The virtues of a keeper and a striker on form
WERE WE LUCKY?
Well we certainly had a lot less of the play and while Liverpool can argue they generally played well, I don’t think we can. That said, we scored two very legitimate goals and in one sense you could argue Liverpool were a little fortunate with the one they did get. Yes, they did hit the post twice but you can’t really call the Szczesny saves lucky – you wouldn’t call a defender who marks the striker out the game lucky and so why is a keeper who makes good saves?
THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER IT WAS A PENALTY…
But is whether it was a reasonable decision by Mark Halsey. I think it undoubtedly was. And as it happens, I also think that even though Suarez exaggerated the contact, it was the right decision. Brilliant saves from Szczesny.
OUR OPENER…
Was notable for the great cross from Sagna. They’re vital.
WAS THE WINNER POOR KEEPING?
Yes. But it is equally true that very few players could have surprised Reina with a first time volley directed like that.
IS THERE MUCH ELSE TO SAY?
Not a whole lot. Football can be a curious game. I’ve seen us play far better and lose. Benayoun’s most noisy contribution was the ovation he got from the Liverpool fans when he was subbed. Theo was quiet but I thought his three efforts were all decent ones and in every case he made the right choice.
A penalt and a good decision? On what grounds?
a penalty?? how?
“it was the right decision”. How to lose credibility in 5 words.
Suarez’s dive was repugnant. His antics of rolling on the ground pulling down his socks to look at the state of his leg afterwards was vomit inducing. He continues to drag Liverpool’s name through the dirt. I will never be able to look past his utterly contemptible character to have any appreciation for his skills as a footballer.
You need to have another look. It made last Sunday’s penalty look stonewall.
On initial viewing, I thought it was a penalty and can see why it was given. The replay showed that there was no contact though. As for the game, I think we were due a game where we did not dominate and still won. We’ve certainly been on the liver pool end of the equation more often than not. As for the performance, we definitely played a lot better in the 2nd half, even if liverpool still had more of the ball. performances that stood out for me: RVP, Sagan ( 2 weeks in a row where he’s had major attacking contribution) and Szczesny. Song is also becoming the assist king. I thought it was Kosielny’s worst performance in a while (in the 1st half): own goal aside, suarez had the beating of him several times. but he has been our best defender this season and i think he’ll get back into the groove quickly. I haven’t seen any news on Arteta – anyone got any news there? Finally, great to see Utd beat Spurs…4 points out of 3rd with 11 games to go. Need to keep the momentum going.
I see Alan Pardew’s comments after his disgraceful reaction to his side winning a pen today : ‘I’ve never done that before’.
I wonder will anyone in the media point out that this is an outright lie ??? Or does his spat with Arsene at Upton Park a few years ago not count because it was only Wenger on the receiving end…….
Sorry Goodplaya – never, ever was that a pen. Never. Cheating pure & simple.
6 points & 9 goals difference gained on the Totts in a week. Lovely. A rejuvenated Everton away for them next week too….
slc, Sky Sports quoting Arteta as saying he hopes to be back for Milan game…very surprised but pleased if true.
Never a right decision for the penalty. A referee can only give what he sees and patently he made his decision on what he guessed happened – his view of the incident being obscured by a crowd of players.
If he had actually seen what had happened he would have handed Suarez a yellow card for simulation. THAT would have been the right decision.
The fact that Suarez (why does he remind me of Eboue so much?) feigned mortal agony on his face and clutched his leg as if it were being eaten alive by rats shows he was acting. Szczesny didn’t touch him.
Firstly, as SKY showed, there was contact. Fact. Shin on shin.
Secondly, Szczesny threw his leg right out into Suarez’s path (as opposed to the striker running into the keeper’s path.
Do we really care if it was or was not a penalty,
3 points that all that matters, and the yid’s in our sights.
Sorry Goodplaya, if that amount of contact, which requires super slow-motion viewing to detect, warrants a penalty then every game would have a dozen or more penalties called. Suarez, like Bale last week, was making a physical effort to fool the officials into believing that the goalkeeper had tripped him and forced him to fall. When will the day come that football no longer utilizes the phrase “…earns a penalty” to legitimize actions and behavior that, had they occurred anywhere else on the pitch, would not warrant even a second look.
Even die-hard Liverpool fans have to be red-faced over the ease with which Suarez goes to ground, arm outstretched as if signaling for the stretcher. Gunner fans suffered the same embarrassment with Eboue.
The fact that we won should not soften your opinion of what was an obvious dive.
When you’re running at high speed and the keeper throws himself at you, fairly minimal contact makes a significant difference. In the same way that slightly nudging a keeper at a corner as he goes to catch the ball makes all the difference.
I don’t deny Suarez made the most of it, I just think there was contact.
“Contact” in itself surely is irrelevant. There is loads of contact in football matches. Most of it does not entail falling to the ground as if shot. Suarez could have stayed on his feet but chose to fall down dramatically in a way that was completely disproportionate to the faint brushing of socks (and, honestly, I saw no contact at all on the replays). It was by any definition of the word “simulation.”
I think a lot of confusion and ‘blurred lines’ have been created over the past 5 – 10 years for this type of penalty. There needs to be some form of directive from referees on this as to what constitutes ‘simulation’. I find it massively frustrating when the attacking player creates the contact by moving his leg against the defending player and then throwing themselves forward with the leverage. Attacking players have become very cunning at doing this in recent times. Every team, inc. Arsenal, has benefitted from this as every player seems prepared to do it. I wish there was a way to eradicate it completely from the game. Perhaps there is with post match citing, sanctioning. 1 and 2 match bans awarded a few days after the incident. I think the majority of people know when this ‘simulation’ has or hasn’t occured.
We definitely deserved a bit of luck, thats for sure. As for whether or not it was a pen, thats not so sure. Didn’t see a single clip that showed either way whether there was contact or not. the one on MOTD seemed to show that there probably wasn’t but there’s plenty of doubt. Suarez’s actions throughout his career paint the picture of a pretty unsavoury character. Thank god he doesn’t play for us.
As for Liverpool, the pundits all seemed to think it was their best peformance of the season (but what do most of them know) and whilst they dominated the 1st their total number of chances created was not much more than ours.
Anyway, who cares. At this stage of the season points are all that matter. Lets just hop ewe don;t lose any more players by Saturday and that Diaby is back soon (!!!!!). He looked good when he came on.
Oh dear…it’s one thing to understand why Halsey gave the penalty (he guessed the most likely decision) but quite another to claim that it’s ‘reasonable’ to give any decision you clearly cannot see. For the second week running, a ref has given a penalty against us that they were in no position to give. Personally I think Suarez is guilty of simulation whether there is contact or not, but irrespective of that, Halsey’s guesswork is completely unacceptable.
goodplaya’s position is understandable, however Playa let me say this if this penalty scenario played out with the scores tied at 1-1 and it helped them earn a 2-1 win against us would you be similarly magnanimous? szecesny’s contact (if any) really wasnt sufficient to send suarez flying like that.
.what makes this all the more hard for me to accept is the fact that when our players are legitimately felled in the box..we NEVERget the call.!
our team arguably has no (expert) divers…vanpersie got pushed at sunderland..nothing… gervinho at fulham by senderos…nothing….gervinho at newcastle.,,NOTHING! i wont ever support cheating, but please let no one insult our collective sensibilities
I don’t want to drag this out too much but…..Goodplaya, there was contact, that’s true….but Suarez was on his way down before it. He dived & in the process of diving, then (& not before then) there was contact with Chesney’s leg. So there is absolutely no way the contact brought him down. Not a pen.
‘a pretty unsavoury character’ – Mel, I think you’re being very kind to him !!! :-)
On another note……I don’t think enough credit has been given to Chesney for his reaction to their goal. While Koscielny was sitting there starting to feel sorry for himself, Ches just dragged him to his feet & made him get on with it. That is real character, something that there simply hasn’t been enough of at our club for a few years. I think back to the CL semi a few years ago v MU when I’ll never forget every single one of our players leaving Gibbs (still a teenager) on his own – distraught – after his slip for their opener. Not one of them went to him to try to get his head right. That game was over right at that moment for me.
…and don’t forget, the difference Sagna and in some ways Gibbs too have made to our attacking threat, so much more width. Sagna has been terrific the last two games and his cross for VP’s goal was stunning.
Despite conceding 2 brilliant goals, Liverpool in the most part demonstrated how to defend as a team with shear hard work, closing down, pressing all the time. I would love to see our midfield working as hard.
Hats off to Szczesny, VP and Sagna for match winning performances!
It is a penalty, footballing rules state that of da goalie makes contact with players leg its a penalty no matter how minimal.
By the RULES of the game, it is a penalty.
By the SPIRIT of the game, it is not.
Technically, after watching the replays, it was indeed a penalty. However Suarez was looking for the contact and over exaggerated it. However good a footballer he is, I’ve lost a lot of respect for him over the course of this season.
Sorry for the late comment, but I felt the urge to get in on this penalty or not discussion.
Way too late to participate but it certainly does NOT say anything in the rules about contact. Part of the problem has been the willingness of the football community to confuse contact with a foul. Bale is a perfect example – he battles his way into the box, withstanding a bounce from Gibbs, but as soon as he crossed the white line it was like he was on ice skates. Not an anti Bale, anti Totts rant it was just an example for sticks in the mind (wonder why). All teams do it including us. Its just wrong.
On the Suarez one I tend to agree with PD. He was on the way down when whatever contact there may have been occurred. Looked a pen at the time but that just proves that the refs already difficult job is made more difficult by the players