Well back from my long jaunt around the mountains / rivers of Yangshuo & Yangdi in Guangxi in Southern China. Sensational scenery and got back just in time to watch the RM match in a hotel in Guilin at 02.45 yesterday (err today). Probably should have stayed away another couple of days but was not in the slightest surprised we got twatted, I thought before the match we'd lose it 1-4, 1-5 so 0-3 with some semi-decent performances was around that level, especially since Ancelotti described it as RM's best performance of the season. TBH I felt some of our defenders did OK and I didn't think the defence was shit at all (the occasional brain-fart aside) and performed better than I thought they would. Failing to take the quality of the opposition into account is a common failing for the severest of critics. I though RM were superb in both their passing and pressing, they gave us a lesson in both, and were absolutely clinical in their finishing in the first half.
G1 : The first goal was a brilliant pass from James followed by a world-class finish from Ronaldo.
G2 : For the second I simply failed to see how Benzema could score with a header from there - you won't see a better header and I can't blame any of the defence for that either - RM pile players into the box when attacking and we were over-whelmed.
G3 : The third was the only goal where we fecked up badly, IMHO. Ming and Skrtel the main culprits.
Midfield did a very decent job but again it was the quality of RMs passing and switching play from side to side that caused many of the issues we had.
Attack was again the main cause for concern. Allen & Coutinho were both very unlucky not to score but Balo was way out of his depth and our movement was very poor in the first half. We looked better in the 2nd with players that can run at and beat defenders, personally I'd have kept Coutinho on though as, although he lost possession from time to time, he looked dangerous, far more so than Markovic when he replaced Henderson. Sterling, Lallana, Coutinho, Allen & Can may have had got a goal, especially when RM withdrew Ronaldo etc. with 15 mins remaining.
Ming : 6.5. A couple of very good saves along with his now customary brain-fart.
Moreno : 5. Compared to recent performances he was disappointing in both attack & defence (all 3 goals came from his side).
Lovren : 7. I thought he did quite good against maybe the best front 6 in the world (Bale missing aside).
Skrtel : 6. Partly at fault for the 3rd goal but otherwise see Lovren above.
Johnson : 7.5. He was up against currently the best player in the world and was not in any way embarrassed. In fact Ronaldo, who for me was MoM (and kudos to the 'Pool fans for giving him a standing ovation when subbed off), even switched to the right for a time, which brought the first goal.
Gerrard : 6.5. Did well in possession and fought to track runners. Noticeably tired in the last 10-15 mins when we could have attacked far more but seem to settle for 0-3.
Henderson : 6.5. The usual high energy stuff. I thought he did well in the 1st half but looked a little off the pace in the 2nd.
Allen : 6.5. Unlucky not to score from a delightful flick/shot. Involved in both defence and attack. Not his best game but suffice to say we've missed him.
Coutinho : 7. Others may disagree with this rating but he looked by far one of our most dangerous attacking outlets. Superb shot against the post. I can only think he was pulled for his propensity to give away possession now and again however I'd rather that, and have his creativity on the pitch, than stale boring football lacking penetration without players of his ilk.
Sterling : 6.5. Tried hard but was doubled up on and found it very tough to find space. Don't know why we didn't try switching him to the right rather than false 9.
Balotelli : 4. I'd better not start a diatribe. He doesn't help his cause or ours regardless of what is or is not going on around him. As usual attacks falter on this rock.
Subs.
Lallana : 6.5. Immediately added creativity and threat to the attack.
Can : 6. Nice cameo and did nothing wrong but ultimately didn't make a difference. I loved the part where he gave away possession then chased it back into defence to regain it.
Markovic : 5. Again didn't do much wrong but offered nothing in attack. He seems very lacking in confidence to even try to take defenders on. I know he is a gamble for the future but I thought we'd see more of his potential.
Rodgers : 4. I didn't like his formation, team selection or taking Coutinho off.