Tuesday, January 15, 2008

FA Cup: Liverpool v Luton Town

Luton defended admirably in the first half, attacking the Reds as they crossed midfield, often with crunching tackles. Unfortunately, their lack of skill on the ball led many Luton counterattacks to failure, as balls forward would be mistimed or could not be controlled. At the end of the first half, a Liverpool counterattack succeeded, as Fernando Torres slipped the ball around a Luton defender to the feet of Ryan Babel, who settled the pass and then struck hard with his right foot, blasting the ball into the far side of the goal. Liverpool enters the second half with a monkey off their back and we could well see Torres or Crouch subbed early in the second half as it seems unlikely that Luton will be able to create real scoring chances. Expect to see some young players in the second half and perhaps another goal or two from the Reds.
-Update-
Well, they scored four more in the second half and I can't say I'm too surprised.  Gerrard bagged a second half hat-trick and his second and third goals were crackers from outside the box.  I watch Liverpool and they look so good, but continue to underperform in the EPL.  I think they'll take out Inter in the knockout stage.  If you play against 3 of the best 10 teams in thew world, (Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U) you know how to play strong competition.  I'm not sure if Inter's in the same league (figuratively).

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