West Bromwich Albion vs Liverpool: The start of something special

It’s difficult these days to be a Liverpool fan. The team is playing well, the supporters have faith in the team, there is a young manager who is making all the right noises but (there always is a but) the results are not going the way Liverpool would like to. Though, after all the talk about possession based football and enterprising play, Liverpool have delivered a win. While it may be in the League Cup, its’ still a win. The earlier win over Young Boys was good too but this was more comfortable than last week. Last season, this cup was a priority. This time around, it is not. But some of the performances on the night were eye catching. Last time round, Liverpool used to show up on the Cup nights and disappear during the League. This time, Brendan Rogers will be keen to avoid that.

A much awaited debut was handed over to Samed Yesil, who was lively along with Pacheco. Brendan Rogers made 11 changes in comparison to Steve Clarke’s 5 , thus underlying the importance of the League for Liverpool. But it was WBA who started on the front foot with Tamas volleying in from a Brad Jones (Liverpool Goalkeeper) error. Not to be outdone, it was Ben Foster’s error at the other end which resulted in an equalizer for Liverpool and a first goal for Nuri Sahin. The Turkish player, as usual, continued to show his class. Against Young Boys, Assaidi had all the pace and trickery but couldn’t deliver the final ball. This time it was his incisive runs which troubled WBA time and again.

Liverpool, after the equalizer, continued to grow from strength to strength and consistently outplayed their opponents. More often than not, Liverpool seemed threatening with shots being rained on Ben Foster’s goal who seemed very jittery after the earlier fumble. Barring the first few minutes, Liverpool grew into confidence as the game progressed and it was the substitute Suso‘s driving run and the pass to Assaidi which led to the low cross and the tap in for Sahin, which was the eventual winner. For a team which has been horribly on the wrong end of decisions, it was a night to cherish and one couldn’t help but notice the delight on the faces of Brendan Rogers and the travelling supporters.

On the opening day of the season, Liverpool struggled badly as the team was still coming to terms with the new philosophy. But on the evidence on display last night, if they continue to perform in such fashion, they will be a force to reckon with over years to come. The introduction of Jerome Sinclair who surpassed Jack Robinson as the youngest player ever for Liverpool was another new addition to the number of impressive youngsters. If the current upward trend of Liverpool youngsters continues, it will be safe to say that Liverpool eventually will start challenging for the title in due course of time.

Its been long since the heydays when a League cup could be overlooked. With the riches being offered in the Premier League nowadays, it is important economically for Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League. But there shouldn’t be unrealistic expectations. While the rest of the other fans continue to take jibes and swipes at LFC fans, it is only time before Liverpool start hitting their stride. And the night could be summed up by the Liverpool Manager, Brendan Rogers, who stated “I think it was a symbolic night as well because it shows how far we’re moving as a group from our first day of the season here, when we were a wee bit disjointed and players were not quite understanding my methods, to the last three or four weeks, where our tempo, our rhythm and our relentless possession has started to come through. It was good to see that. It was a wonderful performance against an experienced team. For us to dominate the game like we did and to get the goals, especially the second goal, which typified what we are about, was very pleasing.”