Saturday 13 August 2011

Match coverage - Liverpool vs. Sunderland

The Premier League has finally begun and my first game of the season was Liverpool vs. Sunderland. The atmosphere was described as especially electric, resembling that of a European night at Merseyside as Kenny Dalglish’s official reign began.

Liverpool’s line up indicated change as 4 debutants made their way onto the pitch; Charlie Adam, Stuart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Jose Enrique. Dirk Kuyt who started every game under King Kenny last season had to settle for the bench. 

Sunderland too were ready to offer starting positions to new signings including Sebastian Larsson. With Gyan leading the front line one could expect Sunderland were hoping for any opportunity to land at the feat of their leading striker as Liverpool were clearly ready for a battle.

Editor’s note – appologese for like of time frame, completely forgot as was going back and forth between the game and writing, will ensure it is included from now on, give me a break it’s the first coverage right.

Team Line-ups

Liverpool
GK – Reina
DR – Flanagan
DL – Jose Enrique
DC – Carragher
DC – Agger
CM – Lucas
CM – Adam
LM – Downing
RM – Henderson
FW – Luis Suarez
ST – Carroll

Sunderland
GK – Mignolet
DR – Bardsley
DL – Richardson
DC – Ferdinand
DC – Brown
CM – Cattermole
CM – Colback
LM – Larsson
RM – Elmohamady
FW – Sessegnon
ST – Gyan

Key moments

1st half

Penalty miss: Luis Suarez taken down, ball was going away from goal so a yellow card was justified. Horrific penalty as Suarez blasts it miles over the bar.

Goal scored: Luis Suarez gets to Charlie Adam’s whipped in cross and headers home for 1-0. Suarez was sitting right in front of his defender who was in no man’s land, allowing Suarez a free header.

Goal disallowed: Andy Carroll shove and volley goal disallowed due to infringement.

Opportunity: Charlie Adam 40 yard belter stings the keeper’s hands.

Opportunity: Cattermole steals ball from Adam and gives Gyan a shot from edge of area as he tries to curl the ball into the top left hand corner – far wide.

Opportunity: Stuart Downing runs from the half way line, beats 3 players and strikes the ball, unfortunately hitting the cross-bar – could easily have been an early contender for goal of the season.

Opportunity: Lucas steals the ball in Sunderland’s final third and he takes a shot and watches it trickle wide with both Carroll and Suarez on either side of him.

Opportunity: Sebastian Larsson free-kick delivery whipped across the face of the box – Reina commits and misses it completely, wonderful ball and a shame no one could get on the end of it.

1st half synopsis – Liverpool controlled the pace of the game and got the early goal they were looking for despite the early penalty miss by Suarez. Larsson’s delivery seemed to be Sunderland’s most dangerous tool and if they want to score they will need to utilize set pieces in the second half.

Half time score: Liverpool 1 – 0 Sunderland

2nd half:

Opportunity: Gyan had a free header in the centre of the box and headed straight towards Reina, huge miss.

Opportunity: Jose Enrique unleashes a lightning fast cross from the left that Andy Carroll almost got a head too.

Opportunity: Carroll gets a free header from a Stuart Downing cross – he rose too early and the ball floated high over the bar.

Goal scored: Sebastian Larsson smashes in an incredible volley as the ball floated in from the right – what a goal, 1-1.

Substitute: Jordan Henderson comes off for Dirk Kuyt – Kenny Dalglish wants the lead.

Substitute: Ji-Dong Won comes on for Gyan after the Ghanaian fell awkwardly in a challenge made by Carragher. Bruce is certainly taking no risks and removes his star striker.

Opportunity: Seb Larsson takes a free kick in a central position just outside the box, perfect distance for the on-form midfielder. He blasts it over the bar, poor effort.

Substitute: Raul Meireles comes on for Luis Suarez who has done his part for the day.

Substitute: Seb Larsson touches the ball for the last time and David Vaughn comes on to replace him – what a stand out performance from the Swede.

Opportunity: Carroll manages to get his head onto a Meireles cross, but it was no danger as it bounced wide of the right post.

Opportunity: Lee Cattermole wastes a great opportunity in the last minutes to win the game for Sunderland – a poor pass made his life even harder.

2nd half synopsis – A scrappy second half saw Liverpool fall apart and lose their fluidity, pace and hunger for the game. A fantastic goal from Seb Larsson forced the Liverpool fans into silence and Liverpool simply could not recover. Emphasis on playing the long ball to Andy Carroll proved ineffective. Poor Liverpool showing and a great second half from Sunderland who deserve the point.

Final Score: Liverpool 1 – 1 Sunderland

Star man: Sebastian Larsson’s deadly crossing and fantastic finish made him the most influential man on the pitch today.

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