Liverpool V Burnley - Anfield

Stevie G was playing through the middle this afternoon which may the sequence of play very exciting. Burnley appeared to be having terrible trouble in man marking him , which of course was good for us. Liverpool were by now having most of the passing with Reira, Johnson and Stevie G regularly passing to one another. Riera finished one move by hitting the post. Lucas was sitting back during most of the game and seemed to be enjoying himself. I honestly believe he is beginning to enjoy his football and Aquilani once fit, may have trouble in claiming his place. The half was now gathering pace and Torres appeared to have been pushed over by one of the Burnley players but referee Lee Mason decided to let the game continue. This led a period of the game where Burnley began to play well and reached the goalmouth where there seemed to be a bit of melee but luckly Jamie and the lads managed to kick the ball away and the team then headed back up the field which ended in Glen Johnson and Dirk Kuyt passing to one another before finally Dirk Kuyt placed the goal in the net. Liverpool were now 2 - 0 up and cruising to victory.

The passing play continued and Glen Johnson found his way to the goal, but Penson made a good save and got Burnley out of trouble. Play continued and Liverpool were awarded a corner, which as usual was taken by Stevie G. A wonderful shot then shot across the goal mouth but was not picked up by any of the other lads. The half by now was coming to a close with the fourth official showing that there were 2 minutes extra to play. Burnley ceased the initiative with Paterson taking the ball towards their goal and then passed it to Carlisle who had a shot saved. The half then finished with Liverpool have a good 2 goal lead.

The second half started with Liverpool coming out and immediately firing on all cylinders. Yossi Benayoun immediately had another go at the goal. Glen Johnson was running all over the pitch and popping up here, there and everywhere proving that he is going to be a good investment for the club. Burnley did have moments where they got hold of the ball were definitely outrun by Liverpool. This again led to us being awarded a corner which Stevie G duly took. Unfortunately it was not one of his best and Burnley picked it up but could not contain the play for very long. Shortly afterwards a free kick was awarded again after Insua was caught in a bad tackle. Nothing came of it and with Burnley now in pieces Owen Coyle was looking for his first change. Suddenly there was a counter attack and Stevie G was taken down. For some reason referee Lee Mason ignored it and let play continue. Glen Johnson and Yossi Benayoun seemed to have formed the perfect partnership and were playing extremely well. Liverpool were still playing well and Torres was bought down which resulted in another free kick. This time it was taken by Lucas who unfortunately wasted it. It was now approaching sixty minutes and I wondered if Rafa was going to make his first change.

The crowd suddenly erupted, Stevie G was having one of his good runs and found Skirtel who passed to Yossi Benayoun . Goal number 3, Liverpool were now cruising and Benayoun was having a wonderful game. Now was the time for the substitutions to begin, Degan then made his Anfield debut by coming on for Glen Johnson and immediately became part of the action. Suddenly Reira appeared to be struggling but play continued and Stevie G took another corner. Yossi Benayoun was still playing well and picked up on this, giving Stevie G the chance to run around the Burnley players, finally going for goal but unfortunately hitting the post. We then had a few minutes when Burnley got the ball taking up the pitch where David Nugent finally had a goal saved.

The match by now was into its final quarter, Rafa had made his substitutions but unfortunately Jay Spearing was not one of them. Here we have a lad who I feel with match practise will improve and become an Anfield great. Play continued with Benayoun having a good run which led to goal number 4 with Stevie G trying to make it 5 a few minutes later but had this saved by Jenson.

The final whistle finally came. It had indeed been a good afternoon for Liverpool Football Club. I now believe that we are back to winning ways although Torres seems to be out of sorts- I guess new babies, sleepless nights along with international travel will take their toll on a player. I am sure Torres will very soon find his feet and the goals will start to flow again. I hope to see Yossi Benayoun on the pitch many more times, he certainly had a fantastic game today and Lucas has a different air of confidence about him.

The lads are on their way and as long as they continue to play as they did for 90 minutes this afternoon I can honestly see the title come home.