It was like a bad case of deja vu, and something I think we all feared might happen going into this game. However, I don't think anyone expected it to happen quite like this. It has to go down, and BR had acknowledged the same, as one of the best goalkeeping performances I have ever seen. Beyond the saves, McCarthy seemingly had complete control of his rebounds as well, either not giving them up or pushing them into positions where Liverpool couldn't capitalize.
As for that, it is hard for me to blame the strikers. Sure they didn't score, and maybe if Suarez had put a little more ass into his chip we wouldn't be so downtrodden. However, who would have thought someone would make a crazy header off the line in that situation? Who would have thought that Suarez blasting a volley from seven yards out would not only be saved, but caught? It just was one of those games. The problem is that Liverpool seem to be having a lot of "those games."
I had to wait 24 hours before I wrote this to let my frustrations settle. While the season appears to be settled for the most part, there is a lot to look forward to. It would be hard to deny that Liverpool are on the up in terms of their play. There have been very few games so far this season where Liverpool have been out played. The problem is that when they fail to score within the first 20 minutes, they are likely going to struggle to score the rest of the game too. I don't know how to fix it, but it is an issue.
A couple of bullets:
-And let's all begin the "missing out of Europa League is a blessing in disguise" talk to mask our true frustrations and lack of finishing this year.
-Full credit to McCarthy he had an absolute blinder in net. I counted at least 7 absolutely top drawer saves this match. Liverpool weren't so much held by Reading as they were by McCarthy.
-Would someone please tell the commentator the difference between making yourself big and a reflex save. I wanted to come through the TV yesterday listening to that non-sense.
-I would like to see them being a bit tidier in possession around the box, rather than settling for long range speculative shots from outside the box that are likely to be blocked. If it isn't there, pull it back, switch the field and try again. I'm all for taking shots from outside the box, but under the right circumstances. Forty six percent of their shots yesterday came from outside the box.
-Lucas looks lost against teams that seemingly concede the midfield. He thinks he has all day on the ball, but then gets caught in possession or concedes a silly foul. Games like these are where Allen is missed.
-Anybody still want to sell Reina? He appears to be coming back to life.
-Where do we go from here? Is there anything left to play for?
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