Oh well, i often look forward to trying to post a detailed opinion of the football match after a game, but in all honesty, there wasn't much football played at all. The referee was F***ing shocking in all honesty, not fit to do the job. Made some terrrible decisions. From the first Carra tackle on Pienaar it became a war of attrition, a battle of wills.Kyrgiakos undid all his good work with that shocking tackle on Fellaini, say what you like, it was an absolutely ridiculous decision by the Greek, especially when it was easier to stay on his feet and stick the one leg in. An up and coming centre back you could forgive, but not an experienced international centre back. The fact Kuyt was gifted our goal thanks to Howard's diabolical mistake has deflected the attention away from this, and that is a good thing.
Likewise, how Pienaar got away with blatant rake on Mascherano's shin was disgusting. Man of the match for me was Mascherano all day, he was exceptional in midfield and when he was asked to slot in at right back, he looked like he'd played there all his life. Rodriguez did his bit as well, was a tough ask for him to cope with all the pressure of a Merseyside derby, but he got stuck in and fought for the cause. The biggest positive to take from the match? When we went down to ten men, we had to react, re-group, work harder to compensate for the loss of Kyrgiakos, show fight, show passion and most importantly, show TEAM spirit. Not only did we tick all the aforementioned boxes, we also scored a goal and won the match.
P.S. Special thanks again to Pepe Reina, that save from Yakubu at the end was top drawer, the best keeper in the Prem by a country mile!
Well done Redmen, onto the Emirates and a chance to close the lead to 2 points!
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