The new Premier League season got off to the worst
possible start for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool at the Hawthorns.
Recent 3-0 and 3-1 victories over FC Gomel and Bayer
Leverkusen respectively had fans in an optimistic mood ahead of the new season,
but Liverpool were punished for a combination of poor individual performances
and wastefulness in front of goal, as West Brom embarrassed the Reds in a 3-0
win.
Zoltan Gera opened the scoring with an absolute beauty,
volleying the ball into the top corner after Martin Skrtel only half-cleared a
corner. Two penalties in quick succession essentially defined the game in the
second half, with Daniel Agger given his marching orders by referee Phil Dowd
for the slightest of nudges on Shane Long as the Irishman ran through on goal.
Long missed the penalty but earned his side another one moments later, catching
Skrtel in possession inside his own area before the Slovak tripped him up.
Odemwingie took the subsequent spot-kick and West Brom were 2-0 up while
Liverpool were down to 10 men.
Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku finished the scoring with a
close-range header as Liverpool went out with a whimper.
The result and performance was in stark contrast to what
most Liverpool fans would have been expecting, having overseen a successful
pre-season where all the signs were there for a positive start to the Premier
League season.
Liverpool started off well enough and probably shaded the
first half. Luis Suarez tormented the West Brom defense over and over again,
but – just like last season – his finishing let him down over and over again.
This cost the Reds as Gera struck just a few minutes before the break.
A sucker-punch at most is what Rodgers must have been
thinking, however the full capitulation both mentally and technically from the
team in the second half must have had the new boss worried.
Dowd did Liverpool few favors with his awarding of the
first penalty and many other minor decisions. Still, the players let their
heads drop extremely quickly.
Steven Gerrard was the main culprit, which added the
gloss on an awful personal performance. During the final 15-20 minutes the
Liverpool Captain wandered around the field like a lost puppy with its tail
between its legs. There was no fight and no inspiration, something Liverpool
fans have been spoilt with from their talisman over the years.
Suarez, despite his atrocious finishing, was hungry and
still sprinting back to close players down well into the final five minutes.
That is the type of dedication Liverpool will need to bounce back from this,
not the instant head dropping that most of the team reacted with.
Martin Kelly came into the team for the injured Jose
Enrique and he looked shaky immediately, with former Liverpool assistant
manager and now West Brom manager Steve Clarke noticed and made sure his team
targeted Liverpool’s right hand side of defense.
Skrtel and Agger had one of their worst performances to
date, with their defensive frailty giving flashbacks to the abysmal 3-1 loss at
the Reebok to eventually relegated Bolton last season.
Glen Johnson did well to support the attack and should
have got an assist, only for Suarez to head his delightful cross over the bar when
it seemed easier to score. However, Johnson was also caught way too far up
field many times while West Brom counter-attacked.
The midfield of Lucas, Joe Allen and Gerrard is something
people have been looking forward to seeing ever since the signing of Allen was
announced. Sadly, Lucas looked rusty and not fully confident as he tried to break
up West Brom attacks, and was easily bypassed on numerous occasions. Gerrard
had one of his most shocking performances to date, giving the ball away
countless times and generally looking lost in the formation. The only real
positive in midfield was Joe Allen, as he completed 66 of his 69 attempted
passes and generally looked like he had been playing in the Liverpool midfield
for his entire career.
Stewart Downing had an extremely poor game on the right
wing. He saw plenty of the ball and was given plenty of opportunities to
deliver telling crosses or to attempt to go passed his man, but apart from one
delivery that narrowly evaded Fabio Borini, he failed every time. It was yet
another frustrating performance from the England winger, who must surely be
feeling the pressure after the arrival of Oussama Assaidi from Heerenveen in
the week.
Suarez did his level best to create goal-scoring
opportunities both for himself and for his teammates; sadly he was the guilty
party in missing simple chances more than anyone else. His talent is
undeniable, but his finishing needs to be polished up before he can really
start causing havoc in the Premier League.
Borini had an excellent game against FC Gomel at Anfield,
giving many fans optimism that his partnership with Suarez would bear fruit
this coming season. Unfortunately it was a quiet day for Borini who struggled
to get involved in the play and was isolated on the left wing more often than
not. There is no doubting his talent but he needs to get on the ball more and
get into better goal-scoring positions to really make an impact at Anfield.
It was not the performance that most fans would have
wanted or expected, but it was just one of those days where everything goes
against you. Last season Liverpool lost 4-0 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane
early in the season, a game where both Charlie Adam and Skrtel were sent off.
Most fans wrote that off as a one-off result where circumstances conspired against
the well-being of the team.
This result should be considered in the same light,
especially as Suarez could have bagged a hat-trick in the first half and then
the outcome of the game would have been entirely different. Liverpool only fell
apart once Agger had been sent off, so there is no need to panic just yet, but
there is also a lot of work still to be done. Patience is key.
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