Well, well, well. About F***ing time! Rafa actually dropped Lucas and Kuyt! I am still buzzing from that performance last night, the last time i felt like this was last season. Did Rafa get a bang on the head?, or did he finally realise that Lucas and Kuyt wasn't working?. Now i'm not going to get carried away with it all, but what i saw was a breath of fresh air. Apologies in advance if i repeat previous posts at all, but i haven't got time to read through the thread posts (which i normally always do).
Only Rafa knows why he altered the personnel, but it's something the majority of us have been crying out for all season, and it was beautiful on the eye. I didn't want the game to end, it was an absolute joy to watch. That breath of fresh air i mentioned earlier had a name, and it was called Alberto Aquilani. What a joy it was, to watch someone in the middle of the park fizzing the ball around intricately and forcing the ball around with consummate ease. I thought the front four ( Torres, Gerrard, Rodriguez and Babel ) were awesome. I haven't seen as many backheels and flicks all season as i did in last night's game. The confidence was brimming, overflowing even, and Portsmouth had no answer to it. People go on about how Pompey looked sh*te, well let's be honest, any side is gonna look sh*te when they're being passed off the park, even Barcelona!
Not only did Aquilani's personal performance delight me, but i thought that Masch had a really quiet game. This is obviously a good point as Aquilani's offensive prowess completely alleviated the pressure on Masch as we kept the ball a lot more, something we have lacked with Lucas in the side. Another plus point was that Gerrard didn't have to drop deep looking for the ball, and his link play with Torres and Babel gave us a dimension we've been missing this season. Torres was awesome again and Babel showed progress again. I think the reason that Masch has been one of our best players this season has only served to highlight the fact that our ball retention from the middle has been sh*te.
What this game highlighted more than anything, is that Lucas and Kuyt should not be in the side. They are totally stifling the team, last night proved that more than anything. We played with freedom and dare i say it, looked like the Liverpool of last season.
My major worry is how Rafa approaches the next couple of games. Attack seems to work, sit back and counter, does not. Barring the United game of course. Last night we saw a glimpse of what can be achieved if we just let the players express themselves naturally. I just pray that Rafa's stubborness doesn't get the better of him again. It's 28 games too late Rafa, time to make up for lost time. I expect to see Lucas and Kuyt reinstated for the Lille game, a far too familiar and predictable scenario this season.
Well done Redmen, an awesome performance, playing the Liverpool Way. We must kick on from this and go out to win games rather than not to lose