Young Boys Goals: Raphael Nuzzolo (38), Juhani Ojala (52), Gonzalo Zárate (63)
Liverpool Goals: Juhani Ojala (4 O.G), Andre Wisdom (40), Sebastián Coates (67), Jonjo Shelvey (76 & 88)
The team itself, despite missing several first team players was still a competitive one with international caps scattered throughout. Having said that there was a lot of inexperienced, raw talent in amongst them and right from the outside it was going to be an intriguing prospect as to how they'd come together. There was barely any time for a discernible pattern of play from either side to come into effect before the opening goal and so it was just three minutes into the game when we took the lead. The ball arrived at the feet of Stewart Downing on the right hand side and things looked fairly innocuous. He took on his man and delivered a hopeful ball into the box, but there were no Liverpool players in sight. Fortune smiled upon us however as the cross was - under no pressure whatsoever - headed against Ojala and rebounded into the net, giving the keeper no chance. A very early lead in extremely fortuitous circumstances. I'll take that.
With so little time to digest what had transpired, Young Boys had a half chance themselves. A ball was played over the top through to Bobadilla whose brilliant first touch and extra yard of pace took him ahead of Jamie Carragher. Fortunately Brad Jones made a save to prevent there being any further goals in the first five minutes. Before the game a lot had been said about the relative inexperience all over the park but it was rather encouraging in the way they went about playing. There were errors here and there but for the most part it was hugely impressive quite how much cohesion there was among them - even prior to the opening goal there were flashes of it - in the face of a partizan crowd and a Young Boys midfield that had clearly been told to press them hard.
As you go up through the various different levels of football, the middle of the park becomes more and more important. On the continental stage it is vital and Jordan Henderson - right from the off - really imposed himself on the game. Sweeping up at the back effectively and allowing the defence to get set as well as being positionally sound enough to make sure that Sahin and Suso could roam, it was great to see him step up like that. What the early goal did allow us, was the freedom to be as patient with the ball as we liked and when we passed the ball in and around the final third there was no need to rush anything while they were obviously concerned about going further behind. This allowed our full backs to push up and help out as Assaidi and Enrique would try to go down one side before Downing and Wisdom would supply the width on the other side. A by-product of this was that when they did get the ball, they were forced to play it long which in turn just gave us possession back once more and allowed us to start again.
It wasn't all perfect however and it was clear early on that we could be very susceptible to the the break. Their best chances came from counter attacks in which they could get Carragher and Coates to run with their back to goal. With no real pace in there, it was important that we didn't give the ball away sloppily and yet was something we continued to do. Sahin in particular was particularly profligate, trying a few too many ambitious passes that only gave them the ball back. Elsewhere, Stewart Downing was trying his best to make something happen and while very little of it came off, he at least kept his head in the game. One thing he was doing very well was pushing onto the left back so often that someone had to come back and help out, completely nullifying them on the left wing.
Because of the battle that was going on in midfield, there was very little in terms of goalmouth threat. Suso was working hard to try and do all that was needed of him defensively but was unable to really get anywhere near the ball, whereas Jordan Henderson the deeper of the three mid-fielders was a constant thorn in their side and snuffed out all that came near him. Up front, Dani Pacheco was seeing very little of the ball and his frustration bore out in the fact that the one time he was played in his run was too early and the offside flag was quickly raised. Oussama Assaidi meanwhile was enjoying a very useful introduction to life at Liverpool. He looks like a player that is very keen to get on with things and as such is very direct but is a lot more protective of the ball than the perception is with a flair player. Obviously there are no conclusions to be made from a single game of football no matter how bad or good but at the very least he will feel more confident in finally getting the chance to go out there and play in a Liverpool shirt.
Young Boys had set their stall out now as playing virtually exclusive on the counter. We were so comfortable on the ball and with good numbers at the back looked very imposing and as such they looked to exploit any mistakes or attempts by us to force the pace and catch us on the break. It didn't help that the midfield three never looked particularly solid. Henderson was very good and at times appeared to be doing two jobs and while you can forgive Suso for his inexperience at this level, he and Sahin didn't really do much in the way of getting close enough to them to affect their play. When we had the ball, Nuri looks like a great player but I'm not sure if in the future he'll be someone we're looking to give that kind of responsibility to (I imagine it'll be two of Henderson, Lucas and Allen).
Having had the time to recover from their shocking start to the game, it was now more of an even contest despite the lack of action at either end. Jose Enrique gave away a dangerous free kick which was up until that point their best opportunity of the game but it was a wasted one. From here there was a period in which we just couldn't get hold of the ball. Despite working hard to try and retrieve it, nothing seemed to stick and it was a case of being solid at the back and waiting for our chance to break. When it did eventually come, a second goal very nearly arrived with it; Suso picking it up and dancing through two defenders and a lunging challenge before cutting it back to no-one. He'd done brilliantly to get that far but would probably have been better off taking the chance himself. A bit of skill at one end had nearly doubled our lead. An absolute horror show at the other was about to wipe it clean.
It was a lofted ball over Jamie Carragher that looked to have been over hit. Jose Enrique had it under control as he escorted it back to Brad Jones in goal and then the unthinkable happened. Deciding to take a touch was one thing but now the goalkeeper couldn't pick it up. His follow up attempt at a clearance arrived straight at Raphael Nuzzolo who slammed the ball home to level the game up. If Enrique had any kind of right foot whatsoever, this wouldn't have happened. As it was, the advantage that had been given to us early on had ever so kindly been given back. We weren't feeling quite so generous moments later however, and immediately scored again.
Desperate to make amends for what had just transpired, Enrique and Sahin linked up on the left hand side to put the ball into the box, with a terrible defensive mix up nearly forcing Ojala into another own goal. The corner that immediately followed this was of real quality from Sahin and met with an equally brilliant header by Andre Wisdom who powered home to score on his competitive debut. For so long our corner taking and what we get from them has been absolutely abysmal but this season we've scored twice from them already. So much has been said about the need for someone other than Gerrard to take them and so Sahin's ball in will have certainly caught the eyes of a few people watching.
Having retaken the lead, there was still time in the half to very nearly throw it away again. Suso watched as Alexander Farnerud drifted into space ahead of the penalty area and when the ball was played to him his shot looked destined for the net, only to curl around Jamie Carragher and hit the post just beyond the outstretched fingertips of Brad Jones. They did press us a lot sharper then as the two goals had woken the crowd up somewhat. We were - however - able to keep the ball long enough to make sure that when the interval came the lead was still intact.
With proceedings in Bern under way once again, the first thing that became apparent was that our pressing had been restricted to our own half only. Whether this was to make sure we maintained a shape so that they couldn't get in on the counter or just to try and make them run out of ideas, Suso and Pacheco were the two who let them have the ball on the half way line but would immediately close the space as soon as they crossed it. Our Swiss opponents, having almost certainly taken something from the way they ended the first half started the second with a lot of energy and pushed us hard, forcing mistakes. Seeing as the pattern of the game had been set with both teams scoring from mistakes and our second coming from a corner, it was only natural that their second came from one as well. Having been half cleared, Bobadilla picked up the ball and returned it into the penalty area. Sebastian Coates just couldn't quite get there with it falling instead to Juhani Ojala who made up for his earlier error in placing a perfect header beyond Brad Jones for a second equalizer.
It was turning into a very strange game. Given that the pattern of our play usually revolves around having a number of chances without scoring, this time we'd scored twice without doing very much in an attacking sense. We were now for the first real time starting to feel pressured and both their fans and players found another gear. Suso for all his hard work - and he really did run all day - was simply unable to get anywhere near the ball in midfield, which they constantly bypassed and continued to apply the pressure. Brad Jones was being called upon far too frequently in goal but now we were able to play on the break ourselves with Downing and Assaidi being the main outlets. Unfortunately, Dani Pacheco up front was having something of a game to forget. Part of it was the situation of the game itself and the lack of good service to his feet but it was understandable that when Rodgers decided that changes were to be made it was Pacheco who would be first to be removed. Fabio Borini came on in his place and his first action was to win a corner. From which we conceded.
As far as their third goal is concerned, there's so much wrong with it I'm not sure where to begin. Having watched it again a few times now, we're in such a position of strength at the time the ball is given away it's almost incomprehensible. It's not an intended pass that causes the trouble either, it's an aimless punt up field as they're desperate to get it clear. At this point by the way, there are eight Young Boys players behind the ball. As soon as we let it bounce, there's a problem. Bobadilla does well to hold it up but Carragher is so lightweight in the challenge, there may be an appeal for him at the next Comic Relief. Once he's got it under control, the pass to Zarate is magnificent but Jose Enrique is so out of position there's only ever going to be one outcome. Young Boys take the lead and from having started the game with concerns over our youthful attack, all the problems were coming from the senior professionals at the back.
If there's one thing having a youthful team will do, it's having that fearlessness. Some teams having taken the lead twice, only to now find themselves a goal down might lick their wounds a little and feel sorry for themselves but there was no sign of that. Right way we were on the front foot and Sahin had started to find an excellent rhythm with his passing. Borini also, had barely been on the pitch a few minutes and already had far more chances than Pacheco had managed. Jonjo Shelvey came on for Assaidi with about twenty minutes to go. The game was about to change completely.
Another corner, another goal. This time it was played deep to Sebastián Coates at the far post whose header back across goal was "influenced" by Fabio Borini. Whether he got a touch or not is beside the point, what the Italian forward did do was make sure that the man on the post got no-where near it because he didn't want to make the challenge. The ball found its way into the back of the net and once again the scores were level. With six goals having already gone in, the game showed no signs of slowing down. There was a real confidence about our passing again and the ball stuck to the grass as we played it around. Rodgers' substitutions were having a real effect on the game as Fabio Borini was a real threat up front while Suso was to go wide following the appearance of Shelvey and both were beginning to shine. Jonjo - who had been on the park for a few minutes and already had a few decent touches of the ball - was about to take over.
In keeping with the way the game had gone, it started with a loose pass. Borini latched onto it on the left hand side of the penalty are and played it across the box into Jordan Henderson. His first touch lay off to Shelvey was placed coolly beyond Wolfli in the Young Boys goal to put the total of goals on the night to seven and once again see us in the driving seat. Immediately following the goal, Raheem Sterling was summoned from the bench to potentially rub salt into the wounds by coming on for Stewart Downing. As had been the case all evening, Young Boys pressed up the field once more and tried to exploit the weaknesses shown by Jose Enrique. A series of chances were created surrounding the Spanish left back who was now firmly in the category of having one of "those" games. Fortunately, nothing was able to come of it.Second half I thought the midfield looked a lot better. Sahin in particular had stepped up a level and was even putting himself about in a defensive sense a lot more, which allowed Henderson to influence the game further up the pitch. That being said, it never felt like we'd locked the door completely and there still chances for them as the game entered the last five minutes. Jones was forced into another smart save from Farnerud and Frey missed an absolute sitter with a free header from a set piece. If the game hadn't been decided with that miss, it was about to.
In the same way as their third goal, there's a lot to be said for our fifth. Henderson's pass through to Shelvey is an amazing one. It cuts out the midfield completely and allows Jonjo to go directly at goal. Borini's movement means that one defender is already being dragged out of the way, allowing him to go one on one with the other centre half. Shelvey's subsequent drop of the shoulder and thunderous finish was a thing of beauty and a perfect way to cap off an enthralling game. A lot of people are going to make a lot of conclusions - be they good or bad - about this game. Wisdom and Henderson looked fantastic and conversely, Carragher and Enrique looked awful. Jamie is someone who has been under so much scrutiny for some time now, but it's Jose Enrique that really bothers me. It's been said that his only real - career - purple patch was when he first joined us and now we're seeing the real him. I don't want to believe it, but we'll have to wait and see. I would say however that some games are pointless to over analyse because of it's frenzied nature. So often in football we talk about anything can happen. Tonight, everything did happen.
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