NOVEMBER 3
Kuyt: We must
be more ruthless
By Tony Barrett - Liverpool Echo
Dirk Kuyt today admitted Liverpool need to
become more ruthless in front of goal after the Reds missed
a string of chances in Saturday’s defeat at Tottenham.
The Dutchman gave Liverpool the lead after just three
minutes but a second half Jamie Carragher own goal and a
last gasp winner from Roman Pavlyuchenko gave Spurs an
unlikely three points.
Liverpool hit the woodwork on three separate occasions and
failed to take other opportunities to put the game to bed.
And Kuyt believes Rafa Benitez’s men need to turn such
dominance into goals.
“We made a good start when we took the lead early on and we
controlled the game from then on,” said Kuyt.
“We should have killed the game in the second half because
we had four big chances but we didn’t do that and then Spurs
got two goals against the run of play and we lost the game.
“It’s unbelievable because we looked really good for a long
time but then they got an own goal and then got a second
from a throw in.
“Sometimes this can happen in football but we have to take
our chances when they come along.”
Saturday’s defeat was the first time Liverpool have lost a
league game under Benitez when they have led at half time.
It was also the first time they have suffered defeat in more
than six months and Kuyt insists it is vital that the Reds
bounce back from their disappointment immediately.
He said: “The most important thing we can do right now is to
think about the future and put this game behind us because
we are still joint top of the league.
“But next time we have to make sure we take these kind of
chances and kill the game.
“It is a big blow to us because we did not deserve to lose
the game.
“But now we have to put this game and this result behind us
and look ahead to Tuesday’s game against Atletico Madrid.
“The manager has said we need to respond in the right way to
this result and he is right.
“We can’t afford to let it get to us because we did a lot of
good things against Spurs and there are a lot of positives
to take from the game.
“Now we just need to keep going.”
NOVEMBER 3
Rafa: It's
time
to show our character
By Paul Eaton - LFC Official Website
Rafael Benitez today called on his players
to follow the example set by Chelsea and respond positively
to their first setback of the season.
Liverpool's unbeaten run in the Premier League was cruelly
brought to an end at White Hart Lane on Saturday as Spurs
overcame Dirk Kuyt's early strike to run out 2-1 winners
thanks to Roman Pavlychenko's last minute winner.
Despite the undeserved defeat, the Reds still lie joint top
of the table alongside a Chelsea side who responded to last
weekend's defeat to Liverpool with a 3-0 victory at Hull and
then a 5-0 hammering of Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
And Benitez now wants to see a similar response from his
players as they prepare for a Champions League clash with
Atletico Madrid tomorrow night and then West Brom in the
Premier League on Saturday.
"Chelsea have shown that they're a good team and we have to
show the same. We have to show the same character now," said
the manager.
"It's football – sometimes you can win, you can lose but
after this last game we don't need to be worried about the
performance of the team, their character or quality.
"The key is to keep the confidence in the team and keep
working as hard as we did against Tottenham and we will be
there.
"We were so dominant. We were controlling the game, we were
controlling everything. It was a surprise. At half time we
were talking about how we needed to score a second goal to
finish the game.
"It' really difficult to explain how we conceded two goals
and lost this game.
"Harry said 'sometimes you need luck'and I agree with him.
"I have had some experience here in England of playing well,
creating chances and conceding goals in the last minute but
that' the Premier League.
"It's very difficult to win every game now because some of
the other teams are really good."
After missing a series of chances to kill the game off and
secure victory, Benitez is keen to remind his players of the
importance of being clinical in front of goal.
He said: "We could see that the team is really good, the
players have quality and the mentality is good but sometimes
it's the last pass. Taking your chances is the key mentality
for winning titles.
"I think we have a good mentality but we still need to take
our chances.
"We've been winning without Fernando (Torres). We know when
we have Fernando we have another option which is different.
"But (Robbie) Keane was doing well with Gerrard and after
that (Ryan) Babel with Kuyt – it was always a threat.
"You cannot talk about Torres because the rest of the
players were doing so well it would not be fair.
"Clearly when you have a striker with the quality and
potential of Torres he will be a good addition for us."
NOVEMBER 2
Carragher wants reaction
Sky Sports
Jamie Carragher is looking for Liverpool
to bounce back to winnings ways after suffering defeat at
Tottenham.
The Reds slipped of the top of the table after their 2-1
loss at White Hart Lane as Chelsea moved back to the summit.
Carragher - whose own goal levelled matters at Spurs - is
now looking for Liverpool respond in a positive manner.
"Look how Chelsea have reacted since we beat them and how
Manchester United reacted when they lost to us," he said.
"They've been on a great run since. It's how you come back
from your setbacks that counts. This will be a test for us
now.
"If you want to show you're championship contenders it's how
you bounce back that matters.
"Before Jose Mourinho came to Chelsea you could get away
with losing five or six but now it seems to be three or
four.
"The standards are so high. You can't afford to lose too
many."
Fixtures against the likes of West Brom, Bolton and Fulham
mean Liverpool face, at least on paper, a kind November but
Carragher is taking nothing for granted.
"It's a different test in itself playing against the teams
lower down," he said.
"Portsmouth was a very difficult game and we didn't score
until late on.
"If we play as well as we can we should go on to win the
next six games but in the past we've come unstuck in those
matches and it's important we get maximum points now."
Fernando Torres should be back for Tuesday's UEFA Champions
League clash with Atletico Madrid after recovering from a
hamstring injury.
Carragher admits Torres has been missed but insists the
squad should be able to cope in his absence.
"You'll always miss Torres. He's probably the best striker
in the world of his type," he said.
"Even if we'd won here we would have still missed him
because he's such a great player. That's what squads are
for.
"That's why the manager talks every year about big squads
and good benches.
"Everyone misses players. Chelsea are without Didier Drogba
at the moment. You've just got to adapt to it."
Liverpool could have done with Torres' clinical touch as
they let a series of chances go begging against Spurs before
Carragher's own goal changed the match.
"That's the Premier League for you. Credit to Spurs but we
were in total control," said Carragher.
"We should have got a second or third goal but if you don't
do that Spurs have definitely got quality going forward.
"I'm disappointed to score the own goal. I don't know what
happened. I don't know if I was unlucky - I'll have to see
it again.
"Even then 1-1 isn't too bad at Spurs. It's not an easy
place to go, even though they're in a bad situation.
"We're more than disappointed to concede a goal in the last
minute. We missed a couple of chances we would normally
score.
"Normally when you're in such control you go on to win the
game but you have to give credit to Tottenham for showing
character and sticking in there.
"Harry Redknapp is having quite an effect there."
NOVEMBER 1
Benitez rues missed chances
Setanta Sports
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez blasted his
side’s failure to finish their chances after they collapsed
to a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.
The Reds took the lead through Dirk Kuyt but were pegged
back when Jamie Carragher headed past his own keeper before
substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko popped up to net an
injury-time winner from close range.
Liverpool had a host of chances to put the game to bed, but
failed to find the target to leave Benitez railing.
The Liverpool boss told Setanta Sports: "I can't believe we
lost that game, it's as simple as that.
"We hit the crossbar and had a lot of opportunities. It's
always important to create chances but it's more important
to score.
"We're really disappointed, it was really bad luck.
Conceding those two goals is difficult to explain.
"We were controlling everything so I was pleased. We knew
we'd have to score the second goal. If we'd scored then they
were beaten.
"We had four clear chances in the second half but you have
to take your chances.
"We could easily have been 4-0 up after 60 minutes."
NOVEMBER 1
Redknapp
applauds Spurs' late win
BBC Sport Online
New Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp hailed
his side's character after they came from behind to beat
Liverpool.
"We rode our luck at times but the character was fantastic,"
he said after the club's 2-1 win at White Hart Lane.
Spurs move off the bottom of the table and have now
collected seven points in a week, but Redknapp was quick to
downplay his own impact.
"There's a smile about the place and you need to be positive
with them," he said when asked about his input.
"If I'm down and miserable, they're going to be down and
miserable."
Liverpool took a third-minute lead through Dirk Kuyt and the
visitors had numerous second-half chances to add to their
lead.
But Jamie Carragher headed into his own net in the 70th
minute before Roman Pavlyuchenko converted Darren Bent's
cross in injury-time to seal a valuable three points.
"We had a little bit of luck today and they were terrific,
very difficult to play against," said Redknapp.
"We were more direct in the second half with two up front, I
wanted to see if we could hit them earlier, and we did that
much better.
"We kept going and never gave up, full credit to us."
NOVEMBER 1
Spurs off
bottom
as Reds are beaten
TEAMtalk
Roman Pavlyuchenko pounced on the stroke
of full-time to lift Tottenham off the foot of Premier
League after a 2-1 home win over Liverpool.
Liverpool took the lead with just two minutes on the clock
through a magnificent finish by Dirk Kuyt that saw
blundering Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes exposed yet
again.
Jamie Carragher's own goal appeared to have salvaged a point
for Spurs but Harry Redknapp's side had grander ideas.
With injury time approaching, Pavlyuchenko tucked home a
Darren Bent pass to deny the Reds their return to the summit
of the table and end the top flight's last unbeaten record.
Liverpool allowed a flurry of chances to slip by, with
Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso missing the pick of them,
until Carragher rose high in the 69th minute to nod into his
own net.
They should have been out of sight before Carragher struck
while Spurs displayed more of the fighting spirit which
served them so well against Arsenal in midweek.
The victory rung up Redknapp's seventh point in three games
since replacing Juande Ramos a week ago, a remarkable return
given Spurs' dismal position until his arrival.
It was three points dropped for Liverpool, who had Robbie
Keane to thank for setting up the opening goal.
Much of the pre-match build-up focussed on Keane's first
appearance against the club he left for £20.3million during
the summer and the match had barely started when he made his
presence felt.
The Republic of Ireland striker continued some slick
build-up play by finding the unmarked Kuyt down the right -
and the Dutchman found the net from a tight angle with a
brilliant finish.
Keane's celebrations, however, were muted out of respect for
the club he led as skipper.
Spurs' defensive woes continued with an inswinging Gerrard
free-kick scrambled away by Gomes and moments later Bent
nearly turned the ball into his own net.
Bent tried to make amends at the other end when he chased an
astute looping ball by Tom Huddlestone but Pepe Reina raced
off his line to clear the danger.
The sting had been taken out of Liverpool's early onslaught
as Spurs began to retain possession, but their opponents'
constant harrying in dreadful conditions made life
difficult.
Vedran Corluka tried his luck from out wide on the left
after being teed up by David Bentley but his effort sailed
wide.
The Spurs defence was opened up in the 29th minute when Kuyt
nodded the ball down to Gerrard, who expertly weaved his way
into the penalty area - however, his shot lacked the quality
of the approaching run.
A desperate pass from Alvaro Arbeloa gave possession back to
Spurs and the home side were holding their own in a keenly
contested midfield battle.
But a dangerous run by Albert Riera underlined the threat
posed by Liverpool as the ball was worked to Keane, who saw
his shot easily blocked by a small posse of white shirts.
Reina was presented with a far tougher challenge at the
other end in the 41st minute when he pushed aside Luka
Modric's impressive effort from the edge of the area.
The ball slipped under the legs of Xabi Alonso's legs,
leaving Reina with little time to react, but the Spaniard's
reflexes were equal to the task.
Harry Redknapp brought on Pavlyuchenko at the interval and
the second half was just moments old when the Russian
dragged a shot wide.
Spurs were concerned when Kuyt charged towards the goal,
with the ball popping up to Gerrard - whose shot was tipped
onto the right corner of the woodwork by Gomes.
The England midfielder, spotting Gomes was stranded, then
tried a looping shot from out wide but only found the top of
the net.
Gomes flapped as Alonso sneaked in at the far post but the
Spaniard's header slipped wide when he should have hit the
target.
Liverpool should have been out of sight as the match but the
visitors equalised against the run of play when Carragher,
under pressure from Ledley King, headed a corner into his
own net.
And the majority of the White Hart Lane supporters were
delighted when Pavlyuchenko tucked home Darren Bent's pass
to complete the comeback.
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