Liverpool still under pressure

Liverpool- Manchester City ( 21 Nov 2009)

Liverpool,who started as serious contenders for the Barclays Premier League this season,find themselves lingering at no. 7 in the Premier League table. Manchester City on the other hand spent big bucks this summer in getting top players into their squad but have not reaped the benefits of it 100%. Both teams went into the Saturday's fixture with all guns blazing,the Liverpool boss under tremendous pressure to change things around for Liverpool.

The first half started off well and 'The Reds' looked confident. Steven Gerrard was back in the squad although budding Torres was missing. Liverpool almost scored within the first 4 minutes when Steve Gee's freekick was headed towards goal by Skrtel. But a brilliant save by Shay Given denied Skrtel his first Liverpool goal and also preventing Liverpool from taking a lead early on. Liverpool had the lion's share of the possession and continued to dominate. Liverpool's misfortune continued as Agger was injured during a clash of heads with the City defender and had to be carried away on a stretcher. Babel injured his ankle during a clash with City player Di Jong. Babel was in pain and could not carry on further and was replaced by Yossi Benayoun.

Man City also had a couple of chances to score but failed to produce any quality from the shots. The first real chance they got was when the ball dropped to Barry but he neither powered the shot nor tried to head the ball into the goal, rather heading it towards the Liverpool keeper,who punched the ball away. The second chance came when Man City were on cruise mode and Stephen Ireland let the ball run to Shaun Wright Phillips,who hammered the shot but well away from its target. Both teams failed to break the deadlock and were stranded at 0-0.

Liverpool scored a goal within the first ten minutes of the second half. David Ngog was fouled just outside the penalty box and Steve Gee's free kick was nipped in by Skrtel. Liverpool were 1-0 up and hoped to grab all three points. Man City's boss knew that his tactics were not working at Anfield and substituted Barry for Tevez. Man City, now armed with three strikers were pushing forward to gain an equalizer. Liverpool were forced on their back heels and being 1-0 up they didn't wan to risk going forward. But this strategy of Liverpool proved fatal. Man City was building the pressure and it was just a matter of time before they scored. Two goals,one from Adebayor and the other from Ireland put Man City back on track. A tremendous comeback for a team who were a goal down. 

Liverpool's lack in defending from set pieces has time and again proved costly. 'The Reds' never keep a player protecting the posts when the opposite team takes a corner and this has given the opposition a chance to exploit 'The Red's' weakness.

Liverpool showed great character in getting the second equalizer and it was Benayoun who was at the right place at the right time to slot the ball in. It took Liverpool just 74 seconds to repond with an equalizer. Liverpool showed great chararcter as they always have but the match ended in a draw. Liverpool had a last chance in the final minute to snatch victory when Lucas had a free header from a Gerrard corner kick but didn't capitalize on it. The final score Liverpool 2 Man City 2. Neither team gained any advantage and are still in their respective 7th and 6th places.

Liverpool desperately need to rework their strategy this season. With the Premier League hopes fading away Liverpool needs to ensure that they finish in the top four so that the Champions League spot is not lost next season. Man City and Tottenham Hotspurs are hot on Liverpool's heals for grabbing that 4th spot and Champions League spot.