Bouncebackability

4 goals. 68% possession. 32 shots. 10 shots on target. You would think this was Pep Guardiola's Barcelona playing, not Liverpool. Especially not the Liverpool we've become accustomed to seeing and moaning about for the past three years.

Except it was, wasn't it. That was an absolutely magnificent performance. There was no dropping off of performance in the second half, no being pegged back for long periods (or at all), no late penalty heroics from Miglonet to ensure the points, no scruffy 1-0 and then ride out the game. This WAS death by football as envisioned by Brendan Rodgers. When we didn't have possession, we were pressing for the ball constantly. When we had possession, we knew exactly when to play it forward and when to play keep-ball. We exploited the full width of the pitch and cut them through the middle. We kept a clean sheet and our goalkeeper had absolutely NOTHING to do in the entire game. We finally scored from a corner thanks to an exquisite corner by our Captain Fantastic. This was THE complete performance. Yes, I know, it was only Fulham, but Liverpool has struggled to put away teams at Anfield since 2008-09.

Jordan Henderson was absolutely royally, regally magnificent. He was sharp with his passing, grabbed an assist for Suarez's goal with a slide-rule pass that left Fulham defenders for dead and crucially, pressed the opposition high up the pitch ceaselessly, covering probably every single blade of grass! Glen Johnson was magnificent on his return from injury, providing a constant goal threat and outlet on the right and offering genuine width. Steven Gerrard was at his imperious best, setting the tempo of the game like only he can and delivering some absolutely blinding balls into the box. Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger looked back to the pairing of two seasons ago, when they were probably the best center back pairing in the Premiership. Coutinho was a vital cog in midfield, always available to receive the ball and making those little darting runs behind defenders. And obviously, we have by far the finest front two in the league. The SAS, cheesy as the term sounds, is giving defenders throughout the league nightmares!

But yesterday's magnificent performance was even better than it actually was. One simple reason - bouncebackability. The memories of three painful seasons are yet to go. Rodgers alluded to it himself after the game, saying, "when I first came in here, there was vulnerability in games like this - there seemed to be nervousness around the group for some reason." Well, has he gotten rid of that and how! Liverpool have now won the league game immediately after a league defeat for the ninth time in a row! That speaks volumes about the character of the side Rodgers is trying to build. It is also key to all hopes of turning Anfield into a bastion of invincibility yet again.

Rodgers is also playing it extremely smart in trying to avoid all talk of Liverpool being in the running for the title. We all know it is wildly optimistic, to say the least, but we  need to at least keep taking advantage of slip ups by others. By neither ruling Liverpool in or out of the title race, Rodgers is not only keeping pressure off the players, but is also not displaying a lack of ambition. This is a fantastic manager, if I ever saw one. Rodgers will the first to admit that he needs a better record against the top sides in the division, but winning the remaining games should itself get us into the top 4. For a start. Another utterly pointless international break and then roll on Everton!

PS: Photo credit to @MostarLFC

PPS: Read this post on Empire Of The Kop!

Thank you for watching the Luis Suarez show

How good was that? Just how good was that? It wouldn't be too much comparing it to Benitez's team in its heyday. That was our best performance this season. By far! I honestly expected West Brom to provide us with more of a challenge considering Steve Clarke's teams are usually very well organised defensively. But when you have a player like Luis Suarez, sometimes even the most well organized defences don't stand a chance.

We were well organized in defence, strong in midfield and absolutely lethal in attack. Sakho is an absolutely inspired signing, in my opinion. He is an excellent tackler and brings strength to the back that we have lacked previously. Agger might be better suited in defence than Skrtel, but not to take anything away from Skrtel. He has been absolutely top drawer of late. As expected, Glen Johnson's return to the side offered us visibly more in an attacking sense down the right.

Our midfield looks extremely strong - Hendo, Gerrard and Lucas were really dominant on the ball in the middle of the park. Their combination seemed to be offering complementary strengths and it actually seems a matter of debate if Coutinho will even get into the side next weekend or not! Personally, I'd keep Coutinho on the bench and start with the same side that started today. We will need Hendo's endless running against Arsenal.

And now onto our attack. I cannot wax eloquent enough about our forward line. Suarez and Sturridge were absolutely lethal. Suarez seems to want to make up for lost time with his fantastic hat-trick that included a logic defying header from just outside the penalty box. His first goal was a pearl, with a typical nutmeg and his final goal was a world class delivery from our top, top player - Steven Gerrard. And what can I even say about the Daniel Sturridge goal? He looks up, sees the goalkeeper off his line and plants a sublime chip over him into the back of the net. Absolutely world class.

The best part about the Suarez and Sturridge partnership is that they seem to be inspiring us to greater heights. There is an feeling of 'anything you can do, I can do better.' There is a fantastic team spirit running through the team and we have got the balance right in most areas of the pitch. I can NOT wait for top of the table clash with Arsenal game next week! Come on you big Redmen!

PS: Read my post on Empire Of The Kop!

I just can't get enough!

So this is what we've been missing. This, in my opinion, is what has caused Liverpool to sit back deep and soak up pressure for entire second halves of earlier games. Old Trafford was all about the return of Luis Suarez, but he showed us why he is so important tonight. He, quite simply, gives the team an astounding number of options up front. In Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, Liverpool have two extremely good strikers with complementary skills. Complementary being the key word here. Suarez is undoubtedly a much more complete player than Sturridge, but he does not offer us what Sturridge does. Add Philippe Coutinho into the mix, and we potentially have the best attacking trio in the league.

Let us compare tonight's game with the game against Aston Villa, Liverpool were camped in their own half for probably the entire of the second half. Simon Mignolet had to make a couple of heart stopping saves to deny Christian Benteke. How many heart-stopping, "here we go again" moments did we have tonight? The problem against Villa was that we did not have an outlet up front. Sturridge is not the kind of player who can hold the ball up for you. But tonight, when we were under pressure at the back and our defence had to kick it up front, who was there to hold up the ball or do one of his clever turns around defenders? Luis Suarez. He eased the pressure on the defence time and time again and that was exactly what the third goal came from. Yes, Sturridge had a goal and two assists, but Suarez was the more complete player.

For me, our defence was also quite pleasing to see. Toure, Skrtel and Sakho seemed brilliant at the back. I don't quite remember seeing a Liverpool center back in the recent past who has looked quite as assured with his tackling as Mamadou Sakho. He will be an asbolutely inspired signing for Liverpool! He is a beast in the air, tackles confidently and solidly all day long and passes the ball to Lucas/Gerrard. Good enough for me. I just feel the return of Agger in place of Toure will give us greater stability at the back and add an extra body to midfield with his runs.

Despite what people think, the 3-4-1-2 formation seems to be suiting the players we have at our disposal quite well. We have excellent center backs to choose from. We seem a little short in midfield with Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson and Allen though. I just feel we haven't quite gotten our midfield formula right yet. Lucas and Gerrard does seem our best pairing in the center of the park as of now though. I am eagerly awaiting the return of Glen Johnson though. He will give us that extra attacking threat in the final third which Henderson, for al his running, does not currently from the wing back position. And believe it or not, Jose Enrique does seem a better player when Suarez plays! That cross to Suarez between the two Sunderland center backs!

Onto Crystal Palace next week! Win that game, and we will be in a very, very good position going into the international break indeed and two weeks closer to Philippe Coutinho's return. Top four aspirants? I'm starting to think that Rodgers' Revolution is taking shape!

PS: Read this post on Empire Of The Kop!

Lack of cutting edge costs Liverpool

How many sides can truly go to Old Trafford and say they dominated them for long periods? Because we really did, didn't we? More possession, almost the same number of shots on and off target and hitting the post. We dominated them for long periods of the game and were only let down by a lack of quality in the final third. That was probably or best 11, though I expect Coutinho to come in for Henderson in midfield when he is fit again. Despite the loss, there were several aspects that I was extremely pleased to see:

1. A 3-5-2 formation - I really do believe this is the best formation for us to play with the personnel we currently have. Having said that, we drastically need Aly Cissokho to get fit as quickly as possible. He has a very realistic chance of displacing Jose Enrique on the left. Enrique was defensively poor again last night, leaving Hernandez loose in the area from a corner, which is as open an invitation as is needed for the Mexican to score from inside the box.

2. The defence - Enrique's error aside, how good did that defence look! The only thing I would change is throw in Agger in place of Martin Skrtel. We do need a play who can bring the ball out from the back.

3. Lucas - I thought Lucas was absolutely excellent yesterday! He did his job well, and even got involved high up the pitch once in a while!

4. SAS - The looked really good together, didn't they? I think Brendan Rodgers has done a brilliant job in supplementing the talents of Luis Suarez since arriving. Now, we have a front three (Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho) which is on par with the best in the league. Let's just hope they all get enough games starting together soon!

Suarez looked short of match fitness. That will improve over time. But the real concern for me was how tired Daniel Sturridge looked last night. We know he hasn't missed any games for Liverpool, he's played a couple with niggles, and the one break he did get (international weekend) he spent working hard to get upto match fitness for Liverpool. Could it be that this is finally taking a toll on him? I certainly hope not, because we will need our front three players fully fit and firing to have any sort of chance of gatecrashing the top 4.

Onwards and upwards to managerless Sunderland next weekend! Though that is exactly the kind of game we have known Liverpool to lose in the recent past!

PS: Read this post on Empire Of The Kop!

Well that was dire, wasn’t it?

Should we call it a bad day at the office? Maybe, but how bad was that?! We are lucky that Suarez is back for the next game or we could have been in very, very serious trouble over the short term. The side lacked creativity of any sort in the absence of our two attacking talismans and frankly speaking, Wednesday's trip to Old Trafford doesn't fill me with confidence even with Suarez returning. I'm not trying to be overtly negative. I know we can only get better than this because that is the worst I've seen us play for a long, long time.

Our troubles were apparent the moment I looked at the team sheet. In the absence of Philippe Coutinho, I was looking forward to Henderson playing in his position, Sterling starting to provide pace down the right and Joe Allen alongside Lucas and Gerrard in the middle of the park. Instead we saw a yet again ineffectual Iago Aspas and four center backs in our back four. As soon as I saw Sakho and Toure at full back positions, I knew that we would have no penetration from the flanks, which is a very key part of our game with Enrique and Johnson. With our full backs taken out the game as an attacking threat, it was left to just our front three of Sturridge, Henderson and Aspas to provide the spark in front of goal, but that was never going to happen without the usual numbers that we get into attacking positions and without a creative player to create goalscoring opportunities.

PLAYER REVIEWS:

Simon Miglonet - Can not be spoken of highly enough. The triple save in three seconds was an absolute blinder as was a finger save from an Osvaldo shot. Is reinforcing my belief of him being a brilliant shot stopper and may well be Liverpool's best bit of summer business.

Mamadou Sakho - Anonymous at left back. Made an absolutely fantastic last ditch tackle to deny a goalscoring opportunity after being shifted to center back. Seems like a typical slow but extremely powerful defender. I enjoyed a brilliant and perfectly clean tackle by him ending up with a Saints player on the deck.

Daniel Agger - Was at fault for the goal. Defensive set pieces have been our Achilles' heel for what seems like time immemorial now!

Martin Skrtel - After a beast of a performance against Manchester United, I would say he was our poorest player in defence yesterday. Game was typified by a moment in which he let the ball run behind him from a back pass and turned only to find it had run out of play.

Kolo Toure - Struggled at right back even though he fared better than Sakho at left back. Made one or two decent attacking runs but not enough to pose a constant threat.

Lucas Leiva - Did what he always does well. completed 43 of his 45 passes in the game. Can't fault him for the midfield looking very weak.

Steven Gerrard - Probably the poorest player on the pitch last night, the Liverpool captain will want to banish this game from memory with a win against Manchester United in the League Cup. 1-0 down, chasing the game, he gave the ball away constantly and needlessly and invited unnecessary pressure at a time when Liverpool should have been the team applying pressure.

Jordan Henderson - Had an ok game. Nothing special. I was looking forward to seeing him in this role seeing how well he linked up with Coutinho behind Sturridge in the last game but nothing to shout about here.

Victor Moses - Being billed as someone who would provide and strong and pacey option up front upon his signing, Moses really didn't do enough for me. There were flashes of potential, but nothing that would make anyone sit up and take notice of him in this game. Chelsea won't be too disappointed with having sent him out on loan.

Iago Aspas - Nondescript.

Daniel Sturridge - Tried to do it all by himself and ended up trying too hard at times. Was selfish, which I didn't like. I understand that he is on fire, but there were occasions when he could have passed to a teammate in a better position rather than going it alone.

SUBSTITUTES:

Raheem Sterling - I thought he was bright after coming on. Definitely injected pace on the right and cannot be expected to turn the game on his own at this stage in his development.

Jose Enrique - That he is a better option than Sakho at left back speaks volumes of the paucity of our options in full back positions. Is decent defensively, but is a real liability going forward. The overriding image I get in my head when I think of him in an attacking position is either a backwards pass or a cross that goes over everyone's head and out.

Luis Alberto - Might have been a decent starting option. Not given enough time to show what he can do after scoring a hat-trick for the U21's.

MANAGER REVIEW:Two simple points of concern.

1. This may be in hindsight, but tactics were way out of order. Four center backs made no sense right from the word go and took too long to introduce Enrique and a measure of normalcy to the lineup. Square pegs do not fit in round holes.

2. I'm just speculating here, but Steven Gerrard recently said that this is the most gruelling pre-season he has ever had. Look at our players who have been injured or played with niggles so far this season - Johnson, Coutinho, Toure, Cissokho, Coates, Agger, Sturridge, Enrique. Enrique supposedly didn't start yesterday because he had a knock to his knee. Coincidence? I pray to god not else we will tail off very badly because the games will keep coming thick and fast.

I don't feel entirely confident for the United match because I don't think the problem of width will have been addressed by then. However, let's all just take a moment to remind ourselves that Manchester United have David Moyes as their manager and laugh!

PS: Read this post on Empire Of The Kop!

Of Coutinho, Henderson and new signings

It is testament to how expectations have risen at Anfield after they won their first 3 games that they were expected to comfortably beat Swansea last night. Yes, we gave them a 5-0 drubbing last season, but that was at home and with Swansea missing a host of key players a week before their League Cup final. Make no mistake, the Liverpool that we have known between January 2013 and Rafa's last season in charge would have lost that game. As it is though, we have drawn at a stadium where the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea also drew last season, while Arsenal lost. It is a little bit worrying how we tail off so badly in the second half of games this season though. Last night though, that had a specific reason, and one reason alone.

Philippe Coutinho. This lad is such a talent it is unbelievable. He doesn't have much pace but runs like the ball is tied to his feet. He has the awareness to spot a pass and the cleverness to quickly twist into any space available. He has the ability to thread passes through the eye of a needle and is a constant roving, attacking menace in the final third. And that is exactly why Liverpool's performance tailed off so poorly in the second half. Coutinho went off injured, and there was nobody left to keep the probing of Swansea's defence up. Iago Aspas is a nifty little player, but he has looked out of depth in the last two games. There was no cohesion to the forward play at all, we just kept gifting the ball back to Swansea time and time again. Aspas and Sterling were absolutely anonymous after coming on, and Sturridge looked absolutely knackered, playing as he is not being fully fit. All of these factors led us to being fairly toothless in attack in the second half.

Jordan Henderson. How much can this guy run? How long? Would he last if every game was 120 minutes long? These are the questions that run through my mind when I think about Jordan Henderson. The amount of effort he puts into every game is absolutely incredible! Other aspects of his game have tremendously improved as well. Did anyone notice the sublime one-two with Coutinho that ended up with Coutinho shooting straight at the keeper? Fantastic player to have in the side, and could potentially play in the number 10 role if Coutinho is injured for a few games.

All of which brings us to Victor Moses. He provides us pace and power up front, and trickery on the wings. Took his goal well yesterday and should've had an assist to his name as well for the brilliant cross which eventually forced Vorm into a save from Sturridge's header. Solid debut.

Our other debutant last night was Mamadou Sakho. Interesting player, isn't he? As he stepped into the side in place of the injured Daniel Agger, he showed glimpses of why Liverpool swooped for him as soon as he became available. He has power and a commanding aerial presence we have long lacked. It does seem to me that he will take a little time getting up to the speed of the Premier League, but that is only to be expected. He threw himself into challenges a couple of times which led to Swansea shots but was very good in the air. Just seems to be lacking a little bit of match sharpness at this point in time but made a couple of absolutely fantastic tackles late on.

We're back at the top of the table (for now). While no one is, or should be expecting us to stay there, it does provide something for Brendan Rodgers to build upon. We have our top league goalscorer from last season, Luis Suarez to come back after one game. If we are 4th or near in January, expect more signings to take us a notch higher. In the current scenario, it is hard to be anything but positive about this campaign.

C'mon you Redmen! Let's go get that fourth spot! Or who knows, even higher.

PS: Read this post on Empire Of The Kop.

Time to remake Anfield into the Bastion of Invincibility

YESSSSSSSS!!!!! GET. IN!!!!! *breathes*

Right! That was absolutely heart-stopping at times, especially when van Persie hit the side netting and Nani stung the hands of Simon Miglonet. But boy, oh boy, what a win! That was much like the last game against Aston Villa, only we did it against Manchester United! To be honest, Villa scared me more than United did today. United were absolutely toothless tonight. Much of that was down to our new-found defensive resilience. The pleasing part, however, is how we have now stifled the threat of two of the most potent attacking threats in the league, Christian Benteke and Robin van Persie. Even though United dominated possession in the 2nd half, they really had both fewer shots and fewer shots on target than us over the course of the game. So ignore the "we played better than you" argument. They had more of the ball, but they did nothing with it.

The defensive resilience that we saw in pre-season looks to have spilled into the season as, at the time of writing, we are the only team in the league with a 100% record with Tottenham currently losing 1-0 to Arsenal. We are also the only team in the league to have 3 clean sheets in 3 games. Martin Skrtel seemed to mention in a post-game interview that they'd been working on defending during pre-season and has it paid off and how! The team look less shaky from set pieces and aerial balls into the box. That could also be due to the change in goalkeeper. Mignolet now looks to be very good business, though it is still early days. Glen Johnson was absolutely phenomenal. There have been question marks over his game intelligence, but he was flawless today. How Henderson did not bust a lung, I do not know. Stevie G was absolutely immense in midfield, with his squaring up to van Persie a particular highlight! Martin Skrtel, making his first start since that unfortunate Oldham game, was a beast at the back and kept van Persie at bay all match long. THAT is more like the Skrtel we know, the Skrtel of two seasons ago. Danny Sturridge got a special birthday goal despite a slight thigh injury. Countinho and Aspas weren't in the game too much, but they will help unlock defenses of 'lesser' sides coming to Anfield to play for a draw.

On the 100th birth anniversary of the legendary Bill Shankly, we beat the old enemy again. It may have been a scrappy 1-0 but I'd take that all season long. Long live this grit, determination and team spirit. C'mon you Redmen!!!!

PS: Stats courtesy of the fantastic Stats Zone app.

Follow me on twitter @yashasvid and read this post on Empire of the Kop!

Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds __________ ?

Thankfully for Liverpool, the answer to that against Notts County wasn't failure. It could well be the reason for defeat against Manchester United on Sunday though. Two goals up at half time and Liverpool were cruising. For the second game running, Liverpool have only narrowly avoided defeat by failing to take control of the game in the second half. For the second game running, we have looked completely out of sorts in the second half of the game. I don't want to be critical about the win against Aston Villa though. That was a highly resilient performance against a highly underrated team. But this was another matter altogether. I don't expect Liverpool to be walloping Notts County 5-0, but I do expect them to have the professionalism to see out a game they're winning 2-0 at half time.

And so, failure to do that has potentially cost us four players. Yes, that's FOUR including Daniel Sturridge limping a little at the end, even though it it doesn't seem to be serious. Joe Allen was our best player at the start of last season, but Jordan Henderson's incredible development has pushed him far, far ahead of the Welshman in the pecking order while Aly Cissokho was never going to be first choice left back so early into his career at the club. Which leaves us with Kolo Toure. Kolo Toure, who has been our best defender thus far, injured his groin in extra time. Extra time which we shouldn't have allowed in the first place. We now look incredibly lightweight at the back. Can we realistically expect Martin Skrtel, however much I rate him, to start his first game since that confidence-shattering game against Oldham and keep the likes of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney (depending on his impending Chelsea transfer) out? It's not that I don't think Martin is a good player. He was our best defender two seasons ago. But his confidence is certainly shot and I would not be surprised to see him making a defensive error on Sunday.

Joe Allen played well without really doing anything extraordinary. Raheem Sterling had a really good game, even filling in at right back at the end of the game and actually getting power into his shots! Luis Alberto, however, showed glimpses of what he could be if he develops as expected. I am turning into a big fan of the Spaniard, and though he might take time to develop, he has all the ingredients to succeed at a high level. What I noticed about him yesterday were mainly two things - firstly, when he is running with the ball, the ball seems to be glued to his feet, à la Coutinho. His touch is silky and will only get better. Secondly, he has the vision to see passes that the opposition doesn't see. He may not be able to execute them yet, and his passing is something I expect will develop over time. Footballing intelligence is something that may or may not develop over time, so it is good to see a young player at Liverpool who seems to have it from the off.

I would be pessimistic and say that the most we can hope for against Manchester United on Sunday is a draw. I could be whining about FSG and how they've starved Brendon Rodgers of signings, which will lead to a defeat against the Mancs and endless ribbing from United supporting friends. But what I've learnt from years of supporting this club is that we always raise our game for the big games. The most intense rivalry in football will give the players reserves of adrenaline. It is against the so called 'lesser' teams that we play a 'lesser' game. We'll dig deep against United, and win, lose or draw, I'm sure we'll do our best. Which is all fans can ask from the players really. Let's all hope Martin Skrtel plays a blinder on Sunday. Goal-line clearance from a van Persie strike and a Kop end goal from a corner from me! Haha!

Follow me on twitter @yashasvid and read this article on Empire of the Kop!

Grit, blood and sweat

Remember Manchester United last season? Their entire season was probably the worst I've ever seen any team play for such a long period of time and still win the league. Thirty eight scrappy 1-0 wins will do very well for me, thank you. Job done. A win away from home. and being perfectly honest, this win speaks more about the character of the team than a 6-0 demolition of Newcastle, however enjoyable that might be. We haven't seen this sort of 'grinding out results' mentality in recent years. The last I remember it there was during our title challenging 2008-09 season in which we score late goal after late goal to keep us in the hunt.

That was not a vintage performance by any stretch of imagination. After the first 35-40 minutes, we looked toothless in attack, and had  a few heart stopping moments at the back. Benteke in particular, came close to scoring twice, forcing Mignolet into two world class saves. I would really have brought on Raheem Sterling late on when we were under serious pressure and used his pace as an outlet.

This was really a game of two halves:
The first half:
We were, to put it quite simply, utterly brilliant in the first half. This was death by football as Rodgers envisaged it. When this 35 minute performance translates to 90 minutes, we might well be THE most formidable team in the league. Patient on the ball, incisive when the opportunity presented itself, constantly pressing without and with a massive amount of possession. The Daniel Sturridge goal was absolutely beautiful. Right from the dummy by Coutinho to the finish. Lucas was imperious in the holding role, constantly breaking up attacks and Benteke was starved of any sort of service. This will be a very formidable side if and when Suarez returns to the first team.

The second half:
Now let's not sugar-coat it in any manner - the second half performance was atrocious. Having said that, the team did display a defensive resilience that we certainly haven't seen in recent seasons. Pepe Reina is a legend at Liverpool FC, but the number of times opposing teams have won or drawn against us when they've only had one or two shots at goal has been pretty high over the past few seasons. It is easy to argue that Simon Mignolet has already won us 4 points with that penalty save against Stoke and a couple of sensational saves against his international colleague Christian Benteke. Let me just go ahead and say what all Liverpool fans are thinking at the back of their heads here. Mignolet might not be able to distribute the ball as well as Pepe Reina, he may not be as comfortable with the ball at his feet, he may not have any direct assists at the end of the current league campaign, but that isn't what a goalkeeper is supposed to do. Plus, he has plenty of time to improve on those aspects. Too many times last season Pepe Reina left me wondering, "what was he doing there?" It is still very much early days and Reina might pull off blinders for Napoli like he was for us, but he's there. And Mignolet is here. And I'm happy to have him with his shot stopping abilities even if he does pot the occasional goal kick straight out of play.

Toure was exceptional in shackling Benteke apart from those two heart-in-mouth moments. Remember how Benteke completely manhandled Martin Skrtel at Anfield last season? This was a far cry from that. Gerrard and Lucas were very disciplined defensively and looked inspired yesterday as he made block after block and tackle after tackle, though Lucas was caught in possession a couple of times that left me holding my head. Henderson was tidy in the middle with his tireless work rate and simple passing. He even provided a bit of width down the right when the team needed it.

Coutinho and Aspas though, were anonymous for the majority of the game. You could take that as either a positive or a negative though - that we can even win without Coutinho at his best. That Rodgers is building a team that is more than the sum of its parts, so the system will function well even if one of our key men has an off day. Coutinho did show terrific awareness with his dummy for the Sturridge goal though! Aspas was really brilliant with his positioning on many occasions including the buildup to the goal. He kept finding pockets of space that made him very difficult to deal with, though there was finally nothing home for him to shout about.

It may still be very, very early into the season, but 6 points from 6 is a fantastic start. If you were being ultra-critical, you could say that the game should have been put to bed in the first half so that we weren't under so much pressure in the second. Haven't we kept saying that grinding out those scrappy 1-0 wins is the hallmark of a title winning side? Last season we had 6 points after 7 games. Seven. Now we have 6 points from 2. Two. Let that sink in. Bring on them Mancs!

PS: All photos and videos courtesy of the excellent @MostarLFC.

Follow me on twitter @yashasvid and read more of my views on Empire Of The Kop!

Post match review - Liverpool vs Stoke

It's the first game of the season and we've just lost 3-0 against West Brom away from home. Oh wait! It isn't 2012-13 anymore, is it? Sadly, it isn't 2008-09 either, when we deservedly won 1-0 away at Sunderland, went on to beat Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford and went on to mount a title challenge that most of us remember only all too vividly. It IS 2013 though, and we've just won our first game of the season for the first time since that breathtaking season against Stoke City at home. Now, I am not suggesting for one minute that we will replicate those heady days and challenge for the title, but after four seasons of 'starting from scratch', we finally seem to be getting a sense of 'we know where this team is going'.

The win against Stoke was nerve-wrecking, to say the very least. Robert Huth shot left the crossbar shuddering for a good while. Daniel Agger's inexplicably pointless handball when he was getting to the ball anyway sent sighs of 'here we go again' through every Liverpool fan across the world. But then, there was also dazzling movement up front.  There was a ferocious bottom corner strike by Daniel Sturridge. There was Coutinho, bewildering defenders across the pitch. There was Iago Aspas, trying to prove he can be more than just a squad player even if Liverpool keep Suarez and add another attacking midfielder to the mix. There was Jordan Henderson, adding a bit of end product to his tremendous running and tireless work rate. There was Kolo Toure, ably replacing the irreplacable Jamie Carragher. There was Simon Mignolet recovering from a shaky start to end as the hero of the match as he made a fantastic double save to deny Jonathan Walters from the penalty spot and then Kenwyne Jones' follow up. And perhaps most importantly, there was a spirit, a hunger, a will to win in the squad perhaps not as visible in recent seasons.

But if there was an aspect of Liverpool's play that was especially breathtaking, it was their fluidity and sharpness in attack. We look much sharper at this stage of the season than at other times in recent memory and our passing has an incisiveness that is refreshing to see. Indeed, if look at how each player influenced the game, we see that Lucas was a rock in the middle, breaking up play and finding short, simple passes to Gerrard to build the game up. Gerrard was the fulcrum of the entire side as he dictated play, finding passes to Coutinho, Johnson and Aspas to advance up the pitch. Gerrard also had the highest number of attempted and completed final third passes. And then of course there was Coutinho, gliding past players effortlessly, finding Sturridge time and time again and making us a very potent attacking threat. If we look at the player influence heat map, this is borne out.

And here is how Coutinho and Aspas fared with their passing in the final third.

The fluidity and sharpness in attack, as demonstrated by Coutinho roaming all over the pitch, bode well and make us a very difficult team to defend against. Gerrard's incredible passing range and vision makes him an ideal candidate to dictate play from the middle of the park. And Toure's addition adds to the defence the steel they lacked last season. However, I still worry about cover for Lucas. Lucas is a top quality defensive midfielder, harassing opponents, breaking up play and feeding Gerrard or Coutinho to create the damage. Joe Allen, in my opinion isn't cover for him. Joe Allen is an altogether different kind of player who really can not do what Lucas does. We need cover for Lucas as I have been saying for weeks and weeks now. I also get the feeling that Rodgers trusts neither Martin Skrtel not Sebastian Coates, which makes adding a central defender to the ranks a priority too, bearing in mind Agger's injury record. I, for one, would be happy with our attack if we keep Suarez and not sign another attack minded player. I believe we have enough options there if we count Raheem Sterling and Jordan Ibe as players in and around the first team squad as well.

Victory against Stoke may or may not have shown us much. But it certainly showed us that the squad seems to be more determined to do better than ever. This may partly be down to the type of characters Rodgers has brought into the squad this summer, but it definitely does bode well for the future. I, for one, am quietly optimistic about this season.

Pre-season debrief

We're finally there. The business end of the season. That said, how exactly has pre-season been for the club in terms of performances? What have we seen so far from our players to give us optimism for the season to come and what could be better?

THE HITS

1. Philippe Coutinho: The ability and the importance of this young lad's considerable skill to Liverpool's season cannot be overstated. He is absolutely vital, a cog in an engine without replacement, this season at least. He is absolutely vital to Liverpool's hopes for a top four finish. I already shudder with the thought of how we would cope should Coutinho get injured at some stage. His sublime pass to Sturridge against Celtic is a perfect example of what we should expect with the two working in tandem and he could be a more important player this season for us than Suarez was last. Brace for bids for him at the end of the season if his highly impressive form continues.

2. Iago Aspas: This, based on pre-season form at least, looks to be a highly inspired signing by Brendan Rodgers. 4 goals and 3 assists in the pre-season campaign show him to be a player with plenty of trickery in and around the box. I would say he needs to improve him composure in front of goal as I can remember a chance he had against Vålerenga(?) in which he blasted the ball against the keeper when he was one on one. A little frustrating, à la Luis Garcia, but exactly the kind of players fans will love to watch and enjoy. A definite quality addition to our current squad.

3. Jordan Ibe: No one who has watched this kid play in pre-season could have not been impressed. He is direct and has great pace and power. He seems to be slightly better built than Raheem Sterling as well, but has half a season less of Premier League experience, which means I would put him at the stage right now of where Raheem was last season. I'm not expecting him to get too many games in the first team, but a really bright prospect for the future if he keeps developing at the rate he is.

5. Kolo Toure: A very astute signing by Rodgers. He looks like he will slot right into the void left by Jamie Carragher alongside Danny Agger. Good in the air, reads the ball well, and has a winning mentality. Carra is Carra, but this is about as close as we will get to a replacement. I would still want another center back though, considering Agger's injury history.


THE MIXED BAG

1. John W. Henry: Supporter's opinion is decidedly mixed on our owner. While I appreciate the sense of financial stability he seems to be bringing to the club, I also feel he is placing far too much importance on immaculate implementation of Financial Fair Play. And considering there is always a way around that, like Chelsea and Roman Abramovich, it is anybody's guess whether FFP will be a hit or a miss. We did good business bringing signings in early, but a net profit in the transfer window as of 14th August does not bode too well. His stance on Luis Suarez has been very refreshing though, and a slap to player power. Yes, Suarez should NOT have signed that contract last season if he intended to leave this season anyway.

2. Luis Alberto: We haven't seen too much of him during pre season, the goal on the volley against Vålerenga was sublime and something we've seen less and less of since Gerrard in his pomp. He seems a good passer of the ball and looks like and excellent prospect in a couple of years. Sporadic opportunities in the first team this season, mostly off the bench.

3. Jordan Henderson: Still hasn't convinced me completely, but showed definite signs of progress last season and looks to be getting better game by game. Changed the dynamic of the game when he game on against Olympiakos. Tireless, has bundles of energy, and I wouldn't yet say "he'll never be good enough for Liverpool", like I could say with certainty for the likes of Stewart Downing and Jay Spearing. His confidence seems to be increasing with every game he plays and I feel he could play a very important role in the Liverpool midfield this season.


4. Raheem Sterling: The Liverpool Academy's next big hope. He had a good run in the first team last season, but I would be genuinely surprised if he did this season. If he did, I can only imagine we have failed to replace Stewart Downing. He tailed off badly towards the end of last season but seems rejuvenated and free from the niggles that plagued in the second half of the last league campaign. That said, I still can't imagine him playing the entire campaign. Really quick, but needs to improve on end product. He is only 18, after all! Also, needs to cut out of the off field controversies and focus on the football. He has all the support he needs at the cub and a manager who isn't afraid to play him at the right time.

THE MISSES

1. Luis Suarez: A very good player with a very bad agent, Liverpool's star striker has made an absolute shambles of trying to get out of the club. He pushed the club so far that he forced and owner to put his reputation on the line and retaliate, and might not get his move away from the club at all. That in itself may prove to be key for Liverpool. The fact that it is a World Cup year and the fact that he is suspended for six games actually works in the club's favour as Suarez can really not afford to down tools.

2. Martin Skrtel: A Skrtel on form and an Agger on form would be, in my opinion, one of the best defensive pairings in the league. I had hope Skrtel would really knuckle down in pre season and prove his worth to Rodgers, but it just hasn't turned out that way thanks to his injury. It looks like he'll only be playing cup football this season.

3. Transfers: How long has it been since Rodgers said that we have improved the squad and we now need to improve the first team? Either FSG are not really backing him or we are struggling to get the right quality of player in. Either way, it seems like the Rick Parry era all over again. We have already left signings too late on too many occasions and then either overpaid at the death or gotten in poor quality replacements. Not learning lessons here.

Here's how I see us lining up, towards the start of the season, and considering we don't get any new signings in before we play Stoke.

Liverpool vs Stoke - My Starting XI

That said, if we still manage to strengthen the squad and keep Sturridge and Coutinho fit, I see us really kicking on into the top 6 at the very least. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Steven Gerrard - Captain, Leader, Legend

Leaders have many ways of leading. Some lead by pushing those around them to do well, some by not being afraid of giving you an earful, while yet others lead by not being afraid of giving competition a torrid time. However, once in a generation comes that rare breed who leads by possibly the most important virtue of a leader – example. Over the past decade, Steven Gerrard has become the very embodiment of that.

It is not hard for any football fan to remember the times Steven Gerrard has grabbed the Liverpool team by the scruff of the neck, hauled them back into games, and eventually dragged them past the finishing line. Whether it is hammering a last gasp 25 yard intervention into the top corner against Olympiakos, making last ditch tackles at right back against Milan – in the probably most miraculous final ever, producing another last second equalizer against West Ham, hammering a hat-trick against Everton in his 400th league game, or coming off the bench at half-time to slam a hat- trick past a hapless Morgan de Sanctis in the Napoli goal, Gerrard has been there, done that.

In Steven Gerrard, Liverpool have a player with a vision few players in the modern game have, and an ability even fewer do. In any team, his presence will lead to more goals being created, as well as scored. 

After over a decade of fantastic service, in which he has single handedly led the club to countless victories, Liverpool definitely owe their captain a happy swan song. They must aim to become a team whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts; and then deliver to the man, who is among one of the best in the world and regarded by many as the greatest player to ever pull on a red shirt, the magical European nights at Anfield that he craves a return to. No one deserves it more than him.

In time when loyalty is in short supply in football, Gerrard, over the course of his career, has rejected as out of hand offers from Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. And then turns around and thanks Liverpool for their loyalty to him. Such is the greatness of the man.

Steven Gerrard, you will never, ever walk alone.

“Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, but yes, I think he just might be. He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals; but most importantly, he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can’t learn that. Players like him are just born with that presence.”
-Zinedine Zidane on Steven Gerrard