Dwelling on any loss to long will do you more harm than good; in particular, ones against top sides tend to be talked about and analyzed more than others, but at this early point in the season, moving on and moving forward is the name of the game.
A pair of goals from Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic on either side of the half and a clinical finish from Sergio Aguero were more than enough to see Liverpool off at the Etihad Stadium as the sides that finished last season firmly entrenched in the top two spots faced off the first time in this still fledgling campaign. Rickie Lambert, brought on for Raheem Sterling in the closing stages as the Reds trailed by three goals, may have pulled one back by forcing Pablo Zabaletta into an own-goal, but the damage was already done.
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To be fair, the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story, but it is eerily reminiscent of the tale of last year with defensive worries the key culprit. “Up until they scored, we were arguably the better side” said the Northern Irishman in his post-match press conference. “We looked a threat going forward, we had good possession of the ball and tactically we were very good, but we switched off just before half-time and Jovetic finished it very well.”
Although Liverpool have brought in a number of defensive reinforcements over the summer, their first two matches of the season have both seen the Reds make a number of familiar errors — though their new signings will need time to bed in. Alberto Moreno, signed from Sevilla in a protracted move, looked sprightly down the left flank despite being at fault for the opening goal and Dejan Lovren, who was the third Southampton player to trade the South Coast for Merseyside since the transfer window opened, continues to be a force at the back.
“We started the second half reasonably brightly, but we gave away two poor goals, really. They worked the ball well for the second one, but for the third one you’ve got to get tighter – you’ve got to get up to the ball and stop the winger turning” explained Rodgers with a fair bit of frustration in his voice. “In fairness to the players, it’s still very early on in the season and we’re still looking for our fitness and to get up to our level, but they kept going.”
Rickie Lambert, another Southampton transplant, forced City fullback Pablo Zabaletta into an own goal after Joe Hart denied him his first goal in the famous red shirt when his compatriot saved his well hit header. If the defense still needs some time to gel, then their opposite numbers deserves the same consideration with Lazar Markovic — who was handed his competitive debut as a second half substitute — looking electric on the ball but still a touch out of sync with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling.
“We got it to 3-1 and maybe could have got to 3-2, but then Glen Johnson went off and it killed our momentum a little bit. 11 versus 10 in the last few minutes was difficult for us because they’ve got the quality and experience to keep the ball” continued the Reds manager. “We didn’t play so well in the second half tonight, but it’s not going to hurt us – we’ll just re-focus and look to the weekend now.”
Again, dwelling too long on any loss — especially this early in the season — isn’t going to do anyone any good. Getting anything against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium is hard no matter where you are in the season. We’re still a bit rusty and a new boys are still a bit wet behind the ears. That being said, if we don’t learn from these matches and move forward as team then the alarm bells that went off a bit prematurely yesterday will resonate much louder in the weeks to come.
–Steven
