here is the emotion of the Hillsborough anniversary. There is the residual good will for the way Liverpool showed that English clubs can compete consistently in Europe. There is the feeling that, unlike Chelsea and Manchester City, Liverpool would not have had the title bought for them by its owners.
But the 3-2 victory at Norwich on Sunday that took Liverpool five points clear with three matches to play displayed yet another aspect of its appeal: Liverpool games are so darn entertaining.
In 35 games, Liverpool has scored 96 goals, eight more than Manchester City and 29 more than the third-most potent team, Chelsea. Just how thrillingly dangerous that attack is was shown in the first 11 minutes as Raheem Sterling and Luis Suárez fired Liverpool to another quick lead.
19-year-old Sterling "is the best young player in European football," Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, told Sky TV after the game. He might be right.
For the second straight week, Liverpool almost threw away a game it had under control -- it allowed hapless Norwich to fight back to 2-1 and then, after Sterling's second deflected goal, 3-2. If the luckless Ricky van Wolfswinkel had directed his close-range header anywhere but straight at Simon Mignolet, Norwich would have tied it. It was another roller-coaster ride, but Liverpool hung on.
While Liverpool's attack is viciously sharp, its defense often lives on a knife-edge. Part of the reason is that Rodgers puts attack first. Even Lucas, notionally the holding midfielder, keeps popping up in the opposing area looking for a goal. There seem to be no orders to stay behind the ball at Liverpool. It doesn't help that the back four isn't nearly as good as the front four.
Martin Skrtel was a towering presence with 16 clearances, including 11 headed clearances, most from deep in his own area. But that's an awful lot of pressure to soak up. Norwich, which had totaled just 15 goals in its 17 previous home games, managed 13 shots.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20140420/epl-thoughts-liverpool-raheem-sterling-chelsea-jose-mourinho/#ixzz2zczPrvxf
No comments:
Post a Comment