Liverpool suffered a setback last night as they undeservedly lost 1-0 at the Emirates. The Reds played decent football and were in the game throughout, but they didn't possess the cutting edge needed to slay their top 4 opponents.
The hard work that has earned Liverpool vital victories over recent weeks was on display once again, however, for the first time in weeks, Liverpool looked to be missing their star striker, Fernando Torres, as the lone striker, Ngog, showed little to convince fans that he can provide the neccesary goals while Torres is on the sidelines.
Of course, Reds shouldn't be quick to criticise the French striker as he is only a young player, and has been thrust into the limelight this season as a result of the injury crisis that Liverpool have suffered. This season's experience should serve him well for future years, and he could be a talented indiviual. However, at the moment, he isn't showing the flashes of genius that we saw from him earlier on in the campaign.
The first half was a dire affair, with clear cut chances few and far between. The best opportunity fell to Bendtner on 25 minutes. After some neat build up play Bendtner was set through and had a clear look in on goal, however the Arsenal striker, who has been out for several weeks with injury, blazed his shot high and wide.
Liverpool responded with a chance of their own as Gerrard put a free kick into the home side's penalty area. Skrtel headed the ball down and it eventually fell to Maxi Rodriguez, who shot just over the bar from the edge of the 18 yard box. On closer inspection, the ball hit the hand of Thomas Vermalen, and quite possibly could have been a spot kick, that would have provided Liverpool with the all important first goal.
Near the close of the first period, Fabregas combined well with Arshavin before storming past a few members of the Reds defence, however his weak shot was comfortably dealt with by Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal.
The second half was a much better affair, with both teams opening up more and trying to take all 3 points. Lucas was played in by Kuyt, and the Brazillian midfielder, who has been one of the most consistent performers this season, did well to breeze past two of the Arsenal backline, but his scorching shot flew into the stands. It was an encouraging movement, which demonstrates that Lucas is not just a defensive workhorse, but is also a valuable member of the team going forward, when given the opportunity to attack.
5 minutes later Liverpool really should have took the lead. Gerrard played a magnificent pass through to Ngog who was running clear past the Arsenal defence and in on goal, however he was stopped by a tremendous challenege from William Gallas, just as he was about to pull the trigger and fire the Reds into the lead. It was a massive miss, and one that you cannot help but believe would have been safely tucked away by a fully fit Fernando Torres.
That disappointing miss nearly proved fatal as the home side counter attacked rapidly. Russian striker Andrey Arshavin used his skill to play Rosicky in behind Liverpool's right back, Jamie Carragher but, thankfully for the Redmen, the Czech international's touch let him down at the crucial moment, and the ball rolled behind for a goal kick.
Following this, Nicklas Bendtner showed the two sides to his game. First, he used his strength to take on at least 4 Liverpool players and run into the area. When he got there he was faced by Reina, who hurried out of his goal to make a vital intervention, blocking the ball confidently. It was an impressive surge forward, however his finish was lacking.
Minutes later, he insanely threw himself to the ground in the penalty area under a challenege from Daniel Agger. The Danish centre back didn't touch him, yet his international team mate fell over like he'd been hit with a ton of bricks. He was rightly shown a yellow card for his antics.
Rosicky's thunderous shot was deflected off Javier Mascherano as Liverpool continuted to defend stubbornly, however their resistance was broken on 71 minutes when some poor defending, which is uncharacteristic considering Liverpool's recent rearguard action, let them down. Rosicky was allowed all the time in the world, on the left, to pick out Diaby in the centre who comfortably headed home. Rosicky should never have been allowed to deliver a cross in the first place, and the defending once the ball had arrived in the area was truly dreadful. Abou Diaby was given the freedom of London to place his header into the back of the net, as none of the Reds defence has decided to pick him up.
This sparked a response from the away side, as they battled for an equaliser and created several opportunites to get back into the game. The best of these came on 85 minutes when Ryan Babel was centimetres away from producing a sensational equaliser, similar to his awesome strike in Lyon. Babel showed unusual strength to hold the ball up before turning his man. He then went onto fire an explosive shot in on goal, and he would have scored if it was not for the otherwise average Almunia making a fantastic save to tip Babel's shot onto the cross bar.
Babel's erratic performances have denied him a sustained run in the first 11 however his impressive cameo display last night should earn him a start in the Reds next match, at home to Unirea in the Europa League, in his preferred role as a striker, especially considering Ngog's below par performances over recent weeks.
With minutes left in injury time Liverpool were granted one last throw of the dice. Steven Gerrard was awarded a free kick on the edge of the Arsenal box, after a foul on Dirk Kuyt. The captain stood up and placed a wonderful free kick, that looked like it was heading for the back of the net to grab an invaluable point, however Fabregas blatanlty handled the ball right in front of referee Howard Webb. Stunningly, Webb failed to notice this obvious handball and did not award either a free kick or a penalty. It was debateable whether Fabregas was in the box or not, but either way Liverpool should have been given another chance to score from a set piece.
Liverpool have a right to complain about the 2 penalty decisions that did not go their way, for the umpteenth time this season. Nevertheless, they must look at their own performances and look to improve ahead of the visit to Eastlands on the 21st February. Liverpool have only managed a worrying 12 away goals this league campaign, and must now look to improve this tally if they're to secure the 4th place finish that they crave.
YNWA
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