Red in Dublin

Another professional win and another 3 points v Reading. Monster Masch got off the mark with a stormer of a strike from outside the D after Matejovsky had opened the scoring for the visitors. It took a free kick from Gerrard and a far post header from El Nino to seal the deal.

I don't think that it was our best performance but we would have lost or drawn this game had it been played when we were in our bad patch in Jan. We stuck to the task in hand after going behind to an early goal. Torres had a 1 v 1 with the keeper and Babel had a couple of dangerous shots. Kuyt was fairly poor and neither of the full backs covered themselves in glory. We should have scored a third to calm the nerves but we didn't and then sat back which let Reading come back into it at the death. Thankfully we held out.

We have a full week off until Sky's big hype Sunday when we play Utd in Old Trafford. I am a bit worried about the game but we're in great from. They struggled a bit against Derby and weren't convincing against Portsmouth or Lyon before that. In El Nino we have the most exciting player in the league at the minute. I think that we're good enough to get a draw but they have a very good home record. The fact that Everton were beaten by Fulham yesterday takes the pressure off somewhat. The derby at the end of the month is still going to be massive though.

The champions league draw was made on Friday morning at 12, or was it? This article suggests that it could have been leaked beforehand. I was a bit suspicious but have a look at this forum. The poster has the draw correct at 10.28. The odds of guessing correctly are 191-1 apparently. Arsenal is a really tough draw. We're going to be playing them three times in the space of a week. We do have the experience of going all the way in the comp which they lack. The fact that they seem to be falling out of form is also promising. Let's hope that it continues until next month.

Dion Fanning in the Irish Indo had a good article on Rafa and rotation at the weekend. The more the facts are getting printed, the better.

This is bad news. I had half suspected that he wouldn't be back this season but it's still a blow to have it confirmed. We've really missed him but hopefully Skrtel can come in and fill the gap for the next few months. What's more important for the player in the long term is that Agger gets this problem sorted once and for all. The news that Kewell is heading off to an Australian training camp is less disturbing.

So said the banner on the curva and there was mutual applause from both sets of fans at the end of the match. We gave the Inter Ultras one of their best ever nights when we beat AC Milan in the final three years back. The performance last night wasn't up their with that epic night but it was a sign that our team is as good as any in Europe over two legs. With Rafa pulling the strings and the likes of Reina, Carra, Gerrard and Torres in the side, I don't see any reason why we can't get to a third final in four years.


1-0 was the score on the night and was a fair enough result. Inter had some reasonable chances in the first half but our defence led by Carra (100 euro appearances) and Sami put them under pressure and didn't give them a second. When they did get a shot off, Pepe was able to make a save like he did from a Cruz effort. Zlatan had some clever approach play but left his shooting boots behind and didn't get an effort on target.

Mascherano was superb again in midfield. He was up against two formidable opponents in Cambiasso and the excellent Zanetti, and an over the hill one in Viera. Ably assisted by Lucas, who was efficient without being spectacular, and Gerrard, they had problems initially but exerted more control as the match went on.

Up front, Babel and Kyt worked hard but neither were great here. Torres was good and a threat on the break which kept their defence honest. When the goal did come it was worth waiting for. Great stuff from the unstoppable Nino.

It got easier once Burdisso was sent off for his second yellow. When we scored, Inter's collective head's dropped. Mancini wasn't happy and was waving imaginary cards in the air. It's common to see this from continental players but not from managers.

Our win has prompted Mancini to quit his post at Inter come the end of the season. Jose for the next inter manager?

Alonso stayed behind for the birth of his child. Some of the tabloids said that Rafa now wants rid of him but the boss denied this. I read online a few months back that Xabi wants to leave for Spain to raise their child there. I'd be sad to see him leave but that's a lifestyle choice for him and his family which is totally fair enough.

Henry Winter in the Telgraph says something that I myself thought last night. I was planning to say in this post that Mascherano was like a younger, livelier, Argentine version of Marshal Pétain with his "Ils ne passeront pas" attitude. Damn those professional journalist with their deadlines, beating me to it.

There is a great blog post on Setanta that should be made required reading for Gray, Redknapp, Keys and the rest of the goons on Sky. The crucial point here is that Torres has only been rested for two league games where he was fit. Gray doesn't let this get in the way of a cheap dig and last night said that Rafa "rests Torres 'time and again'". Ronaldo has been rest/rotated for three Utd matches this year, one of which was a defeat to Fulham. Why doesn't Gray go on about that?

Daniel Taylor has a good article on the match in the guardian. One paragraph in particular stood out for me.

"The thing about Torres is that he can make opponents feel old and spectators feel young, and this was another sublime goal to add to his collection. The best players rise to the occasion, something that is frequently used as a stick to beat Cristiano Ronaldo, an attacker of sublime talent yet one who has seldom illuminated the Champions League on Manchester United's foreign excursions."

There is only one Zlatan apparently. I don't think that he showed up last night when needed. Still a good player though.

It's Reading's turn to visit Anfield this Saturday at 3. I know that we're in good form at the moment so we should be able to do it, especially as we owe them one from when they beat us 3-1 back in December. We really need to make the most of this given that our next three games are Utd, Everton and Arsenal. Let's make hay while the sun shines.

Two players that we've recently been linked to from la liga are Arango and Trejo from Real Mallorca. Samir Nasri, a player we've been linked to in the past, has only 18 months left on his contract according to this report. Does that mean we'll put in a cheap bid in the summer?

Three and easy for Torres. It was a great performance from the new signing and a good team performance all round. Yossi opened the scoring the first half with an amazing individual goal. Nice to see him get off the mark and show his skill at unlocking a defence. Then it was time for Fernando to take the stage. Good work for Seb Leto set up Torres for the first goal. He held off the attention of the defender and slipped it under the keeper. His second came after a nice delivery when Riise got past his man on the left. El Nino finished from just inside the area with a shot to the corner which gave the Reading keeper no chance. His final goal was the result of a fantastic through ball from Stevie G. Torres was 1 on 1 with the keeper and showed great composure to shoot beyond the goalie. Rafa will be disappointed that we conceded two but the first goal was offside. The second was poor defending and our new keeper didn't cover himself in glory. Lucas wasn't bad in the midfield but did fade somewhat as the match went on. Overall a very satisfying night.

It's a visit to the JJB tomorrow. Wigan have done better than I've expected this season. I was tipping them for relegation in August but they're looking like they will stay up if their form continues. Heskey has been doing well for them but he's not fit for tomorrow which is good news. He has his critics, and deservedly so, but when he's on form he's a nightmare for defences. I expect us to win this one. We've taken 7 from 9 points away from home so far and 10 from 12 would be a good boost to our title aspirations.

Crouch praised how Torres has settled in here. Gerrard reckons that he could be a modern day Ian Rush. High praise indeed.

LFC TV has launched officially now. I've watched a few programmes but have yet to see the John Barnes chat show. I'm looking forward to that one as I'm hearing good reports.

Some great old photo's from the BBC here. The bootroom one is special. Bring a tear to the glass eye. Have a look at these for some great photos of Liverpool in the 80's.For those who've been to the city recently it's interesting to see how different it looked 20 years ago. Some changes.

Until next time.

Maybe we aren't as good as the 6-0 win over Derby suggested. But I don't think we're as bad as some people think after the scoreless draw at home with Birmingham on Saturday. The reaction has seen some poeple question Rafa. I feel that it's way too early for that. It reminds me of the reaction to the Burnley FA cup defeat in 2005 when some people said that we were the worst Liverpool team in living memory. That wasn't true then and was proved to be a knee jerk reaction. Then, as now, patience is the key.

Let's take stock. We're upbeaten. We've yet to concede a goal in open play. We've dropped less points than Utd. We've taken 7 points from 9 away from home which is far better than any previous season under Rafa and is the best of any team in the league. On the downside, we're not playing well and don't look like scoring too many. We still struggle to break down a team without ambition away from home like Brum. There has been a lot of talk of rotation but regardless of that, the team we fielded should have been good enough to beat Birmingham at home.

They stuck all of their men behind the ball and didn't attack. They came for a point and got it, which is fair enough. They're entitled to do it and it's up to us to dismantle their massed defence. On Sat we were unable to do that. It was frustrating to watch. I hope that we don't have too many more days like it this season. It's a pity that Yossi couldn't play due to the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. I think that he could have been good at unlocking the packed defence. Gerrard was poor again on Saturday and hasn't looked right since the England game. There has been some speculation that he's still feeling his toe injury. I hope that he regains his form soon as we need him while Xabi is out.

Tomorrow night we can look forward to visiting Reading in the Carling Cup. This fixture ended up 4-3 last season when we beat them in the Carling Cup. I would be happy enough with that score again tomorrow. I would imagine that we'll see heavy rotation with many of the kids and fringe players getting a run out, and why not? The main fit defenders are likely to be rested giving the likes of Hobbs and maybe Arbeloa a chance at centre half. Let's hope that it does end up 8-0 and there aren't any injuries.