Following a preseason in which the Reds conceded three goals in five out of their six matches, Liverpool’s defense secured its first clean sheet of the season in Saturday’s victory over Arsenal.
The defensive improvement is a fantastic sign of progress for a club still trying to get all of its new players on the same page and one would assume that a full week on the training ground was particularly important for new left back Jose Enrique. The Spaniard played well in the season opener against Sunderland, despite not having a single practice with the squad before the match, and turned in an even more impressive performance on Saturday. The ex-Newcastle player largely blanketed Arsenal’s entire right wing, and his matchup against the quick Theo Walcott was a huge positive for Liverpool. Walcott saw plenty of the ball, but Enrique denied the winger the time and space necessary to make an impact from dangerous areas. Enrique also produced a more aggressive attacking display as his cross in the 20th minute found Andy Carroll‘s head to force a save from Wojciech Szczesny, followed by a brilliant run through several Arsenal challenges to earn a free kick near the corner flag just a couple of minutes later.
To no one’s surprise, a fit Daniel Agger gave a strong performance at the heart of defense and was one of the Reds making an effort to play along the ground from start to finish. Frozen out by Roy Hodgson, who preferred the brute force of Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the Dane has become an integral member of the club under Kenny Dalglish. Agger’s assured passing ability is crucial to a squad that too often resorts to long balls forward and he played a large part in keeping Arsenal striker Robin van Persie off the score sheet.
Partnering Agger was stand-in captain Jaime Carragher. Never fleet of foot even in his younger days, the aging Carragher continues to thrive due to his flawless positioning and leadership skills. While guilty of sending too many long balls towards Carroll, Carragher spent the afternoon screaming out directions and keeping Liverpool’s defense compact as the game reached its final stages. Already rumored to be a candidate to succeed Fabio Capello as manager of the English national team, Carragher’s reputation as an on-field coach was only enhanced by his display on Saturday.
Martin Kelly joined the starting lineup after being preferred to Jon Flanagan for the Sunderland match and had a solid game on his season debut. With Walcott sending in wayward crosses from the right, Kelly often found himself with the important task of clearing the ball from the back post. Kelly completely shut down Andrei Arshavin, not too difficult a task considering the Russian’s recent form, and then proceeded to close down Barcary Sagna whenever the left back got forward. The young Englishman also came close to opening the scoring, thumping a Carroll pass onto the outside post and into the side netting.
Arsenal’s best chance of the day came at Kelly’s expense when Arshavin shoved the right back to the ground in Liverpool’s penalty area and then rolled a pass across to van Persie right on the doorstep. Pepe Reina‘s kick save sent the ball out for a corner before he, and Liverpool supporters everywhere, berated match official Martin Atkinson for missing such a blatant foul in a critical position. Reina was not tested too often in goal from open play, but was always up to the task when dealing with Arsenal’s nine corners, punching several clear.
The final, and potentially most important, player to receive credit for Liverpool’s sound defensive showing is holding midfielder Lucas. The Brazilian international had the best individual performance of the season thus far as he covered every inch of rain soaked grass across the pitch. With Arsenal attacking almost exclusively on the counter, Lucas had a massive responsibility to try and break up the Gunners’ movement through the center of the pitch. Doggedly closing down Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri, who managed to escape for one long run, Lucas did the job of two people in the heart of midfield. Arsenal was forced out to the flanks, mainly to Walcott, and Liverpool happily let the Gunners chip poor crosses into covered areas. Emmanuel Frimpong‘s dismissal was the death knell for Arsenal as Lucas almost single-handedly pinned the Gunners into their own half the rest of the way. Much like his best performances from last season against Chelsea and Manchester United, Lucas seems to ratchet up his game against the biggest teams.
Liverpool Posts First Clean Sheet of Season in Victory over Arsenal
Following a pre-season in which the Reds conceded three goals in five out of their six matches, Liverpool’s defense secured its first clean sheet of the season in Saturday’s victory over Arsenal.
The defensive improvement is a fantastic sign of progress for a club still trying to get all of its new players on the same page and one would assume that a full week on the training ground was particularly important for new left back Jose Enrique. The Spaniard played well in the season opener against Sunderland, despite not having a single practice with the squad before the match, and turned in an even more impressive performance on Saturday. The ex-Newcastle player largely blanketed Arsenal’s entire right wing, and his matchup against the quick Theo Walcott was a huge positive for Liverpool. Walcott saw plenty of the ball, but Enrique denied the winger the time and space necessary to make an impact from dangerous areas. Enrique also produced a more aggressive attacking display as his cross in the 20th minute found Andy Carroll’s head to force a save from Wojciech Szczesny, followed by a brilliant run through several Arsenal challenges to earn a free kick near the corner flag just a couple of minutes later.
To no one’s surprise, a fit Daniel Agger gave a strong performance at the heart of defense and was one of the Reds making an effort to play along the ground from start to finish. Frozen out by Roy Hodgson, who preferred the brute force of Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the Dane has become an integral member of the club under Kenny Dalglish. Agger’s assured passing ability is crucial to a squad that too often resorts to long balls forward and he played a large part in keeping Arsenal striker Robin van Persie off the score sheet.
Partnering Agger was stand-in captain Jaime Carragher. Never fleet of foot even in his younger days, the aging Carragher continues to thrive due to his flawless positioning and leadership skills. While guilty of sending too many long balls towards Carroll, Carragher spent the afternoon screaming out directions and keeping Liverpool’s defense compact as the game reached its final stages. Already rumored to be a candidate to succeed Fabio Capello as manager of the England national team, Carragher’s reputation as an on-field coach was only enhanced by his display on Saturday.
Martin Kelly joined to the starting lineup after being preferred to Jon Flanagan for the Sunderland match and had a solid game on his season debut. With Walcott sending in wayward crosses from the right, Kelly often found himself with the important task of clearing the ball from the back post. Kelly completely shut down Andrei Arshavin, not too difficult a task considering the Russian’s recent form, and then proceeded to close down Barcary Sagna whenever the left back got forward. The young Englishman also came close to opening the scoring, thumping an Andy Carroll pass onto the outside post and into the side netting.
Arsenal’s best chance of the day came at Kelly’s expense when Arshavin shoved the right back to the ground in Liverpool’s penalty area and then rolled a pass across to van Persie right on the doorstep. Pepe Reina’s kick save sent the ball out for a corner before he, and Liverpool supporters everywhere, berated match official Martin Atkinson for missing such a blatant foul in a critical position. Reina was not tested too often in goal from open play, but was always up to the task when dealing with Arsenal’s nine corners, punching several clear.
The final, and potentially most important, player to receive credit for Liverpool’s sound defensive showing is holding midfielder Lucas. The Brazilian international had the best individual performance of the season thus far as he covered every inch of rain soaked grass across the pitch. With Arsenal attacking almost exclusively on the counter, Lucas had a massive responsibility to try and break up the Gunners’ movement through the center of the pitch. Doggedly closing down Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri, who managed to escape for one long run, Lucas did the job of two people in the heart of midfield. Arsenal was forced out to the flanks, mainly to Walcott, and Liverpool happily let the Gunners chip poor crosses into covered areas. Emmanuel Frimpong’s dismissal was the death knell for Arsenal as Lucas almost single-handedly pinned the Gunners into their own half the rest of the way. Much like his best performances from last season against Chelsea and Manchester United, Lucas seems to ratchet up his game against the biggest teams.
