Talk lfc match report

by Anthony Jones at Talklfc

Diabolical

Liverpool's awful run of form continued as they gifted Crystal Palace passage to the next round of the Carling Cup. For the second time in a handful of days Liverpool lost to London opposition when the game was well within their reach. However a disturbing lack of fight undermined the side and resulted in Liverpool leaving the field with little credit.

It shouldn't have been this way as Liverpool controlled the tempo of the first half. However despite denying Palace much possession, the Liverpool defence never looked convincing. At the sharp end, Liverpool's complete lack of confidence in front of goal results in a host of chances passing them by.

As expected Benitez rotated the pack fielding a mixture of experience in the form of Morientes, Gerrard, Hyypia and Hamann. With three of those players coming back from injury, there was much to be gained from this game. With the other players, Carson, Raven, Warnock, Whitbread, Potter and Crouch all having points to prove a positive performance was expected. Without ever looking truely fluent Liverpool carved out chances. Raven and Potter linked reasonably well in the opening period though neither was able to deliver the final ball with any great quality on a consistent enough basis. It wasn't just this pair, one of the biggest frustrations was that with Morientes and Crouch both strong in the air, the delivery into the box rarely had the height to beat the first defender.

Despite this chances were made. Morientes got in behind the Palace defence and showing a hint of his former self ghosted onto his right foot only to see Speroni make a sharp save. Darren Potter who once again looked uncomfortable out on the right had a couple of shooting opportunities but failed to hit the target. It was a regular story as headers from Morientes and Crouch failed to work Speroni in the Palace net. A rare cross of quality from the right found Kewell unmarked cutting in from the left but his side footed volley also went over the cross bar.

At the back though, Liverpool were never completely sure footed. Zak Whitbread seemed uncomfortable in the opening exchanges and he was lucky to escape a booking after being turned on the half way line. His fortune was added to when the referee stopped play to award the foul with Palace setting up a one on one situation thinking advantage was being played. It was Whitbread who was at fault when Palace opened the scoring. A ball into the area from deep on the Palace left flank eluded Whitbread who had lost his player and Freedman headed home leaving Carson with no chance.

Liverpool snapped into life with Gerrard looking to lift the side. The Liverpool captain had looked a long way short of full fitness up to this point but bursting forward he looked to head the ball into the path of Morientes. Hudson defended well for Palace but saw the ball break for Gerrard who drove into the penalty area and then curled the ball low to Speroni's left and out of the keeper's reach.

It was expected that Liverpool would build on this position, the Palace goal providing a necessary lift. It never worked out that way. With Crouch being booed with every touch, a reaction that appears to now be unfairly following him around the country, the tall strikers confidence visibly disappeared. Where he had been involved in the first half, he now increasingly drifted to the periphery of the game. Gerrard tried to lift himself whilst Kewell continued to have a decent game on the left but the feeling that Liverpool weren't quite in control of their own destiny started to grow. Chances came, Morientes who showed some nice touches in the game saw a header drift just over whilst he was unlucky when cutting in from the right his shot was deflected away from goal with Potter unable to steer the spinning ball goalwards.

It was Palace though who looked the more dangerous now, primarily from set pieces and high balls. Zak Whitbread became an increasingly obvious target to attack as his positioning started to fail him, whilst he continually misjudged high balls. Looking to change things, and maybe with a degree of premeditation, Kewell and Morientes were withdrawn for Luis Garcia and Sinama-Pongolle. With Liverpool defending, Benitez may regret the timing of the withdrawal of Kewell as a set piece delivered from the right wasn't cleared and as the ball was stabbed back, Reich found space and volleyed home. It was a gaping whole on the left side of the Liverpool defence with Warnock caught marking someone inside the six yard box and Garcia not posted to defend in the area.

From that moment onwards, Liverpool never looked like winning which will be the biggest cause of dissatisfaction amongst the travelling fans and those who watched elsewhere. There was a failure to condense the play, a long standing problem that refuses to go away, whilst a lack of intelligence and composure when in possession allowed Palace to snuff out Liverpool attacks. The home side took full control of the closing stages of the game and eventually ran out comfortable winners.

The problems continue to mount for Benitez. Few players come out with any credit. David Raven did little wrong at right back whilst Carson was rarely tested and could do little with the goals, the keepers distribution is still not what it could be. Kewell looked sharp and was unlucky not to score himself whilst Morientes showed some nice touches but he still looks woefully lacking in confidence. That comment could extend to a number of the squad as they struggle to come to terms with Benitez's ideas and the demands of the club.