Liverpool 2, Middlesbrough 1: Post Match analysis

Aug 25 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

WHEN quizzed last week on his team’s indifferent start to the season, Rafael Benitez was moved to extol the virtues of winning ugly.

“If you play badly and win it shows you have the mentality to be contenders and to win trophies,” said the Liverpool manager. “That is a very positive thing.

“People talk about Manchester United and Chelsea being lucky when they don’t play well but still keep winning games. But they have the mentality and the quality that you need for being lucky.”

If that’s really the case, then supporters would be well advised to get down to the bookies first thing this morning and place their life savings on the championship returning to Anfield.

There could be few who left the stadium at full-time on Saturday believing Rafael Benitez’s side deserved victory against Middlesbrough.

Indeed, Liverpool would have been hugely fortunate to escape with a draw after another worryingly below-par display in keeping with their indifferent start to the campaign.

Even during these formative stages of the season, the benchmark being set by United and Chelsea means Benitez’s men can ill afford to drop points at home to supposedly inferior opposition.

It’s a failing that fatally hampered their championship challenge last season, when only four of the first 11 league games at Anfield ended with a home victory.

Small wonder, then, that the wild celebrations sparked by Steven Gerrard’s blistering injury-time winner were tinged with a tangible sense of relief.

Early days, yes. But it might well be one of the most important goals of Liverpool’s season.

In the short term, the manner of Saturday’s triumph and the desire shown to gain the three points will surely give their out-of-sorts side a required injection of confidence. Although only the second time in 14 years they have won their opening two Premier League games of the season, encouragement has been otherwise scarce.

Certainly, the Anfield outfit cannot afford another lackadaisical outing when they entertain Standard Liege in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.

Benitez’s concerns over his squad’s piecemeal pre-season preparations would seem justified. In comparison to a vibrant Middlesbrough, too many of Liverpool’s players appeared off the pace in terms of fitness and form.

Xabi Alonso was recalled to the starting line-up after his impressive display as second-half substitute against Sunderland.

But, whether because of his midweek exertions with Spain or the continued speculation surrounding his future, Alonso had a stinker, constantly losing the ball and guilty of some desperately poor set-piece delivery.

His afternoon was encapsulated in the 70th minute when he gifted possession to Boro for a move that ultimately led to substitute Mido drilling a fine low shot beyond Pepe Reina from 22 yards to put the visitors ahead.

Gerrard, too, was far from his rip-roaring best. But, as Benitez contended beforehand, such is his undoubted talent that, even at less than 100%, the skipper is capable of a game-changing contribution, similar to Fernando Torres the previous week.

So it proved in the fourth minute of stoppage time when, after Alonso’s right-wing cross was only partially headed clear by the excellent David Wheater, Gerrard thrashed an angled drive from 20 yards beyond Ross Turnbull, who was only in goal for Boro because first-choice Brad Jones dislocated his finger during the warm-up.

Gerrard had seen Turnbull turn over a curling free-kick moments earlier, and his energetic end to the game made light of the shortfall in fitness picked up on by England coach Fabio Capello earlier in the week.

The uncharacteristic soft centre to Liverpool’s midfield further highlighted the team’s chronic lack of width. Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt, while willing, are not natural wingers, Alvaro Arbeloa struggled to contain Stewart Downing at right-back – you wonder who the Boro man may have been trying to impress – and, on the other side of defence, the jury remains very much out on Andrea Dossena.

It was noticeable that only when the latter two were replaced by Nabil El Zhar and Fabio Aurelio in the final 15 minutes that Liverpool finally roused themselves, El Zhar in particular effective with his direct flank play during a brief cameo.

At least the conclusion of the Olympics will now strengthen Benitez’s squad. Ryan Babel was a substitute on Saturday, while Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva will provide much-needed competition for places in midfield.

Torres, aiming to become the first Liverpool player to score in nine successive home league games, suffered a frustrating afternoon, given a buffeting by a Boro defence that was mindful of his hat-trick exploits on their last visit to Anfield in February.

A 25-yard drive that flashed narrowly wide was the nearest Torres came to shattering Roger Hunt’s 45-year-old record. But there were signs the Spaniard was forging an understanding with strike partner Robbie Keane, most notably towards the end of first half in which Liverpool struggled to find any rhythm.

Keane fed Torres into space only for the Spaniard to be denied by a strong challenge by Wheater, before the Republic of Ireland international’s run and square pass bypassed four Boro defenders but his strike partner’s mishit shot was deflected wide by Emanuel Pogatetz.

In truth, few Liverpool players impressed. Martin Skrtel, making his first appearance of the season in place of the injured Sami Hyypia, was an honourable exception, as was centre-back partner Jamie Carragher.

Carragher was the unlikely catalyst for Liverpool’s late revival, equalising with four minutes remaining with what he will claim as only his fifth goal in more than 500 appearances for the club.

It wasn’t without some help, though, his 20-yard shot taking a wicked deflection off Pogatetz to wrong-foot Turnbull after referee Mike Riley had allowed play to continue despite Gary O’Neil clearly handling an Alonso cross.

Carragher had earlier been outfoxed by a clever piece of skill by Tuncay Sanli but Reina was equal to the Turkey international’s shot, before the favour was returned late on when the Liverpool keeper was beaten to a long ball by Jeremie Aliadiere and Carragher’s timely intervention prevented Mido regaining Boro’s lead.

The last word, as is so often the case, then fell to Gerrard. But Benitez know his team need to raise their game before things start turning ugly.