'The Reds' go Wolf hunting @ Anfield

Liverpool vs Wolverhampton ( 26 Dec 2009)

Liverpool finished off their last match in 2009 in style when they beat the visitors (Wolves) by two goals to nil at Anfield. Liverpool's squad for the match on boxing day* was an interesting one. Aquillani, the 20 million pound buy started because Mascherano had received a straight red card last week against Portsmouth and will be missing the next three fixtures.

*- In the English Premier League the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day.

Dirk Kuyt was rested because Liverpool has its important fixture on Wednesday against Aston Villa which they cannot afford to lose.

The Wolves kept Liverpool at bay during the first half although Liverpool had more than 50% of the ball possession. Gerrard had a couple of shots on target but some superb goalkeeping by Marcus Hahnemann denied Captain Courageous any chances. Johnson also had his share of shots on target but of no avail. Liverpool though having a strong squad failed to exploit 'The Wolves'. This is because Liverpool were lacking in confidence, their seven defeats so far in the Premier League plus an early exit from Champions League was taking a toll on the player's mental strength as well as their boss Rafa Benitez.

Wolves threatened to score a couple of time but Reina's instincts and goal keeping skills denied them.

Both teams went into the first half with a score line of 0-0.

Liverpool had to find some inspiration from somewhere and who better to look up to other than their Captain Steve Gee. Some deft work by the left fullback Insua provided the perfect cross into the box for Gerrard,who pounced on it and got to it before the Wolf midfielder Milijas and heading the ball past the Wolf goalie. Anfield went beserk and so did the Liverpool players.

Wolves tried hard to salvage something from the game; Jarvis, Milijas and Ward giving their best shot and trying to take the game to Liverpool but Liverpool's defence was stunning and denied Wolves any chances.

Lucas was pulled down by Ward just before the penalty box. This earned him a second yellow card and Ward was sent off. The funny thing that happened here was that the referee by mistake yellow carded another defender instead of Ward, arousing the anger of the Scousers and the players alike. He then corrected his mistake and Ward was sent off the pitch.

Liverpool needed another goal to seal the game and this was provided by the Israeli playmaker Benayoun. Benayoun's shot on target was well crafted and was deflected by the Wolf defender before finding its way to the back of the net. Liverpool led at Anfield by two goals to nil.

Rafa made a couple of substitutions,bringing in Pacheko and Kuyt to replace Benayoun and Aquillani. Pacheko is a tiny, young and promising striker for Liverpool and Rafa wanted to give him some practice before infusing him in the main squad.

With the win over Wolves,Liverpool now sit with 30 points and are 7th in the table,12 points behind league leaders Chelsea. Rafa needs to make some strategic plans to revamp Liverpool and infuse confidence to his brilliant squad so that they come out on top at the end of the season.