Editorials

Food For Thought: Fourth Place Up For Grabs

Nilesh Pinto analyses Saturday's 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Manchester City and feels that the race for fourth is wide open....

23-Nov-2009 5:23:40 PM

EPL: Stephen Ireland & Emmanuel Adebayor, Liverpool - Manchester City (Getty Images)

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EPL: Stephen Ireland & Emmanuel Adebayor, Liverpool - Manchester City (Getty Images)

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A topic that was heavily discussed at the start of the season was whether the monopoly of the ‘Big Four’ in the Premier League could finally be put to an end. We’re now a third into the campaign and if the events of the past few months didn’t provide enough reason to suggest the likelihood of it happening, then Saturday’s game between Liverpool and Manchester City was certainly evidence enough.

The first half between sixth placed City and seventh placed Liverpool at Anfield told us nothing about the quality of the two teams and shouldn’t even be considered. The second half, on the other hand, was a different story. It put into a nutshell, the general performance of the two teams this season. Six minutes after the restart, Gerrard did what he does best, whipping the ball from a free-kick into the six-yard box, with only a touch required to put the ball into the back of the net, which Martin Skrtel succeeded in doing. Manchester City, who seemed lethargic until then, sprung into action and in the next twenty minutes, they bombarded the Liverpool defence.

Adebayor scored a free-header from Craig Bellamy’s corner, exposing the weaknesses of Liverpool’s zonal marking system. It was shocking to see the most likely scorer being given enough time and space to take two steps back and make good contact with the header.

The Citizens then went after the win and six-minutes later took the lead with a sublime passing move which involved a good turn and pass by Shaun Wright-Phillips and a cool finish by Stephen Ireland. 74 seconds later, before anybody could think about ‘what next?’, the ball was in the back of the Manchester City net as they failed to clear and the ball took a couple of deflections before Yossi Benayoun slid in to net the equalizer. The remaining fifteen minutes saw Liverpool unsuccessfully press for the win with the match ending 2-2.

In my opinion, Liverpool is a team that revolves around three players in particular – Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano. Benayoun, too, can now be added to that list. It’s hard to win against a Liverpool team with all four of them playing. Even on their worst day, one moment of brilliance can turn the game.

However without any one of them, they are not the same team. The lack of quality in the other strikers is their main problem. In the absence of Torres, Voronin and Ngog appear incapable of leading the attack. Dirk Kuyt is a highly versatile player and has done brilliantly in the last couple of seasons on the right hand side. But he has not been given the opportunity to do what he was bought to do that is to score goals. Also, the presence of both Lucas and Mascherano tends to peg them back in attack.

The defence, too, has been suspect. The Adebayor goal meant that Liverpool have conceded 12 goals from set-pieces this season, more than any other team including bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth. However, to be fair, and in keeping with the week’s events, Liverpool have almost had the luck of the Irish when it comes to injuries. Gerrard, Torres, Riera, Aurelio and Aquiliani have all had long lay-offs and Saturday saw Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger limp off in the first twenty minutes.

The void created by Xabi Alonso’s departure is also a major concern. Alberto Aquiliani was bought to replace him but his injury meant that he has barely played so far. But from the display we saw in the League Cup against Arsenal, he could be just be the solution.

Nobody could accurately predict what Manchester City would produce this season. I doubt anyone would have thought that City would have a run of six successive draws especially considering the number of strikers in their squad. They have suffered just the one defeat so far, less than anybody else including leaders Chelsea. Their away form in particular has improved from last season.

New recruits Adebayor, Barry and Tevez seemed to have settled in to their roles and Stephen Ireland has slowly replicated his form from last season while Bellamy has been in sparkling touch. Nigel de Jong has been one of City’s best investments so far. His astute play neutralizes the opposition’s counter-attack. The back-four has been vulnerable on a couple of occasions – the Manchester derby in particular - but Lescott and Toure have by and large done the job.

What needs to change is the mentality. Liverpool’s equalizer on Saturday amply illustrates this fact. City have let their guard down far too often this season, and in particular after scoring a goal. They did so recently against Burnley and Fulham at home and earlier against Manchester United, albeit in controversial circumstances.

But there is more than enough evidence to suggest that City are a force to reckon with. And if ever they need to remind anybody what they are capable of, there is always the 4-2 thumping of Arsenal to refer to. Their attacking ability came to the fore on that afternoon.

Liverpool and Man City are very different in the way they set-up and play. The Reds concentrate on getting the midfield to provide the perfect ball for Torres while City are constantly looking to unleash their attacking flair. They operate differently but are effective in their own way. Liverpool may have better individual quality and the experience, but from the way things have gone so far, squad depth probably puts Manchester City slightly in front of Liverpool.

Going back to the subject of the ‘Big Four’, many may argue that Liverpool have made it easy for the rest to catch up. Six wins, five defeats and two draws after 13 games are indicative of that. But there is no doubt that Manchester City, along with a couple of other sides like Spurs and Aston Villa, do have the quality to topple the established order.

Nilesh Pinto

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