Carlos Tevez lasted less than quarter of an hour before departing the proceedings with a troubling hamstring injury at Anfield. Andy Carroll opens his Liverpool account and Kenny Dalglish displays his continued faith in youth as a sorry Man City were torn apart on a wet Monday night at Anfield. Here’s the notes on last night’s action…
Andy Carroll
The big-money signing looked closer to full fitness and tore into City’s lacklustre defence, grabbing a double and bagging all 3 Fantasy Premier League Bonus Points for his efforts. Priced at just £6.2m in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Carroll’s partnership with Luis Suarez is still a work in progress but the pair showed glimpses of the force they will undoubtedly become, given time. The deadly duo look like being a real prospect in the Premier League next season and Liverpool fans must be savouring the 2011/12 campaign with relish already. Expect a big leap in his Fantasy price next term.
Up next this weekend is a trip to Arsenal, though Liverpool should have little to fear going into the Emirates trip if they keep up this level of performance. There follows two home matches against Birmingham and Newcastle which offers a great chance to boost that points tally in the fight for sixth place with rivals Everton.
Kenny’s Faith in Youth
Martin Kelly has already had game time until his minutes were curtailed by a hamstring injury, Jay Spearing is deputising (with great effect) for the injured Steven Gerrard, and last night saw Academy graduate John Flanagan become the latest youngster to get a chance under Kenny Dalglish. An injury to Carlos Tevez saw Flanagan line up directly against the Argentine’s replacement Mario Balotelli for the vast majority of this match and it’s a tribute to his assured performance that Balotelli made so little of an impact that he found himself subbed off before the match was through. Dirk Kuyt also deserves a mention for his all-action display in front of Flanagan on the right wing, as he tracked back to help the youngster and charged forward time and again in a performance that culminated in a well-deserved goal.
Carlos Tevez
Less than quarter of an hour into the game and disaster struck for City. Carlos Tevez limped off the pitch with a hamstring injury that will surely keep him out of this weekend’s FA Cup Semi Final with Man United. Post-match, Roberto Mancini certainly seemed dubious of his star forward‘s chances of making the Wembley clash. With City having no league match this weekend, Tevez is currently being transferred out in huge numbers with his availability for gameweek 34 and beyond currently far from certain.
City’s Shape
City started with something akin to a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Adam Johnson and James Milner on the wings and Tevez joined by Edin Dzeko up top. Tevez’s injury saw them revert to the more familiar 4-2-3-1, with Milner moving to the middle and Mario Balotelli coming off the bench to play out left, leaving Dzeko alone up front. Regardless of shape, however, there’s no getting away from the fact that City were abysmal.
Mancini Gets All Apologetic
Perhaps with the FA Cup in mind, Mancini left David Silva and Nigel De Jong on the bench for the Anfield showdown. Silva eventually entering the proceedings just before the hour mark to replace a thoroughly disgusted Milner and De Jong came on for Balotelli with less than ten minutes to go. The pair have been two of City’s most influential players this season and it’s maybe with hindsight that Mancini muttered after the match:
“I made a mistake, it was my fault. I’m very sorry for the fans.”
As mentioned, City miss a gameweek this weekend before taking on (bla, WHM, eve & TOT). With Spurs just three points behind -and with a game in hand- the Italian can ill-afford to make any more mistakes if he realistically expects to look beyond this season as the man in charge at Eastlands.
