Liverpool 2, Fulham 0 - post match analysis

Nov 12 2007 by Chris Beesley, Daily Post

ON THE day that Rafael Benitez named an unchanged side for the first time in 60 games it was Fernando Torres, one of the players not in his starting line-up, that proved the difference.

After the game, Benitez joked that he would keep the same starting XI the next time his side win 8-0, but in reality the Spaniard’s decision was probably just as much down to the fact that his team have a 14-day break until their next fixture.

Opposition managers who face Liverpool must do plenty of head scratching when it comes to second-guessing Benitez’s line-up and preparing their own team as they often don’t know which personnel they’ll be coming up against.

But on this occasion Fulham’s Lawrie Sanchez was more concerned with the players Liverpool had coming off the bench.

After sticking loyal to the starters from Tuesday evening’s Turkish delight when visitors Besiktas were destroyed by a Champions League record margin, Benitez was able to introduce £40m worth of talent from among his substitutes to swing the game in his team’s favour in the final half an hour.

Nobody was quite sure just how serious Sanchez was when he suggested that there should be a price limit on the value of players you’re able to call upon from the sidelines, but whether this was intended as a ‘funny’ or not it did not raise as many smiles as another suggestion from the Cottagers manager.

As scorer of Wimbledon’s winning goal in the 1988 FA Cup final upset against Liverpool, former Northern Ireland coach Sanchez is never going to be one of the most popular of figures at Anfield.

So when Sanchez suggested that Torres’ deft strike for Liverpool’s opening goal was actually a ‘mis-hit’, his observation seemed rather churlish.

But he wasn’t finished there and continued by claiming that there was no way that Carlos Bocanegra’s challenge on England international Peter Crouch, who scored twice in the mid-week win over Beskitas, was a penalty.

With football being a great game of opinions it’s funny how the same incident can be seen it two different ways.

On the one hand, Liverpool’s opener came directly from a long punt upfield by their goalkeeper – seemingly more in keeping with Sanchez’s ‘Crazy Gang’ traditions at Plough Lane rather than the cultured pass-and-move style preached by generations of staff in the Anfield boot room.

However, on closer examination, Pepe Reina’s pass was a clear piece of vision from the Spaniard who is earning a reputation for being one of the most efficient distributors among Premier League goalkeepers.

With countless Fulham sides coming to Anfield and none of them winning in 70 years of trying and Liverpool’s midweek goals bonanza, Benitez’s side were always going to be on a hiding to nothing in this most seemingly clear-cut of ‘home bankers’.

On the morning of the game, The Lord Mayor’s Parade passed through the streets of London just a Pepe Reina assist away from Fulham’s Craven Cottage ground, but this was more a case of ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Show.’

While Liverpool were for once unchanged, Sanchez was forced to make a switch at left-back from the side that defeated Reading 3-1 a week earlier as Bocanegra replaced the suspended Elliot Omozusi.

Fulham also switched to a 4-4-2 formation as Hameur Bouazza and Diomansy Kamara made way for David Healy and Shefki Kuqi.

Taking on opponents with such a fragile away record, Liverpool centre-back Sami Hyypia appeared to have been given licence to push forward from defence on several occasions. The Finn tested his compatriot Antti Niemi early on when he let fly from 25 yards out after a Steven Gerrard free-kick was squared to him but his effort was turned around the post.

The Cottagers’ only worthwhile effort on target during the first half came from former Anfield favourite Danny Murphy who forced Pepe Reina into a smart save with a snap shot from the edge of the area.

Although Fulham’s defence looked far from secure at times, it was only towards the interval that Liverpool started to threaten again.