Liverpool’s best season since the 1990 title winning season continued to gather pace as we laid the hammer upon, yes, the Hammers. West Ham’s decent season was given a bit of a wake-up call as the Reds (or “Teals” on the day) gave them a right thrashing… despite our lack of ever exiting 3rd gear. The best testament towards our improvement this year can definitely be found in our performances on the road. This is yet another example of this, as West Ham never looked like having a sniff of even a point against us. Other than Di Michele’s pathetic dive after Carragher yet again lost his nerve (more on that on another post… and no, I don’t hate him. Just think he has had a bit of a stinker this season.), Liverpool limited West Ham to set-piece opportunities and nothing more. And on the offensive end, we always had chances, even if we weren’t as flowing as we have been against Newcastle, Hull, etc.
Opening the scoring after 80 seconds was obviously helpful, but Liverpool’s dominance was not just because of that. Throughout the match, the “Teals” dominated the flanks (with Kuyt and Benni, there’s no surprise there) and also ran their back four ragged with the enthusiasm and drive of both Torres and the unbelievable Gerrard. Gerrard’s two goals were only part of the story. The credit could just as easily had gone to Torres, as he split open the defense with that pass and also won the penalty that led to Gerrard’s goal. Mascherano played a blinder, Skrtel was excellent, and Lucas even had a good match. Other than Fabio Aurelio, all of our players had a very good match… which led to our dominance. That said, West Ham’s nervousness after the goal and lack of penetration due to being a bit rattled, therefore giving us the cutting edge from square one, underlines the importance of starting strong in matches.
Back to Gerrard. His injuries recently have fortunately not impacted our Premiership run-in, as we’ve been excellent even without him. But when he’s in the team, you cannot dispute how much better we are. He made some crazy touches on the ball, and his passing at times was immaculate. He had important roles in all three goals, scoring two of them, and finding Kuyt on the wing with a very challenging one-touch ball that he looped over the defense and right to his feet… making a difficult play look incredibly easy. Kuyt’s next few touches led to Babel’s rebounded effort, and it was 3-0. Gerrard’s first goal was definitely due to Torres, but the way he rounded Green made the game look like elementary school football. The second goal was fortunate, as it was a missed penalty that he was able to stab back in, but he deserved it.
Even though Man U won yet again in the Manchester Derby, and only have to get 4 points from their remaining 9, Liverpool’s season has been one to celebrate. Take away January and parts of December and February, and you’d have to say we were definitely the best team in the league. It has been our best points total in the Premiership, (well, as long as we get two points in our next two games against West Brom and Tottenham), and for the first time we have pushed for the title all the way until the end. United could still end up winning the league by 6 points if we win our remaining two fixtures, but the thought that we brought it this far is one that signals an extreme rise in promise and hope.
Many of us Liverpool supporters probably didn’t expect this from the season when it all kicked off against Sunderland back in August, and are thankful we have even been in with a shout. Next up West Brom! We’ve never conceded a goal against them, have never done anything but defeat them, and have flat out dominated them for YEARS. Keep it rolling, the Pool!
