Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal – 09/01/07 – (Carling Cup) 10 January, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Cup Games.trackback
What an extraordinary game. Well we thought that the game on Saturday was good but this was something else. We started with Kolo partnering Djourou at the back as captain with Hoyte and Traore on the wings. Then the midfield had Denilson on the left, Walcott on the right with Song and Fabregas is the middle. Upfront we had a partnership of Aliadiere and Baptista. Every player on the pitch played well, there was not a single one that played badly…including Song.
The strike partnership worked beautifully and we were extremely tight at the back as on Saturday. Denilson was in an unfamiliar position in left midfield but he was excellent too there and I never noticed he’s a great crosser of the ball. The game started just like it did on Saturday with Liverpool having most of the possession but Arsenal coping with their pressure. Mark Gonzalez picked up a serious injury early on and the game was stopped for about 5 minutes. That turned the game for Arsenal and we were away. There’s only really time to talk about the goals so here you go:
Jeremie Aliadiere opened the scoring in the 27th minute out of nowhere. The ball was in defence with Kolo Toure but the skipper saw Aliadiere up front and played a wonderful long-ball up to him which he took down beautifully to be one-on-one with the ‘keeper. Dudek saved his first shot but Jeremie was able to snatch the rebound and go past Dudek to slot it in the empty net. 1-0 to Arsenal, a good start for the young guns.
The lead was short-lived though, Fowler equalized 5 minutes later. Song was booked for a sloppy challenge outside the box giving Liverpool a free kick in a dangerous position. Fabio Aurelio shot and Almunia saved well down to his right but the ball went to Luis Garcia just wide of the goal. He played it back in and Fowler scored with this little back-flick right in front of Almunia and it would’ve been a very difficult save to make. 1-1 now and you wondered how the youngsters could bounce back.
Baptista regained out lead in the 40th minute with a brilliant free kick. With a similar attempt a few minutes earlier Julio mucked up a pass to Toure for one of his belters but this one was all his. You could see the look in his eyes as he was about to take it; he was just standing there breathing heavily like a beast. He knew he could score it and I said he would to my mates at the pub, and so did Arsene Wenger to Pat Rice. I had known that The Beast is a superb free kick taker and a lot of people we expecting this to go it. He hit it over the wall with an unbelievable amount of dip and bend and it went right in the bottom left corner leaving Dudek stranded. 2-1 up, now the challenge was to keep the lead and not give it away like we did last time.
There was added time in the first half of 6 minutes because of that bad injury at the beginning and we scored two goals in those 6 minutes. The first came from none over than Alex Song. When I saw him in the box for the corner I was like oh god what’s Song doing there and then started explaining how shit he was and as I was talking Song netted our third! Denilson whipped in a great free kick and it missed the heads of about 3 players and the insane Dudek who’d flung himself in the air to get it. The ball came down the back post where it bounced in of Song’s arm. I don’t think Alex knew a great deal about it but he’d scored! Alex Song had scored! It wasn’t a handball, he didn’t stick his arm out or anything, it just hit him, but I don’t think that’ll worry Alex too much.
Baptista added the forth just before half time. Alex Song on confidence from his goal played a great ball to Julio who did some nice little tricks to confuse the defence and then played a ball into Aliadiere. Baptista continued his run and he was open in the middle for a shot at goal. All Jeremie had to do was square it to the Beast and he tapped it into the net to take us to 4-1 up at half time.
10 minutes into the second half and we won a penalty, it just wasn’t Liverpool’s day. It was a bit of a dubious decision and you might say Hyypia got the ball when he tripped Aliadiere. The Beast didn’t care though and placed the ball on the spot hoping to complete his hat trick. He shot to the left and it was a comfortable height for Dudek to make the save. No hat trick for Baptista just now but it didn’t take much longer for it to come.
Just before the hour mark The Beast did manage to get his third. Djourou defended well right by the corner flag stealing the ball off Bellamy, he then played the ball to Cesc who delivered a great long ball to Aliadiere on the left and we were the complete opposite end of the pitch in a matter of four seconds. Jeremie got past one defender and played a great square ball to Baptista who was unmarked 30 yards from goal. He took a couple of touches and powered the ball right into the bottom corner to complete his hat trick, it was an excellent goal and Dudek had no chance in saving. Out of The Beast’s three goals so far it was hard to pick the best one.
5-1 up surely game over but the Anfield faithful inspired there team to go on a bit of a comeback. In the 67th minute a free kick was played in by Alonso from the right into the box, it went deep and was headed back in. Then it was nodded it Gerrard on the edge of the box who unleashed one of his specialist volleys into the opposite corner of the net. A stunning goal to take the score to 5-2. No ‘keeper in the world would’ve been able to save that sweetly struck bullet by Gerrard.
At 5-2 we were still three up but Liverpool were pushing for a comeback. In the 79th minute Hyypia made up for his terrible defending by scoring a header taking the score to 5-3. The ball was crossed in from the left and Sami was there at the near post to nod it in. I wondered if the youngsters could maintain that 2 goal lead and with 10 minutes + extra time there was every chance for Liverpool to complete an incredible comeback.
Julio Baptista got his 4th and Arsenal 6th to put the game to bed with 5 minutes of normal time remaining. We were defending near the corner flag again and I think it was Toure who smashed the ball to the other end. Cries of ‘HOOF’ rang around the stadium, not sure what set of fans it was from but we scored from that hoof. The long-ball went down the right wing and Aliadiere sprinted from the centre to get it, look here when they show the replay to see how incredibly quick is. So he ran over and got the ball and did brilliantly to muscle out his defender, then he squared the ball centre for the charging in Baptista to slot the ball in and make it Arsenal 6, Liverpool 3. It’s not everyday you get to say that. The credit for the gaol has to go to Aliadiere though; he did really well in that move and in the whole game. If it weren’t for Baptista’s 4 goals he’d be man of the match by a long way.
So the final score was 6-3 and you can see all of the goals here. A magnificent display from the youngsters and I’d be very exited about the future if I were you. With the exception of Cesc and Kolo all of these players were reserve or youth players and to put 6 past Liverpool is some achievement. Okay, the home team didn’t have their strongest team out but it was one that included Gerrard, Dudek, Alonso, Hyypia, Gonzalez, Garcia, Carragher, Bellamy and Robbie Fowler. Another positive thing was the return of Abou Diaby, he cam on in the 73rd minute and got a good run out. It was nice to see him back playing and I thought he played quite good for the time he was on the pitch. I look forward to seeing him playing some more over the course of the season.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted us to win this one but I was absolutely loving the game and now looking forward to playing Spurs. I’m quite sure Wenger will play a reasonable side for the two-legged semi final against Spurs but we’ll think about that nearer the time.
Next up it’s Blackburn on Saturday, another one of our bogey ties but hopefully we can find confidence from these two wins at Anfield to win at Ewood Park. We beat them 6-2 down here but it won’t be so simple up at Blackburn. Build up that in the week. Thanks for reading, have a good day.
good game
really really enjoyed it.. its now twelve goals against Pool with only 3 in reply.. now thats a spanking!..
Song i thot lost the ball once in a dangerous position.. kinda made up by scoring the goal off his shoulder..:)
our two strikers’ performances will now give wenger a minor selection headache altho he might still start with the preferred two/three of Henry/RVP/Ade if they’re all fit..
now if we lose/draw against B’Burn all this will be quickly forgotten hence we need to play really well against them!
for sure the manager wenger must be a GOD father to those youngstars for his trust in those boys
holly shit, great effort from Aliardiere, that was the kind of thing he was doing at 17… …the pace!
Also loved the Beast polishing his boots in celebration
If you haven’t checked them out already, here are the goals from the game.
this makes us wait and see what arsenal can do in the near future. cant wait for these young guns to break through and make it into the first team!
for video highlights, visit my blog
Mos is right. I’d trade in both the FA and Carling Cup to be six points closer right now to Man U. We can’t follow this up by dropping points against Blackburn; all this will go to waste.
Hey guys abit of worrying news. Arsenalmania just reported Ralphy’s walked out of training because he wasnt included in the Carling Cup squad…. and all the talk about West Ham coming in for him… very very worrrying indeed. If he gets sold it wont be good for us and I tink i might just get a lil bit upset as his return was what i was looking forward to for a long LONG time. Yes Eboue is just not good enough period.
Well ArsenalMania is a shit website filled with unreliable information and poorly written articles based on knee-jerk reactions and weak analysis.
But Sky Sports indeed say he’s in talks with West Ham.
If he walked out of training then he’s a tool. If he’s gonna leave the club on the basis of not playing a Carling Cup game then he is an even bigger tool. I like Lauren and he seems a steady guy so I doubt that’s the case.
But if Arsenal were to let him go, it’s most likely because he isn’t the player he used to be. His injury was severe. His account of how bad it got during the summer is scary reading. If it has slowed him down then that is a big mark against him. We wouldn’t sell him if he could still perform for us but at 29 and after suffering such a bad injury with Eboue, Hoyte and Gilbert coming through… I can see the logic.
Eboue comes in for far too much criticism. Not good enough period? He came into the Arsenal team last February. Less than a year ago and after a Nations Cup. He has been by and large excellent since then. Our defensive record in 2006 has been one of the best in the Premier League. Fact! Then there’s the European run. Not to mention some wonderful assists. Henry V Porto… what an AMAZING ball. As well as putting the ball on Henry’s head against Watford, setting up Robin’s super volley against Charlton and his own crucial goal against Hamburg, without which we might be out of Europe by now.
He’s a young player that has been a first team player for less than a year. He will make mistakes. He needs to improve aspects of his game. His attitude certainly needs to improve – too much moaning and feigning injury. But he is already a good player and has buckets of potential to be an excellent one. With time and experience, he’ll even surpass Lauren. Remember when Cashely first broke through people slated him and then called him the best left back in the world.
Be more patient with Eboue and a whole lot less flippant about his ability. Not good enough? You can be sure Chelsea, United and others would buy him if we didn’t want him.
Well said John on the Eboue front. He will be 24 this year so if he can sort his playacting out and get the consistency of Lauren he will be one of the best right back around in a year or so. As will Clichy in my opinion who has looked more and more assured the more games he plays. Thats why we should keep Lauren. To make sure complacency doesnt set in and to have strong competition and cover. We need another strong left back to keep him on his toes too.
My fear is that Lauren is no longer a strong right back. His injury was truly awful and there has always been the risk that he would never reach the same standards again. If he were to be sold without even getting a game…well it might seem harsh but it also suggests something may be seriously wrong with his capacity. It would be great to have a Lauren operating even at 80% of his peak but I don’t know if that’s possible. He’s been so unlucky.
ThoughtTraore had another good game last night. He looked so sharp in pre-season fixtures and is very highly thought of in France.
I honestly hope we keep Lauren and see how he fares for the rest of the season. If he has dropped a level then think about moving him on. But his experience could well come in handy from here on in.
Yeah but Traore is only 17 is it ? He can probably be that player in a few years, but a mid 20s left back wouldnt be a bad thing either.
Yeah sure Eboue is pretty good in attack and all that. Yes he puts in 1 or 2 decent crosses but what he is is a defender primarily and then only an attacker. When i said he wasnt good enough i meant defensively and it hasnt been only on 1 occasion but throughout the season. Fair play to him for good performances last season but right now its all about this season and this season he isnt good enough. Also he might be a decent player but so is pennant and stokes and they’ve both been sold. We are a big club and decent just doesnt cut it.
I never said Eboue was decent. I say he’s very good now and will be excellent in future. I also made the comparison to Ashley Cole who faced the same criticisms at Eboue’s age – can attack but not defend. Nobody says that more, though they may call him a cunt.
Chelsea and United both need right backs and would kill to have this kid. If he was so shit, how come our record is on a par with the other top clubs? He has made mistakes, sure. Like I said, he’s not even in the first team a year. But fucking hell, Toure has made mistakes – getting turned at Sheffield United for example. Big Phil has made mistakes. Djourou has had his wobbly moments. But they’re all 25 and under. They are not seasoned pros aged 30. But as a unit they will improve together and he is a big part of that.
I mean seriously, that criticism astounds me. He was good last season but shit now… A whole load of players ‘struggle’ in their second season. He’s only had two half seasons so far with two international tournaments throw in! When Toure came, nobody knew how good he would be. But over the past two seasons he has grown so much as a player. I expect the same from Eboue. Let’s keep some perspective when criticising young players.
“Armand is an example of how our European scouting network works,” said Liam Brady. “We spotted him playing for AS Monaco in a tournament and he impressed us greatly so we took him on from there. Last night he showed he’s going to be a top, top left back. He can play left midfield too. He’s very quick and powerful and as an attacking full back at youth level he’s quite amazing.”
must say arsenal played some great football. its great to see them back to there old self. and what a difference in Baptista hes really coming on to a game now.
John i’m not suggesting we offload Eboue the soonest we can. I’m just saying that at the moment (not considring his past form), on his current form, he doesnt do anything to warrant a first team slot. And i’m taking into consideration the rumours that Ralphy’s getting sold. My point is that if he does go, we too will have a RB crisis on our hands. Eboue’s defending is one thing but I think you’d have to agree his attitude is shocking. Alright so that can easily be changed but until then I reckon he’s more a liability than an asset.
“What’s that coming through the midfield, is it Baptista?…. Is it Baptistahhhhh?!!” … That’s my intellectual contribution for the day. Good night and God bless zzzzzz
i wont arsenal foot ball clup good ply arsenal ilive in england
from in ethiopia iwent Asenal football clup iam 16 yeas old iam ply football clup
atlanta car used
This page contains some info about atlanta car used
arseanli arsenali arsenali
am very happhy last math agaist rangre i like asen wenger to go formore strike,thanks,asenal for life,