Confidence has to be at an all time low after the WBA game and last night. I thought BR got things right as well as he could have in terms of selection considering Sturridges' absence. When you come out of a European away tie and you could have scored 4 it can't have gone all bad. Unfortunately Suarez's finishing was off which meant we didn't take advantage of the openings he worked. I still think we lack guile and ingenuity in the point of the midfield, we don't have a number 10 to play there with genuine skill, vision and technique. Henderson works hard and gets into some good positions but just isn't good enough with the ball to justify selection there beyond when absolutely needed. Hopefully Coutinho will prosper there, but I think he'll be utilised more as one of the wing forwards.
We had defended fairly well, Carra, Enrique and Johnson all doing well I thought, especially Jose up against Hulk. So it was unfortunate when Henderson was robbed (would a better 10 have controlled it and passed it on?) and Skrtel decided to back off Hulk instead of applying pressure as he should have. Fair enough though, that was some strike. But the most disappointing point of the night came after that first goal. One nil down away in Europe you should stay tight and look for that away goal to turn the tie on its head. Instead, Sterling lost the ball out on the right and completely failed to make any effort to get back, leaving Enrique with a two on one situation. Even then the ball should have been cut out by Skrtel but again he's more focused on the man when he should have just fookin cleared it. So out of position, lazy covering and poor last man defending cost us that second. As soon as Sterling was dispossessed I was screaming at him to get back across because Anyukov was in acres.
Was so disappointing the way we capitulated after the first and I think that's the most worrying thing about the performance, not the occasional lack of imagination in the last few zones, or the sometimes wayward passing. The capitulation for me showed a lack of mental strength or togetherness about the squad at the moment, and I think now it's down to BR to address that and get some fortitude back into our performances, especially when we concede. It's also down to him and the coaches to work with the players we have to cut out some of these basic defensive errors that have blighted this season.
Having said all that, an away trip to Russia is never easy and Zenit have real quality in their line up. I thought we'd get beat before the game but it was frustrating because it could easily have been a score draw. I think the return tie is a big ask now, but I'm somewhat encouraged by the shakiness the Zenit defence showed last night. I don't see why we can't score 3 against them if Suarez is on point and we dominate the possession a little more often. The trouble is not conceding that away goal. 2 goals in each of the last 5 games is a terrible defensive record and further indicates we need a quality addition to the back line come summer.
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