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Talk lfc match report
by Anthony Jones at Talklfc
Liverpool returned to Premiership action desperate to get their season back on track after the 4-1 defeat against Chelsea. Benitez showed his ability to surprise with his team selections again as Traore came in at the expense of Hyypia with Josemi also coming in at the back alongside Carragher. With Warnock on the left, Liverpool showed the flexibility to switch between a flat back four and three at the back. Finnan was playing on the right flank in front of Josemi with Sissoko and Alonso whilst Zenden completed the midfield. Upfront the most noticeable selection was that of Cisse who came in to partner Crouch.
Blackburn were not to be underestimated after taking three points against Manchester United recently. Under Mark Hughes they have become a very difficult side to beat as they work hard, sometimes crossing the lines of acceptability. It's for games like this that Benitez signed Momo Sissoko, who has a good mixture of drive and ability. It was the tall midfielder who nearly opened up Blackburn first. Surging at the back four, he took the wrong option and instead of playing Zenden in on the left he instead struck a weak shot.
With Gerrard out of the side, Xabi Alonso was on set piece duty. The Spaniard's passing has been a joy since he's arrived but his delivery from dead ball situations has not always been of the highest standard. That wasn't the case here. A corner from the Liverpool right found Cisse unmarked on the edge of the six yard box. The striker had the time to do almost anything he wanted with the ball, but his decision to try a spectacular overhead kick was clearly the wrong one as he failed to make contact. An Alonso free kick drilled in fro midway inside the half found Carragher but his downward header drifted wide. Steve Finnan then delivered off his left foot and found Cisse just inside the Blackburn box. Cisse, attempting to put power on the ball headed over.
At the other end, Liverpool were reminded that they would have to remain sharp. A flick on by Kuqi allowed Dickov to get the wrong side of Traore but the defender showed his ability to recover and flicked the ball away. The ball wasn't cleared properly though and the ball was delivered back to Dickov who dropped the ball down for Savage. As the midfielder prepared himself to strike the ball, Alonso closed down the space and the shot went wide.
Liverpool were the more likely side to score though. A ball in from Alonso to the far post was headed back across towards Cisse by Crouch but Friedel bravely claimed the ball.
The key moment of the match then came as Cisse was played through with one defender to beat. Going around his defender he was brought down right on the edge of the penalty area. The referee initially gave a penalty but after discussing with his assistant revised it to a free kick. A red card was shown to the offending defender though. Bolo Zenden nearly added to the punishment as his effort from the free kick went over the wall and with Friedel stranded struck the crossbar.
Another Alonso free kick again found Carragher deep inside the six yard box. All the defender could do was deflect it goalwards and Friedel stood tall to block it. Josemi fired a cross in which found Cisse with space just inside the eighteen yard box but the striker was just unable to keep his header down. Another Alonso corner, this time from the left found Cisse once more unmarked just outside the six yard box and with the goal at his mercy, he headed disappointingly wide.
The first action of the second half saw Carragher loop the ball into Finnan on the edge of the box who headed the ball back to Cisse. The Frenchman's first touch set the ball up for the volley but his strike went well over the cross bar.
Liverpool then made a change by withdrawing Josemi to bring on Luis Garcia with Finnan moving to right back. The change happened when Liverpool had a free kick, and when he came on, Liverpool worked a clever free kick which saw Warnock get in behind Tugay. The Blackburn midfielder clearly brought down the Liverpool winger but the referee failed to give a penalty.
Yet another Alonso free kick found Cisse this time making a run to the back of the box. The header was fired across goal and the keeper tipped the ball over for a corner. From the resulting corner the ball was played short to Alonso who whipped in a deep cross which Crouch headed back into the six yard box but no one was available to take advantage.
Liverpool were on top now and the first goal again came close when Garcia won the ball deep in Blackburn's half. His pull back to Cisse on the edge of the box was perfectly weighted but the forward's side footed effort went wide of the target. Liverpool then brought on Morientes in place of Crouch who had again shown some good play with his back to goal but will be disappointed he failed to show enough threat in the box.
Stephen Warnock was then replaced by Riise. Finally the goal came and surely it was no surprise that it was Djibril Cisse who got the goal. The way the goal arrived was probably also an expected source. From a free kick the ball was rolled to the side and Cisse struck the ball low and hard into the keepers bottom right corner. The striker making a point of of shaking the hand of Rafa Benitez on his way back to half way.
With the lead Liverpool were now looking comfortable, whilst Blackburn were looking rattled with a number of bookings being awarded. Liverpool should have had a number of goals.
A ball in from the right flew over the head of Nelson and with Morientes unmarked on the six yard line the striker failed to anticipate the ball and rather than heading home, the ball struck him on the chest and rolled away from danger. A Riise cross allowed Garcia to sneak into a heading position but his effort went over the cross bar.
Blackburn managed to fashion a rare chance late in the game. A Robbie Savage free kick was headed clear. The ball was immediately returned into the penalty area where Kuqi had been left unmarked. The forward who failed to appreciate the time he had available and headed well wide.
Morientes then missed another chance. A thunderous strike from Riise was spilled by the keeper and Morientes showing good awareness pounced on the rebound but only managed to side foot the ball the wrong side of the post. Zenden then delivered a cross only to see Morientes rise above the defenders to head the ball over the crossbar. It was the final action of the game.
For Benitez the relief will be that the season is back on track. He will also be pleased that his side controlled the game for the most part, though admittedly aided by the sending off in the first half. His main concern will be the fact that whilst far more chances were created, too many of them failed to even test the keeper. There is still plenty of work for Benitez to do, and there is still much to do for a number of players to convince the fans, and in some instances Benitez, that they are the answer to the club's problems.
Liverpool returned to Premiership action desperate to get their season back on track after the 4-1 defeat against Chelsea. Benitez showed his ability to surprise with his team selections again as Traore came in at the expense of Hyypia with Josemi also coming in at the back alongside Carragher. With Warnock on the left, Liverpool showed the flexibility to switch between a flat back four and three at the back. Finnan was playing on the right flank in front of Josemi with Sissoko and Alonso whilst Zenden completed the midfield. Upfront the most noticeable selection was that of Cisse who came in to partner Crouch.
Blackburn were not to be underestimated after taking three points against Manchester United recently. Under Mark Hughes they have become a very difficult side to beat as they work hard, sometimes crossing the lines of acceptability. It's for games like this that Benitez signed Momo Sissoko, who has a good mixture of drive and ability. It was the tall midfielder who nearly opened up Blackburn first. Surging at the back four, he took the wrong option and instead of playing Zenden in on the left he instead struck a weak shot.
With Gerrard out of the side, Xabi Alonso was on set piece duty. The Spaniard's passing has been a joy since he's arrived but his delivery from dead ball situations has not always been of the highest standard. That wasn't the case here. A corner from the Liverpool right found Cisse unmarked on the edge of the six yard box. The striker had the time to do almost anything he wanted with the ball, but his decision to try a spectacular overhead kick was clearly the wrong one as he failed to make contact. An Alonso free kick drilled in fro midway inside the half found Carragher but his downward header drifted wide. Steve Finnan then delivered off his left foot and found Cisse just inside the Blackburn box. Cisse, attempting to put power on the ball headed over.
At the other end, Liverpool were reminded that they would have to remain sharp. A flick on by Kuqi allowed Dickov to get the wrong side of Traore but the defender showed his ability to recover and flicked the ball away. The ball wasn't cleared properly though and the ball was delivered back to Dickov who dropped the ball down for Savage. As the midfielder prepared himself to strike the ball, Alonso closed down the space and the shot went wide.
Liverpool were the more likely side to score though. A ball in from Alonso to the far post was headed back across towards Cisse by Crouch but Friedel bravely claimed the ball.
The key moment of the match then came as Cisse was played through with one defender to beat. Going around his defender he was brought down right on the edge of the penalty area. The referee initially gave a penalty but after discussing with his assistant revised it to a free kick. A red card was shown to the offending defender though. Bolo Zenden nearly added to the punishment as his effort from the free kick went over the wall and with Friedel stranded struck the crossbar.
Another Alonso free kick again found Carragher deep inside the six yard box. All the defender could do was deflect it goalwards and Friedel stood tall to block it. Josemi fired a cross in which found Cisse with space just inside the eighteen yard box but the striker was just unable to keep his header down. Another Alonso corner, this time from the left found Cisse once more unmarked just outside the six yard box and with the goal at his mercy, he headed disappointingly wide.
The first action of the second half saw Carragher loop the ball into Finnan on the edge of the box who headed the ball back to Cisse. The Frenchman's first touch set the ball up for the volley but his strike went well over the cross bar.
Liverpool then made a change by withdrawing Josemi to bring on Luis Garcia with Finnan moving to right back. The change happened when Liverpool had a free kick, and when he came on, Liverpool worked a clever free kick which saw Warnock get in behind Tugay. The Blackburn midfielder clearly brought down the Liverpool winger but the referee failed to give a penalty.
Yet another Alonso free kick found Cisse this time making a run to the back of the box. The header was fired across goal and the keeper tipped the ball over for a corner. From the resulting corner the ball was played short to Alonso who whipped in a deep cross which Crouch headed back into the six yard box but no one was available to take advantage.
Liverpool were on top now and the first goal again came close when Garcia won the ball deep in Blackburn's half. His pull back to Cisse on the edge of the box was perfectly weighted but the forward's side footed effort went wide of the target. Liverpool then brought on Morientes in place of Crouch who had again shown some good play with his back to goal but will be disappointed he failed to show enough threat in the box.
Stephen Warnock was then replaced by Riise. Finally the goal came and surely it was no surprise that it was Djibril Cisse who got the goal. The way the goal arrived was probably also an expected source. From a free kick the ball was rolled to the side and Cisse struck the ball low and hard into the keepers bottom right corner. The striker making a point of of shaking the hand of Rafa Benitez on his way back to half way.
With the lead Liverpool were now looking comfortable, whilst Blackburn were looking rattled with a number of bookings being awarded. Liverpool should have had a number of goals.
A ball in from the right flew over the head of Nelson and with Morientes unmarked on the six yard line the striker failed to anticipate the ball and rather than heading home, the ball struck him on the chest and rolled away from danger. A Riise cross allowed Garcia to sneak into a heading position but his effort went over the cross bar.
Blackburn managed to fashion a rare chance late in the game. A Robbie Savage free kick was headed clear. The ball was immediately returned into the penalty area where Kuqi had been left unmarked. The forward who failed to appreciate the time he had available and headed well wide.
Morientes then missed another chance. A thunderous strike from Riise was spilled by the keeper and Morientes showing good awareness pounced on the rebound but only managed to side foot the ball the wrong side of the post. Zenden then delivered a cross only to see Morientes rise above the defenders to head the ball over the crossbar. It was the final action of the game.
For Benitez the relief will be that the season is back on track. He will also be pleased that his side controlled the game for the most part, though admittedly aided by the sending off in the first half. His main concern will be the fact that whilst far more chances were created, too many of them failed to even test the keeper. There is still plenty of work for Benitez to do, and there is still much to do for a number of players to convince the fans, and in some instances Benitez, that they are the answer to the club's problems.
