, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and, earlier this summer, Chilean star Alexis Sanchez have all been pursued by Rodgers in that time, with the Merseysiders losing out each time.
Despite the knockbacks, Rodgers believes the club have done enough to try and attract the elite stars, but players are now making their future decisions based on "more than just football terms".
"We know what targets we wanted and what was out there," Rodgers said.
"For one reason or another they are not here and gone elsewhere.
"We work with what we've got and look to improve what we've got and get back to somewhere near the level we've shown over the last 18 months."
Only Manchester United outspent Liverpool in this summer's transfer window, with Adam Lallana headlining £116.8m worth of talent.
However, the Reds have struggled to rekindle their sparkling title-challenging form of last season, and already sit 15 points behind early pace-setters Chelsea.
Rodgers admits that last season's runners-up finish gave the club more of a fighting chance in a competitive market, and has praised the club's transfer approach despite missing out on initial targets.
"We were in a great position at the end of last season, with Champions League football and a way of working, but we just have to work harder and smarter to convince these players to come," he said.
"As I said the club has done everything it could over the course of the summer to get the players who are going to improve us.
"But players look for more than just football terms. They look at where they want to live, they look at all these social factors and that's something we can’t control.
"If someone gets offered say more money to come here but they want to go elsewhere, they want to go to London, there's not much you can do.
"I think the club have shown their hand in terms of they will be prepared to pay the wages of top players, but whether they want to come here is a different matter.
"I think it's where we're at.
"We need to work harder and smarter again.
"We have brought in a raft of players who can hopefully develop and mould into a way of working and be better in the future."
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool limped to a 1-2 loss at home to Chelsea on Saturday, and Jack Lusby outlines where the Reds failed and, rarely, succeeded.
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea, Anfield. Saturday 8 November.
Another day, another miserable performance.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side continued their 2014/15 struggles on Saturday with a 2-1 loss at home to Jose Mourinho’s rampant Chelsea.
An early goal from German summer signing Emre Can offered the loyal Kop optimism, but this was soon cancelled out with a scrambled effort from centre-back Gary Cahill and, of course, a decisive winner from Spanish behemoth Diego Costa.
The game was marred by two controversial decisions after handballs from Cahill in the Chelsea penalty area, but Rodgers can have no real complaints after such a poor performance from his side—the Blues were well worth the three points.
A truly eventful encounter, there are many talking points to be drawn from this Reds display, both negative and, perhaps surprisingly, positive.
So, where did the action take place, and where was this game won?
Simon Mignolet and Dejan Lovren: Terrified in Possession
Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and £20 million centre-back Dejan Lovren were significant talking points following the mid-week loss to Madrid; one positive, one negative.
Mignolet, surprisingly, shone between the sticks at the Bernabeu, thwarting menacing efforts from James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in particular, and looked to grow in confidence as the contest wore on.
Ahead of the Belgian in defence was Kolo Toure—by far Liverpool’s man of the match in Madrid—and the Ivorian’s authority spread throughout the Reds’ back line.
Rodgers’ decision to drop Toure in favour of Lovren at Anfield was bemusing to say the least, and the Croatian international’s miserable form continued.
The outstanding point the echoed from Lovren to Mignolet was an immense lack of confidence in possession, and Chelsea pressed high to take advantage of this.
Lovren consistently played dangerous balls either back to Mignolet or across the defence—with Costa, Oscar and Eden Hazard ready to pounce—and the Belgian compounded this awful disposition with a terrible pass, ostensibly to Martin Skrtel, at the death.
Liverpool will not prevail with such poor possession in defence.
Martin Skrtel vs. Diego Costa
After a magnificent running battle in Slovakia’s 2-1 home win to Spain in the sides’ European Championships 2016 Qualifier back in October, Liverpool centre-back Skrtel continued his on-field feud with Chelsea dynamo Costa at Anfield on Saturday.
Alongside Lovren, there is no surprise that Skrtel’s overall game suffered.
But the Liverpool No.37 kept Costa in check for the majority of proceedings, with Chelsea having to focus much of their attacking play through the wide areas.
The Spaniard should, arguably, have been sent off for several cynical rakes and barges into Skrtel, but referee Anthony Taylor kept the spirit of the competition alive and both players will have enjoyed the physical battle—that is where, after all, Skrtel is most effective.
Costa eventually came out on top, however, with his winner on 67 minutes just reward for a commendable persistence and enduring quality in the penalty area.
Glen Johnson vs. Eden Hazard
One of the key talking points identified prior to the game was the way in which Reds right-back Glen Johnson dealt with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard on the left wing, with Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe leading the focus
“Liverpool’s right-hand side is the area to target…Eden Hazard is going to have a dribbling party on Saturday, and it won’t be a surprise if everything good from Chelsea comes from him.”
With no explanation offered so far, a confident display from on-loan Spanish full-back Javier Manquillo against Madrid had no marker on Rodgers’ team selection on Saturday, with the 20-year-old dropped from the squad in favour of Johnson.
Deploying an attack-minded right-back over a principally defensive option when faced with one of the league’s most talented wide men was a bizarre decision by Rodgers.
The disciplined Manquillo would surely have had more chance of stymieing the mesmeric Hazard but, barring injury, the Spaniard saw his continued form rewarded with a place in the stands.
Johnson’s late blocks and link-up play on the right flank will go to some length to mask what was a dismal display by the Englishman—dropped from the England squad announced on Thursday.
According to Squawka, Johnson won just one tackle of an attempted five, and was dispossessed, per WhoScored, a Reds-high three times.
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea’s winner came from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross from the left-hand side, with Johnson characteristically absent.
Emre Can vs. Cesc Fabregas
Tighe also highlighted Fabregas as a key player to counter in Rodgers’ tactical layout, pointing to Marouane Fellaini’s semi-successful demolition job against the Spaniard in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea the previous weekend at the end of October.
“[Fabregas] was shackled by Marouane Fellaini in Chelsea’s draw with Manchester United, and the big Belgian proved a man-marking job of sorts can seriously halt his dominance. Cesc completed less than 15 passes in that first half… Liverpool have players to man-mark Cesc, and they’d be advised to do so.”
In this case it was Can who ensured Fabregas’ technical prowess was moot for the majority of this encounter.
However, it was far from a man-marking masterclass from the German, more a dominant display which hampered Fabregas’ momentum.
Can, belying Steve Nicol’s bizarre criticism in mid-week, was energetic from the start, closing players down and continuing attacks adroitly.
While the German tired after the half-time break, there is no surprise that much of Chelsea’s attacks stemmed from wide areas and set-pieces—Can’s imposing figure thwarted the Blues’ engine room.
Steven Gerrard: The Occasion Eludes the Captain
There were inevitable nods to Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip in the two sides’ pivotal encounter last season prior to Saturday’s game, and throughout courtesy of a ruthless travelling support, and the occasion seemed to pass by an anonymous Liverpool captain.
According to Squawka, Gerrard completed zero tackles, won just one aerial duel, and made a defensive error leading to an attempt on Mignolet’s goal.
The Chelsea attack bypassed a desperate Gerrard time and time again at Anfield.
After another disappointing loss, Brendan Rodgers has plenty of questions to answer and areas to assess, and the immediate future of Steven Gerrard in his first team should be top of the list.
How can Liverpool react to their loss to Chelsea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool limped to a 1-2 loss at home to Chelsea on Saturday, and Jack Lusby outlines where the Reds failed and, rarely, succeeded.
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea, Anfield. Saturday 8 November.
Another day, another miserable performance.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side continued their 2014/15 struggles on Saturday with a 2-1 loss at home to Jose Mourinho’s rampant Chelsea.
An early goal from German summer signing Emre Can offered the loyal Kop optimism, but this was soon cancelled out with a scrambled effort from centre-back Gary Cahill and, of course, a decisive winner from Spanish behemoth Diego Costa.
The game was marred by two controversial decisions after handballs from Cahill in the Chelsea penalty area, but Rodgers can have no real complaints after such a poor performance from his side—the Blues were well worth the three points.
A truly eventful encounter, there are many talking points to be drawn from this Reds display, both negative and, perhaps surprisingly, positive.
So, where did the action take place, and where was this game won?
Simon Mignolet and Dejan Lovren: Terrified in Possession
Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and £20 million centre-back Dejan Lovren were significant talking points following the mid-week loss to Madrid; one positive, one negative.
Mignolet, surprisingly, shone between the sticks at the Bernabeu, thwarting menacing efforts from James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in particular, and looked to grow in confidence as the contest wore on.
Ahead of the Belgian in defence was Kolo Toure—by far Liverpool’s man of the match in Madrid—and the Ivorian’s authority spread throughout the Reds’ back line.
Rodgers’ decision to drop Toure in favour of Lovren at Anfield was bemusing to say the least, and the Croatian international’s miserable form continued.
The outstanding point the echoed from Lovren to Mignolet was an immense lack of confidence in possession, and Chelsea pressed high to take advantage of this.
Lovren consistently played dangerous balls either back to Mignolet or across the defence—with Costa, Oscar and Eden Hazard ready to pounce—and the Belgian compounded this awful disposition with a terrible pass, ostensibly to Martin Skrtel, at the death.
Liverpool will not prevail with such poor possession in defence.
Martin Skrtel vs. Diego Costa
After a magnificent running battle in Slovakia’s 2-1 home win to Spain in the sides’ European Championships 2016 Qualifier back in October, Liverpool centre-back Skrtel continued his on-field feud with Chelsea dynamo Costa at Anfield on Saturday.
Alongside Lovren, there is no surprise that Skrtel’s overall game suffered.
But the Liverpool No.37 kept Costa in check for the majority of proceedings, with Chelsea having to focus much of their attacking play through the wide areas.
The Spaniard should, arguably, have been sent off for several cynical rakes and barges into Skrtel, but referee Anthony Taylor kept the spirit of the competition alive and both players will have enjoyed the physical battle—that is where, after all, Skrtel is most effective.
Costa eventually came out on top, however, with his winner on 67 minutes just reward for a commendable persistence and enduring quality in the penalty area.
Glen Johnson vs. Eden Hazard
One of the key talking points identified prior to the game was the way in which Reds right-back Glen Johnson dealt with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard on the left wing, with Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe leading the focus
“Liverpool’s right-hand side is the area to target…Eden Hazard is going to have a dribbling party on Saturday, and it won’t be a surprise if everything good from Chelsea comes from him.”
With no explanation offered so far, a confident display from on-loan Spanish full-back Javier Manquillo against Madrid had no marker on Rodgers’ team selection on Saturday, with the 20-year-old dropped from the squad in favour of Johnson.
Deploying an attack-minded right-back over a principally defensive option when faced with one of the league’s most talented wide men was a bizarre decision by Rodgers.
The disciplined Manquillo would surely have had more chance of stymieing the mesmeric Hazard but, barring injury, the Spaniard saw his continued form rewarded with a place in the stands.
Johnson’s late blocks and link-up play on the right flank will go to some length to mask what was a dismal display by the Englishman—dropped from the England squad announced on Thursday.
According to Squawka, Johnson won just one tackle of an attempted five, and was dispossessed, per WhoScored, a Reds-high three times.
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea’s winner came from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross from the left-hand side, with Johnson characteristically absent.
Emre Can vs. Cesc Fabregas
Tighe also highlighted Fabregas as a key player to counter in Rodgers’ tactical layout, pointing to Marouane Fellaini’s semi-successful demolition job against the Spaniard in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea the previous weekend at the end of October.
“[Fabregas] was shackled by Marouane Fellaini in Chelsea’s draw with Manchester United, and the big Belgian proved a man-marking job of sorts can seriously halt his dominance. Cesc completed less than 15 passes in that first half… Liverpool have players to man-mark Cesc, and they’d be advised to do so.”
In this case it was Can who ensured Fabregas’ technical prowess was moot for the majority of this encounter.
However, it was far from a man-marking masterclass from the German, more a dominant display which hampered Fabregas’ momentum.
Can, belying Steve Nicol’s bizarre criticism in mid-week, was energetic from the start, closing players down and continuing attacks adroitly.
While the German tired after the half-time break, there is no surprise that much of Chelsea’s attacks stemmed from wide areas and set-pieces—Can’s imposing figure thwarted the Blues’ engine room.
Steven Gerrard: The Occasion Eludes the Captain
There were inevitable nods to Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip in the two sides’ pivotal encounter last season prior to Saturday’s game, and throughout courtesy of a ruthless travelling support, and the occasion seemed to pass by an anonymous Liverpool captain.
According to Squawka, Gerrard completed zero tackles, won just one aerial duel, and made a defensive error leading to an attempt on Mignolet’s goal.
The Chelsea attack bypassed a desperate Gerrard time and time again at Anfield.
After another disappointing loss, Brendan Rodgers has plenty of questions to answer and areas to assess, and the immediate future of Steven Gerrard in his first team should be top of the list.
How can Liverpool react to their loss to Chelsea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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