AUTUMN UPDATE:
I looked at the calendar, and then at my squad list. The month was bound to get harder and harder as it wore on, so resting my stars early would be vital, but who could I rest without any worries of ruining our form?
We played fairly, I thought, against Fulham, who are not an easy side to play against. Although, I was very disappointed we fell behind to them when Dembele scored, I was also worried slightly; they had played very well defensively, could we get it back? Well, yes, apparently. Suarez grabbed the equaliser just three minutes later. That put us level until the hour mark. From a free kick, we worked the ball very well until Rodriguez took a powerful shot from the edge for the area. I have never seen a better goal by a Liverpool player. Unfortunately however, Suarez was injured with 10 minutes remaining. We managed to pull through for the three points, still.
We got off to a flyer against Bolton with Adam making the most of a close-range free-kick. Our joy did not last long though, as Boyata finished a beautiful cross with a powerful header. We regained the lead again through Kuyt, who powered home another penalty. In the second half, the game was made a lot easier for us as Robinson suffered a red card. We took advantage of the extra man, and finally made it three from another free-kick, which Adam scored.
The dreaded Everton. Although we were bitter rivals and they were bound to up their game, I had no real worries. We were a strong side and, if we wanted to, we could beat anyone and everyone. It was a close game though, and both sides had a number of shots early on.Luckily however, Jamie Carragher stepped up to power a header past Tim Howard. The erupted as we on the bench did, jumping for joy and shouting our heads off! The game settled down after that, and we began to assume control before half-time. The second half was a different story. Everton came out looking for revenge, and took hold of possession for long periods of time. The next goal only came in added time, when young Jordan Henderson snatched an insurance goal. It was lucky he did, as Gueye scored two minutes later.
The Red Devils. Now I was nervous. We were tied top on points, but they led on goal difference. I knew this game would set the tone for the season. If we won, we could go on to win the league, but if we lost, well...
It was a tight back-and-forth game, with both teams getting chances. Man Utd seemed to be shooting from everywhere, luckily half of them missed. It remained level going into half-time; we still had a chance. I told the players they were playing well, and they had a chance to win it here, but they needed to be more clinical in the box. Once again, both teams were going at it with no rest, but we had control of possession. But then they had a chance. Jose Enrique was sent off. I was distraught! This could be the undoing of all our hard work! But it turned out to be a motivational red card for most, and we went down three minutes later and scored! Dirk Kuyt slotted it into the right corner of De Gea’s net! Despite having just 10 men, we still had a hold of possession at times, but they were pressing us hard. It wasn’t until the 93rd minute that we got some rest. Vidic threw himself into a nasty tackle and earned another red card. We had just scraped through with a win!
I knew this game would be a bore-fest, but Stoke could prove tough to beat. Although, my confidence was high after dispatching Manchester United the previous game. The proved to be pretty easy for us; especially since Suarez scored just 13 minutes in. That put my worries to rest following his yellow card before the goal. There was nothing else worth noting, although Kelly was injured late on. The only thing I had trouble understanding was our lack of goals. We dominated possession and had over 15 shots. What was preventing us from scoring?
We made another long bus journey to Norwich to face the newly promoted Canaries. This was bound to be an easy game for us, the points were in the bag. The only thin we had to do was try to keep up with United on goal difference: it could be the difference at the end. I chose this as a chance to field our youngster Jordan Henderson. He proved to be well up to the challenge and proved his worth with a 19th minutes goal. Despite the good start and constant domination, Norwich broke quickly and scored the equaliser! Once again, we dominated but could not find the net. Finally, however, Agger and Kuyt scored one each 2 minutes after one-another. Suarez added the fourth not long after the hour mark, it was a nice win for us.
The next two fixtures were also bound to be easy, and I liked that; we could rest our stars for the big games. Meeting Swansea at Anfield was bound to be a win, but by how many? Unfortunately, we only managed two. It must have been the most frustrating match I have ever been involved in. Although, a nice surprise was an Andy Carroll goal! We had to wait until the 77th minute to grab our second, but hey-ho. It was Seydou Keita who netted it for us.
The League Cup 4th round was never going to be a difficult, but Birmingham was a team that could throw up a surprise or two. As a matter of fact, we played perfectly, and easily secured our place in the 5th round. Although, it has to be said we started slowly, and didn’t score until Joaquin netted one just before half time. He added his second with just less than ten minutes remaining, and two minutes after Rodriguez got his own. The domination was so complete for us that they didn’t even have one shot on goal.
Everton. Once more, we had a massive derby on our hands. The previous time, we had scraped through with a win in the League Cup, but this time I was determined that we would win by more. We got off to a superb start as Charlie Adam smashed home a superb volley. We continued to dominate and scored two more goals before half-time! Although, both goals were recorded as own goals as the ball deflected off Everton players after the shot. Even after half-time, we continued to get chances and were rewarded when Phil Neville failed to block the ball on the line, and it bounced into the roof of the net. It was a fantastic win for us and kept us top!