Tony Barrett
Liverpool 1 Norwich City 1
The last time they were in the Barclays Premier League it was Liverpool, arguably more than
any other opponent, who highlighted the weaknesses that condemned Norwich City to a year
in the Sky Bet Championship. On their return to Anfield, they discovered that they no longer
have anything to fear from Brendan Rodgersâs side. Liverpoolâs rapid descent from title
challengers to also-rans has another yardstick, one that leaves their manager facing the kind of
pressure that few in his profession survive.
Rodgers was entitled to argue that Liverpool deserved more from this fixture than Norwich
allowed them and his position was supported by Alex Neil, the Norwich manager, who agreed
that John Ruddy, his goalkeeper, had been the gameâs outstanding performer.
But this was the 18th time in their past 20 matches that Liverpool have failed to score more
than one goal; their problems run deep and show no signs of being solved. By the final
whistle, patience had evaporated and Liverpool left the field with the sound of booing from
their supporters accompanying their retreat to the dressing room.
Rodgers had asked the fans to stick with his ailing team beforehand, using his programme
notes to appeal to those who, should they turn on him, have the power to seal his fate. The
supporters delivered up until the very end of the game, their patience admirable given the
paucity of quality that they were being served with, but it is the players on the pitch rather
than those in the stands who should be Rodgersâs greatest concern.
Five games without a win leaves Liverpool in the bottom half of the table. Even in the
opening weeks of the season, when a single point separates sixth from 13th, that is not a good
place for Rodgers to be in.
Events continue to conspire against him, the broken foot suffered by Jordan Henderson, the
captain, being the latest harsh blow. In the ruthless world occupied by footballâs top clubs,
though, such mitigation counts for little, particularly at Liverpool, where the expectation
remains that a top four-place has to be pursued regardless of misfortune. Based on recent
form, it is hard to see how that objective can be achieved. The view that Liverpool are an
average team is going to take some shifting.
Norwich would be better placed than most to highlight what has gone wrong for Liverpool. In
their past five matches against the Merseyside club, they conceded 21 goals but none of the
players who inflicted such damage are still at Anfield. Luis SuĂĄrez, scorer of 12 of those
goals, has left a hole that neither transfer committee nor manager has been able to fill.
Rodgers had hoped that Daniel Sturridge could at least make the void less noticeable, but in
his first appearance since April, the inevitable rustiness ensured that the forward was unable
to do so.
In the first half especially, Liverpoolâs attacking threat was negligible. After James Milnerâs
unsuccessful attempt to win a penalty in the second minute, it took another half an hour before
Ruddy made his first save, a fairly comfortable stop from Sturridge, who had been picked out
by Lucas Leiva.
Norwich were also struggling to create but having been set up to challenge Liverpool to break
them down, going in goalless at the interval ensured that they were the more content of the
two teams.
The dynamic shifted in Liverpoolâs favour within three minutes of the second half, when
Danny Ings, on as a substitute for Christian Benteke, who had suffered a hamstring strain â
raced on to Alberto Morenoâs through ball and beat Ruddy with a low shot to score his first
goal for his new club.
âDanny was outstanding,â Rodgers said. âHis ability running in behind was there to see.â It
also contrasted with the movement of Benteke, which had again been functional rather than
inspired.
What transpired next provided a stark lesson in what happens when clubs become overly
dependent on average players. For all his improvement in the second half of last season,
Simon Mignolet remains an obvious weak link and his pitiful attempt to punch Robbie
Bradyâs corner clear succeeded only in presenting the ball to Russell Martin. It was the
second gift that the Norwich captain had received in the space of 12 hours, after the birth of
his son that morning, and he took full advantage, hooking a shot over the outstretched
Mignolet.
âWe lost our concentration,â Rodgers said before insisting that responsibility for the goal did
not belong to his goalkeeper alone.
Mignolet made amends shortly after, up to a point, after producing a sharp save to deny Matt
Jarvis from close range before Sturridgeâs first run-out since April came to an end after 63
minutes. Philippe Coutinho could have alleviated the pressure on his manager after latching
on to a through ball from Emre Can, but he hesitated, contemplating whether to pass to Ings,
and by the time he opted to shoot, Ruddy was in position to make a superb save. With that
wasted opportunity, Liverpoolâs chance to win for the first time in a month had evaporated.
âI am disappointed and frustrated with the result but I thought in the second half there were
more signs of fluency and creativity,â Rodgers said. âWe created enough chances to win the
game. There were a lot more positives.â
Despite accentuating the positives from what was a disappointing draw, Rodgers is
sufficiently worldly wise to know that hard luck stories count for little at present.
âYou get no sympathy,â he admitted. The problem is that if Liverpool retain their ambitions,
the scope for his employers to offer any is likely to be diminishing
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