Figuring Out The Mess

So big ups to Joe for getting the wrap, as some of you may have heard the Blizzard of Sauron hit the Chicago area on Tuesday and knocked out my internet for a couple days. But I'm back now, much to everyone's chagrin.

I'll admit it took me about 25 minutes to figure out what formation Kenny Dalglish had us in. I figured out that Aurelio was in midfield alongside Lucas. I know Rafa tried this a couple times and it always ended up a spectacular failure. One would think with Aurelio's passing ability it would work, and it did work better this time. However, this time he was applied there to help fill in the spaces you always have when wingbacks are employed, as he would feel more natural doing so. It worked pretty well.

Also, one thing that's gone unmentioned in a lot of circles was how good Lucas was. Yes, Stoke gave him the space he needed, but when he's got time Lucas can really pick out a pass. Check this out:

 by Guardian Chalkboards

It's the amount of long passes that Lucas was able to complete that I found impressive. It seemed he was always finding the feet of someone right at the edge of the 18 which immediately amped up the pressure. Look at how high up the pitch he was as well, letting you know that our defensive shield was still allowed to squeeze the opposition. I love it.  Hopefully we'll see more of this as the season closes out.