Manchester City were hosting Liverpool FC on Sunday afternoon and both teams didn’t concede each other any chances to score. The match ended with the same result as it started: City 0 – Liverpool 0.
Before the match there was so much said how important it is, how important it is to win against each other, how important it is not to lose against each other etc, etc. Everyone had something to say on the game.
But as the teams finally stood against each other on the pitch, there wasn’t much to said about it at all. Neither Manchaster City, nor Liverpool shown us some real action or an expected battle for this “important win.” Both teams were just sampling each other without having the desire to attack the rival and to, possibly, slip-up. Well, matches like this aren’t new.
For sure, the most notable element in the atmosphere was fear, both teams seemingly terrified of making a mistake.The sleepiness on the pitch lasted until Pepe Reina got down low to his right to make a save from Emmanuel Adebayor in the 61st minute was either goalkeeper called into meaningful action, a terrible indictment of a match that had been eagerly awaited all over the world. Nothing more really happened. Though, Liverpool had to pay a high price for this 0:0 draw – five bookings which weren’t really necessary. Well, they never aren’t, are they?
One in all this was an afternoon to forget, and Roberto Mancini and Rafael Benítez may end up looking back on it at the end of the season as a missed opportunity. Manchester City lacked quality, Liverpool ambition, with both teams bereft of bite.
If there was excellence at all, it lay in the sort of recovery tackle that Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel pulled off when Emmanuel Adebayor seemed to be clear on goal with 10 minutes left. Benítez will be content, too, that Fernando Torres showed he is restored following his knee surgery. Impact, all the same, would have to wait. We can also be happy having Yossi Benayoun back, we do miss his creativity in the game although there wasn’t much of it to see in this particular game.
“We were strong, we were competitive and have two important players back,” said Rafael Benitez after the match.
Both managers were happy enough with the outcome. It’s just a pity that the public doesn’t really got something to look at. There’s nothing more to add. Job done, one point in the pocket, clean sheet, no injuries. It could be worse, couldn’t it`?
YNWA
-Amanda