Liverpool Goal: Jordan Henderson (23)
Truth be told, I wasn't sure we would go through. I thought this might have been a task too far and that our chance for qualification had gone with the late equalizer against Young Boys. Sometimes it's rather enjoyable to be proven wrong and this was certainly one of them. For the most part it's unlikely to be ranked as one of the all time great European displays that we've ever put on but that's more of a testament to how many good performances we've put in over the years. What it will do however, is give a great deal of confidence to the younger members of the squad. These are the kind of positive experiences that burgeoning players really need to help their development. It also means they'll have another opportunity to learn, when the Europa League resumes next year.
Failing to secure qualification for the next round prior to this meant that there had to be a strong side put out but with Luis Suarez suspended for Sunday that meant at least we would not have to worry about monitoring his minutes. Jamie Carragher led the side alongside Martin Skrtel and with no Steven Gerrard to call upon through illness, the midfield three of Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Jordan Henderson would have to shine - both individually and collectively. Right from the kick off Udinese showed their intentions by winning a corner with a very direct ball up the field and speculative long range shot. They were to try and put as much pressure on us territorially but other than that had no real intentions of pressurising us high up the pitch and so we were able to go about passing the ball around and trying to ease ourselves into the first few minutes.
Had there been a vociferous crowd in attendance, our approach to the early goings would have been perfect. As it was Udinese's fans had decided not to show up in any great number and both the stadium and subsequent atmosphere was as icy as the temperature appeared to be, but that's not to say what we were doing wasn't productive. Away games in Europe are always about being patient and it appeared that what we were trying to do was keep the ball for long periods of time and try to exploit the energy of Suarez by playing him in down the channels. There was a lot of work both on and off the ball by us but no real settled pattern of play, mostly due to the fact that Udinese had numbers back. Italian defences aren't known for their openness and as such we continued to try to probe without ever really getting in behind.
Very early on in the game and there was a change to the original game plan. Nuri Sahin had been off the pitch receiving treatment for what seemed like an innocuous challenge - it was later determined to be a broken nose - and while we looked fairly comfortable with ten men Jonjo Shelvey was quickly summoned as the blood flowing from Sahin could not be stopped and a replacement was called for. His introduction into the game was to produce the first real shot of any kind by a Liverpool player, a wild hit on the volley that went well wide after Udinese had half cleared a free kick. The changes that were then required in midfield seemed to give them an boost and as we tried to get used to the new setup with Joe Allen back in the more holding role with Henderson and Shelvey ahead of him, they tried to take advantage of any confusion in our defensive third by harassing us for the ball for the first time as we tried to shepherd it out from the back. As it was only the front two that were taking part in this, while it didn't exactly look comfortable eventually we were able to deal with it.
The pitch at the Stadio Fruili was really slow and made one aspect of their defending frustratingly effective. Whenever we would try to get our fullbacks into forward positions, they'd overload completely to try and close down the space completely. Were we able to shift it to the other side of the pitch quickly or effectively then they may have been gaps to exploit but a combination of their closing of the space and the run of the ball meant that any attempt to do this would have had to have been aerial and allow them the chance to clear. As it was everything looked to be going fairly well apart from one counter attack which led to a throw in. We were somewhat asleep as it was hurled into the box and Mathias Ranégie's dipping header had Reina a little worried but it went just wide.
Jonjo Shelvey's tackles this season have been something that's caught the eye of many. This time he was on the receiving end of one that could easily have been a red card. Diego Fabbrini slid in for a challenge with his studs up and received an immediate yellow but it was one of those challenges that receives a much harsher punishment in the Premier League these days. At this point having coped fairly well with what Udinese had to offer, we began to get a little careless with our clearances and invited them onto us somewhat. Suarez had not really had a chance to get into the game and I can understand why we were keen to get the ball up to him as quickly as possible - especially on the counter - but if the long ball is off by a little then all it does is give them it back and so Pepe Reina was called into action, diving backward and tipping a shot over from Pereyra.
With our hosts growing into the game a little, a chance to break on them and the free kick represented a little respite. Shelvey it was again who was fouled on the edge of the box and Suarez stepped up to try and repeat the wonderful set piece he scored against Udinese at Anfield. This time it wasn't quite as magical as the ball rebounded off the wall but Luis persisted and won a corner. From that corner Suarez was again involved, somehow left completely unmarked and produced a really tame header from Stewart Downing's cross. Fortunately though the ball fell to the feet of Suso on the right hand side of the goal and he laid it back for Jordan Henderson whose first time shot squirmed under the legs of Daniele Padelli and into the net to give us the lead that we needed so badly. Now we had something to hold onto.
Their reaction to going a goal down wasn't exactly the most urgent. A lot of the time the ball was being played into areas either side of our defence rather aimlessly and we always had a lot of men to cover those spaces. All the while we were very resolute in getting our bodies in between the Udinese players and the ball so that even if our wide men weren't able to win the header then our - far hungrier - midfield could clean it up. Perhaps the two most pleasing aspects of the way in which we set about after the goal was our commitment to getting the simple things spot on. They were given no time nor space to turn on the ball and face our goal and even those that managed it were still hassled into giving it up. On the other hand when we were in possession our movement was a lot brighter and it made passing around them so much easier. The Udinese players had little intention of getting in our faces and making it difficult but that being said we still had an air of confidence and comfort with our passing knowing that it was our tempo being imposed on things.
A goal to the good away from home in a must win European tie, these are the kind of games that in spite of his limitation that Jamie Carragher excels in. Safe in the knowledge that we have someone back there who has come up against pretty much everything that top level continental football can care to offer is something of a relief in a situation like this. Not that they were ever keen to expose him however. Udinese would put deep crosses into the box whenever they had the chance and consequently Skrtel and Carra were able to deal with this very easily. Once we had it again in the middle of the park minutes would pass before they'd have the chance to even touch the ball as often as many as three red shirts would be in space around the one Udinese midfielder. It made playing around them so much easier and with the lead we were under no pressure to play the ball any further forward, so we decided to keep knocking it around until a gap presented itself.
A second goal didn't seem inevitable but we were the more likely to score. Glen Johnson had already had an effort ruled out when he placed the ball into an empty net after Downing had cut the ball across goal from an offside position and the ball may have gone out in the first place. The chances that then came about weren't particularly clear cut but still we were finding gaps to exploit in and around the Udinese defence. Jonjo Shelvey had been slipped in down the right hand side but was unable to find a cross, even when given a second chance and when Suarez found Suso with a good lofted pass he was just unable to take it in his stride. In between those two efforts the home side did finally manage to make Pepe Reina do some work for a change they were able to for once in the game play the ball into a gap between midfield and defence. Fabbrini was able to shake off the attention of Joe Allen and drive from just outside the box straight into the reach of Reina.
Pressure arrived in the form of a goal in the other game. With Young Boys having taken the lead now against Anzhi, any kind of slip up now would be costly. Not that it had any real impact on the game that was being played out here for we were still looking very comfortable in possession and hungry to win it back whenever we weren't. Udinese looked like a side that didn't have any real passion for the game and given that they were consigned to being knocked out of Europe regardless, it certainly told. As we approached half time there was only ever one moment of even slight concern in an otherwise care free half of football. Jose Enrique was caught out of position slightly and the ball in behind found Faraoni in a lot of space on the right hand side. He looked offside but no flag was raised, fortunately his subsequent cross was hammered to no-one and even though Armero recovered it Carragher was easily able to head away the follow up.
It was an exercise in professionalism and though there are many far more wondrous sights to behold on a football pitch, being in front in a European tie away from home and watching Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher play the ball in between one another with no sign of any pressure whatsoever is still something I really enjoyed watching. When the forward men did arrive to put a obligatory foot in, the ball quickly went into our immediately more advanced three in Johnson, Enrique and Allen where we had the choice of playing it back or moving it up the field. A very comfortable half was nearly underlined and made even better with the last kick for Glen Johnson had won a corner from which Luis Suarez performed a marvellous overhead kick which very nearly caught out Padelli but he was just about able to tip over from point blank range. Forty five minutes to go, to hold on to a result that would see us through to the next round of the Europa League.
The players emerged from the tunnel for the start of the second half with a goal to smile about before even a ball had been kicked. Anzhi had equalized against Young Boys with virtually the last kick of the first half and I'm not sure whether Brendan Rodgers will have relayed this to his players as while this was a positive for us, the real job would be done here. With the game restarted then there was no sign right away that Udinese would be putting us under any more pressure than they had done in the first period and as such we were able to feel our way into the game once more. Even more encouragingly there were chances being created quickly and were we to get a second goal that would make everything a lot more comfortable. Unfortunately the first real chances of the half fell to Suso's wrong foot with Suarez winning it in midfield and playing it into the young Spaniard who blazed over.
Knowing that if we held on to our clean sheet for the remainder of the game we would be through, it was important when they had the ball that our shape and organization was perfect. Everyone barring Suarez was behind the ball and Udinese didn't ever really look as if they had the desire to play through us with any real quality. What they were doing was putting the ball into dangerous areas either side of the midfield and hoping we'd be fooled into giving them set pieces or overcommitting. There was the odd occasion where we would give away the ball in these areas, Suso battling hard to win the ball back but not being strong enough to hold it or smart enough to clear it and then on the other flank Downing was a little casual with his attempted clearance. Whenever they did get hold of it however, the ball that was played into the box would invariably be aerial and cannon fodder for Carra and Skrtel to deal with.
Leaving Suarez up front to hold the ball up is fine, he's good enough to do that. The problem was that there was an ever increasing gap between he and the midfield, to the point where when we did manage to win the ball and try to break forward there would be enough Udinese players there to guard Suarez and we would be forced into either rushing a pass or going backward. Our midfield wasn't functioning particularly well in terms of it's passing and there was a period in which we were very sloppy and would continue to give away the ball. Having said that, there was a real effort off the ball by all concerned to try and win it back but we were giving Udinese free opportunities to come onto us and were fortunate that their response was less than imaginative, Badu resorting to shooting from some thirty yards out with the ball going harmlessly wide when he may have driven it in closer to goal.
Given the situation of the game and the fact that Young Boys had once again taken the lead, leaving us in the precarious situation of knowing an equalizer would send us out of the competition, we were a lot more patient in our build up play than our opponents however and an almost visible desire not to send too many players forward. That would in turn make us rely on individual skill rather than any great passing movement in terms of trying to score a second and put the game beyond all doubt. Glen Johnson is one such player with this kind of ability and he very nearly cut inside and made it count, going past two defenders before a heavy touch allowed Padelli to collect. He was then immediately on the back foot as Amero fooled him with an unintentional dummy which sent him through down the left hand side. Jordan Henderson was quick to cover and Skrtel eventually headed the danger clear. It was the Slovakian's presence from the resulting corner that put off Benatia, who otherwise would have had a free header and maybe would not have sent it just over the crossbar. Udinese may not have been playing perfect football, but we only needed to look at our last European game to see how quickly a game can turn.
Suarez was playing his role up front to perfection, with the game entering a very untidy phase he would continually allow us the chance to breathe either by holding onto the ball or making a Udinese player take him down and the free kick giving us the chance to step up. This also helped in terms of killing time and every second counted as the tempo of the game was very slow and comfortable for us. What helped in addition to this was that Benatia - who had only just came on for them at half time - was unlucky to be forced off with an injury but this in turn slowed things down once more. Whether or nor the short break allowed the manager to pass a message on I'm not sure but straight away we were a lot higher up the pitch. A good chance to score again immediately followed with Jonjo Shelvey picking it up on the edge of the box and giving it to Jose Enrique. His cross was met high on the volley by Jordan Henderson whose effort was tipped over the bar brilliantly by Padelli.
One of the things the step up allowed us to do a lot easier - and this sounds so simple it's almost patronising - was win the ball higher up the field. Instead of picking it up deep in our own half, Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson were picking it off just ahead of the final third and as such we were able to get onto the front foot a lot quicker and easier. The Udinese goalkeeper was called into action once more, another brilliant point blank save as Allen recovered the ball and gave it to Downing who played Suarez in. He could have took it first time only to cut inside the defender. Then when you thought he'd created room for the shot he took it inside another defender and then fired in on goal, with Padelli just about able to claw it over from point blank range. The resulting corner saw another Udinese injury, this time with Glen Johnson stepping on the hand of Faraoni. That's one way to stop them breaking on us.
Suso is someone who clearly has a bright future. I would certainly hope that future is with Liverpool Football Club but right now he is something of a square peg that Brendan Rodgers is trying to put into a round hole. Aside from the positional question - which has realistically been answered, he is not a winger - the only thing that's actually wrong at the moment with him is his final ball. He's capable of a lot better and at times tries to hard to get involved in the play and I suppose the composure will only come with further exposure. As it was, this was seventy minutes of a decisive European encounter that he'd played his part in and will have learned from as the manager decided it was time for Raheem Sterling to come on and it would be Suso who would make way. The idea being here clearly that with little time remaining there would be more gaps for he to exploit. A second goal wasn't vital but it certainly would have been very helpful.
With time ticking ever onward and Udinese becoming ever more direct, with the inclusion of a few soft free kicks adding to a sense of growing pressure albeit one in which Reina was never really tested. One thing he was trying to do was to push our defence out as the gap between it and the midfield as we'd began to sit a little deeper was rather large, which in turn led to some very sloppy passing in between the two and in turn gave the ball back to them. Even Suarez was on the edge of the half way line now such was the way in which we'd been sucked in and with our clearances becoming ever more frantic and wayward we continued to invite Udinese onto us but every time they'd get into a decent area the pass would be poor and allow the chance for a clearance.
In a sense, we'd almost rather Udinese have been wanting more out of the game as it winded down. Despite our attempts to invite them onto us - even if they were unintentional - they still had six players at the back at all times and we were unable to find any gaps on the break. The only time that there was any space was when Jose Enrique's long cross field ball found Luis Suarez who had drifted over to the right hand side but he was so isolated at the time he couldn't retain possession long enough for anyone to join him. Then came an unexpected bonus in the form of a red card for Giovanni Pasquale. Raheem Sterling had backed into him and then spun around him, something which is a favoured trick of Luis Suarez and one he's always being punished for. On this occasion the referee blew in our favour and promptly showed the Italian left back a second yellow and subsequently sent him off.
In truth, the man advantage didn't really matter for much. There was so little time left and the game had already established it's final pattern with it being simply a case of whether we'd be able to hold on or not. It would have been foolish - in very much the way we were punished at Anfield against Young Boys - had we gone searching for the second goal in any kind of aggressive way, despite the fact that we had a full compliment of players. From here on in, the game was - for the majority - all about set pieces. Following the red card the referee lost control of matters somewhat and appeared to be giving everything whenever players went to ground be they us or them. Udinese were awfully both in their imagination and execution with theirs, hitting them frequently in the direction of the red shirts and allowing us the chance to come out with the ball. Conversely now they were getting a little frustrated and over eager in their challenges, in particular one on Joe Allen that was more of a kick to the stomach than anything else which went unpunished. What it did do however was further allow us the chance to hold the ball and let the remaining time tick away.
With just over five minutes to go, the man who beat us at Anfield was finally summoned forth. Antonio Di Natale's involvement in our earlier encounter meant that there could be no lapses in concentration and even though there was so little time left he was still capable of doing some damage. That being said, to get the ball up to him in the first place they still had to take it from us and with the players doing exactly what was required of them in holding onto it there was no way he could hurt us. Even Brendan Rodgers got involved in the act, holding onto the ball when it came to him and being confronted by Pereyra. There was no real sign of a final fight from Udinese as we were allowed to knock the ball around in our own half with a fair degree of comfort. At the other end Suarez was working hard to the last, first holding up the ball then using his skill to cut inside on the left hand side of the penalty area to win a corner. After wasting a few seconds and surviving an attempted counter Suarez had it again on the left hand side and he and Downing almost worked a chance for Raheem Sterling but the referee blew for a foul as time appeared to have run out on Udinese. But it wasn't quite over yet.
A soft free kick allowed them a last chance to put the ball into the box and see what could happen. When that ball was half cleared the danger appeared to be over but Jordan Henderson's attempt at a clearance bounced off a defender to the feet of Max Reinthaler. He then played it inside to Faraoni who chipped it over the head of Jamie Carragher. The ball fell to Di Natale who had just gotten on the outside of him and his effort was smashed high over the bar. He smiled and I had to check my blood pressure. It was the last kick of the game and he could have knocked us out right there, but the whistle then blew and our progress was sealed. It wasn't a mesmerising performance, especially against an opposition that didn't really have their hearts in it but that being said it will be a very good step in the learning for some of our players and now we can move on knowing that there will be European football in the spring to look forward to.
Truth be told, I wasn't sure we would go through. I thought this might have been a task too far and that our chance for qualification had gone with the late equalizer against Young Boys. Sometimes it's rather enjoyable to be proven wrong and this was certainly one of them. For the most part it's unlikely to be ranked as one of the all time great European displays that we've ever put on but that's more of a testament to how many good performances we've put in over the years. What it will do however, is give a great deal of confidence to the younger members of the squad. These are the kind of positive experiences that burgeoning players really need to help their development. It also means they'll have another opportunity to learn, when the Europa League resumes next year.
Failing to secure qualification for the next round prior to this meant that there had to be a strong side put out but with Luis Suarez suspended for Sunday that meant at least we would not have to worry about monitoring his minutes. Jamie Carragher led the side alongside Martin Skrtel and with no Steven Gerrard to call upon through illness, the midfield three of Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Jordan Henderson would have to shine - both individually and collectively. Right from the kick off Udinese showed their intentions by winning a corner with a very direct ball up the field and speculative long range shot. They were to try and put as much pressure on us territorially but other than that had no real intentions of pressurising us high up the pitch and so we were able to go about passing the ball around and trying to ease ourselves into the first few minutes.
Had there been a vociferous crowd in attendance, our approach to the early goings would have been perfect. As it was Udinese's fans had decided not to show up in any great number and both the stadium and subsequent atmosphere was as icy as the temperature appeared to be, but that's not to say what we were doing wasn't productive. Away games in Europe are always about being patient and it appeared that what we were trying to do was keep the ball for long periods of time and try to exploit the energy of Suarez by playing him in down the channels. There was a lot of work both on and off the ball by us but no real settled pattern of play, mostly due to the fact that Udinese had numbers back. Italian defences aren't known for their openness and as such we continued to try to probe without ever really getting in behind.
Very early on in the game and there was a change to the original game plan. Nuri Sahin had been off the pitch receiving treatment for what seemed like an innocuous challenge - it was later determined to be a broken nose - and while we looked fairly comfortable with ten men Jonjo Shelvey was quickly summoned as the blood flowing from Sahin could not be stopped and a replacement was called for. His introduction into the game was to produce the first real shot of any kind by a Liverpool player, a wild hit on the volley that went well wide after Udinese had half cleared a free kick. The changes that were then required in midfield seemed to give them an boost and as we tried to get used to the new setup with Joe Allen back in the more holding role with Henderson and Shelvey ahead of him, they tried to take advantage of any confusion in our defensive third by harassing us for the ball for the first time as we tried to shepherd it out from the back. As it was only the front two that were taking part in this, while it didn't exactly look comfortable eventually we were able to deal with it.
The pitch at the Stadio Fruili was really slow and made one aspect of their defending frustratingly effective. Whenever we would try to get our fullbacks into forward positions, they'd overload completely to try and close down the space completely. Were we able to shift it to the other side of the pitch quickly or effectively then they may have been gaps to exploit but a combination of their closing of the space and the run of the ball meant that any attempt to do this would have had to have been aerial and allow them the chance to clear. As it was everything looked to be going fairly well apart from one counter attack which led to a throw in. We were somewhat asleep as it was hurled into the box and Mathias Ranégie's dipping header had Reina a little worried but it went just wide.
Jonjo Shelvey's tackles this season have been something that's caught the eye of many. This time he was on the receiving end of one that could easily have been a red card. Diego Fabbrini slid in for a challenge with his studs up and received an immediate yellow but it was one of those challenges that receives a much harsher punishment in the Premier League these days. At this point having coped fairly well with what Udinese had to offer, we began to get a little careless with our clearances and invited them onto us somewhat. Suarez had not really had a chance to get into the game and I can understand why we were keen to get the ball up to him as quickly as possible - especially on the counter - but if the long ball is off by a little then all it does is give them it back and so Pepe Reina was called into action, diving backward and tipping a shot over from Pereyra.
With our hosts growing into the game a little, a chance to break on them and the free kick represented a little respite. Shelvey it was again who was fouled on the edge of the box and Suarez stepped up to try and repeat the wonderful set piece he scored against Udinese at Anfield. This time it wasn't quite as magical as the ball rebounded off the wall but Luis persisted and won a corner. From that corner Suarez was again involved, somehow left completely unmarked and produced a really tame header from Stewart Downing's cross. Fortunately though the ball fell to the feet of Suso on the right hand side of the goal and he laid it back for Jordan Henderson whose first time shot squirmed under the legs of Daniele Padelli and into the net to give us the lead that we needed so badly. Now we had something to hold onto.Their reaction to going a goal down wasn't exactly the most urgent. A lot of the time the ball was being played into areas either side of our defence rather aimlessly and we always had a lot of men to cover those spaces. All the while we were very resolute in getting our bodies in between the Udinese players and the ball so that even if our wide men weren't able to win the header then our - far hungrier - midfield could clean it up. Perhaps the two most pleasing aspects of the way in which we set about after the goal was our commitment to getting the simple things spot on. They were given no time nor space to turn on the ball and face our goal and even those that managed it were still hassled into giving it up. On the other hand when we were in possession our movement was a lot brighter and it made passing around them so much easier. The Udinese players had little intention of getting in our faces and making it difficult but that being said we still had an air of confidence and comfort with our passing knowing that it was our tempo being imposed on things.
A goal to the good away from home in a must win European tie, these are the kind of games that in spite of his limitation that Jamie Carragher excels in. Safe in the knowledge that we have someone back there who has come up against pretty much everything that top level continental football can care to offer is something of a relief in a situation like this. Not that they were ever keen to expose him however. Udinese would put deep crosses into the box whenever they had the chance and consequently Skrtel and Carra were able to deal with this very easily. Once we had it again in the middle of the park minutes would pass before they'd have the chance to even touch the ball as often as many as three red shirts would be in space around the one Udinese midfielder. It made playing around them so much easier and with the lead we were under no pressure to play the ball any further forward, so we decided to keep knocking it around until a gap presented itself.
A second goal didn't seem inevitable but we were the more likely to score. Glen Johnson had already had an effort ruled out when he placed the ball into an empty net after Downing had cut the ball across goal from an offside position and the ball may have gone out in the first place. The chances that then came about weren't particularly clear cut but still we were finding gaps to exploit in and around the Udinese defence. Jonjo Shelvey had been slipped in down the right hand side but was unable to find a cross, even when given a second chance and when Suarez found Suso with a good lofted pass he was just unable to take it in his stride. In between those two efforts the home side did finally manage to make Pepe Reina do some work for a change they were able to for once in the game play the ball into a gap between midfield and defence. Fabbrini was able to shake off the attention of Joe Allen and drive from just outside the box straight into the reach of Reina.
Pressure arrived in the form of a goal in the other game. With Young Boys having taken the lead now against Anzhi, any kind of slip up now would be costly. Not that it had any real impact on the game that was being played out here for we were still looking very comfortable in possession and hungry to win it back whenever we weren't. Udinese looked like a side that didn't have any real passion for the game and given that they were consigned to being knocked out of Europe regardless, it certainly told. As we approached half time there was only ever one moment of even slight concern in an otherwise care free half of football. Jose Enrique was caught out of position slightly and the ball in behind found Faraoni in a lot of space on the right hand side. He looked offside but no flag was raised, fortunately his subsequent cross was hammered to no-one and even though Armero recovered it Carragher was easily able to head away the follow up.
It was an exercise in professionalism and though there are many far more wondrous sights to behold on a football pitch, being in front in a European tie away from home and watching Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher play the ball in between one another with no sign of any pressure whatsoever is still something I really enjoyed watching. When the forward men did arrive to put a obligatory foot in, the ball quickly went into our immediately more advanced three in Johnson, Enrique and Allen where we had the choice of playing it back or moving it up the field. A very comfortable half was nearly underlined and made even better with the last kick for Glen Johnson had won a corner from which Luis Suarez performed a marvellous overhead kick which very nearly caught out Padelli but he was just about able to tip over from point blank range. Forty five minutes to go, to hold on to a result that would see us through to the next round of the Europa League.
The players emerged from the tunnel for the start of the second half with a goal to smile about before even a ball had been kicked. Anzhi had equalized against Young Boys with virtually the last kick of the first half and I'm not sure whether Brendan Rodgers will have relayed this to his players as while this was a positive for us, the real job would be done here. With the game restarted then there was no sign right away that Udinese would be putting us under any more pressure than they had done in the first period and as such we were able to feel our way into the game once more. Even more encouragingly there were chances being created quickly and were we to get a second goal that would make everything a lot more comfortable. Unfortunately the first real chances of the half fell to Suso's wrong foot with Suarez winning it in midfield and playing it into the young Spaniard who blazed over.
Knowing that if we held on to our clean sheet for the remainder of the game we would be through, it was important when they had the ball that our shape and organization was perfect. Everyone barring Suarez was behind the ball and Udinese didn't ever really look as if they had the desire to play through us with any real quality. What they were doing was putting the ball into dangerous areas either side of the midfield and hoping we'd be fooled into giving them set pieces or overcommitting. There was the odd occasion where we would give away the ball in these areas, Suso battling hard to win the ball back but not being strong enough to hold it or smart enough to clear it and then on the other flank Downing was a little casual with his attempted clearance. Whenever they did get hold of it however, the ball that was played into the box would invariably be aerial and cannon fodder for Carra and Skrtel to deal with.
Leaving Suarez up front to hold the ball up is fine, he's good enough to do that. The problem was that there was an ever increasing gap between he and the midfield, to the point where when we did manage to win the ball and try to break forward there would be enough Udinese players there to guard Suarez and we would be forced into either rushing a pass or going backward. Our midfield wasn't functioning particularly well in terms of it's passing and there was a period in which we were very sloppy and would continue to give away the ball. Having said that, there was a real effort off the ball by all concerned to try and win it back but we were giving Udinese free opportunities to come onto us and were fortunate that their response was less than imaginative, Badu resorting to shooting from some thirty yards out with the ball going harmlessly wide when he may have driven it in closer to goal.
Given the situation of the game and the fact that Young Boys had once again taken the lead, leaving us in the precarious situation of knowing an equalizer would send us out of the competition, we were a lot more patient in our build up play than our opponents however and an almost visible desire not to send too many players forward. That would in turn make us rely on individual skill rather than any great passing movement in terms of trying to score a second and put the game beyond all doubt. Glen Johnson is one such player with this kind of ability and he very nearly cut inside and made it count, going past two defenders before a heavy touch allowed Padelli to collect. He was then immediately on the back foot as Amero fooled him with an unintentional dummy which sent him through down the left hand side. Jordan Henderson was quick to cover and Skrtel eventually headed the danger clear. It was the Slovakian's presence from the resulting corner that put off Benatia, who otherwise would have had a free header and maybe would not have sent it just over the crossbar. Udinese may not have been playing perfect football, but we only needed to look at our last European game to see how quickly a game can turn.
Suarez was playing his role up front to perfection, with the game entering a very untidy phase he would continually allow us the chance to breathe either by holding onto the ball or making a Udinese player take him down and the free kick giving us the chance to step up. This also helped in terms of killing time and every second counted as the tempo of the game was very slow and comfortable for us. What helped in addition to this was that Benatia - who had only just came on for them at half time - was unlucky to be forced off with an injury but this in turn slowed things down once more. Whether or nor the short break allowed the manager to pass a message on I'm not sure but straight away we were a lot higher up the pitch. A good chance to score again immediately followed with Jonjo Shelvey picking it up on the edge of the box and giving it to Jose Enrique. His cross was met high on the volley by Jordan Henderson whose effort was tipped over the bar brilliantly by Padelli.
One of the things the step up allowed us to do a lot easier - and this sounds so simple it's almost patronising - was win the ball higher up the field. Instead of picking it up deep in our own half, Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson were picking it off just ahead of the final third and as such we were able to get onto the front foot a lot quicker and easier. The Udinese goalkeeper was called into action once more, another brilliant point blank save as Allen recovered the ball and gave it to Downing who played Suarez in. He could have took it first time only to cut inside the defender. Then when you thought he'd created room for the shot he took it inside another defender and then fired in on goal, with Padelli just about able to claw it over from point blank range. The resulting corner saw another Udinese injury, this time with Glen Johnson stepping on the hand of Faraoni. That's one way to stop them breaking on us.
Suso is someone who clearly has a bright future. I would certainly hope that future is with Liverpool Football Club but right now he is something of a square peg that Brendan Rodgers is trying to put into a round hole. Aside from the positional question - which has realistically been answered, he is not a winger - the only thing that's actually wrong at the moment with him is his final ball. He's capable of a lot better and at times tries to hard to get involved in the play and I suppose the composure will only come with further exposure. As it was, this was seventy minutes of a decisive European encounter that he'd played his part in and will have learned from as the manager decided it was time for Raheem Sterling to come on and it would be Suso who would make way. The idea being here clearly that with little time remaining there would be more gaps for he to exploit. A second goal wasn't vital but it certainly would have been very helpful.
With time ticking ever onward and Udinese becoming ever more direct, with the inclusion of a few soft free kicks adding to a sense of growing pressure albeit one in which Reina was never really tested. One thing he was trying to do was to push our defence out as the gap between it and the midfield as we'd began to sit a little deeper was rather large, which in turn led to some very sloppy passing in between the two and in turn gave the ball back to them. Even Suarez was on the edge of the half way line now such was the way in which we'd been sucked in and with our clearances becoming ever more frantic and wayward we continued to invite Udinese onto us but every time they'd get into a decent area the pass would be poor and allow the chance for a clearance.
In a sense, we'd almost rather Udinese have been wanting more out of the game as it winded down. Despite our attempts to invite them onto us - even if they were unintentional - they still had six players at the back at all times and we were unable to find any gaps on the break. The only time that there was any space was when Jose Enrique's long cross field ball found Luis Suarez who had drifted over to the right hand side but he was so isolated at the time he couldn't retain possession long enough for anyone to join him. Then came an unexpected bonus in the form of a red card for Giovanni Pasquale. Raheem Sterling had backed into him and then spun around him, something which is a favoured trick of Luis Suarez and one he's always being punished for. On this occasion the referee blew in our favour and promptly showed the Italian left back a second yellow and subsequently sent him off.
In truth, the man advantage didn't really matter for much. There was so little time left and the game had already established it's final pattern with it being simply a case of whether we'd be able to hold on or not. It would have been foolish - in very much the way we were punished at Anfield against Young Boys - had we gone searching for the second goal in any kind of aggressive way, despite the fact that we had a full compliment of players. From here on in, the game was - for the majority - all about set pieces. Following the red card the referee lost control of matters somewhat and appeared to be giving everything whenever players went to ground be they us or them. Udinese were awfully both in their imagination and execution with theirs, hitting them frequently in the direction of the red shirts and allowing us the chance to come out with the ball. Conversely now they were getting a little frustrated and over eager in their challenges, in particular one on Joe Allen that was more of a kick to the stomach than anything else which went unpunished. What it did do however was further allow us the chance to hold the ball and let the remaining time tick away.
With just over five minutes to go, the man who beat us at Anfield was finally summoned forth. Antonio Di Natale's involvement in our earlier encounter meant that there could be no lapses in concentration and even though there was so little time left he was still capable of doing some damage. That being said, to get the ball up to him in the first place they still had to take it from us and with the players doing exactly what was required of them in holding onto it there was no way he could hurt us. Even Brendan Rodgers got involved in the act, holding onto the ball when it came to him and being confronted by Pereyra. There was no real sign of a final fight from Udinese as we were allowed to knock the ball around in our own half with a fair degree of comfort. At the other end Suarez was working hard to the last, first holding up the ball then using his skill to cut inside on the left hand side of the penalty area to win a corner. After wasting a few seconds and surviving an attempted counter Suarez had it again on the left hand side and he and Downing almost worked a chance for Raheem Sterling but the referee blew for a foul as time appeared to have run out on Udinese. But it wasn't quite over yet.A soft free kick allowed them a last chance to put the ball into the box and see what could happen. When that ball was half cleared the danger appeared to be over but Jordan Henderson's attempt at a clearance bounced off a defender to the feet of Max Reinthaler. He then played it inside to Faraoni who chipped it over the head of Jamie Carragher. The ball fell to Di Natale who had just gotten on the outside of him and his effort was smashed high over the bar. He smiled and I had to check my blood pressure. It was the last kick of the game and he could have knocked us out right there, but the whistle then blew and our progress was sealed. It wasn't a mesmerising performance, especially against an opposition that didn't really have their hearts in it but that being said it will be a very good step in the learning for some of our players and now we can move on knowing that there will be European football in the spring to look forward to.
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