Liverpool have beaten Man United in the FA Cup at Anfield today!
Kenny Dalglish made four changes to the side that beat Manchester City in midweek, with five defenders named in the staring eleven,
Full team: Reina, Kelly, Enrique, Agger, Skrtel, Carragher, Henderson, Gerrard, Downing, Maxi, Carroll.
Subs: Doni, Johnson, Coates, Kuyt, Adam, Shelvey, Bellamy.
Man United: De Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Park, Welbeck.
PRE-GAME NOTES: 12pm
Liverpool have three central defenders in the team again, so we could be looking at the dreaded 541 wing-back formation again(or 352, depending on how you look at it).
It's slightly disappointing that Kenny has gone for a more defensive line-up, but if it works properly, then Andy Carroll might benefit. Possible formation:
----------------------------- Reina
--------- Skrtel --------- Carragher ---------- Agger
Kelly -------------------------------------------------- Enrique
----------- Maxi ---- Henderson --- Gerrard ---- Downing
----------------------------- Carroll
* Carroll up front on his own doesn't inspire me with confidence, especially since Liverpool have struggled to get numbers into the box this season.
* The good news is Rooney and Nani are out for United, so that should be a positive, but I would rather have seen two central defenders and another attacking player rather than five defenders overall.
* Seemingly no holding midfielder, which means that Gerrard and Henderson will be doing a lot of donkey work today when they should be attacking.
* Of course, it's possible that Carra could be playing as a DM. We shall see.
If we must play 352, I would go with this formation:
----------------------------- Reina
--------- Skrtel --------- Carragher ---------- Agger
Kelly -------------------------------------------------- Enrique
----------- Gerrard ---- Henderson ---- Downing
-------------------------- Maxi
----------------------------- Carroll
* Gerrard and Downing getting the crosses in; Henderson in his best position in the middle, and Maxi playing just-off Carroll to pick up the second balls and get into the box quickly.
HALF TIME: 1-1
A few points:
* Carroll up front on his own is (predictably) not working. Too many hoofed balls up front, which is wasting possession. When he does get the ball, his control is not good enough to keep possession. Hopefully, someone will get on the end of a flick on at some point and make it count.
* Ball retention needs to drastically improve. United dominated possession in the last 25 minutes of the first half.
* No real attacking threat for most of the first half.
* Questions need to be asked about the defence again; how did Park have so much time in the box? It's not as if the cross came out of nowhere; it was obvious what Rafael was going to do as soon as he dispossessed Enrique.
On the plus side, we still have Bellamy to come in and shake things up. In my view, Carra should be replaced with Adam or Shelvey, which will provide Liverpool with more an attacking thrust.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 2-1 Man United
Daniel Agger Goal
Park Ji Sung Goal
Dirk Kuyt Goal
Jaimie Kanwar