LFC FAN'S DERBY VIEW: Mixed feelings on Mascherano

Mar 28 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

BANG goes my fiver bet for the League then. I wouldn’t have minded so much if we’d put in a great performance and then lost to a jammy goal, but United bossed the game from start to finish.

It was doubly disappointing as we had played so well in the weeks leading up to the game. Everyone has an off day now and again, but it’s typical that ours came against our most intense rivals. The less said about the performance the better, I think.

The big talking point, of course, was Javier Mascherano’s dismissal. My opinion on the matter has changed constantly over the last week, wavering between sympathy for Javi, anger against the referee, then anger for Javi and sympathy for the ref.

Mr Bennett didn’t officiate well during the game as a whole. Whether Ferguson’s comments before the match regarding protection for his talented players made some difference I don’t know, but it did seem to me that a lot of decisions went the way of United.

I watched the match with some non-Scouse friends, and their non-biased opinion was that Liverpool were being penalised for tackles that United got away with, so no bias there!

Let’s be honest, though. Javi was either daft or had a death wish, and I do think his team-mates should have been a lot more proactive in stopping him getting to the official to protest over Fernando’s caution. He may only have asked Mr Bennett what was going on, but following his first yellow, he should have realised he was walking a tightrope and kept quiet.

The sad thing was that his dismissal made very little difference. Aside from a decent 10-minute spell in either half, Liverpool didn’t seem to threaten at all. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. We’ve got the derby on Sunday to look forward to, and it’s a great opportunity to get that belief back.

Sunday’s game has a lot riding on it now.

Personally I’d be happy to have a rubbish game with a positive result. With the three Arsenal games following swiftly, three points against Everton will instil a bit of confidence in the lads and give us a bit of room in the League race. With the first leg next Wednesday it’s also important that we steer clear of injuries, but at least Javi will be fresh for the European games so there’s one positive to come out of the United game!