In a season that began with a top-four Barclays Premier League finish seemingly a pre-requisite, Liverpool and their manager Kenny Dalglish may yet find it is England’s two domestic cup competitions that save them.On Sunday at Anfield it was hard to believe this great club have been smothered by controversy and are struggling to impose themselves at the top end of the table.
Dalglish’s Liverpool played with a little of their traditional brio. Admittedly this was a game played against a team from the Championship, a team they had already beaten once this season in the early rounds of the Carling Cup.
Nevertheless, Dalglish’s team were impressive. They played with a tempo and rhythm that have not always been apparent this season and thoroughly deserved their place in the next round, when they will face Stoke City at Anfield.
Certainly Dalglish will hope his team can build on some recent improved form - not to mention capitalise on the travails of Arsenal and Chelsea - to move out of the pack and finish the season in the Champions League places.
With Luis Suarez - excellent apart from a missed penalty - back from suspension and Steven Gerrard an improving force after his return from injury, Liverpool need not think it is beyond them.
Nevertheless, the prospect of one - if not two - Wembley appearances is beginning to look like a reassuring comfort blanket as Dalglish tries to emerge from his first full season back in charge with genuine credit.
Liverpool are already in one final, of course. This weekend they will face Cardiff City from the Championship in the Carling Cup showpiece. Victory over Stoke in the next round of this competition and they will return to the capital again for the semi-finals. Against this background, no wonder Dalglish was pleased. The Anfield boss said: ‘It was a good victory, more difficult than the scoreline suggests.
‘It helps to have Gerrard, Suarez and Carroll on together. They had only played 69 minutes together before and they played really well.’
Those interested in statistical anomalies will note that Sunday’s game contained three own goals from Brighton.
Two were rather unfortunate and will be credited to midfielder Liam Bridcutt. The other was, frankly, hilarious and belongs to central defender Lewis Dunk.
Sunderland and Portsmouth are believed to be among the handful of teams who have managed this remarkable feat before.
Liverpool, though, will perhaps care to reflect instead on Suarez’s excellence, a better effort from Andy Carroll and the manner in which Dalglish’s players shook off a surprise goal from Brighton midway through the first half.
After another difficult week, Dalglish would perhaps have asked for a positive start above anything else and he got one as defender Martin Skrtel dashed towards the near post to glance a fifth-minute header into the roof of the net from a Gerrard corner.
Despite this early boost, it still took the home team a little while to get going and Brighton’s early determination to play their football was rewarded with an equaliser just after the quarter-hour.
In truth, Gus Poyet’s men should not have been allowed the goal but when left winger Kazenga LuaLua drilled in a low free-kick from 25 yards, at least two Liverpool players broke from the defensive wall, enabling the ball to skid beneath them and into the bottom right-hand corner of Pepe Reina’s goal.
Liverpool looked shame-faced and quite right, too. They responded well, however, and after Suarez saw a low shot cleared following a dazzling run from the right and Stewart Downing failed to capitalise after being played down the left by Suarez, Liverpool edged back in front.
Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan should have caught a 44th-minute corner but when his punch landed at Suarez’s feet the Uruguayan did marvellously to touch the ball past two defenders and shoot for goal. Brezovan saved with his legs but Glen Johnson headed the rebound towards goal and the ball eventually ended up in the net via the shins of Bridcutt.
In the second half, Liverpool were rampant. Carroll showed great movement to dispatch a low Downing cross in the 57th minute before Bridcutt shovelled a low Gerrard cross-shot into the goal and then Dunk - poor lad - managed to juggle the ball over his own line on his knee.
Still there was time for Suarez to have a weak penalty saved after Dirk Kuyt was brought down and then score with his head at the far post after Carroll unselfishly nodded a deep centre back across goal. That, perhaps, will have pleased Dalglish more than anything.
Source: Mail Online
