Liverpool prove they have the stomach for a fight

Saturday’s 213^th Merseyside derby at Anfield certainly did not disappoint. After an ill-tempered affair which left both sides with just ten men on the pitch at the final whistle, Liverpool had another three Premier League points and finally claimed a place in the top four after Spurs and Aston Villa drew. Can they hold onto it?

Rafa Benitez’s side continued their winning streak by defeating their close rivals 1-0. The win on Saturday saw Liverpool go seven games undefeated and post their sixth consecutive clean sheet, as Benitez’s ‘guarantee’ of Champions League football next season starts to look more and more plausible.

It is fair to say that the opening half of the game was not one for the purists. There was little football played as the phrase ‘Merseyside battle’ took on a quite literal meaning. The first casualty of this was Sotirios Kyrgiakos, whose two footed challenge on Marouane Fellaini was deserving of the straight red card it earned him, although Fellaini could also be accused of misjudging the tackle which ended his game through injury and left Kyriakos needing stitches in his leg.  

However, it would not have been unjust if both teams were reduced by the break, as a booking for Stephen Pienaar after he had raked his studs down Javier Mascherano’s shin looked somewhat lenient. It was probably only just that he was handed a second yellow card deep into injury time as Everton’s frustration got the better of them

The game only required one goal to settle it, and Dirk Kuyt’s 55^th minute header from Steven Gerrard was a goal typical of the Dutchman. In the prolonged absence of Fernando Torres, Kuyt is proving a useful source of goals for Liverpool, this being his fourth goal in as many games and his 50^th for the club.  

Kuyt has acknowledged that the goal scoring responsibility falls squarely on his shoulders in the absence of Liverpool’s other leading lights, and now believes that Liverpool are more than capable of finishing in the top-four saying, “what we have done really well is to keep working hard … we are getting stronger and stronger”.

In spite of Saturday’s defeat, Everton have also made a strong start to the second half of the season, climbing their way from the relegation zone to the middle of the table since Christmas. According to the David Moyes, his side didn’t do enough to merit a derby win but certainly didn’t deserve to lose. He may have got the point he believed his side deserved had Tim Cahill not spurned his headed opportunity in the first half.

The Toffees remain on 32 points, leaving them in ninth place. Despite recent improvement, this would appear to be a season of consolidation for Everton with the glories of last season now seeming rather distant. They will have to work extremely hard to get anything out of their next game against Chelsea.

As for Liverpool, the belief seems to be that they are back on track for a Champions League spot. Steven Gerrard believes the side are playing better and becoming increasingly more difficult to defeat as their last few matches have demonstrated. He commented, “we’ve turned the corner and we are a much more difficult team to beat now … confidence is slowly coming back”.

Despite their impressive form of late, there is still a long way to go and the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City are unlikely to give up the chase easily. And how costly will injuries continue to be for Benitez? He is still missing Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson due to ongoing injuries and it was recently revealed that the key duo may not be back until the end of March, which could well jeopardise the club’s battle for Champions League football.

However, the exceptional work rate Liverpool demonstrated against Everton on Saturday after they were reduced to ten men will have given Benitez and the club’s fans cause for optimism. Despite their turbulent season to date, it would appear that all is not yet lost.

Rachel Thompson

February 8, 2010