Key Incidents:
Goal (Liverpool) (39) - A team mistake it would appear. Bobby lost the ball and failed to track back; the ball was swept wide where Lauren was not tight enough to his man; a Mellor run dragged Sol from the middle; Vieira got caught out; Fabregas lost the runner and Alonso slammed the ball home to give Liverpool the half time lead.
Goal (Arsenal) (57) - A truly world class goal. Pinging the ball about and around Pool, giving them no chance of getting near us. The ball went in from Vieira to Thierry, who touched it back to Bobby, who in turn slipped in Paddy, and he coolly chipped Kirkland to pull us back on level terms.
Goal (Liverpool) (90+2) - If only we had applied the "Don't let the ball bounce" rule!! A simple defensive error allowed Mellor to volley us to defeat. It's as simple as that!
Player Ratings
Jens Lehmann - 6 - Cant be faulted for either goal. Made some fine saves at crucial points in the match - and swept his area to great effect.
Ashley Cole - 7 - Committed throughout. Was prepared to put his foot in, and led us on. Hardly put a pass out of place.
Kolo Toure - 6 - Made one shaky mistake at the back, and also had a few "hairy" moments. Still cleared his lines when needed.
Sol Campbell - 6 - Strong in the tackle and refused to be out muscled. He was, however, taken out on occasions by lively movement.
Lauren - 6 - Let his player go a few more times than is healthy for our defence, but made up a lot of ground to keep Kewell from having an impact on the game.
Robert Pires - 5 - Disappointing doesn't even begin to tell the story of his game. He seemed to refuse to track back, and left Ash with more work than was necessary. Non-existent for the most part. Movement was text book and his passing was all over the place for the most part. (The exception being his part in the goal) Very poor all round.
Patrick Vieira - 7 - MOTM. Was making up the ground of two men in midfield, as Cesc had a dip in form. Put in many a crucial tackle, and gave us the "Captains Performance" that he promised us earlier this week. Great to see him playing this way, although the booking he picked up could see him ruled out of the Chelsea game, which is looking more like a six pointer by the minute.
Cesc Fabregas - 5 - Out done in midfield. Clearly tired and I would have preferred to see Flamini start. He couldn't keep up with the pace of the game. His passing was on the whole, sloppy and his positional sense deserted him for long spells. He must be rested, and soon.
Freddie Ljungberg - 6 - Worked hard throughout, and did manage to get himself into promising positions. Unfortunately, he was unable to use them, and often played in a poor final ball.
Thierry Henry - 6 - Made good runs and played good balls. Not much else to say about his performance, as he did his job at an average rate.
Jose Reyes - 5 - Drifted in and out of the game, but was out for far more time than he was in. Failed to have any sort of impact on the game, and should, in my view, be dropped for the next few games.
Subs:
Robin Van Persie - 6 - Seems to be the ideal man to be brought in; in order to give Jose a rest. Got 25 minutes of the game, and showed some good touches, and fitted right in with out style of play.