The Reds turned in a decent performance in what turned out to be a tricky fixture to open up our European campaign.  As I predicted, Torres and Gerrard were given a start, despite concerns that they might not be back to full fitness.  Gerrard was a man possesed.  He was like a zombie who had gone months without a full serving of human brain to chomp on; wild-eyed, aggresive, and hungrily roaming the pitch, looking to get himself involved in whatever action there was to be had. He must undoubtedly enjoy playing in the hole behind Torres.  For the spectator, it can be quite thrilling to watch. The only concern, and this has been voiced before, is that Keane disturbs the Torres-Gerrard dynamic, since he likes to operate in the same space as Stevie.  It does appear that Gerrard does lose some of his effectiveness when he is shackled in a midfield pairing within a 4-4-2 (especially when he is paired with a fat fuck from west london).  It's possible that Keane might be best coming off the bench, though surely he would disagree -- I'm curious to see how we line up against Stoke over the weekend. 

Torres played well, keeping the Marseille defence on their toes and opening things up for others.  I think he lacked that extra bit of sharpness -- though you wouldn't tell it by the way he nicked the ball from M'bami in the lead-up to Gerrard's goal -- otherwise he would have ended up on the score-sheet.  Still, he did what he needed to do and, along with Babel, provided a great outlet for Reina on the counter, especially in the second half.

Babel, for his part, had another great game for us.  He was essentially our left AND right winger, popping up on both sides and giving us that much needed width.  His holding play was also very impressive.  On more than one occasion he received the ball up-field and shielded it from two or even three Marseille players until the cavalry arrived.  He probably drew more fouls than anyone, though I don't have that stat in front of me.  He still needs to work on his passing game, though, as his final ball often let him down.  I also think he should finished at least one of his scoring chances.  Nevertheless, his develpment is very encouraging. Riera also had a nice game after coming on, and between the two of them we should be able to stretch defences.  Maybe Riera is the real deal.  He certainly seems willing and able to take on backs one-on-one, something a guy like Gonzales never was able to do.

Our defence was not at their best. At the risk of beating a dead horse, I really think Agger should have started this one.  There was absolutely no aerial threat, and both Carra and Skrtel were made to look slow on several occasions.  We kept a high line, were made to pay for it once, and we're lucky that it wasn't worse.  Arbeloa had the responsibililty of playing as wing-back for a good part of the first half (whenever Babel moved to the left), and left some space behind him. He got better in the second half, and put in some great tackles against the very tricky Valbuena.

So, all in all a good display.  Confidence should be high, and there were some patches of nice, fluid football that were easy on the eye.  Hopefully the pieces are starting to fit; the new-boys bedding in and adjusting to the system.  We've yet to see the best from the likes of Keane and Lucas, who looked a bit out of sorts, which is understandable considering he's been playing for Brazil for months.  We also have to start scoring early goals and putting away teams.  This coming from behind business is exciting, but it can't go on forever. 

I'm much more optimistic than I was a week ago... that's what consecutive wins against the Mancs and in the Champions league can do for you... lets keep it going

Shows how much I know:

Marseille: Mandanda, Bonnart, Zubar, Hilton, Taiwo, Cana, Cheyrou, Kone, M'Bami, Ben Arfa, Niang.
Subs: Riou, Ziani, Zenden, Kabore, Samassa, Erbate, Valbuena.

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Dossena, Gerrard, Mascherano, Leiva Lucas, Kuyt, Torres, Babel.
Subs: Cavalieri, Agger, Keane, Riera, Alonso, Benayoun, Degen.

Reports today are that Rick Perry is looking to extend Agger's contract. I certainly hope this comes to pass.  As I pointed out yesterday, I think Agger is an excellent defender, and he offers certain qualities our other centers, great as they are, do not. Namely, skill on the ball and an abilility to bring the ball forward and even score a goal or two from something other than a set piece.  Also, I hate to see a player lose his spot due to injury.  Daniel had bought himself a spot in the first eleven before the metatarsal injury took him out, and I for one hopes he remains a red for a long long time.

I think Rafa will pick him today to reinforce the idea that he's valuable to the team.  Also his pace will help him deal with the likes of Kone.  Mascherano will almost certainly not be risked. We'll see some sort of Lucas-Alonso-Gerrard combination. 

In other news, there is a severe banking crisis here in New York.  "Why should I give a fuck?" you might ask. Normally, you shouldn't, aside from some good yucks at the pink-shirt brigade's expense. I personally would be the first to laugh at those asshole investment bankers leaving their offices with a box of belongings.  Ha ha ha, you stupid chump, I would say.  However, there are Liverpool implications to this fucking mess, and  I haven't seen it reported elsewhere so I thought it worth mentioning.  I'll spare the reader the gory details, but the last few months have seen the collapse of some of the most powerful investment banks in Wall Street.  It began with Bear Stearns, which was absorbed by JP Morgan with the helpful hand of the Federal Reserve and the American taxpayer. It continued this past weekend with the fall of Lehman Brothers, a storied institution dating back to the Civil War.  Next up to the gallows appears to be Merrill Lynch.  This is the same Merrill Lynch that has been at Tom Hicks elbow for over a year and would theoretically help him in his bid to buy out Tweedle-dumber.  Fat chance of that happening now.  Merril is getting bought out by Bank of America, and I'm not sure they have the taste for questionable investments in overseas soccers clubs whose fans hate their guts.  To me, the end-game of a Dubai takeover seems more and more likely, pending developments up in Newcastle. 

Finally... some relief. This win was a long time in coming, and what a satisfying one it was.  The boys played very well and showed great determination, as well as some remarkable concentration. We also got the rub of the green for once.  The Alonso-Mascheano partnership completely dominated the Carrick-Scholes combo.  Javier did have an uncharateristic switching off early on, letting Tevez run blind-side for an easy goal. He pulled himself together, though(you could see how upset he was following the goal), and returned to his tenacious self... without being reckless.  In fact, the most meaningful statistic for me was in the referees book: Liverpool picked up not a single card, but still managed to compete for every ball. United saw Vidic sent off for two vicious challenges, and was whistled for 8 more fouls than the 'Pool (18 to 10).  In the post match press conference, Sir Red-Nose could do nothing but shake his head and admire Liverpool's performance, remarking that his team had been thouroughly out-played and were not able to handle the our constant harrying:

"Overall, they were the better team. Liverpool produced a performance of tackling, hassling and getting about us.

"The source of our defeat was not coping with the hassling and the tackling. You have to give them credit for that..."

For once, Ferguson was spot-on -- no moaning about the referee, just a sad admission that his team was not good enough on the day.

The game also proved a tactical victory for Rafa. While Benitez has outwitted pretty much every top manager in the game, this fixture has been a bit of a white whale for him.  A red-nosed white whale at that.  This time he got the better of Ferguson.  It was two substitutions that played a major part in the winning goal: The United substitute Giggs getting bamboozled by a bit of Argentine flair on the part of Mascherano, before the ball fell to Kuyt, who then teed it up for the Liverpool substitute Babel.

As great as our midfield played -- with a special shout-out to newboy Riera, who turned Brown inside out on more than one occasion -- it was our center of defense that once again provided the foundation to our success.  Skrtel turned in a man of the match performance.  He had Berbatov in his pocket for most of the game, and ate up every single ball in the air that came with that nice slavic head of his.  Bless his heart.  It takes something special to keep a talent like Agger out of the side, but Skrtel has truly made that spot his own.

That said, it's on to Marseille, and  I'd give Agger a start in that one.  He's more suited to the european game than Skrtel -- he's quicker and better on the ball, and won't have to deal with as many crosses as he would in the Prem.  Mascherano is traveling, so the knock he picked up against the Scum is apparently minor.  Still, no sense in risking it... we have depth in that position and Lucas should be sufficiently recovered from internationals.  Gerrard and Torres also should be one step closer to full fitness; it will be interesting to see if the gaffer gives them a start or has them as options off the bench like he did against United.  My guess is that he'll be looking to kill the game off early, like we did last year at the Velodrome where the fantastic due scored two in the first 11 minutes. 

Normally I'd plump for one up-front in an away match such as this, with Gerrard tucked in just behind. However, if fit, I'd continue with the Torres and Keane partnership, to give them more time to establish an understanding

My lineup against Marseille:

                     Reina

Arbeloa -- Agger --  Carra -- Dossena

Benayoun -- Alonso (Lucas) -- Gerrard -- Riera

             Keane -- Torres

Liverpool-Scum Player ratings:

Reina  7: Not much to do after the first 10 min. Great save on Giggs dipping shot.

Arbeloa 6:  Eager to get forward, a bit of a liability at the back. His crossing is improving

Carra 7: Mr Steady. Always makes up with his lack of pace somehow

Skrtel 9: Dominant in the air.  Kept Berbatov, Rooney, and Tevez under wraps.

Aurelio 5: Inconsistant. We need to see more from him

Riera 6:  Good debut. Made a chump out of Brown on several occasions, but slowly drifted out of the game

Alonso 7: Much better from him.  Very valuable late on in keeping possession

Mascherano 8: One mistake, and it led to a goal. Dominant in midfield thruought. Great persistance for the winner

Benayoun 6:  Some nice tricky runs. 

Keane 7: Great endeavour, but some comical moments in front of goal. Needs to work out the nerves.

Kuyt 7: Good ol Kuyt.  No one tries harder than him. Can't finish

Subs:

Gerrard 6: gave the ball away in Gigg's dipping volley.

Babel 8: Used his pace well to run at defenders. Good finish

Hyppia:  not enough time on the pitch