Another wierd weekend but we are still top

What a strange weekend!

Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Hull City at Anfield. We had to come from 2 goals down to level the game. Once again, Gerard was there to rescue the team and earn us what could prove to be a crucial point.

Man United, Arsenal and even Chelsea were all held to draws!! I must say that I am relieved to see us still top of the table. If the rest of the results had been otherwise, the 2 points dropped at home would have been a really bad result. However, in the context of the results over the weekend, the 2 points dropped against Hull did not seem that bad a result afterall. In fact there were positives to be taken from the game.

Gerard scored 2 goals and seemed extremely lively during the game. That has to be a good sign as we all know the kind of impact he can make in a game. I liked our wing play in recent games too especially with Benayoun coming in for Kyut on the right and Reira on the left. I have always been impressed with Benayoun and he is the kind of player that has the ability to change a game and score crucial goals. It was also good to see Hypia playing alongside Carragher and I felt he deserved at least a goal after so many attempts at goal from the corners. The spirit of the entire team was unquestionable. They fought and fought. The pressure on Hull City was immense especially in the last 20mins of the game. However, what I felt could have been done better was the substitutions made by Rafa in the second half.

Why did he bring on Nabil El'zhar for Benayoun on the right? He couldn't cope with the pace of the game, often losing possession. Why did he take off Reira for Babel? And what was the wisdom for a one-for-one substitution between Mascherano and Lucas?? We were fighting for the winning goal and Hull City seemed contented with a point. They had 10 men in their own half and were happy to try to play the counter attack. Why not go 3 men at the back?? Take off Dossena and replace him with an attacking player. Why not play Babel upfront or maybe even Keane or David N'gog with Kyut?? Why not instruct Gerard to push further up? Why not get everyone to shoot at will instead of trying to play that 'perfect' final pass??

We probably wont lose a championship by being overly cautious but neither will we win one if we remain so. We needed 3 points regardless of the other results and that was clear. Given the way Hull was playing in the last 20mins, I felt we could have been a lot more adventurous. We needed to signal our intent clearly and could have gone on the offensive by bringing in an extra attacking player.

It is clear we missed Torres' presence. We need him back soon. With Keane dropped to the bench, we clearly lacked a out-and-out striker. Kyut has been playing well this season but we all know he can be rather wasteful at times.

It is important to note that despite not playing at our best, we are still leading the table and that should be a blessng. Of course, the other argument could also be that we should capitalise on their current form and pull away from the rest. Whatever it is, nothing will change the fact that we are in the driving seat for now. Let's just savour the moment and enjoy it.

Next up, the Gunners at the Emirates.