It was one of the worst performances I think we’ve seen under Brendan Rodgers. Credit must be given to Aston Villa who were excellent. Much like their last two trips to Anfield they have had a game plan that they have executed perfectly which this season was based around the defensive stability that has been the foundation for their excellent start to the campaign.
Agbonlahor did a good man marking job on Gerrard much like Weimann did in this fixture last season whilst the players behind kept compact with a priority towards allowing Lovren and Sakho possession knowing they couldn’t pose many problems. This did free up Henderson as well though and what I like about Henderson is the way he keeps composed and keeps possession in games like this where patience is vital. What he needs to do in the future though to step up to the next level is become a game changer. If Gerrard can’t influence a game because he’s being man marked it is up to Henderson to start taking it by the scruff of the neck much in the same way Gerrard used to when he was that age. He needs to drive the team forward and start providing passes that are going to turn defences opposed to just retaining possession.
It was a game heavily reminiscent of our defeat to Chelsea towards the end of last season as we were heavily frustrated which was something I was hoping wouldn’t happen as often this season with the extra creativity added to the side with the likes of Markovic and Lallana. I can’t make excuses for them two in this game as both were quite poor but if there is one thing that stood out was the need for these players to have time to adapt to each other.
The offensive play desperately lacked the required tempo which I don’t think was due to passing but more a lack of sufficient movement, interchanges and positions taken up. Players had to keep the ball longer than they wanted and were forced to cut back and retain possession because of a lack of good options ahead. As well as that, too often players were getting caught up in similar positions to each other which refers to the earlier point about the new boys needing time to adapt to each other’s games.
There was one moment in the first half where Balotelli, Lallana, Coutinho and Markovic were all crammed into a 15 yard space between the compact lines of the Villa midfield and defence just getting in each other’s way. We seem to be struggling when we have just one striker as well because there weren’t enough players prepared to sacrifice themselves and run away from the ball when Balotelli dropped short or shuffled wide, something I’ve spoken about this season already. We missed Sturridge and with hindsight maybe Sterling should have started.
Balotelli had a tough time and it’s something he’s going to have to get used to, especially at Anfield. Everyone knows he can get riled up and Senderos did a job on him here. The Swiss defender did go too far with a couple of his kick outs but as said, Balotelli has to expect that. What we need from him is a positive reaction that sees him motivated to get back at those players. We didn’t get that this time out.
We also needed more from Coutinho really. He looked the most likely to create something and he had the best chance with the effort that hit the post but too often he tried to do too much and held onto the ball too long. He can supply that defence splitting pass so in these types of games he has to give more. After last season more teams are going to come to Anfield and set up like this so it’s something the players have to get used to.
As stated Villa were really compact and there is a bigger requirement in these situations to use the wide areas. Rodgers said near the start of his Liverpool reign that he doesn’t create crossing teams. Little surprise as I think on average across the division only a quarter of crosses actually reaches a teammate. That number narrows down further when you analyse how many of those crosses result in a shot on goal and even more so when you analyse how many goals those shots produce. Teams who actually work on patterns to create chances from crosses will naturally reap more rewards and with the likes of Balotelli and Lambert available to us it is more of an option than in previous years but it it’s not something we seem to have worked on.
We didn’t work really good crossing opportunities; they were delivered more in hope, especially from Manquillo on the right and Senderos and Baker dealt with them comfortably. The stats show we produced 31 crosses in the game. Our season average is 21 with the highest average this season belonging to Southampton with 28. It was becoming a bit desperate.
Defensively there are still numerous concerns. Set pieces were a nightmare and proved the difference in the end whilst the corner that led to Villa’s goal should have never arrived as Sakho should have dealt with the initial ball into the channel much better.
On the whole it was a really disappointing evening but a learning curve nonetheless. We have a chance to get it out of our system nice and quickly with our eagerly awaited return to the Champions League on Tuesday. This is our ‘easiest’ fixture in the group and so is a must win if we are to progress. Let’s hope we get a fast start to the game from the Reds along with a classic Anfield European night atmosphere.
Follow Jake on Twitter @JakeLakin