It seemed a hard-luck story. Martin Skrtel, who scored twice at the right end in Liverpool’s 5-1 win over Arsenal, applied the final touch when the ball entered the Anfield net again.
He could plead misfortune as a deflection off his shoulder defeated Simon Mignolet and gave Swansea their second goal, yet the worry should be that this was not a one-off because Skrtel's set-piece marking has been a cause for concern for much of the season.
On this occasion, he was caught in no-man’s land as Bony eluded Glen Johnson. Newcastle’s Paul Dummett and Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany have both previously exploited lax defending from the Slovakian to score.
At other times, Skrtel has gone to the other extreme, grappling with the men he is supposed to be tracking. Having escaped without conceding a spot kick on other occasions, on Sunday he was penalised when he wrestled with Bony as Daniel Agger headed away Nathan Dyer’s cross. If it is the sort of penalty that is invariably described as soft, perhaps past offences caught up with Skrtel.
It was, then, a match to highlight his shortcomings. Tall central defenders who are supposed to be excellent in the air tend to be charged with stopping the opposition’s best header from free-kicks, corners and crosses. It is a task Skrtel struggles with all too often. He is a man who can be a danger in both boxes.
If Kolo Toure’s recent catastrophes catapulted Skrtel into the position of being, by default, Liverpool’s most reliable central defender, he also erred when Kieran Richardson scored for Fulham 11 days earlier.
There is a school of thought that this has been a rehabilitative season for a player who lost his place to Jamie Carragher last season.
In actuality, in between some fine displays, Skrtel has illustrated why Liverpool still require a more redoubtable character to take on the mantle of the long-serving local as the Anfield defensive linchpin.
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