It is all gloom and doom for some Liverpool FC fans right now following the 1-1 draw against Norwich City. THT looks at the positives from Sunday evening to cheer up the Reds faithful.
It is hard to be a Liverpool FC fan right now. Five games without a win from their first seven after enduring the emotional wreckage caused by the way last season ended – it must be very hard, indeed. However not all was gloom and doom. And we will avoid listing out the draw in itself as a positive, given that for some Liverpool fans it is another nail in the coffin of Brendan Rodgers’ reign as the manager at Anfield.
1 – Danny Ings
Danny Ings raised quite a few eyebrows when he swapped relegated Burnley for Liverpool FC. This, despite the fact that he had a very good season for the relegated outfit and was being signed on a free transfer with a decent tribunal fee as compensation.
Ings had a direct hand in 17 of the 28 goals (60.7%) Burnley scored last season. He was only behind Alexis Sanchez and Harry Kane as the forward to have won most points for any Premier League club.
He showed all the passion and intelligence that helped him thrive at Burnley after coming on at half-time for the hamstrung Christian Benteke.
Ings was stretching defences with his intelligent run in-behind the Norwich defence and duly got his reward when he scored a well-taken goal after being sent through by Alberto Moreno.
2 – Albert Moreno
Alberto Moreno had been bought by Liverpool FC after a long pursuit. The former Sevilla man had a roller-coaster of a first season, making costly errors at the back but showing signs of his quality going forward that had helped him become a full Spanish international.
However, he was restricted to subsitute appearances at the start of this season, with teenager Joe Gomez preferred over him. Making his first start in the Premier League on Sunday, Moreno looked like a man on mission and being a constant threat to the Norwich defence from the left-hand side of Liverpool’s attack.
The bold left-back put in an assured all-action display that one expects from him given his talent. He also delivered a fine assist for Danny Ings’ goal that put Liverpool FC 1-0 up.
3 – Chance creation
The biggest reason for discontent among the Liverpool FC fans have been the manner in which Liverpool have played in games against West Ham and Manchester United. With the wins against Bournemouth and Stoke City hardly inspiring any confidence either.
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The alarming lack of chance creation mean the Reds had scored only 4 goals in six games prior to the Norwich tie, in all competition.
And while the absence of top attacking talents available to Brendan Rodgers was catalyst for the poor performances, the level had dropped far too low to be acceptable.
The return of Sturridge, Coutinho and Alberto Moreno to the starting XI meant the Reds created a lot more chances on Sunday. The calmness in the build-up play that oozed confidence was a relief to see as the side finally reflected the philosophy so dear to the manager Brendan Rodgers, who had admitted before the game that his players needed to take more risks and that he did not know why the risk-taking had gone out of their play.
Nonetheless, the signs were encouraging. While captain Jordan Henderson is out for sometime, the return of other attackers along with the the manager urging his side to take more risks certainly seem to have had an impact. It is high time, though, that Liverpool FC start delivering results or Brendan Rodgers will be looking for another job.