You know, we were outplayed for large portions. We conceded so much possession, gave the ball away constantly, looked very shaky at the back, and were once again a nightmare at defending set pieces.
But, we won. We capitalized on their mistakes and we won. Three points in a game we weren't the better side. That's football. We've been on the other side of that coin far too often.
I think the real big negatives are the set piece defending and lack of possession/gifting the ball back to the opposition. Granted, neither of those free kicks should have been awarded. BUT, we've been defending like borderline relegation fodder on any kind of halfway decent cross or corner, and we gave up two goals as a result of it. That's a massive area we need to address.
Stewart Downing was excellent today. He really provided an outlet on the right and his equalizer effectively won us the match. His crossing was good, he knew when to shoot, and he didn't seem afraid to take his man on. All encouraging signs.
While Sturridge was a bit disappointing today, I still he think he was a threat to their backline and his link-up with Suarez is still showing signs of growth. And speaking of Suarez, he was great once again. Brilliant finish on the goal, set up by a good play from Enrique and Coutinho - who has been excellent for us since coming over.
So happy today. We won a very tough match against a quality opponent - and we did it dramatic fashion! We showed some balls today, especially once Downing scored. That changed the match.
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