(A) Anzhi Makhachkala - Post Match Thoughts

Final Score: Anzhi Makhachkala 1-0 Liverpool
Anzhi Makhachkala Goal: Lacina Traore (45)

Losing will never be a good thing or seen as thus, nor should it.  As fans we want our teams to win every game they play.  There are always extraneous circumstances surrounding any match what with injuries and suspensions  it's just that the value of squad depth and rotation means that only exaggerates the situation.  We went into the game with not only an understrength side but also a change in formation that they'd have to get to grips with in order to conquer what is at present the second best team in Russia.  In normal circumstances, this would also mean doing so on their own turf but UEFA and their regulations meant this game had to be played in Moscow.  That being said, we were still the outsiders and would still have to do a remarkable job in order to take something from the game. So that we did enough, that we were more than a match for our opponent - albeit were never going to take advantage of that superiority - isn't that something to be positive about?

On what I was told was a mild night in Moscow at just two degrees, the opening exchanges would have done little to warm those playing or watching inside the ground. We were composed and quiet  making short simple passes to allow us time to ease ourselves into the game at our own pace.  Not that our opponents had any intentions of coming out of the blocks with any real tempo themselves, for they were happy to keep passing it around in their own half while we sat men in position behind the ball as it played into our hands perfectly.  Up front, Adam Morgan showed very early that he was going to be a willing runner and not someone who would stay rooted to the penalty spot and this helped us as we were able to push them a little further back as their defence had to be aware of his - and the subsequently Shelvey and Cole's - presence.

As far as chances went, Anzhi were far more willing to play the ball forward than they were at Anfield and as such created something early on.  The ball broke to Tagirbekov on the edge of the penalty area on the left hand side.  Whether he meant to shoot or was trying to whip the ball around for Eto'o isn't clear, but it was in the end neither and Jones picked the ball up with ease.  Because they were being very patient in waiting for a spot in midfield when the defenders had the ball, it allowed us to apply some serious pressure when they would try to probe further up.  Owing to the state of the pitch though that became difficult for both sides as passes were much more difficult and anticipating them meant to account for any bobbles on the pitch.  Tagirbekov's earlier chance was led to by a missed interception and a few minutes later Jamie Carragher came for one that he didn't meet but fortunately Brad Jones was on his toes and collected it at the feet of Lacina Traore.

Despite the presence of some very inexperienced players out there, we showed a great amount of composure and no sign whatsoever of any fear or intimidation.  The midfield was compact and organised, with Shelvey and Henderson doing enough so that young Connor Coady wasn't overworked and we were starting to get it wide and play with Flanagan and Downing getting more of a look in.  Thanks to an over hit Downing cross it was Flanagan who found himself with time and space on the right hand side but his return ball was cleared also.  Wild clearances like this were symptomatic of the fact that Anzhi weren't particularly protective of possession and as such constantly gave the ball back to us.  When we did get it back Jonjo Shelvey looked to be the one dictating it the most in the middle of the park as he was by far the most confident of the midfield three.  There were a couple of times Rodgers would have been wanting Jonjo to reign that in however as more than a few passes went astray and gave up any pressure that might have been building.

Because of the space we were guarding and weight of numbers down the middle, they looked to go down our right hand side with a few switches of play. Even when they did get behind because of the fact that we were playing three at the back one of them was always spare and could help out, like when Zhirkov tried to get around Flanagan and he held him off long enough for Wisdom to come in and take the ball. Moments later they tried the aerial route with Lacina Traore but again two came out to meet him and he rather easily gave the ball away.  Certainly if their plan was to target Jon Flanagan it wasn't working, he was looking particularly strong and determined in the tackle and on more than one occasion set us off on the break.  They were very weary of how much of a threat we could pose in this manner, as evidenced by Christopher Samba's hefty challenge on Joe Cole after Morgan and Shelvey combined to send him off down the right hand side.

Though they were slow and patient in their own half, Anzhi were showing far more than they had at Anfield recently in that they were actually capable of going up the gears somewhat.  Some good passing looked to have presented them with an opportunity down the right hand side but Downing was in position to cut the final ball out, which was important in that for the system to work both fullbacks had to do their defensive duties.  Downing had been a decent outlet and continued to show that despite all the criticism is continuing to do what's asked of him, even if he'll never be a world beater.  With the arrival of the twenty minute mark, it was evident that we'd not only gotten to grips with the changes in formation but also it was causing problems for our opponents.

A lot of the pressure we exerted in the first half was as a result of solid midfield play and good movement from Adam Morgan, who was relentless.  I've heard so much about Morgan being a finisher and nothing more - whatever that constitutes - but the few chances he's had in the first team show that he's eager and willing not only go into deeper and wide areas to he can receive or battle for the ball but also create space for others.  In fact, he should have had an assist to his name at around the twenty three minute mark.  Having popped up on the left hand side with his back to goal to be an outlet, he was then moments later on the right where he picked it up and slid in a defence splitting pass for Jordan Henderson.  At this point there were any number of things he could have done with it.  Certainly a shift of the shoulder would have left the goalkeeper for dead and an open goal, but one one one you expect a save to be made.  Henderson however had no intention of shooting and tried to play it back at an impossible angle.  Anzhi cleared the ball, having been massively let off the hook.

Having coped so well up until this point, Anzhi were becoming impatient, playing impossible through balls at difficult angles in hope more than anything else.  They did manage to get in behind briefly, having sucked Stewart Downing in there was a gap for them on the right hand side.  Fortunately Downing reacted quick enough to not only delay Logashov's cross but track him as he went behind, which allowed Stewart to come in and clear it as they tried to play it back to him.  Jones had been having a fairly comfortable night up thus far and after that break into our penalty area we one again set about keeping the ball and making short easy passes, frustrating them immensely.  This led to Jonjo Shelvey getting the ball out wide with time and space but his cross wasn't great.  We'd played arguably the better football but Gabulov in goal was equally as untested as Jones.

Nobody has more of an idea how frustrating it is when a side has players back behind the ball.  Even at it's most basic it's incredibly difficult to deal with.  Here it was good to see us using it for our advantage for a change, really having a solid wall behind the goalkeeper that Anzhi found no luck whatsoever in trying to break down.  Guus Hiddink was forced to concede one thing to Brendan Rodgers in that his starting formation and tactics had completely gotten the edge over his side right from kick off.  In changing Ahmedov for Gonzalez and trying to add more cohesion as well as a threat to Anzhi's play, at the very least we had forced our opponents to throw away their initial game plan.

So many of the wounds we've suffered this season have been of our own making.  Here it genuinely looked like Anzhi's only way in.  Wisdom's first touch let him down and forced him into giving away the ball.  From here Zhirkov was through and played in Eto'o on the edge of the box.  Even here there were still three our four Liverpool shirts in and around the box trying to get back at him but his shot was instant and the save from Jones was good.  Following this, Seb Coates looked to have dealt with the situation well, bundling his way past a few Anzhi players only for them to get it back off him.  There was a scramble of sorts in and around the penalty area but the eventually Downing was able to step in and clear.

At the other end, once again Joe Cole was finding it difficult to have any real positive effect on the game.  It was unlike his infamous League Cup performance the other week in that here he was coming up against a defence - Chris Samba in particular - who he could get nothing out of at all.  Such was his frustration that he at one point went down with a dive so laughable that the only thing preventing everyone the world over from condemning it was that English players never ever ever dive.  Their change of shape had now made it very clear that when we had the ball we would have to go through two banks of four but our movement was still good enough to work space out on the flanks.  The one problem with that - as we saw against Swansea - is that Henderson's delivery isn't his best feature and so his crosses were consistently cleared with ease.

Joe Cole meanwhile finally had something to smile about - on his birthday no less - being awarded a cheap free kick on the edge of the box.  From the set piece he could have even had the perfect present but he couldn't quite work the header onto goal from what was a very difficult angle with the ball behind him and having to stoop to make contact.  As the half closed we came back into it as an attacking force and looked very good, Shelvey finding space in between their midfield and attack as well as Wisdom putting a very good ball into the box.  Neither of which would ultimately come to anything but it was a sign of how at ease we were with the way things were going.  With all the good things we'd done in the first half, it was with more or less the last kick that we undid them.

A straight ball played into Lacina Traore on the edge of the box.  If you were being really harsh, you could suggest that if Carragher is closer to Coates, there's no room to play that ball in, but that's not where we went wrong.  Coates' missed interception is painful, with Traore in on goal and then Brad Jones comes out to make the strikers mind up for him instantly, lobbing it over his head to give Anzhi the lead.  We would have plenty of time to mull over it in the dressing room as this was the very last action of a half we'd - right up until the end - had a great deal of control over.

With forty five minutes left to go and a goal needed at the very least to take something back to Liverpool, the second half began a lot quicker than the first.  Both teams had upped their game with more active pressing in their half, which raised the tempo from the easy paced initial opening to proceedings.  Once again Adam Morgan was getting involved, linking up well with Joe Cole on two occasions.  Firstly a good pass to set free Cole on the break only for him to be flagged offside; it was a tight call and had the official let it go then he was in on goal.  Another chance came for Morgan this time with some good work down the left hand side culminating in Cole playing him through, only for the subsequent shot to hit the side netting.

Everything in the game had gone up a level, except perhaps the quality.  Both ourselves and Anzhi were guilty of not putting enough care on the final pass, which only added to the very fractured nature of the game.  That being said it was starting to get more open, with the more ferocious pressing of the ball there were also a lot more gaps to exploit all over the park.  Once again we were able to create something, the ball being played through to Adam Morgan inside the penalty area but he was crowded out and Shelvey shinned the rebound completely from the edge of it.  With all these half chances that were coming our way, Anzhi looked to get even more on the front foot and began playing balls over to Traore in an attempt to keep it away from their goal.  His general play seemed to get a lot better in the second half, especially the way he held the ball up for them and not only made it difficult for us to get anything going but also allowed them to build more attacks of their own.

Of the two goalkeepers on display, Brad Jones was the one being asked the more questions now.  Shelvey and Carragher were a little half hearted on the left hand side of the pitch and Gonzalez nipped in.  They played it across cross the field and eventually it came to Eto'o, who curled a shot right into Jones' grateful arms.  Traore moments later had a chance of his own to double their lead, playing the ball through the legs of an overly eager Jordan Henderson to create half a yard and then firing wide.  With the game very much still in the balance despite Anzhi having the better of the chances it was time for Brendan Rodgers to make some changes.  Suso came on for Connor Coady and Adam Morgan was taken off for Dani Pacheco.  What this did was switch around the midfield, allowing Suso to operate at the point of the midfield triangle but left two forwards in Joe Cole and now Pacheco.

In order for the subs to have any influence on the game, it would have helped if we could get hold of the ball to any great degree.  Anzhi pushed us back and forced the wing backs to be permanent fixtures alongside the back three and the midfield almost collapsed onto them.  Their pressing of the ball was relentless and we were unable to figure a way out of it with no outlet whatsoever.  Joe Cole did a lot of admirable running in trying to cause them problems but they played around him with ease.  One avenue we really had to exploit was the counter attack. Suso picked the ball up and looked brilliant in going past a few players, the first time we'd really seen it in the second half.  In the end he held onto the ball for too long however despite having players in space and was crowded out.

Dealing with such immense pressure on the ball, it really helped that one of the players being brought on was Suso.  Such a technically gifted footballer, he really made a difference in being able to play around the challenges that were coming in and around him and this in turn allowed us to try and threaten them some more as the game went into the final stages.  Everything centred around the Spaniard.  He helped keep alive possession on the edge of the box after they'd half cleared it, a transition in between Downing and Flanagan crosses who were now being encouraged to get further forward as opposed to being pushed back.  At the other end he was helping out too, tracking back and fouling Samuel Eto'o to stop Anzhi going any further on the break.  For all our building pressure however, it was our opponents who should have scored next.  Traore laid it out wide and continued his run into the box - something a surprisingly few amount of forwards do - and when the cross came in he met it powerfully, but it was at Brad Jones and he was able to get a hand to it.  If we were in this position, it'd be about now I'd be anticipating the equalizer.

It had taken far too long but finally Gubulov was being called into action.  Suso drifted inside brilliantly and unleashed one from a fair distance.  It was well hit and forced the Anzhi goalkeeper to save, but he only parried it right in front of Joe Cole.  Gubulov to his credit smothered Cole and made it difficult for him and so ultimately he wasn't able to make the most of the chance and instead of a goal we got a corner.  That turned out to be Joe Cole's final action of the game and most probably his final act in a Liverpool shirt.  Any anger I feel toward the transfer is not in regard to the player or the man, I wish him well on his future endeavours as come the transfer window he will almost certainly be away from Liverpool.  Someone who has just started his career at the club, Ousamma Assaidi came on his place as we looked to try and take a positive point to go with the performance back with us.

Another chance for Anzhi to wrap the game up, another one squandered.  This one was inexcusable.  Traore was put through one on one with Brad Jones and looked to have five days to make his mind up.  When the ball drifted wide it seemed like this could very well be our day and that they'd spurned too many opportunities to put the game beyond all doubt.  We pushed people forward now liberally and coupled with their now reluctance to come out and try to win the ball, the midfield was very thin from both sides and there were plenty of gaps outside their penalty area in which the game was played.  All their clearances were rushed and needless and we continued to press for something to give us hope.  A set piece just outside the box could have been that chance to savour something but Shelvey rather summed up our night offensively by hitting a free kick so wide it was in more danger of hitting the corner flag.

Hiddink had made it clear that his side were content to play on the break from now on.  Jonjo Shelvey was forced back to deal with one such break, clearing it to set us off on another attack before moments later Brad Jones had to come out and claim one.   Ultimately however, we created only one real chance of note.  Dani Pacecho found space just outside the box and played in Suso.  His cutback was met by Jordan Henderson which was blazed well over.  If the first team is a collection of players that suffer greatly from a lack of cutting edge and composure it's only natural that this fringe team would be dealt a similar fate.  Coady and Morgan battled very well and Suso looked like a revelation when he came on, further underling to his manager that he would be better suited in field.  The idea of leaving out our major players in this game given how tight this group is would have been a difficult one but ultimately what was necessary.  Also, things aren't bleak on that front either thanks to a favourable result in the other game so qualification is still very possible.  We now have the added advantage of having gotten something out of the group - albeit not the way we would have wanted - and rested all of our key players in what's going to be a tough game coming up.  Chelsea need to watch out for we have a record at Stamford Bridge of late and it's not the kind of record that they'd like to hear.