With Sunderland sitting at a lofty 8th place and Liverpool at a disappointing 6th, this match had the chance to show two teams with very different outlooks.
Liverpool is clearly attempting to counter Sunderland’s two strikers, Kenwyn Jones and Darren Bent with a 3-man back line, which is unusual in the EPL. I really like a 3 man defense against a straight 4-4-2 and feel it gives the chance to dominate possession if played well. It appears that Benitez is using it as much to compensate for the absence of Garrard and Torres as for a tactical advantage. Skrtel, Carragher, and Agger are playing the back, with Glen Johnson and Aurelio as the wing backs. The 3-man front line is unusual but suits the talent that Liverpool has available. It looks something like this.
Benayoun – Babbel – Kuyt
Aurelio – Spearing – Lukas – Johnson
Agger – Carragher - Skrtel
Sunderland is playing the traditional EPL 4-4-2.
Benayoun – Babbel – Kuyt
Aurelio – Spearing – Lukas – Johnson
Agger – Carragher - Skrtel
Sunderland is playing the traditional EPL 4-4-2.
K.Jones – Bent
Reid – Cana – Cattermole – Malbranque
McCartney – A.Ferdinand – Turner – Bardsley
5’ – The action starts early as Reid drifts to the right and crosses the ball back into the box, it is backheeled by a Sunderland player and falls to Bent at the top left of the box. Bent calmly slams the ball towards the near post and it ricochets off what appears to be a beach-ball, and into the back of the net. The ref let the goal stand, apparently believing it had come off the foot of Glen Johnson.
While North American sports have embraced instant replay to review scoring plays, it really hasn’t happened in soccer. This is a great example of why it would be pertinent. It’s interesting that the FIFA rule calls for play to be stopped if an outside object interferes with play, yet the announcers would have us believe that it’s Reina’s fault for not puncturing the ball with his cleats when he had the chance. Strange.
12’ – Liverpool is pressing but Sunderland manages to clear after the ball bounces dangerously in the box.
16’ – Ryan Babel uses a nice stop-and-go move to get space amongst 3 defenders and unleashes a shot just over the bar.
I really like the way Kenwyn Jones is holding up the ball for the Sunderland attack. He’s taking the quick long-ball and then laying it off for a charging team-mate and it’s been quite effective.
Just saw the replay of the beach ball going on to the field. It was a kid, probably around 10 years old. He’ll either be the most popular or the most hated kid in school on Monday, depending on which team his class-mates support.
30’ – Benayoun, Babel and Kuyt are inter-changing positions and playing a weaving style of offense. With two of them dropping off regularly, it’s like having a 6-man midfield and Liverpool is dominating possession. Unfortunately, all 3 of these players are better off as support players on the front line and the team is lacking decisiveness in the box.
The wingback position definitely suits Johnson and Aurelio. They are extremely comfortable jumping into the attack. Both Skrtel and Agger also seem comfortable pushing into midfield on the attack.
39’ – Bardsley crosses after a throw-in and Bent’s header flashes just wide of the goal. As Liverpool comes back down the field, Spearing slashes a shot from the top of the box that just misses at it swerves outside.
Spearing’s play has been decent but Lukas looks terrible. ‘Pool need someone in those central midfield positions who can provide a play-making presence. Both are more apt to tackle and slam long shots toward goal.
42’ – Cattermole is doing a great job of controlling play in midfield. Not only is he tackling well, but he’s distributing well to the wings to initiate the attack.
Half – Liverpool has had 66% of the possession in the first half. Apparently the 3-4-3 formation was helping in that regard, but they really didn’t have any decent chances to show for it.
45’ – Henderson is in for McCartney, who may have picked up an injury. It could also be a tactical change since Johnson was dominating on runs down the right. Henderson slotted into the central midfield role while Ferdinand moved out to the left and Cana dropped back to central defense.
55’ – On the counter-attack, Jones placed a great through ball past 2 defenders for Bent, who tried to round Reina but was stopped by a fantastic outstretched save. The crowd was holding their breath during that play and you could here the disappointed sigh. That would have secured a win.
57’ - Cattermole is injured on a challenge, which could be a monstrous blow to Sunderland. Bolo Zenden comes in for him.
61’ – Bent intercepts a header back to Reina and hits the post with an outside foot strike. Sunderland is clearly getting chances to finish this game, but can’t seem to capitalize.
65’ – Jones goes off on a stretcher after a challenge from Skrtel. The Stadium of Light is harboring a lot of nervous energy as Sunderland are now down 2 of their best players. Frazier Campbell brings his young promise onto the field to replace Jones.
Sunderland is now fully playing behind the ball and looking for counter-attack options. At the moment, this seems like a sound strategy as Liverpool look confused defending on the break and Sunderland are losing the possession battle anyway.
69’ – On yet another counter-attack, Malbranque tries a shot on a 2v1 with Bent that is blocked by Carragher. Bent was all alone and should have received the ball for an easy goal. Yet another chance wasted by Sunderland.
72’ – Benitez abandons the 3-4-3 in favor of a 4-4-2 as he brings on Voronin and Mascherano for Skrtel and Spearing. Lukas should have come off instead. Babel and Benayoun are now playing out wide with Voronin and Kuyt up top.
The 3-4-3 was successful at neutralizing Jones, but the defenders seemed unsure how to handle Bent. That said, I think there could be some promise in this formation for Liverpool if they played a 3-4-1-2 with Torres up top, partnered with Kuyt and Garrard in the playmakers role behind them. That would leave the central midfield role up to the likes of Mascherano and Spearing or Lukas, but with no requirement for creativity. Also, Torres is considerably more effective than any of the other Liverpool forwards. The tactics were solid, but the finishing was poor today. Obviously this would work better against teams that play a traditional 4-4-2 rather than a 4-5-1.
81’ – N’Gog comes in for a largely ineffective Babel. N’Gog takes a spot alongside Voronin with Kuyt moving out wide to the right.
85’ – Kuyt and Johnson have made two straight forays up the right and have created chances both times. Liverpool needs to keep exploiting this mismatch as Ferdinand looks lost out on the left.
93’ – Gordon makes 2 great saves as Kuyt attempts a shot on the near post.
The win goes to Sunderland, which could mean real crisis for Liverpool. They’ll most likely drop to 8th spot, which is significantly off their expectations for the season. That said, they were victims of terrible luck and a poor call, but really were the team with fewer chances throughout the game.
Reid – Cana – Cattermole – Malbranque
McCartney – A.Ferdinand – Turner – Bardsley
5’ – The action starts early as Reid drifts to the right and crosses the ball back into the box, it is backheeled by a Sunderland player and falls to Bent at the top left of the box. Bent calmly slams the ball towards the near post and it ricochets off what appears to be a beach-ball, and into the back of the net. The ref let the goal stand, apparently believing it had come off the foot of Glen Johnson. While North American sports have embraced instant replay to review scoring plays, it really hasn’t happened in soccer. This is a great example of why it would be pertinent. It’s interesting that the FIFA rule calls for play to be stopped if an outside object interferes with play, yet the announcers would have us believe that it’s Reina’s fault for not puncturing the ball with his cleats when he had the chance. Strange.
12’ – Liverpool is pressing but Sunderland manages to clear after the ball bounces dangerously in the box.
16’ – Ryan Babel uses a nice stop-and-go move to get space amongst 3 defenders and unleashes a shot just over the bar.
I really like the way Kenwyn Jones is holding up the ball for the Sunderland attack. He’s taking the quick long-ball and then laying it off for a charging team-mate and it’s been quite effective.
Just saw the replay of the beach ball going on to the field. It was a kid, probably around 10 years old. He’ll either be the most popular or the most hated kid in school on Monday, depending on which team his class-mates support.
30’ – Benayoun, Babel and Kuyt are inter-changing positions and playing a weaving style of offense. With two of them dropping off regularly, it’s like having a 6-man midfield and Liverpool is dominating possession. Unfortunately, all 3 of these players are better off as support players on the front line and the team is lacking decisiveness in the box.
The wingback position definitely suits Johnson and Aurelio. They are extremely comfortable jumping into the attack. Both Skrtel and Agger also seem comfortable pushing into midfield on the attack.
39’ – Bardsley crosses after a throw-in and Bent’s header flashes just wide of the goal. As Liverpool comes back down the field, Spearing slashes a shot from the top of the box that just misses at it swerves outside.
Spearing’s play has been decent but Lukas looks terrible. ‘Pool need someone in those central midfield positions who can provide a play-making presence. Both are more apt to tackle and slam long shots toward goal.
42’ – Cattermole is doing a great job of controlling play in midfield. Not only is he tackling well, but he’s distributing well to the wings to initiate the attack.
Half – Liverpool has had 66% of the possession in the first half. Apparently the 3-4-3 formation was helping in that regard, but they really didn’t have any decent chances to show for it.
45’ – Henderson is in for McCartney, who may have picked up an injury. It could also be a tactical change since Johnson was dominating on runs down the right. Henderson slotted into the central midfield role while Ferdinand moved out to the left and Cana dropped back to central defense.
55’ – On the counter-attack, Jones placed a great through ball past 2 defenders for Bent, who tried to round Reina but was stopped by a fantastic outstretched save. The crowd was holding their breath during that play and you could here the disappointed sigh. That would have secured a win.
57’ - Cattermole is injured on a challenge, which could be a monstrous blow to Sunderland. Bolo Zenden comes in for him.
61’ – Bent intercepts a header back to Reina and hits the post with an outside foot strike. Sunderland is clearly getting chances to finish this game, but can’t seem to capitalize.
65’ – Jones goes off on a stretcher after a challenge from Skrtel. The Stadium of Light is harboring a lot of nervous energy as Sunderland are now down 2 of their best players. Frazier Campbell brings his young promise onto the field to replace Jones.
Sunderland is now fully playing behind the ball and looking for counter-attack options. At the moment, this seems like a sound strategy as Liverpool look confused defending on the break and Sunderland are losing the possession battle anyway.
69’ – On yet another counter-attack, Malbranque tries a shot on a 2v1 with Bent that is blocked by Carragher. Bent was all alone and should have received the ball for an easy goal. Yet another chance wasted by Sunderland.
72’ – Benitez abandons the 3-4-3 in favor of a 4-4-2 as he brings on Voronin and Mascherano for Skrtel and Spearing. Lukas should have come off instead. Babel and Benayoun are now playing out wide with Voronin and Kuyt up top.
The 3-4-3 was successful at neutralizing Jones, but the defenders seemed unsure how to handle Bent. That said, I think there could be some promise in this formation for Liverpool if they played a 3-4-1-2 with Torres up top, partnered with Kuyt and Garrard in the playmakers role behind them. That would leave the central midfield role up to the likes of Mascherano and Spearing or Lukas, but with no requirement for creativity. Also, Torres is considerably more effective than any of the other Liverpool forwards. The tactics were solid, but the finishing was poor today. Obviously this would work better against teams that play a traditional 4-4-2 rather than a 4-5-1.
81’ – N’Gog comes in for a largely ineffective Babel. N’Gog takes a spot alongside Voronin with Kuyt moving out wide to the right.
85’ – Kuyt and Johnson have made two straight forays up the right and have created chances both times. Liverpool needs to keep exploiting this mismatch as Ferdinand looks lost out on the left.
93’ – Gordon makes 2 great saves as Kuyt attempts a shot on the near post.
The win goes to Sunderland, which could mean real crisis for Liverpool. They’ll most likely drop to 8th spot, which is significantly off their expectations for the season. That said, they were victims of terrible luck and a poor call, but really were the team with fewer chances throughout the game.
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