Official Match Analysis
 REDS V BLUES: THE BIG-MATCH
VERDICT
Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by Steve Bruce's Birmingham on Saturday. Here's
the pick of the post-match reaction... 
The presenter
It's easy to talk with hindsight about this player starting and that player not - I
think people are perhaps failing to credit Birmingham's defensive performance. They will
have come to Anfield fully aware of the 6-0 thrashing dished out to Derby and were
determined not to go down in the same way. We've seen Reading do the same at Man Utd and
Blackburn at Chelsea this season - that's part of being a top side. Okay, it was a
frustrating afternoon and we could have created a few more chances in the box, but two
weeks ago we were being touted as genuine title contenders - now people seem to be down in
the dumps. What's needed is a bit of perspective: we're still unbeaten and, with a game in
hand, we're right up there with our main rivals. LFC TV's
Claire Rourke
The journalist
I thought it was a disappointing performance, especially when you consider how well
Liverpool started the season and the way they were fuelling fans expectations. The team
needs to snap out of it starting with the Carling Cup tie at Reading - and I'm sure they
will. Everyone is talking about this player starting and that player not starting but it's
a team game, and if Liverpool get back to playing as a team like we saw earlier in the
season, they'll soon get back to winning ways. Paul Joyce, Daily Express
The former player
It was a very frustrating and disappointing day for Liverpool. Birmingham came to
Anfield to get a point and we just couldn't break them down. It was so disappointing,
especially when you look back to our last league game when we hit Derby County for six.Phil Neal
Birmingham City's Cameron Jerome and Liverpool's
Jamie Carragher (right) battle for the ball (Photo: EMPICS) |
|
 Liverpool's Steven Gerrard
(right) and Birmingham City's Wilson Palacios battle for the ball (Photo:
EMPICS)
The boss
Today people have asked about Torres but with Voronin and Kuyt we have the space
and can do good movements. It was a difficult game to play because Birmingham were deep,
narrow and compact and it was not easy to find the spaces. You must be clever and analyse
the game properly and play in a different way. You have to think how you will find the
spaces. Between the lines, Voronin clearly has very good movement and has ability. To talk
about using one striker or the other is easy afterwards, whether we should have gone with
Peter Crouch or Torres. We know that more teams will try and play this way at Anfield than
come at us but in the first half we had lots of different movements. Rafa Benitez
The player
We've got such a good record at Anfield over the last few years and so it's always
going to be disappointing when we don't win here. But we're going to play 50 or 60 games
this season and we're not always going to perform as well as we'd like. I'm very sure our
form will turn around. The players are good enough so there's no need to worry about us.
There are still a lot of matches left to play before the end of the season. Jamie Carragher
The opposition boss
We stuck to a gameplan, frustrated them and played three in midfield. At the death
we just might have nicked it with a bit more cutting edge. Our lads, especially my
defenders, were absolutely excellent. They didn't give them a look in, whatever strikers
they were up against. Steve Bruce
The fan
We played some good attacking football at times, and had Birmingham on the ropes
for a lot of the game. They only came to Anfield with one idea - to put 11 men on the goal
line. They succeeded. They defended stoutly, with great resolution and we couldn't find a
way through. Bondred, LFC.TV message boards
| Match Stats |
|
Liverpool |
Birmingham C |
| Shots (on Goal) |
19(4) |
5(2) |
| Fouls |
3 |
10 |
| Corner Kicks |
11 |
2 |
| Offsides |
5 |
3 |
| Time of Possession |
56% |
44% |
| Yellow Cards |
0 |
2 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
| Saves |
2 |
6 |
Match Stats - wiht site http://soccernet.espn.go.com/
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