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| Liverpool 3 - 1 Manchester City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adapting
to the English tempo No less than Bobby Robson, the England manager, has added to the general critical acclaim afforded to Hysen, the Swedish central defender, since his arrival on Merseyside. Yet, privately, it must be disconcerting for Robson to see the Swedish captain so close to the heartbeat of the English game. It is after all, a bit perverse of Liverpool (although less so of a Scot like Kenny Dalglish) to invite here such an influential member of a country England must do serious battle with in a crucial World Cup-tie in Stockholm in just over a fortnight's time. It would have been like asking Rommel over to involve himself with the allied forces a month before D-Day. Hysen (pronounced Hussain) gave away enough on Saturday to get himself locked away for espionage. He spoke freely about having already "fathomed one or two of the secrets" of Liverpool's lasting success. But when one less-than-impartial reporter suggested to him that he had joined the best team in the world, he was quick to counter: "No, one of the best teams. There is another team in Sweden called Gothenberg and they're quite good too." Such an outspoken view, never mind questionable allegiance, does not go down too well at Anfield as Hysen will soon realize. His minor revelation that the manager had got "a little bit angry with us" at halftime is the sort of harmless remark which is tantamount to treason under the Dalglish regime. Nevertheless one admired him for his honesty. Even if he was a bit dismissive of Manchester City's plucky effort. And, it has to be said, with deference to Robson, one admired him for his ability as a footballer. For the most part, though, he was an "interested" onlooker as Beardsley and Barnes, virtually the sum total of England's creative talent, imposed themselves upon the opposition. Beardsley, in particular, continued where he left off at Wembley last week, even if several of the team seemed reluctant at first to follow. He had a foot in all three goals and, who knows, he may even have spread a few doubts in the mind of Sweden's sweeper. Had it not been for Beardsley, Liverpool would have struggled to assert their authority over the first division new boys. They created a precious few chances which, in fairness, was due as much to City's resolute defense as any lack of penetration on Liverpool's part. Misgivings expressed afterwards about Rush's goalscoring ability received the stony glare they deserved from Dalglish. "We've only played one game," he answered incredulously. Rush is still in the throes of rebuilding his confidence and acquainting himself with Liverpool's new style, which was decidedly long against City. It was a difficult start for Mel Machin's young side, conceding a penalty after six minutes for a handball by Gayle. It was all of Beardsley's making and Barnes's taking. If City's equalizer was fortuitously gained, following a confusing ricochet off the Liverpool wall from Hinchcliffe's shot, it was no more than their spirit and enterprise deserved. Competitive in midfield, their attack, which invariably foundered on the solid experience and supreme confidence of Hansen, Hysen and Grobbelaar, will be more prosperous against lesser folk. Dibble provides a defiant last line in an admirable defence which was a shade unlucky to be breached again after an hour, Nicol's wicked, low, curling cross behind them begged the merest contact and sadly Redmond provided it. Dibble, with fine instinct, parried the ball but Beardsley followed up to score. One would have thought that Liverpool had learned the lesson of negative tactics after the way Arsenal were invited to plunder the championship last season. Playing a dangerous game of keeping the ball, they were inappropriately awarded with a goal in injury time by Nicol after Beardsley and Barnes had decided to do what they do best. By Clive White of "The Times" Copyright - The Times |
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