Carroll Brace Stuns City

With not much to play for this season and a lot of injury problems Liverpool went into the game against Man City as clear underdogs. The big surprise before the game was the selection of John Flanagan with Kenny Dalglish picking the 18 year old picked for his first team debut in light of the number of defenders Liverpool had injured. Another surprise was in the City team as all of their first team where named despite talk of the manager resting them for the F.A. cup semi final this coming week. While the F.A. cup may be their best chance of a trophy this season they still have aspirations of getting into the Champions League next year so this was still a must win game for Mancini's men.

Liverpool started the game the brighter as after just 4 minutes Carroll knocked it down to Suarez who found Kuyt but the Dutchman's shot went over the bar. Just 2 minutes later Liverpool created another good chance as this time Carroll played a through ball which Suarez got on the end of and the Uruguayan was only denied by a great save from Joe Hart who pushed the ball on to the post. Liverpool did get a deserved break through after 12 minutes however, as a speculative shot from Meireles bounced back off Company and on to the left foot of Andy Carroll 25 yards out. The £35 million man then started to justify some of the price with a perfectly hit low shot which caught Hart off guard. Some raised questions about the keeper as the ball wasn't that far away from him however the power and pace of the shot and the speed of which the Liverpool number 9 decided to take the shot where easily enough to beat most keepers.
Liverpool continued to apply the pressure and didn't look to sit back on the lead and after 33 minutes a sustained onslaught on the City goal was rewarded with a second goal. Meireles had a shot blocked and the rebound came to Suarez whose shot deflected out to Kuyt. Kuyt put a cross in to the back post where Carroll headed it back and then Meireles and Spearing combined to set up Aurelio but again his shot was blocked. This time the ball rolled across the area 12 yards out and Dirk Kuyt allowed it across him, opening his body at the same time, before stroking a right footed shot into the bottom left corner. The amount of Liverpool players in the box and the desire of them all to be the first the ball was what made the goal and this typifies the spirit of Liverpool under Dalglish.
The second goal was always going to be vital as it took a bit of the pressure off but what came just 2 minutes later was a bonus as Meireles crossed towards Andy Carroll on the penalty spot and the big Geordie striker did what most  Liverpool fans would have expected him to do and he nodded the ball in to the far corner of the goal. If there was a type of goal that you'd expect Carroll to score then this was it however his first goal proved that there is more to his game than just heading the ball.
In terms of the rest of the game both sides seemed to have accepted the result however if there was to be another goal Liverpool always looked the most likely to get it. Suarez was a constant threat and created a number of chances on his own however he was overshadowed by his fellow strike partner for the man of the match. Flanagan was another contender for the award as he bullied Milner, Balotelli and Sliva out of the game and didn't show any signs of his inexperience but Kuyt also impressed and his work rate really helped out Flanagan at right back which is vital to help him settle in. Things definitely look good for Liverpool in terms of the Youth and Academy players that are coming up through the ranks and it only gives the other players in the Youth team confidence when they see the run of games that the likes of Spearing, Kelly, Shelvey and now Flanagan are getting in the first team.
While the result doesn't move Liverpool up in the table it closed the gap on 5th place Spurs however the North London club still have a game in hand. Next up for Liverpool is Arsenal away on Sunday were they will hope to correct that inconsistent away form.