Sunderland V Liverpool (Premiership is back)

Full Time

Who said he could only score at Anfield?

 

Not a great performance.

But three points thanks to Fernando Torres.

Dossena was much improved I thought.

Kuyt and Benayoun however, Rafa, are not wingers.

Who said he could only score at Anfield?

 

That was probably me.

That was probably me.

I know, but I didn't want to rub it in!

He's done the square root of F**k all today. He hampered Nando's game, not helped it.

Very early days.

Nice one because what counts is the win but Robbie keene what were you doing getting in the way of Nando's tap in but never mind kid your turn will come...

Why would anybody want to sell Alonso he controlled the 2nd half. Whatever title hopes we have will be lessened if we let him go

Captain of my fantasy side.

Screw analysing this game right now, 3 points is all we want right now. Fernando Torres, you are a star, a down right superstar!

Arby, sh*t. Robbie, he tried atleast i suppose but he was poor. Dossena got confidence the more he got the ball. Reina, oh so solid. 2 great games in a row for him.

YNWA

Kuyt the Tireless worker. We have been there and done that. Now we need class and productivity that leads to goals.

Very early days.

Not writing him off, i said i'd give him 2 months to show some signs as to why we bought him. Today though, nothing doing for him.

And with 1 assist to his name, Alonso has improved on last seasons tally. 

Not writing him off, i said i'd give him 2 months to show some signs as to why we bought him. Today though, nothing doing for him.

At £20 million I reckon he will be given more than 2 months.

Anyway.  We won.  Three points.

Why would anybody want to sell Alonso he controlled the 2nd half. Whatever title hopes we have will be lessened if we let him go

He played well today. True. I can see why the fans want him to stay. If he can produce the consistency required............. Pennant has brilliant moments too.

Did anyone think straight back to Middlesborough at home last season when Nando netted his goal? Carbon copy from memory.

This is why we need to keep hold of Alonso.I like how he "talks" on the pitch and not in the press like some players.

Dossena looked pretty impressive too.

I have a feeling when Babel and Mascherano are back, Rafa will revert to the old formation with Keane on the wing (replacing Kuyt).

This is why we need to keep hold of Alonso.I like how he "talks" on the pitch and not in the press like some players.

Dossena looked pretty impressive too.

I have a feeling when Babel and Mascherano are back, Rafa will revert to the old formation with Keane on the wing (replacing Kuyt).

Probably our strongest line up.

Bloody hell Dirk, just shoot!!

There were a few lads guilty of this today I felt almost looked like they were afraid to have a go let some else try attitude

At £20 million I reckon he will be given more than 2 months.

Anyway.  We won.  Three points.

I dont expect Robbie to be in full flow within 2 months, just want to see signs of why he was bought. I am a backer of the 4-2-3-1 heavily and dont see why he was bought ahead of a winger.

I want to see this Nando/Gerrard/Keane trio work, it will be devastating if it will, my concern is quite frankly that it wont.

Im not going to put a dampener on this though, its 3 points in the bag. Move on untill the later hours of today to discuss this i say.

It's 4:30 am, im buggered.

Performance can still improve alot but at least we got the win, last season it probably woul have ended 0-0 so this could be turning tem draws into wins.

Dossena was alot better than the other night and hopefully going to get better in the next game. Arbeloa i was very dissapointed with, he has been shocking in these 2 games, he was'nt getting forward that often, was giving the ball away and IMO i would much prefer Finnan there.
Xabi proved just why he should stay, he came on and IMO controlled the midfield and he even nearly scored from his own half again! (although thats basically becomming like a routine tap in for him )

Hopefully next week it will be a much more comfortable performance and just look back on these last 2 performances as a stepping stone into the season.

Pretty happy right now, i went mad when nando scored. What a strike it was, great shot and just when we needed him he stepped up to the plate.

We've come a long way from back when we couldnt break down these defensive sides. Credit to sunderland they did well even though we were below par early on they stepped up and created some chances for themselves.

What can i say about Xabi im so happy with the way he is playing, looks quicker and sharper on the ball, went very close with that effort from our half too. playing just like his positional tag says he should be 'deep lying playmaker' played some fantastic stuff today and it speaks volumes that he got man of the match with only 45 minutes on the field. Happy rafa gave el zhar a shot today and that N'Gog was on the bench, would have been nice to see both get some time on the field but its understandable that we needed to give auerlio some minutes with him just being back from injury. 

Very happy that we got the win today and its a great start to the season. Although we didnt start the best we looked better as the game progressed and its good to see the team looking so united (god i hate that word but i couldnt think of an alternative haha), Torres and Alonso both seemed happy in the interview and i hope there is no truth in the story that Alonso wants to leave.

Nando's goal is on the board and in the match report

http://www.anfield-online.co.uk/match-reports/premiership/2008/sunderland-0-1-liverpool-report/

Again no width the wide boys kept coming inside on every occasion they touched the ball, Dosena came good after the first 20mins and along with Arbeloa and the central defenders our defence wasn't trroubled but being it's only day one we got the 3 points the   middle came good when Xabi entered the fray and all it took Nando was a little space so he could get his aim. We wont be the only team not up to the mark ,Spurs lost ,Arsenal only just got the 3 points so no worrying we have a long way to go.....