New Liverpool signing Sebastian Coates made his full debut in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carling Cup victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Partnering with Jamie Carragher in central defense, Coates turned in a mixed performance, mirroring that of the squad as a whole, in his first full 90 minutes of action in a red shirt.
Coates’ defensive abilities were not tested in earnest in the first half, as Liverpool dominated possession and camped out on Brighton’s side of the pitch. With Brighton occasionally threatening on the counter, Coates’ main responsibility was in helping Carragher clean up a steady diet of stray crosses and passes into the area. Although solid for the most part, Coates showed some nerves when his 30th-minute clearance attempt was shanked behind goal, conceding a corner in the process.
On a more positive note, the Uruguayan demonstrated promising distribution skills, as he sent several vertical passes to the feet of more advanced midfielders. If Daniel Agger is out for an extended period of time, Coates’ measured distribution will be an important complement to the more direct approach of his defensive colleague Carragher.
While the Reds breezed through the first half, hitting the post three times in addition to Craig Bellamy’s opener, they seemed to take their foot off the gas in the halftime break. Brighton came out charged up for the second half and dictated large swathes of the match by aggressively pressing across the pitch. As Brighton enjoyed greater time on the ball, Liverpool’s defense came under pressure much more consistently, and the ramped-up intensity seemed to catch some Liverpool players off guard, with Coates in particular having a nervy half.
Immediately after the restart, Coates took Pepe Reina’s short goal kick and attempted to switch possession to the left side of the pitch. However, Coates’ ball was beyond Carragher and shy of left back Jack Robinson instead falling to Brighton’s Craig Noone.
Easily Brighton’s best player on the day, Noone collected the ball and fired a long shot that beat Reina, only to smack off the bar for Coates to clear for a corner. While nothing came of the error, a similar momentary lapse in concentration against a top-flight side may see the Reds more harshly punished.
The decision to give Coates his first start against lighter opposition was a sound one by manager Kenny Dalglish. Nerves were to be expected from a young player making such a massive transition from Uruguayan to English football, and Coates showed enough signs of promise to hint at a bright future in an LFC shirt. His imposing size combined with surprising mobility make him a tantalizing prospect, although it remains to be seen whether he did enough to earn a start ahead of Martin Skrtel for Saturday’s match against Wolves.
