Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:20 amGreat pictures + video from Liverpool FC - Hull City on www.footballpictures.eu !
akumaface wrote:Torres was unbelievable. It was like he was toying with the defender. What amazes me was his chance of pace and his finishing. His header and footwork are both above average. Just an amazing player. I tried not to be negative about this but we really do have to sort out our defense on Set piece and CB. At times they were confused again. Overall, we capitalized on our chances. I also thought the left side with Riera and Insua, the way they crossover and move forward opened up a lot of space. Our left side looked very good indeed.
I agree that Torres is just an absolute monster of a player. His power, his pace, his skill in close quarters and, as you've highlighted, his change of pace are all out of the very top drawer. He could have had 6 himself yesterday, I think, if Rafa had left him on. I'm glad he didn't though. It's a long season and our fortunes fundamentally depend on the lad. Also, the more he torments defenders the more likely they are to try and kick him up in the air. It must be the height of frustration to have him turn you and your teammates inside and out repeatedly and the temptation would be there to get some back. The last thing we need is to lose him to some rush-of-blood challenge from a spiteful defender.
I also agree that we looked strong down the left yesterday. It's not that Johnson and Benayoun played poorly--they didn't--but they were outshone by Insua and Riera. Those two were linking up very well indeed and getting in behind McShane (who might well have got his walking papers with another ref) almost at will. The interchange that led to our first was sublime. What I like is how much balance we have across the pitch at the moment, with Insua and Riera probing down the left and Johnson and Kuyt/Benayoun linking up down the right. Withe Stevie playing a deeper role we look more potent through the middle as well and it's all clicking into gear.
A word on Babel in response to Dazzer. As one of the lad's biggest critics on here I'll hold my hand up and say he's looked almost a different player at times over the last few games. The big improvement is in attitude--he seems well up for it and is haring around like a madman, chasing lost causes and finally causing the opposition problems. With that said, we shouldn't get too carried away. There are still those painful moments where he looks bereft of a clue: about what to do with the ball, about what positions to take up, about where his teammates are. He did excellent work to pick out Kuyt in the build up to his first goal but minutes before he completely failed to notice Lucas to his right in acres of space on the counter. I hope the awareness aspect grows with confidence and some more matches under his belt but I suspect it will always be an issue. In any case, he's contributing now and is working his way back towards being that impact sub we got such use out of in his first season. He's still not first 11 material for me by some distance but if he can come off the bench and run at tired defenders the way he did yesterday I'd have him in my match squad all day long.
