Liverpool 1, Sunderland 1: The New Sound Just Like the Old Sound

By: Ed | August 13th, 2011

larsson

A terrific first half followed by a disjointed and disappointing second half, and ultimately a performance all too familiar. Pass and move football gave way to static and sloppy play down the stretch, with Sunderland clearly the better side as the match came to a close. Not a reason to completely erase all the optimism that accompanies the beginning of the season, but it’s clear that there’s some work left to be done.

Kenny Dalglish’s starting eleven featured four of the summer’s five additions; Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, and Stewart Downing started in the midfield with Luis Suarez and Lucas, and Jose Enrique got the surprise start (with Fabio Aurelio out injured already) in a back line of John Flanagan, Jamie Carragher, and Daniel Agger. With Suarez playing just off Andy Carroll up front, it looked like a promising starting lineup.

And that promise was fulfilled nearly from the outset, with Liverpool streaming forward down the left flank exclusively, pushing forward at every opportunity. They should have had the lead on five minutes, when Luis Suarez intercepted a Kieran Richardson pass at midfield and broke clear on goal. As he rounded Simon Mignolet, Richardson clattered into him from behind, ruining the goalscoring opportunity and knocking Suarez to the ground. In the first of many questionable decisions on the day, Phil Dowd opted not to send Richardson off, instead giving him yellow while awarding the penalty.

Liverpool couldn’t take advantage, though, as Suarez blasted the spot kick over the bar, wasting the chance to give the hosts the early lead. It wouldn’t take long for the Uruguayan to atone for his error, as he got on the end of a Charlie Adam free kick and flicked a header past Mignolet on twelve minutes. From joy to despair and back again, it was a perfect encapsulation of the talents Suarez possesses.

It was all very encouraging from there, with Liverpool linking throughout the midfield and forward areas, and each of the summer signings getting involved. Jordan Henderson had plenty of freedom on the right and often found himself moving centrally, and Downing blistered down both flanks at every opportunity and nearly scored from range after a terrific run down the right only to be denied by the crossbar. Adam’s partnership with Lucas flourished, with the Brazilian doing most of the tidying and allowing the Scot more freedom in distribution and movement. Enrique was more subdued but effective on the left, stifling most Sunderland attacks along with an improved overall effort across the back.

And then it all went wrong—Suarez was noticeably tired, pass and move gradually gave way to an absolute mess in a possession, and Sunderland punished yet another defensive lapse for the equalizer. The interplay down the right side was impressive, and Sebastian Larsson’s volley past Reina was doubly so, but John Flanagan was stargazing the entire time, leaving Larsson plenty of time and space to position himself for the cross.

The guests were dominant from there, taking the match to Liverpool and completely subduing the home crowd. Dalglish opted to bring Dirk Kuyt on for Henderson, who had faded into oblivion, and later introduced Raul Meireles for an exhausted and ineffectual Luis Suarez. Neither man could provide the spark; both added something to the mix, but as a collective the side couldn’t recapture their first half form. Like so many Liverpool results of the past few seasons, we’re left wanting for more and disappointed about what could have been.

It’s hard to make any sort of concrete judgments about the squad as a whole or any of the additions—nearly everyone looked on form during the first half, and the only negative was that chances had gone begging. Andy Carroll was sturdy up top and was unfortunate to have a chance wiped away by a soft foul flagged by the linesman; his excellence in the air was expected, but it eventually faded as Liverpool regressed to a style of play that increasingly relied on flinging the ball forward.

As noted above, Suarez looked to have heavy legs and was a step off of the form we’ve come to expect, which is understandable given his summer with the national team. But he still proved to be a nuisance early and timed his run to perfection to nod home the opener, and when he’s on, he’s nearly unstoppable. His interplay with Downing and, to a lesser degree, Enrique was promising, with the former again showing his worth from the wide areas. And considering the circumstances, the latter was excellent—he didn’t rampage forward, but provided a few telling crosses and was strong in defense.

The individual problems in the second half were easy to pick out, but nearly all were symptomatic of a system-wide breakdown. Flanagan will bear most of the blame for a shaky display as the match wore on; after spectating on Larsson’s goal he had one nightmare after another, struggling to put anything positive together. His display will rightfully cause some questions about Dalglish selecting him over the more seasoned (and arguably skillful) Martin Kelly, but there’s no condemnations needed for a teenager who’s been mostly remarkable in his time with the first team.

I guess that applies to the whole squad, really—rushing to judgment about who’s not living up to their price tag or why someone’s not the right fit after one horrific half is probably taking things a little too far. Nearly everyone was as bad in the second half as they were good in the first, new boy or old. I think questions about the selection and tactics are justified, which you’d expect for a squad that’s more or less completely revamped since last season’s opener.

It’s disappointing, sure, but it’s also day one. It dampens the excitement and highlights concerns, but it doesn’t change the fact that Liverpool are capable of steadily improving, and they’ve got the pieces in place to be successful. So while the second half performance and result belie that fact, I think we’d all do well to remember that there’s plenty of ground left to cover.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Match Recaps, Premier League

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Suarez from the car park...

So, the real question is did lfc do well because SAFC didn't turn up in the first half,or because we played well?
Suarez from the car park...

well 7 players new to the team. KK clearly wanted to blood them all and get them involved to remove the apprehension of when would they get a game. Wasn't going to do it against Arsenal.
Lots of coaching to do, individually aswell as tactically to stand up to teams and keep control. Quite a bit of work to do in fact.

Still, despite the challenge of playing a near total new team, it was still the ref who costs us. And as for Bruce thinking Suarez had knocked it away.......twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat twat and twat twat twat.
Ravenilli

Why wasn't Larrson yellow carded for celebrating in the Sunderland crowd. This would have seen him sent off later when he was yellow carded for a foul.
35 million blown

Mornin kopits. Any1 get th feelin we've blown 35 million on Carroll? Wud love 2 b rong just get th feelin he's guna b on treatment table alot n spending 6 months findin his form again. Them bloody Geordies pulled are eyes out. David villa was only 30 million.
Baadier

I had a look at the incomplete passes after the goal was scored and you notice a lot more compared to the period before the goal was scored. Just long punts up to Carroll, reminds me of Hodgson hmmm
Jmp999

The Hodgepocalypse again fails to do the business for Liverpool and hold United to a draw.

The team looked very good first half and struggled to find that same cutting edge in the second primarily due to lack of match fitness. Not so much a lack of ideas, or general malaise, or that who really gives a shit lack of commitment like some games last year. General quality of the team was obvious, though.

Was not sold on Adam, still feel Meireles a little better, but Adam does bring a unique quality to set plays, and the goal was as much his as Suarez's. Lucas looked good and always provides that outlet to teamamtes under pressure. Kuyt should probaby have started instead of Henderson, but kudos to Kenny for letting the kid get some action against his old team. Kuyt' of course would have buried that PK, also.

Arsenal game next week should be a good one. Both teams need a win. And the Gunners looked very average without Fabregas and Nasri. Looks to be a hell of a year for Wenger. His anus horribilis, or whatever.

Glad to see Phil Dowd not red card Richardson. Book calls for the red card but Phil Dowd is one of the few refs who can use some common sense for the good of the game. If you can't win 11 on 11, you didn't deserve the game. Was also good to see Dalglish to say he doesn't like to see red cards. Kenny, of course, still questioned the non red card, fully realizing that it cost him 2 points in the end, and technically it was the wrong call.
KC

Is anyone else scared that one day Carroll will break his neck with the amounts of headers he has to make when players hoof to him?
LFCTillIDie

http://www.thehardtackle.com/2...
Here is a dissection of the performance.
Ryan

I don't know guys, it looked like there was a massive Joe Cole shaped hole in our formation.
Ryan

Hey, where's our favorite regular household troll with the permanent caps lock to give us the real nitty gritty about Dalglish being numbnuts?
JPRed

Yea. Where has that idiot been. Tell him to show up at Anfield next home game with a big sign that says "DALGLISH MUST GO". I'll buy him a ticket for the kop, front row. Guarantee the next time he shows up for a game, he will have imprinted on his forehead "I LIED".
wak

I think last night was average. first of all, i dont think henderson and flanagan deserve their spot. kuyt and kelly would have given richardson a torrid time last night... secondly, i do think that LUCAS needs to be played together with SPEARING... if you noticed last night, it was only lucas who had been chasing and closing down opponent players... spearing would have helped lucas chase over opponent in entire match, and thus makes it easier for lucas to take control of the match tempo.. liverpool didnt play PASS and MOVE last night, there was a lot of hoofing, especially in the 2nd half, and its due to lucas not able to take control of the our tempo...
and last night, i dont think the right flank attacks well. henderson didnt threat at all, and flanagan was poor, his passing and ball retention was bad last night, which makes me to think hard, why didnt kelly start the game.
but, nevermind, it was just a game, and we have 37 more to play.
we will never walk alone, no matter what.
Avinash Joshi

Same old same old. Dalglish needs to really work on his pep talk skills during the half time. I dunno what he says that makes them go from a passing team to hoofing team in 15 mins. And am I the only one who thinks that adam didn't have the game of his life? He was good but imagine having aquilani on the bench and brigning him on at around 65-70 minute mark for adam when he was obviously spent. Fuck if only aquilani and dalglish just come out with it and tell us who has a problem with whom, that's one less excuse we come up with.
justin

One moment that left me surprised today, other than what several have mentioned in the line-up would be when I saw Suarez was taking the penalty. Definitely thought Adam would be taking those.
NotTooXabi

Suarez could have come on at 60 minutes and given us the spark we needed. What else is Kuyt if not a guy that can go 120 minutes and still pop up with a winner? And surely, a still green Flanno could have benefited from some Dirk protection? - Long way of saying I don't understand the line-up on the right side.

Enrique & Downing on the left looks settled. (And how in all that is holy did Aurelio end up injured? Did he trip down the steps going to the pitch?)

I'm going to have to get use to trading great set pieces (and occasional moments of brilliance) for Adam's lack of defensive work (and horrific tackling ability), right?

From the other half: "It's not the fact that he has a ponytail that bother me...but its way too high on his head. Awful."
Geza

I think that amongst the new signings Enrique had the best overall 90 minutes. The level of confidence he showed throughout the match was impressive - promising stuff for future matches when he'll start getting more forward.

Henderson didn't do much, I just cannot see him starting over Kuyt. Adam was OK I guess, but again I think that Raul is simply a better player and brings more to the team in the absence of StevieG.

Got mixed feelings about Flanagan..I agree that what he did last season was remarkable given his age and experience, but when it comes done to pure performance it is simply not enough to be in the starting eleven of a team like LFC. I think that Kelly is a better player and struggled to understand why he did not start (especially after his outstanding display against Valencia).

All in all, a disapointing day but I am convinced there is much better stuff coming our way in the coming weeks and months.
Danny

If Kelly had had a mare of a game though, would we not be saying either, "oh well Jonnos back soon, at least its some good match experience." or -- shoulda given that Flanagananan a turn, looked good last seasons close etc---
Cant win em all, cant please everyone, at least none of our options at the back are called Paul etc ddxdxdxddxxfagfgegeagegehrswrgjoeigewgimrhn sorry wrestling with piles of cliches about to fall from my mouth. must go and rinse with soap.
Sue

You play the best man for the job at the time. If KK thought Flanno was doing better in training, he played him. Maybe Kelly was carrying a knock and wouldn't last the distance? You don't know, neither do I. 99% of people would put Kelly in before Flanno. Flanno cost us 2 points and had his worst game for us. Only KK knows why he got the nod and was left on despite being a massive liability.

Despite his awful performance, the game should have been over at half time, we should have controlled the game in the second, but lost the plot and midfield. Sunderland had as many shots as us, their keeper had little to do.

Lucas continued his poor Copa America form, he's knackered and needs a break. Henderson went AWOL, Kuyt came on and was at his bad old self, and Carroll just became a hoof target. A bad day at the office for almost all despite the encouraging start. Once Suarez went off, we were clueless. That's a little worrying. At least we look like LB has finally been addressed. 37 games to go!
etipok

kelly played last week against a far more accomplished team and did very well. flanagans a good player but certainly nowhere near ready to play for the 1st team
Danny

fair point well made. i still miss jonno though :(
Ismael Jawad

The team was brilliant in the first half, static in the second. We were lacking a leader in the middle of the park. Someone who can push the team forward in a convincing manner. All the talk about Gerrard getting old, but as I see it, he's still indispensable. Kudos to Sunderland though, they deserved something out of the game, given the way they turned the tie in the second half. Perhaps Flanagan was largely at fault for the equalizer but please don't turn him into a scapegoat just yet. As long as the score was 1-0, Sunderland would always find a way back in it. The fact that we didn't push Sunderland into their own half annoyed me the most.
CheekyFellow

Yea agree with you, these are the matches you need someone like Gerrard to keep the team going.
Red2death

We have to wait 7 more days for the next match? The period right after a shit match is the worst...
Thomas Hoppe

I take issue with saying that Flanagan was remarkable last season. It was encouraging that he was able to come and play well but he himself was not remarkable. He contributes very little going forward other than being a generally marginal passer although he does get into fairly advanced areas. I really think Adam caused more problems than anything else. He performed well from a few dead ball situations and had a couple moments where he did his job but I would have much rather seen Dalglish go with a midfield three of Lucas/Henderson/Adam and then play Downing/Carroll/Suarez up top. Downing and Suarez could switch sides at times to try to get into their defense. Three of Kuyt, Maxi, Meireles, Kelly and Spearing should be used off the bench.
Ed

Stripped of context, you're probably right, but all things considered, I think what he did was plenty remarkable.
Tom Foolery

Start Kuyt over Henderson next time. I'd guess that KD wanted to have that striker on the bench to replace one of Andy and Luis, but his consistancy was missed, and he doesn't miss penalties (has he ever missed a PK for L'Pool?). Thought Jordan was surely one for the future, and a bench player until furhter development. I guess getting some Anfield experience is always good for a youngster though...hmmm. I'm never one to beg for a signing, but a pacy right footed winger seems more needed than it had before the match..
Gryffin

Maybe he played Hendo for his club derby? he might know how to get after some of players better on the Sunderland squad and the fact that they needed a third striker to bring in after the half? I'm being nice.
CheekyFellow

Bloody hell, why wasn't Kelly in
Nugentjpeter

Was it just me or did Flanno play absolutely dreadful...I want to get behind him but what was kenny thinking playing him over Martin Kelly
Baadier

Im going to be castrated for this, but i dont think he was the worst performer on the day. I thought Carroll was particurely disappointing, he looked like great big giant sloth upfront.

I thought Flanno made the one big mistake for the goal, he didnt pick up he's man and then just froze and did some ball watching.

Otherwise though, i felt that Sunderland knew he was the most inexpierienced in the defense and piled pressure on the youngster. Young Flanno put a ton of tackles in, and if i remember he lost he's man twice when he was beaten on the wing but was helped out by cover defense.

He looked shite going forward though.

Correct me if im sucking this out of my ....
Thomas Hoppe

And not just about starting Flanagan but why was he not substituted out? If it is about protecting the young man's confidence that is not acceptable.
Ryan

Agreed. And I'm thinking Dalglish has been around long enough to know how the media and co. treat a performance like that; would have been better to cut his game short than to allow him to become goal.com's (as credible as they are...) flop of the match on the first game of the season.
Nick

Adam needs to get out of his ten foot radius and help bring the attack forward. Downing played way too central during the second half (perhaps under instruction to do so?) when he should have been hugging the touch and looking to get crosses in and/or cut in from the flank. Enrique played very well sending Suarez/Downing through a few times with impressive passes and he was solid on defense.
On the subject of Suarez I thought he looked for the through ball too much when he should have been checking back, picking the ball up, and going right at the defenders. Carroll on the other hand did well to hold up possession but at times stayed too deep in the midfield.
Gryffin

Gervinho sent off! Guess we won't have to deal with him next week. =)
Ryan

Eh..with the way he was playing in the game, I'd rather have him in the lineup than have Walcott wearing us down to nothing, or have Arshavin score another 4.
ShedYourYellow

Right nice little scuffle in Newcastle v. Arsenal, wasn't it?
Oh, Joey Barton...
ShedYourYellow

How disappointing a second half. I was surprised to see Flanagan in the mix; I really was expecting Kelly. In a way, though, I'm thankful for the result, as it brings everything back to reality... although I would definitely have preferred to walk away with the three points.
Thomas Hoppe

I think Dalglish got the selection wrong personally. Downing is the only new player that deserved to start. Enrique apparently had to start because of an injury to Aurelio so that is a little different. I think Adam, Henderson and Suarez should have started on the bench or not been on the team sheet at all in Suarez' s case. And every time we have had trouble from an opponent Dalglish looks a little lost and becomes gun shy to pull players off.
ShedYourYellow

Such a quick start for Enrique. I had no idea Aurelio was injured again until I turned on the television this morning, though at this point I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

I was fine with Henderson until he faded into obsolescence in the second half. Suarez looked exhausted, and Carroll isn't exactly built for speed, and we didn't look at all threatening is what this rambly sentence is trying to say.
Glenn

Does anybody know why Aquilani was nowhere to be seen today?
Ed

Best guess is that it's got something to do with the constant talk about his exit? No talk about fitness concerns or anything, so we're bound to hear from his agent soon.
Ryan

His agent will be sure to alert the media even faster than Joey Barton can.
I'd rather walk alone

£1m Wes Brown had @35m Beerboy Carrol in his pocket! Good result by Manchester United B. It smells Europa all over your team.
Danny

Beerboy Carrol?? really must try harder son. Not even a good enough nickname for the Beano that.
Danny

and if sunderland are manchester united B, where were Owen, Gibson, Evans, Kuszczak?
YNWA

who do you support?
Ed

Right, so I know you wrote the comment in some misguided attempt at humor, but it is worth acknowledging that Wes Brown was largely effective on the day, all the while looking and acting like a twat.

There, that's settled.
Paul-G

......is that similar to sounding like a twat. There, that's so settled.
Ed

It sounds really settled now.

And you could have at least given me credit for doing the things you ripped the TIA writer for not doing. That's just being polite.