3 points, that is all that matters. Was always going to be a difficult game and it was. Glad the ref didn't cost us the title. This was one that all that matters is to get 3 points.
I haven't watched a match live in weeks and weeks, so it's the stinky cheese man who's got the mojo. Reason is my stepson comes over in the PM to watch together. For Christmas he bought me the This Is Anfield poster, which is on the closet door in my office. I didn't put it up right away. Wasn't sure where I wanted to hang it. So sorry.
https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/3E...p4?versionId=B6gJ79.RC.LGbjm_XePty0mhPICkIuoR That goal would of been epic.
Reactions to the ref: http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/t...nce-during-west-ham-v-liverpool-tweets-memes/
Both his attempts on goal would of been epic had they gone in. In fact, they were epic even though they didn't go in.
Mamadou Sakho slotted back in alongside Martin Skrtel and proved he is a more than capable replacement. He won only 37.5% of his aerial duels - Andy Carroll was dominant in the air - but was well positioned to make eight clearances. He also saw more of the ball than any other Liverpool defender, making 71 passes at an accuracy rate of 95.8%. The half-time introduction of Lucas Leiva also worked out well, as his pass to Flanagan led to the penalty for the visitors’ winning goal. Rodgers wanted Lucas to give the Reds more control in midfield, and he attempted 49 passes in the second half compared to Coutinho’s 30.
The thing that strikes me about Sakho is how well he can make a critical one-touch pass under pressure. Most defenders need to settle the ball with a "comfort touch" before passing (or they just blast it). Everything Sakho seems to do is composed and (for a central back) on the mark.
He's no Phil Babb that's for sure. I was paying particular attention to him yesterday and was impressed by his composure on the ball as WH tried to make it frenetic. While Carrol won a lot of the headers, they seldom amounted to anything troubling.
he even makes it "look" like he's about to hoof - and then sends a nice 15 yard forward pass to our player.
Sterling in the hole was great. The way he collects the ball and does that swift turn of his is wonderful. Got away from a pair of West Ham players that way on multiple occasions which led to him playing passes behind the defense to the forwards.
His ability to turn in tight spots is what has impressed me most this year - it has come on leaps and bounds compared to last season.
Buck has been quite masterful in his development. Not only does he make some of the most intelligent runs of anyone on the team, but he's been put in a position that I'm not sure anyone knew he could play, and he's thrived. He's turned into quite the player, much stronger than he's given credit for and works very hard to win the ball back. We are very fortunate to have a manager who knows how to get the most out of his players, both physically and psychologically.
the best players in sports that have reactive defenses, like basketball and football, and more so in some ways, hockey, intuitively understand what the defender can do to counteract their offensive moves. they practice and practice and practice till they've seen countless defenders do their best to counter them and that's stored in their unconscious memory, when Luis Suarez tipped the ball into the arm of the WHU defender and got the penalty call, he knew that he could beat him by ducking inside. he knew that w/o thinking. if you have seen the Dennis Bergkamp goal against Argentina in the '98 WC, made possible by an amazing pass from DeBoer, you know that he didn't think about tapping the ball into the turf to bounce over the Argie defender's leg. he just acted. Raheem Sterling is very young to have these intuitive skills. imagine what he might be like when he's Suarez age.
I remember that moment so vividly right down to the smell of the ocean coming into the house at that exact second. I just stood at the television in awe of what I had just witnessed. I also loved that Ayala got schooled for the second time in 5 days. http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/world...dennis-bergkamp-1998-netherlands-vs-argentina He makes it sound so simple...
Sorry to disagree - but Suarez has scored at least 10 goals better than that. My opinion only though.
Bergkamp's 1st touch of a 60 yard diagonal ball, coming over his shoulder, at pretty much full tilt, is epic. for me, the second touch is the master stroke. any other move on his part and maybe he gets denied. Suarez' technical skills are amazing, no doubt, but to support your claim, you gotta post a clip.
what Suarez possesses is amazing close control and an uncanny ability to change direction and pace. i don't have any memory of a player who is more adept at tying defenders in knots and getting shots off in tighter situations than he does. having said that, what Bergkamp did with the DeBoer pass and his second touch is a totally different skill set. Suarez might be able to pull that off with ease, but i haven't seen him do it. Bergkamp could never -- repeat: never! -- score the goal that Suarez managed against at 2:17. interestingly Suarez' goals for Uruguay and Bergkamp's goals for The Nederlands are about the same numbers, though Bergkamp played for the Dutch for 3 more seasons.
One long pass with one trap and direction change....BFD!!!! We've seen that sort of thing about every second week at Anfield with Gerrard putting the ball on a dime to the likes of Torres, Suarez and others. The only difference being that it happened in the world cup.