Lazarus

The Debrecen game was a first. I've never seen Liverpool take the sting out of the game at Anfield and then do it for ninety minutes. The most polite thing to say about both sides is that they kept each other company on the pitch. We found their level, added 5% extra and played it out. That won't work against Lyon so I hope there were a few words about coasting when they got back to the dressing room.

The West Ham game had the lot. They're on their way to being a good side and Zola knows how to play to his strengths. Five goals, one of them a beauty, a hit post, a penalty (scored from a man who fell over and hit it twice if Masch is to be believed) and a match winning cross from…from…

Look, I'm not saying he's risen like Lazarus but put Babel on the right hand side and he's a different player. I was so shocked at his Debrecen sprint that I actually stood up and wondered if my half time weak tea had been doped. He made the difference against the Hammers as, during that period, we'd started to play our Debrecen game again. Poor first touches, failing to find a white shirt and just being so bloody slow. At one point there was a passage of play where Babel was turning his full back in and out and four of our attacking players had their hands on their hips. Most games are won by pace so it would be nice if we could try it out. Just a suggestion.

Torres has woken up too. So far this season he's been trotting onto the pitch looking like he's just left a festival but he showed signs of a return in midweek and then hammered the point home last night. His first, a replica of his debut Chelsea goal, had class written all over it. When he got the ball you knew what he was going to do as did their defence but sometimes knowledge isn't enough. When he's like that he's absolutely unplayable and only Drogba and Rooney can touch him in that respect.

Carra will take some stick for the pen following his annual Upton Park howler but there are deeper problems than the personnel. The majority, if not all, of our conceded goals this season have come from set pieces. As the game died out it felt like 1997 when the opposition took a corner. A sense of 'this could go anywhere'. We've fixed that problem in the past and I expect we will again. The centre backs are hesitant whereas last season they'd be all over their forwards. These things happen and the coaching staff should devote a training session or two to it.

So, we're third following the Sunday games. I can still hear the joyous Spurs fans telling me after this season's opener, that they'll finish above us. I don't blame them for their optimism given the ease of that win but when fans appear on Sky to tell the world that 'Harry has brought back the glory days' after their, yes, second win, you just sit back and wait for the fall. We're above City (although they have a game in hand) so there's normality to the table now. Chelsea are streets ahead at the moment but they were under Scolari at this stage last season and we all know how that ended. I'd best not go into Alan Wiley v Man City. My doctor would not approve.