Live Thoughts: Cardiff vs Liverpool (Carling Cup)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts when Liverpool took on Cardiff in the Carling Cup final!

Hey there and welcome! Liverpool are in their first final in five years, it's been too long. I remember that final too well, when we lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the Champions League final. It was horrible. I really don't want to feel that feeling again, especially not today. We just simply have to win. If we lose, it'll be the first time in 21 years since a team outside of the top division won the League Cup. We just have to win. I'm thoroughly looking forward to this, but I just wish I was with my family in North Wales, who are all Liverpool supporters, rather than on my own in my house with my three year old daughter who doesn't understand football quite yet. But still, let's hope we can win and I'll be just as happy!

Here are the teams:

Cardiff: Heaton; McNaughton, Hudson, Turner, Taylor; Cowie, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Gestede, Mason; Miller. Subs: Marshal, Kiss, Gerrard, Earnshaw, Conway, Naylor, Blake.

We were expecting Miller to play on his own up front but no matter, he's the main threat and he can score if given the chance. Peter Whittingham has been a great Championship player for years and can also be a threat. But this is a still a team we need to beat, no excuses.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Gerrard, Adam, Henderson, Downing, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Maxi, Kuyt, Spearing, Carragher, Doni, Kelly, Bellamy.

The pundits on Match of the Day were surprised Bellamy didn't start but I'm not. We're not being overcautious, but this is a balanced side. It's 4-4-2 and there's some nice balance here. I like it. Having Bellamy and/or Kuyt would disrupt the balance in that team and I think it's important today to get on that pitch, maintain possession and go forward when we're in full control. This team allows that. Bellamy can come on later if we need an injection of pace in the squad. 

1' - JOHNSON! He hit the bar! So close! Gerrard on the rebound and it's over. What a shot by Glen Johnson! Both teams had a good attack then and we almost scored! 

3' - They just mentioned Johnson being an FA Cup winner when Portsmouth beat Cardiff here a few years ago. I live in Portsmouth and I can tell you, that was a special win for the south coast team. I'm not a Pompey fan but I was really happy for them. I want a taste of that tonight for my team! 

6' - We're piling the pressure on early, two corners didn't really get that close to their goal, but we're on top at the moment. We need to keep on this pressure early on, hopefully it'll lead to an early goal. 

9' - The pressure is off a little at the moment, but there's a long way to go. What matters is that we win, not how! 

12' - Another corner for Liverpool, Carroll is penalised for a push on a Cardiff player. 

15' - Carroll has an effort at goal and it's over the bar. 

17' - A nice bit of movement from Henderson, Johnson and Suarez and Suarez chips the ball to Carroll who has a troubling yet tame effort on target,


18' - GOAL! Joe Mason. We're behind. Martin Skrtel heads the ball back to a Cardiff player, the ball is played to Miller who passes to Mason, who clips the ball past Reina. Awful defending all-round.

21' - That was a poor bit of defending. Credit where it's due Cardiff passed the ball nice and slick for the goal, but our defence was asleep. I can't believe we're behind. 

21' - Agger doing one of his vintage runs down the the centre of the pitch and his shot is blocked by a defender.

22' - Possession is 65%/35% to Liverpool. Yet we're behind. We need to get back in this match, thankfully there's a lot of time to go. 

25' - We're all around their box at the moment, lovely work from Downing who backheels the ball to Jose Enrique into the box. We pile in their box but Cardiff deal with the pressure. 

28' - Downing loses his defender again and crosses low into the box again, it misses everyone, only Carroll was in the box that was in a Red shirt. It was a good ball from Downing, who's definitely winning the battle on the left flank at the moment.

31' - Handball claims in the Cardiff box but it was too quick in my eyes for it to be a penalty.

31' - ADAM! So close! A low drive from Adam and it's just wide. Good effort.

33' - We're still piling forward but with not much intensity. Cardiff are defending well. Hopefully we can equalise before the second half, it's important that we do in honesty. 

36' - They just showed John W. Henry and his wife Linda in the stands. Man Linda is so hot. Lucky man. 

38' - GERRARD! Over the bar! Downing plays well again on the left flank, twisting and turning his defender out and he whips the ball into the box, Suarez, Carroll and Henderson all miss it and it comes to Gerrard outside the box and he shoots high above the bar. Great chance. 

41' - Suarez has been a nuisance a few times in the box today, but he's not controlling well enough to make opportunities to score. Hopefully he can continue though, he's a pain to deal with for defenders. He takes a shot in the end but it's tame and saved by Heaton. 

43' - Free kick, Gerrard takes it and it's inch perfect for AGGER who heads it straight at Heaton. Gutted, that was a great opportunity to equalise then. 

44' - Gerrard gets the ball in the box but can't control it and shoots high. Three defenders were in Gerrard's way. 

45' - One minute of added time. 

45+1' - Half time.

Well what happened? They got a goal, we couldn't score. Not much else to say in that respect. We've had a few chances but nothing clear cut, we haven't been clinical enough in front of goal. It's been the story of the season but if there's one match, one game of football where we need to right that wrong it's TODAY. We need to score. It's as simple as that. We haven't been bad but we haven't been good enough. Cardiff are defending very well. This needs to chance. I really hope we can avoid embarrassment today. Come on Reds! Please! 

48 ' - Miller! Just wide. Cardiff make a nuisance of themselves in and around our box and Milelr takes a chance from outside the box and it's just wide. Not the start we wanted, Cardiff are in our faces at the moment. 

49 ' - Suarez makes a nuisance on himself and intercepts the ball in the box! He shoots across the face of goal and it squirms under Heaton, then Cardiff clear! Unlucky! 

51' - Henderson is the first for a yellow card for a clumsy challenge. He's had a poor game today.

54' - The game is opening up a little, but we're still not really taking the game by the scruff of the neck yet. 

57' - Liverpool Substitution: Craig Bellamy comes on for Jordan Henderson. Says it all really. Henderson has been poor. Bellamy cheered by both sets of supporters due to his strong connection there. 

59' - GOAL! Martin Skrtel! Our eight corner of the match and Suarez gets on the end of it, it hits the post and then Skrtel shoots low into the box! Great finish!

61' - Finally, an equaliser. Hopefully we can now work for a second goal. No mistakes can be afforded now. 

63' - Skrtel's fourth goal of the season. He's had a brilliant season, both defensively and attacking for a defender. He's been a rock for us. Excellent player. Thanks Rafa! 

64' - Mason has a decent effort at goal, but it's met well by Reina. 

66' - The winds are definitely changing at the moment, we're really going for blood at the moment. It's about time, but we need to make sure we're not left open at the back. 

69' - A few more corners for us but with no end product. We're still the better side though. 

71' - Gerrard knocks a forearm into the back of Gunnarsson's head. The ref didn't see it, poor from our captain. I don't think it was intentional but it was dangerous. 

73' - 89,041 is the official crowd total today. Great work from both sets of supporters!


73' - SKRTEL! Great save from Heaton. It was a snap shot at short distance for Skrtel, that Heaton saves low  to. Good effort again!

74' - 21 shots on goal for us, and only 4 on target. Story of our season in a way, lots of effort but no product. But now is not the time to be negative, we need to score again! 

77' - Mark Hudson has gone down with cramp and we kick the ball out. Boos from some of the Reds faithful. Poor reaction from our own, we should respect things like this, if the boot was on the other foot we wouldn't like it if Cardiff continued. 

77' - DOWNING! Great save from Heaton! Downing takes a low driven shot through the Cardiff defence and Heaton just sees it in time to make the save. Great effort from Downing, who's been my man of the match so far for me. Great effort from Downing today. 

79' - Free kick in a dangerous area for Cardiff, Peter Whittingham shoots and it hits our defence and out. 

82' - TURNER! Just wide! Don Cowie whips the ball and it curls round the Reds and Turner heads the ball just wide. That could have been an upset if that went in, thankfully it didn't.

86' - Liverpool Substitution: Daniel Agger leaves the pitch with an injury, and Jamie Carragher takes his place. 

87' - MILLER! Just above the bar! Cardiff free kick and once again our defence is asleep and Cardiff take advantage, Miller shoots hard and high and thankfully it was just over the bar. Come on Reds! Seriously! 

89' - Free kick for Cardiff and Jamie Carragher doesn't give them the ball! I think his message was because we weren't ready to defend the kick.

90' - Four minutes of added time.

90' - Suarez is on his own up front and is onside! Three Cardiff defenders catch up with him and he takes a shot that's well over the bar.

91' - Corner for Liverpool and it's passed to Johnson who sets Gerrard up for a belter outside the box and it's over the bar. Good idea, but its execution wasn't what it should have been. 

94' - Ten seconds remain and Gerrard delivers a long ball to Downing who puts his hands in his face because he failed to control the cross. Full time. 

Thirty minutes of added time to go now. The main thing is we got the equaliser. We still have one substitution left, Cardiff have all three. You have to give it to Cardiff, they've worked their asses off today to get to extra time. But we need to finish this match off. I really don't want it to go to penalties, despite being confident in a shootout situation. I want us to win on goals scored not penalties. Let's hope we can finish them off in these 30 minutes. Come on Liverpool!

90' - Cardiff Substitution: Filip Kiss comes on for Joe Mason.

90' - Bellamy takes a corner and SUAREZ heads it and Andrew Taylor clears it off the line! So close again! 

91' - Gerrard shoots from outside the box again and once again it's well over the bar. He's not been very clinical today our captain. I dare say he's not had the greatest of games in honesty, but we need him on that pitch that's for sure, in games like this.

94' - Free kick, Gerrard takes it and Suarez frees from his marker and volleys just wide. He was offside anyway, but great movement from the Uruguayan. 

97' - That's an odd statistic, Kuyt has the longest Liverpool career without winning a medal since Emlyn Hughes, in six years without a metal. It's true though, since he joined we haven't won any trophies. 

98' - Kiss gets a yellow card after his little tussle with Craig Bellamy.

99' - Cardiff Substitution: Mark Hudson comes off and Anthony Gerrard comes on, whose cousin is our captain Steven.

102' - Downing takes another corner and Carroll heads it backwards towards goal, a good effort. That's his last touch of the match.

102' - Liverpool Substitution: Andy Carroll comes off and Dirk Kuyt comes on. Carroll's had a mixed game, not as good as recent weeks. 

103' - BELLAMY! Just over the bar! A great one-two with Kuyt and he makes some space and curls a right footer just over the bar. Best effort from the Welshman so far. 

105' - One minute of added time. 

105' - JOHNSON! Just wide again. Lovely work from Adam who set up Johnson, his shot was nice and clean but just wide. 

105+1' - Half time.

Nothing much different to report, it's been pretty much all Liverpool with no end product. It feels destined for penalties, the way it feels at the moment. Hopefully that won't be the case, and we can score in the next fifteen minutes. 

Cardiff Substitution: Kevin McNaughton comes off in place for Darcy Blake. Cardiff and Liverpool have now made all their substitutions.

106' - Kuyt loses his defender and is free! He puts the ball square across the penalty box and it's just slightly behind Suarez, who tries to adjust but can't. Great effort from Kuyt, unfortuante of Suarez not to be positioned correctly!

107' - GOAL! KUYT! COME ON KUYT GET IN THERE! Kuyt shoots and a defender clears poorly back to him, and he shoots hard and low to the bottom corner!

110' - We need to be patient and careful now. We can't let this lead slip. 

113' - Haha, sorry, you've got to love OptaJoke on Twitter, check this tweet:


"55 - Dirk Kuyt's first attempt on goal was going 55 metres wide. Rebound."


Follow OptaJoke @OptaJoke, they're really funny.

115' - Cardiff are on top at the moment, trying their best to equalise. We're defending well enough at the moment, but they've just won a corner. 

117' - GOAL! Ben Turner. Three corners in succession for Cardiff, they almost score from the second corner and Kuyt clears it off the line, but that third corner was the same, we couldn't clear and they bumble it into the box. Penalties loom.

120' - One minute of added time. 

120+1' - Full time. Penalties.

Amazing match, Cardiff have been amazing. Penalties now. I can't believe this match. I'll cover the penalties on this site as well. I'm in bits at the moment. Horrible feeling, although as I said I'm comfortable with penalties, Reina is usually very good at penalties.

• Gerrard to take first. SAVED! Tom Heaton! Amazing save! Gerrard top corner and it was amazingly met by Heaton! Instant pressure for Liverpool! 
• Kenny Miller to take now. He hit the post and out! YES! 0-0 still! Stalemate still! 
• Charlie Adam now... WELL OVER THE BAR! WHAT THE HELL!? 
• Cowie now to take for Cardiff and it's in the goal! 1-0 to Cardiff on penalties. Not good. 
• Kuyt now for Liverpool, come on Kuyt! Kuyt scores! Thankfully! Now we need Reina to save.
• Rudy Gestede to take now for Cardiff... and it hits the post! 1-1 now after three attempts each! We're back in it! 
• Stewart Downing now and he scores! We take the lead in penalties! 
• Peter Whittingham now for Cardiff... he scores. 2-2 now with one penalty each remaining. 
• Glen Johnson now to take. Come on Johnson! He scores! Cardiff NEED to score now! 
• Anthony Gerrard now... and he misses! LIVERPOOL WIN THE CARLING CUP!

We did it! What a match! Emotions were everywhere and I'm so proud that we've won. Great credit to Cardiff who worked as hard as they could to cause the upset. We put in a lot of effort today and it felt like it wasn't going to happen, especially when we missed our first two penalties. But we did it, and hopefully this can now be the catalyst for more trophies. Hopefully we can win the FA Cup later on this season. It's about time we won a trophy. Now we want more! Carling Cup winners. Amazing. Thanks for joining me today and if you're a Liverpool fan, enjoy your celebrations!

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Live Thoughts: Liverpool vs Manchester United (FA Cup)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts on the match between Liverpool and Manchester United in the FA Cup.

Hey there. It's been a while since I covered a match on here, but it's been a very busy time personally. If you didn't know by now I was on BBC1 last week, making a fool of myself on Winter Wipeout. Click here for more details, and on the top right of this page for my clip.

Back to the football! As I didn't cover it live, I just want to say how chuffed I am with the fact that Liverpool have reached their first final in five years! It's been too long! I just hope it doesn't end in heartbreak like it did five years ago, that was one of the most horrible moments as a fan for me. The atmosphere in our house of Liverpool fans was dreadful. But we're huge favourites against Cardiff and let's hope we can put a performance a team like Liverpool are expected to put on at our first venture to Wembley in 16 years!

But today? Another important cup match against another Manchester side, this time the Red Devils. It'd be some statement if we win today, taking on and beating both the top two sides in the Premier League this season. Sure we're not topping the league this year, but it's some statement, and hopefully a preview of what's to come at this club. It's early days but if we actually go all the way in the FA Cup as well as the Carling Cup, that's some progress. We can all hope and we'll find out today how possible that is!

Here are the line-ups: 

Liverpool: Reina; Kelly, Skrtel, Carragher, Agger, Jose Enrique; Maxi, Henderson, Gerrard, Downing; Carroll. Subs: Doni, Johnson, Coates, Kuyt, Adam, Shelvey, Bellamy.

Bellamy on the bench? Are you serious bro? I suppose he needed a rest. Carroll needs to be on form today at this rate. Gerrard needs to support Carroll as much as possible to get the most out of him. I'm not sure I like that decision from King Kenny but as always I trust his judgement. At least Bellamy can come on later.

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Park, Welbeck. Subs: Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Berbatov, Chicharito, Fabio, M.Keane, Pogba.

Similarly, United haven't really put on their best strikers. Berbatov and Hernandez on the bench though, and can cause problems later on. It's a very interesting line up from both sides, almost cautious on both sides. We'll see what happens!

3' - Evra getting booed immensely by the Anfield faithful as expected! 

4' - Maxi takes a lovely shot and it tested de Gea! Corner.The corner goes over the entire box and for a goal kick.

7' - A volley from Giggs is saved comfortably by Reina. Crossed in by Evra. 

8' - Henderson whips in a dangerous cross and it bounced awkwardly for Gerrard who didn't connect well. It was a difficult ball to deal with, if he hit that clean it would have been straight in the net. 

10' - A five man defence is also another relatively negative looking decision by Kenny. That being said we're not defensive at the moment. 

13' - Carragher is actually playing as a defensive midfielder, not a CB. Happy birthday to the Liverpool legend, 34 today. 

16' - VALENCIA! Hits the post! Reina was beat, luckily for us it hit the post! Relief! 

19' - The game is level at the moment. Both sides having good chances. 

20' - GOAL! AGGER! David de Gea had no chance with that, a huge clutter of Liverpool and United players hover for the header and Agger climbed highest!

22' - De Gea is possibly injured apparently. 

23' - Gerrard takes a shot and it's over the bar. A lovely bit of movement from Carroll and Gerrard then, combining nicely. 

25' - Excellent atmosphere today, really giving Evra some stick. Even the Evra stick aside, we're really vocal and it seems to be affecting United which is good. 

27' - Kelly clears the ball nicely against Giggs, he was hurt then but has got up like a true pro. He gets applause for his nitty gritty work. 

30' - Good match so far as I said earlier. It's quite open and hopefully we'll get a second goal if it continues this way. But United are still a threat, but we're defending quite well so far. 

33' - Not much to report at the moment, it's quite open still, but neither side are looking threatening at present. 

36' - Luis Suarez chant is started by the Kop. Excellent stuff. 

37' - Wow, possession is 38%/62% in United's favour. It doesn't look that way, we're holding our own well.

38' - GOAL! Park Ji-Sung scores. Valencia gets away from Enrique, passes to Rafael who whips the ball sharply into Ji-Sung and it's a low drive to the bottom right. Enrique should have done better there, a rare error from the Spaniard. 

41' - So far Valencia has got the better of Enrique in this match. It's a bit of a concern, Enrique has dealt with the right wingers really well this season consistently, but not today. 

44' - It just feels like we're just holding in for half time now. 

45' - One minute of added time.

45+1' - Half time. 

Well this half was a gave of two halves, the first halve we looked really good, and pinned them back a few times. We got the goal we deserved, a great header from Agger. After that United crept towards us and dominated possession, they played a good passing game and eventually got the goal to equalize. It can go either way this match, or for a draw of course. I would rather us avoid the draw personally.

48' - Nothing much is happening at the moment, it's in the balance at present, we need to change this if we want a chance of winning. 

50' - Giggs was at the centre of a strong chance for United but then we cleared the ball and made our own attack! Neither side scored though. 

53' - Bellamy is warming up, hopefully he'll be on soon, I do think we need him at the moment. 

55' - The Evra boo boys are still going strong. I'm just trying to concentrate on the football now, what's past is passed.

56' - Liverpool players and fans call for Handball against Smalling but that would have been harsh. Smalling fell on the ball and his hand touched it as he fell, how was he supposed to know where it was? It's not a penalty. 

57' - Wellbeck completely loses Martin Kelly and is through on goal! He clips the ball round Reina and thankfully Skrtel is there to clear it!

60' - The game is definitely up for grabs, both sides look dangerous on the attack. United have the possession but we're looking good when we have the ball. It can go either way. 

62' - Double Liverpool Substitution: Jamie Carragher and Maxi come off and Dirk Kuyt and Charlie Adam. I approve of these subs personally. Maxi hasn't looked that good in honesty, Kuyt can fill that gap. Charlie Adam can link further up the pitch than Carra did. All in all two positive thinking subs.

63' - De Gea has been really poor when it comes to high balls in this match. What looked like an easy claim, de Gea fumbles it for a corner. It's something we should be taking advantage of. 

64' - Rafael gets a yellow card, Downing was through down the left and Rafael blocks him off deliberately. Free kick in a relatively dangerous area. 

66' - Gerrard takes the free kick and it's a good one, but a very good save by de Gea in the end. 

66' - Michael Carrick takes a low shot and it almost crept in! Just wide. 

69' - We're playing Wolves on Tuesday but I won't be covering that match. I have a lot of site work to do and I've covered a lot of games this season already. Next season I'll be covering certain games rather than 'as many as possible', which has been the case this season.

71' - Liverpool Substitution: Steven Gerrard comes off and Bellamy comes on in his place. Stevie looks a bit gutted as he gives Reina the captains armband, but we need another striker on the pitch if we want to win today. 

74' - This game seems destined for a draw. I have to be honest. 

75' - Manchester United Substitution: Paul Scholes comes off for Javier Hernandez. Another forward thinking sub, both sides are going for it, but it just feels like it's going for a draw.

78' - A dangerous free kick for United leads to a few half chances but no goal. 

80' - A strong few minutes of pressure from Liverpool at the moment, United defending well. 

83' - If either side are to win this it's going to be because of a mistake or a quality goal. Otherwise be prepared for two visits to Old Trafford soon. 

87' - GOAL! KUYT! Kuyt runs to the Kop in celebration! And it was Evra was in error! A Reina goal kick is headed on by Carroll and Kuyt reacts quickest and shots low to the left! 2-1! 

88' - CARROLL! It hit the crossbar! Kuyt on the volley and it's wide! Brilliant stuff from Liverpool!

89' - Manchester United Substitution: Ryan Giggs come off and Dimitar Berbatov takes his place. Gung-ho for United now.

90' -  Three minutes of added time.

90+3' - Full time! 

We beat both Manchester sides in the same week! Brilliant stuff! In the 5th round of the FA Cup, the Carling Cup final, things are great at the moment at Anfield! Surely this FA Cup win means we can have the confidence to go all the way? Let's hope so! Anfield is buzzing, I am buzzing and if you're a Liverpool fan you should be buzzing too! An assured performance today from the Reds, United had the possession but what we did with ours was enough to win today. We had the passion and the maturity to make the most of what we had and it was enough!

That's it from me today, enjoy the rest of your day!

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Live Thoughts: Manchester City vs Liverpool (Carling Cup)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts when Liverpool took on Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi final.

Hey there and welcome to another Live Thoughts post. I haven't been writing much recently because I have a lot going on in my personal life. I have a lot planned but my time to get things done has decreased a lot. I also have Skyrim now and naturally I'm erm, addicted. Anyways this is a very important match and a win or a draw tonight will make the game very exciting when we take City back to Anfield.

If you're new to following Liverpool this is probably a great feeling for you. However if you're a long term Kopite, you'll know this feeling very well. It's a nice feeling. Dare I say it, a nostalgic feeling. This Carling Cup semi final, over two legs, is exactly the type of game Liverpool want to be part of week in, week out again. It's like the old Champions League classics we had from two years ago to seven years ago. Those were great times, and it's only now that it's not a regular thing at Anfield do we realise how much we miss it. That's why we need to make the most of this Carling Cup semi final. Not that I don't have faith in Liverpool, King Kenny or the owners, but who knows when we will be back in the Champions League. No one knows the answer and while we all hope it's next season, we can't bank on it. So let's make the most of this Carling Cup semi final folks, it'll be a great set of matches, providing we don't get our behinds handed to us anyway!

Here are the teams:

Manchester City: Hart, Richards, Savic, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, de Jong, A Johnson, Milner, Balotelli, Aguero. Subs: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Onuoha, Hargreaves, Nasri, Dzeko.

Aguero ripped our defence to pieces last week and we need to make sure that doesn't happen again. What Balotelli will turn up today is anyone's guess. Dzeko also was dangerous last week and surely will come on later on. This is such a strong attacking line up. We have our work cut out for us tonight and we need to make sure we don't have lapses in concentration like we did last time. It's time for us to show the reason why our defence was the strongest in the Premier League for the first half of the season.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Kelly, Downing, Henderson, Gerrard, Spearing, Bellamy, Carroll. Subs: Doni, Enrique, Coates, Kuyt, Carragher, Adam, Shelvey. 

It's as strong a line up we can probably offer. Enrique on the bench is interesting, does he have a knock? I didn't hear anything. But Kelly comes on in the left back position in his place, otherwise it's a strong Liverpool line up. Gerrard back in the side is going to make a big difference, and hopefully he'll be THE difference today. We'll see.

1' - My bad, Johnson is playing on the left not Kelly. Both can play both positions well so I don't mind, as long as they're happy. 

3' - Great chance for Carroll! He loses Savic and is through on goal but his shot is saved to Joe Hart's feet!

4' - Balotelli makes a run down the right wing and Skrtel times his tackle very well. Excellent tackle. 

7' - We're actually quite well at the moment, City are taking their time to influence the game. I hope it doesn't backfire, but we're looking good. 

10' - Gerrard takes a nice shot from distance and it was close to going in! I think Hart would have got it anyway! 

10' - Another great save from Hart for Carroll! Another corner and Agger WINS US A PENALTY! 

12' - GOAL! Gerrard scores from the spot! Too easy. Joe Hart went in the right direction but Gerrard's shot was low and hard to his left. Perfect spot. Fourth goal of the season for Gerrard And we're a goal up away from home! 

15' - A decent City attack, Adam Johnson whips in a cross for Balotelli and Reina punches it away, but only in the direction of Aguero who's half volley is poor by his standards. 

18' - Carroll takes the ball to the left wing and lacks control to keep it, and Savic intercepts with ease. The City fans cheer sarcastically. At least Carroll is trying! 

21' - Spearing has gone down and Charlie Adam has been told to get ready to come on. Not good. 

22' - Liverpool Substitution: Jay Spearing walks off gingerly and Adam takes his place. No news on the injury Spearing has at the moment. 

23' - It looks like Spearing's hamstring. He walked off better than most people with that injury do. Hopefully it's only a few weeks rather than the usual six for this type of injury. 

26' - Gerrard is playing very deep, spraying the ball to the attacking third. He's been doing what Lucas has been doing all season. It'd be awesome when we have Lucas back and Gerrard can go forward more. But for a match of this magnitude, having Gerrard back is important. He can always go forward when we have dominant possession. 

28' - Adam and Balotelli collide and it's a free kick for City. Adam appears to be saying something to the Italian and he retaliates. Luckily James Milner is there to stop Balotelli from reacting for too long. I really hope Adam didn't say anything racist because I'm fed up of the controversy at the club.

31' - Possession is 50%/50% at the moment. We've definitely been the better side, although the game has calmed down recently. There hasn't been too many major chances in honesty. 

34' - I just realised, Balotelli is captain for City. Really? Okay. 

34' - Carroll! Just wide of the post. A very good effort, Kelly crosses from the right and Carroll connects very well, he's not that far into the box but it was a very good effort. I wasn't sure Hart would have got to it. 

37' - I'm getting the feeling City might end this half the stronger team. I feel them starting to look dangerous. 

38' - Manchester City: Substitution: Balotelli comes off with an ankle injury, and Samir Nasri takes his place.

40' - Downing and Henderson combine well to put City's defence under pressure, it came to nothing but it was good to get a nice few interceptions there. Psychological pressure in football is very important. 

42' - Nasri takes a shot and it deflects and a lovely save by Reina! Nasri does something that City have barely done in the past 42 minutes and that's actually take a shot at our goal.

44' - A lovely run by Micah Richards, he nudges Glen Johnson out of the way and goes down the left wing and a brilliant cross to Milner who scuffs the shot terribly! What an awful attempt that was by Milner! Great run by Richards though. 

45' - Three minutes of added time. 

45+2' - Adam Johnson wins a free kick right outside the box just before half time. Last kick of the match I'd say. 

45+3' - Johnson takes the free kick and it curled very nicely, but it was thankfully, ultimately, over the bar. Half time. 

This has been a good half for us so far. Defensively we've looked pretty solid and we got the penalty early on. But it's early days, we need to keep tight in the back and go forward when we can. Now that we have a goal advantage we have something to defend. We need to keep this very strong side at bay, and we have so far. 45 minutes of hard work for Liverpool, and hopefully, even harder work for City.

48' - One thing I've noticed today is that we're not giving them much space on the wings to cross the ball. Two of our goals last week were conceded from good delivery from corners and the wider areas. It's good. 

51' - No major danger at the moment but once again you are getting the feeling City might start to take the game to us soon. I certainly hope not of course, and that we start to hopefully put them under more pressure. It'd be a brilliant result if we score a second and don't concede.

53' - Aguero gets through our defence for the first time in the match but Skrtel recovers and City earn a corner. 

54' - The game has really up a gear the past few minutes, both sides are going for it. The first half for the most part was quite a bland affair for the unbiased fan. 

55' - Kelly struggles a little and passes back to Reina but Aguero intercepts and is on his own! He takes on Reina on the right hand side of the penalty box but thankfully shoots over. That was very poor from Kelly, thankfully it was dealt with enough by Reina. 

58' - RICHARDS! Excellent save by Reina! Richards gets a clean header from the corner and Reina saves low to his body. Brilliant stop, a stop thoroughly redeeming from his mishap last week. 

59' - Liverpool Substitution: Jose Enrique comes on for Stewart Downing. A tactical decision obviously, it's welcome by me. 

62' - They show Vincent Kompany on screen, they've definitely missed him today. Kompany was absolutely amazing against us last week, it was welcome news that he was suspended as a biased Liverpool fan.

64' - A cross comes in from the right hand side and Johnson at short range chests it down for Reina. It was a bit nervy but ultimately a great defensive movement. 

65' - A City attack ends with Aguero taking on three Red defenders and turning them inside out, but the shot was tame and saved by Reina comfortably. 

65' - Manchester City Substitution: Adam Johnson, who's not had the best of games, comes off for Edin Dzeko. 

68' - I just want to say, we've defended absolutely brilliantly for the past 68 minutes. Very little has come past us and what has, Reina has dealt with or the shot was poor. It's been a fantastic display from the Pool so far. 22 minutes to go. 

71' - Manchester City Substitution: Nigel De Jong comes off and Aleksandar Kolarov comes on.  De Jong is another player who's been sub par today, in fact, I'd say most of the City players have been. It's good for us obviously.

72' - All the City subs have been used by the way. We have one left. 

75' - Well the game hasn't been the best to watch but as long as we win does it matter? The quality of matches go out the window when you win the big ones. 

77' - Ball possession for the second half is now 65%/35% in City's favour. You wouldn't think it based on the fact that they've barely threatened all match. 

79' - Liverpool Substitution: Craig Bellamy comes off for Jamie Carragher. Another defensive move that I'm in favour for. Bellamy has been surprisingly quiet today. Carroll has been more effective which is saying something. 

81' - City are trying to put some pressure on us but we're defending very well. A tame Milner shot is deflected and goes for a goal kick. 

84' - I just can't believe how crap City have been today. Sorry. I'm just being frank. I just hope they don't prove me wrong now of course. 

85' - Samir Nasri gets a yellow card for getting in Carra's face. Carra's usually the heated type of player but he kept his cool with considerable ease in that situation. 

88' - Liverpool fans start up "You'll Never Walk Alone". It must be the end of a Liverpool win surely? I hope so. 

90' - Three minutes of added time. 

90' - AGUERO! Just over the bar! A free kick from the left and Aguero connects perfectly, but it's just over the bar. Relief!

90+3' - Full time! 

Well it wasn't the best match you'll see all season and we won by 1 goal but WOO! We're hopefully one step closer to a cup final! An away win in the Carling Cup doesn't guarantee anything but it's definitely going to make the match easier at Anfield. I really want us to win this cup. Yes it's the Carling Cup. Yes it's not the Premier League. But we'll take any trophy and then move on from there I'd say. And a win against City at their stadium is a great result, especially as they beat us 3-0 last week.

My man of the match? Glen Johnson actually. He was defensively sound today, and while I haven't really mentioned him much he did a job at left back and crunched into a lot of tackles, disrupting the play considerably. Everyone goes on about his attacking ability from the back but today he proved he can defend well. All the defence was great today, Skrtel had a very good game too and Reina made some good saves. It was a professional performance.

City were awful. The leaders of the Premier League should have done much better today. They barely turned up. I think it was an off day, I'm sure they'll be more than ready when they come to Anfield. The game at Anfield will be difficult, but I'm sure the Kop will be rocking, because as I said, it's like a Champions League fixture of old. We'll be ready.

That's it from me today, have a good night!

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Live Thoughts: Wigan vs Liverpool (Premier League)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts on the match between Wigan and Liverpool.

Hey there, thanks for joining me on another live thoughts feed. Suarez? I'm not going to go into that today. I've written an article about that. You'll see it tomorrow. Let's get straight into the match!

Here are the teams: 

Wigan: Al-Habsi, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Stam, Jones, Diame, McCarthy, Moses, Gomez, Sammon. Subs: Pollitt, Crusat, Watson, Di Santo, McArthur, Rodallega, Lopez.

It's as good a side as Wigan can put out. We should be winning today, pure and simple. Will Wigan turn up, as they have in recent games against us? We'll see.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Jose Enrique, Henderson, Adam, Downing, Kuyt, Maxi, Suarez. Subs: Doni, Carroll, Coates, Carragher, Shelvey, Kelly, Bellamy.

Kuyt and Maxi come on for Shelvey and Bellamy. Rotation. I like it. All of these players are playing well so it's hard keeping any of them out, so I like the way we're rotating. Unless a player is playing exceptionally well in this winter season we should rotate as often as possible.

3' - Funny chants today. A huge roar from the Anfield crowd for Suarez, singing "I Just Can't Get Enough" all the time. Whenever Suarez has the ball the Wigan crowd are booing him immediately. Strong reactions from both sets.

5' - The Liverpool crowd just won't shut up, it's great! They keep singing! Major statement from the Liverpool faithful.

8' - Henderson! Good save by Al-Habsi. Soem good movement from Suarez and Maxi, and Henderson shoots from just outside the box and it's palmed out for a corner, which is dealt with eventually.

11' - A big tangle in the Liverpool box and Gomez hits it in the net but the whistle blows for a free kick in Liverpool's favour. Reina was down I believe. 

15' - Victor Moses goes down in the box and tries to claim a penalty. An obvious dive, but the referee does nothing. Shame. 

16' - The commentators won't shup up about this 20,000 goal landmark that we're approaching. Does it really matter? I suppose it does. 

17' - Just in case you didn't know, Reina and Enrique are the only players to play every minute in the Premier League for us this season. Decent stat. 

19' - Moses takes a shot from about 40 yards out. Very ambitious.

22' - DIAME! Side netting! Wow, another 40 yard shot for Wigan, but that one was hit smoothly! If it was a few inches to the right it would have been the top left corner! 

23' - We were in control of the match for the first 10 or 15 minutes but Wigan are starting to find their feet at the moment. This crowd is very good, both sets of supporters full of voice today. 

24' - Kuyt from close range and Al-Habsi saves, and Wigan clear for a corner. The attack from the corner ends with Agger with his right foot and it's just over the crossbar. 

25' - JOHNSON! Another good safve from Al-Habsi! Maxi and Glen Johnson combine and Johnson shoots straight at the Wigan keeper, he could have done better than that I feel. 

26' - Diame again! Good save by Reina! A low shot from the left of the penalty box and Reina saves nicely to his left and we clear. It's a good game this! 

28' - Charlie Adam shoots from just outside the box and it's saved by Al-Habsi. It was a clear crisp shot but the Omanian keeper had it. Had he fumbled Suarez was there to take advantage but credit where it's due, Al-Habsi has dealt with everything Liverpool has given him so far. 

31' - Both teams are playing to a high tempo which is good. Credit to Roberto Martinez, he likes to play good attacking football so in the end it's making a very entertaining match. Both sides are really going for it, with Liverpool showing the quality naturally more so than Wigan. 

34' - The "I Just Can't Get Enough" chant is starting again. Liverpool fans were singing it non-stop for a good 10 minutes when the match started. 

36' - Victor Moses goes for a great run and about three or four red shirts can't stop him! Johnson tries to tackle him but fails and he takes a shot straight at Reina, who's fists hit the ball towards the corner flag. 

39' - If you're wanting an assessment on how Suarez has been today he's looked okay, he's quietly doing his job. He can explode into action at any minute but you can tell he's not trying to draw attention to himself, which is good. 

42' - Suarez is brought down from a tackle by Antolin Alcaraz. It was a free kick all around, but the Wigan crowd are chanting "CHEAT" at him. Disgraceful.

43' - Gomez and Sammon combine well and if it wasn't for Johnson, Conor Sammon would have scored the 20,000th goal. Yes, we're at 19,999 now. Exciting huh? I hope you can sense my sarcasm.

45' - Two minutes of added time. James McCarthy looks like he's going to go off the pitch.

45+3' - An extra minute was added due to McCarthy, who looks like he'll be okay. Half time.

It was a decent first half of football. As an unbiased fan it was very entertaining. As a Liverpool fan we started well, but slowly put our foot off the gas as the match went on. We need to regroup and get that dominance back on, and hopefully score. I really hope Suarez scores today, it'll be great. The 20,000th goalscorer is Mark Albrighton. Woohoo. Congrats oh lord and master of landmark goalscoring prowess. 

46' - A free kick from Suarez and a lovely save from Al-Habsi! That was going in otherwise, a great freekick from the right hand side of the pitch, 15 yards out. 

47' - A good attack from Wigan, orchestrated by Moses and he takes a low shot and Reina saves low. 

49' - The ball is all over the Wigan box, Suarez ends up doing a bicycle kick and it hits the arm of Gary Caldwell and a PENALTY! 

50' - SAVED! Charlie Adam struck it well to his right and Al-Habsi saves brilliantly! Why cant' we score penalties this season?! 

52' - This match does have "Liverpool dominate and miracle saves from opposition goalkeeper" written all over it by the way. Why do keepers like turning up to matches against us?

55' - A replay of the penalty and Adam's shot was more central than it first looked, but it would have beaten a lot of keepers. I don't blame Adam. It's not like Carroll's penalty a few weeks back, that was atrocious. 

56' - Gomez takes a decent shot that swerves slightly but Reina saves very well. I need to give Reina credit here, he's been very good today and he's been tested a few times, more so than usual. 

59' - Kuyt had a decent shot from long range on the volley and Al-Habsi saves comfortably. It wasn't the strongest of shots, if Gerrard was on it I reckon he would have scored. 

60' - Wigan Substitution: Conor Sammon comes off for Franco Di Santo.

63' - Quick corner from Downing to Enrique, who whips in a cross and Skrtel heads it high. He could have done better than that, he was the tallest to reach it with considerable ease.

65' - Yellow card for Gary Caldwell for a tackle on Suarez. 

66' - The following free kick sees Kuyt run on his own, Adam takes the free kick and he shoots over the bar. Great idea, it wasn't crafted out as planned. 

67' - From the Liverpool box Downing storms down the left wing and is eventually caught up with, but he manges to win a corner. He takes it quick and Kuyt gets on the end of it at the left post and cuts it back but there's too many Wigan defenders in the way for Suarez to get to the goal. Kudos to Downing for that excellent run though.

69' - Bellamy and Shelvey are getting ready to come on. Good timing, I think we're running out of steam and need fresh impetus. 

71' - Double Liverpool Substitution: Jonjo Shelvey and Craig Bellamy come on for Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt. Maxi barely did anything in that second half, he was good in the first. Kuyt was as hard working as ever, and showed frustration in coming off by kicking some sports drinks. Not a good reaction from Kuyt there.

72' - Double Wigan Substitution: David Jones and Jordi Gomez come off and Ben Watson and Hugo Rodallega. Wigan have used all their subs now.

75' - Hugo Rodallega scored in both matches at this stadium against us last season and the season before. I hope it's not three in three for the Colombian, it'd probably be a winner if it is. 

77' - A strong run from Victor Moses down the right wing, he cuts into the Liverpool box and Skrtel gets to it, kicking it for a throw in. 

78' - Franco Di Santo shields the ball for a throw-in but Glen Johnson gets irritated and tackles badly from behind. He gets a yellow card. Silly way to concede a card for Johnson, I expect better from him. That was just frustration. 

80' - The commentators just said that FIFA are thinking of getting rid of the loan system. Seriously? How pathetic. The loan system is excellent for football; it gives youngsters a chance to test their trade at high paced, high quality lower league football, instead of being wasted in the reserves where results don't matter. 

83' - We really don't look like scoring. A draw seems inevitable. We haven't' played well enough in this second half. 

84' - RODALLEGA! Corner. A lovely cross from Victor Moses and Rodallega heads it clean at goal, but Johnson deflects the header at close range for a corner. Best chance of the match so far and it goes to Wigan frustratingly. 

86' - Liverpool Substitution: Luis Suarez comes off for Andy Carroll. Boos go around the DW Stadium as Suarez comes off. He's been quiet today, in a good way, he's been effective in a mature way. Kudos to him for playing under such pressure. 

88' - Rodallega is through on goal! But Reina comes out and just about, I mean just about, deals with it, it goes for a throw in. 

89' - Ali Al-Habsi wins the man of the match award. Completely justified. Yet another goalkeeping clinic against Liverpool. Good times. 

90' - Four minutes of added time. 

90+1' - Liverpool are desperately fighting to get a goal, and Ben Watson is all over the place tackling. Good work there by the young Englishman. 

90+2' - Free kick about 15/20 yards out for Liverpool. This is it now I'd say. We score or it's a draw. 

90+3' - Bellamy takes it and it hits the wall and Wigan clear. 

90+3' - Shelvey takes a tame shot and it's saved by Al-Habsi. 

90+4' - Full time.

Well, what can I say? It was like every other goalless draw we have had all season. Lots of Liverpool dominance, no goals, excellent opposition goalkeeping. That's it. The only other even that occurred otherwise was Charlie Adam's penalty which was saved very well. We just attract keepers to play on form for some reason. We were very good in the first half, the second half was poor though. We weren't' good enough, it was one of our weakest 45 minutes of the season I'd say. But, let's hope we have enough in the tank against Newcastle.

Before I finish, I'd like to once again say I have a football article planned already for tomorrow. I've written it. It's dealing with the Luis Suarez situation. I hope you come back to read it tomorrow, it's an interesting piece. Also, no Live Thoughts from me for the next two matches. I'll be back with the Live Thoughts on New Years Eve. If you visit the site purely for Live Thoughts, Merry Christmas. Otherwise please come back tomorrow, the article will definitely interest football fans in general, not just Liverpool fans. I'm signing off here now, have a good night.

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Live Thoughts: Liverpool vs Queens Park Rangers (Premier League)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited live thoughts on the match between Liverpool and Queens Park Rangers.
Hello there, welcome to my live thoughts feed on the match between Liverpool and Queens Park Rangers. I hope you've got your Christmas shopping done in the build up to the big day. And if you don't take part in those festivities, enjoy your December in your own way!

There's only one acceptable outcome today, and that's win. We have to win. Another draw at home against a newly promoted side would be pretty disastrous. We lost our 11 game unbeaten record last week but that's okay, as long as we have learnt our lessons. And those lessons are simply to put that ball in that net! Something we just can't do, we play great football and then barely score. Let's hope that all this bad luck in front of goal turns into a drubbing of QPR today!

Here are the teams...

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Maxi, Henderson, Adam, Downing, Kuyt, Suarez. Subs: Doni, Coates, Carragher, Kelly, Shelvey, Bellamy, Carroll.

Maxi comes on for Bellamy, which is fine, I just don't know why Maxi didn't start against Fulham, not that I had any problem with Bellamy last week at all. Kuyt starts up front in place of Carroll, a move I approve of as Kuyt and Suarez work very well together, and that probably means Henderson is in the middle with Adam in midfield.

Queens Park Rangers: Cerny, Young, Gabbidon, Ferdinand, Traore, Wright-Phillips, Barton, Faurlin, Mackie, Smith, Bothroyd. Subs: Putnins, Orr, Hill, Derry, Campbell, Buzsaky, Connolly.

A team of half Premiership half Championship players, QPR are a threat when they want to be. All the promoted teams have done well so far this season but I think QPR have the best chance to stay up. Barton is a great midfielder and Wright-Phillips when on form is as deadly as any winger. But we should beat QPR today, there's just no excuse.

1' - Two corners straight away for Liverpool although nothing comes from either.

3' - Suarez is on the right side of the penalty area and he cuts it to Rodriguez who is blocked by a defender, another corner! Which went no where again, but some fantastic pressure early on from the Reds! Maxi has gone down however.

6' - The game has slowed down slightly, although we have looked good so far. Maxi is okay by the way.

7' - From what I can tell Kuyt and Maxi have been given free reign of the attacking team, to support Suarez. I'm still not sure of the formation, but both have supported Suarez on occasions. Kuyt has been on the left as well. 

9' - SUAREZ! Straight at Cerny! Downing, who was on the right wing, delivers a lovely cross from the right and Suarez heads it straight at the Czech keeper. 

10' - Glen Johnson has shaved his head, if any of you hair observers care... 

11' - A lovely move from Kuyt and Suarez. This time Kuyt was in the centre, see, I'm still not sure who's playing where, but it's effective! Anyway, Kuyt was in the centre and he lay Suarez down the right of the penalty box but his shot is square and it crossed the face of goal, and out towards the left for a throw in. 

14' - Maxi and Suarez work together very nicely, playing one-twos while attacking, but Maxi passes when he shouldn't, and Suarez's shot is badly wide. It's still good movement and good attacking play though. 

17' - Alejandro Faurlin brings down Downing on the right wing, and Charlie Adam's free kick leads to a corner. The corner is quite poor however.

20' - Penalty claims from Suarez, he backs into a QPR defender and falls, it's another debatable one from the Uruguayan. The ref doesn't give it but replays show there was a little bit of tugging.

21' - Yellow card for Daniel Agger for clumsily taking down Jay Bothroyd when he was through on goal. 

24' - A little bit of pressure from QPR at present, although we're coping with it comfortably. 

27' - Not much to report, apart from us getting yet another corner, which lead to a scramble but QPR deal with it. 

29' - We've had 8 attempts to QPR's 1 so far. Story of our season so far. We've only converted 9% of our chances this season. 

30' - Maxi is let in past the defence! He runs towards goal and tries to take it round Cerny but it's a great save from the QPR keeper, and Suarez tries to make up ground but can't. Best chance of the match so far! 

33' - A great run from Charlie Adam earns us a corner, he storms from the centre of the midfield and ends up on the left of the penalty box before being driven wide but earns a corner. Once again, nothing comes of the corner. 

35' - There's an Andy Carroll chant of some kind as he warms up. He's smiling, I'm not quite sure what they're saying I have to be honest, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's about this... 

38' - Johnson goes down in the box and another penalty claim is waved off. This one seemed like it was the right decision this time mind. 

39' - Looking at the replay properly Johnson went down very easily, he clipped a QPR defender's foot, but that foot was far from extended. 

41' - SUAREZ! Cerny saves! It comes back to Suarez who tries again and it goes across the face of goal! We just can't score! That second chance could have been a pass to another Red but he went for goal again. 

43' - In that move earlier Anton Ferdinand went down uncomfortably, and had to be taken off the pitch. He seems like he's okay though, probably winded due to how he fell. 

45' - 2 minutes of added time. 

45+2' - Some late pressure from Liverpool ends with Downing having a great chance gathered by Cerny. Half time.

You can't help but feel this match is going to end the same way the matches at Anfield against Swansea and Norwich ended, and that's a disappointing 0-0 draw with many chances from Liverpool, and some amazing goalkeeping from the opposition. Which is exactly what this match has been so far. We haven't been amazing, but we've threatened a lot, and we've had many chances and they've all been dealt with by Cerny and the QPR defence. One thing I've observed in this 45 minute period is sometimes we don't make the right attacking decision, particularly Suarez, who sometimes is a little selfish when he could be assisting another player. But there's still 45 minutes to go, let's remain optimistic, and hope we can break this frustrating shots/goals hoodoo we have!

46' - GOAL! SUAREZ! His first goal in two months! Charlie Adam goes down the right wing and crosses perfectly and it's a simple header into the QPR net! 1-0!

48' - Anton Ferdinand is down again, it's a lot more serious this time, he's going off the pitch to be substituted. 

49' - QPR Substitution: Bradley Orr comes on for Anton Ferdinand. Poor Ferdinand, having two problems on the pitch at different times. 

52' - The game is surprisingly quiet at the moment, considering we just scored. 

55' - Usually when we score we try to get a second, it's not really happened so far, we've not been on the front foot at all. At this stage of the game we should be going for a second I'd say. 

56' - Kuyt goes for goal and it's wide. It's one of his main weaknesses the great Dutchman, he's not got a clinical shot. But I love that man to death so I don't want to criticise him! 

58' - A bit better by Liverpool, we put some pressure on the away side, earning a corner and Agger had a blocked shot. 

60' - MAXI! Great save from Cerny! Suarez on the right wing cuts the ball square to Maxi who's shot is saved brilliantly again!

62' - Jamie Carragher is on the bench again I'm sure you noted already. It seems like Dalglish is really making a transition in the centre of defence, with Agger and Skrtel starting all the time and Carra being used for the big games or when required. Carra always said he's not accept being second best and is willing to go to another club if he's not good enough here, if he keeps being benched I wonder if he will actually move? I certainly hope not.

63' - Suarez wins us our FOURTEENTH corner of the match, and Cerny punches it away. Kuyt goes for goal again and it's saved relatively comfortably again by Cerny.

64' - Corner #15... 

65' - QPR Substitution: Tommy Smith comes off and D.J. Campbell takes his place, Campbell's first match in around 6 weeks. 

66' - Suarez and Maxi combine nicely again and Suarez lays the ball for Maxi, but he hits it straight at Cerny when the Czech goalkeeper closes the Argentinian down. Maxi just can't score today! 

68' - Corner #16... 

71' - Skrtel takes down Bothroyd on the right wing for QPR, it's a good chance for QPR. Barton takes it and Gabbidon sticks a leg out and it's over the bar. Best chance for QPR so far.

74' - Two corners for QPR in a minute, we're thrashing them on corners 16-3 however! Seriously though, some pressure from QPR at the moment, let's hope we can defend it well. 

76' - Gabbidon passes back to Cerny and Kuyt is on it! Cerny puts him off though and it goes for a throw in. 

77' - QPR Substitution: Fitz Hill comes on for Jamie Mackie. That's all three QPR subs used.

77' - Liverpool Substitution: Craig Bellamy comes on for Maxi, who has looked good today, had some good chances but just couldn't get past Cerny, who has been man of the match today for me. 

79' - Shaun Wright-Phillips attempts at goal and it's well over the bar. He hasn't really had much chance to shine today the pacey winger.

82' - Not long to go now, although a 1-0 lead is never great at the end of matches. QPR are still looking a little threatening too. We need a second really. 

84' - BELLAMY! God I thought that went in! It hit the side netting! Suarez won a free kick for us just outside the box and the Welshman's chance was fantastic! 

84' - Bellamy has a yellow card, for having an altercation with Joey Barton of all people.

85' - Liverpool Substitution: Stewart Downing comes off and Jonjo Shelvey comes on. Nice to see the young bald headed player back in a red shirt, he's had a great little spell at Blackpool. It means that Henderson goes to the right, Bellamy to the left and Kuyt up front. 

89' - Faurlin falls to the ground from a challenge from Skrtel, but he goes down like a sack of spuds, Liverpool play on but the ref calls for a free kick. Silly really.

90' - Three minutes of added time. 

90+2' - ORR! Corner for QPR! A lovely cross from Armand Traore and Jose Enrique does enough to put off Bradley Orr. We deal with the cross as well. 

90+3' - Bellamy down the left and tries to cut the ball square for Suarez, and Wright-Phillips sticks a foot out to the ball and almost scores an own goal! It hits the cross bar! Not much else after happens before the whistle blows for full time. 

We did enough today, we deserved the win but like many other games, we had loads of chances and it didn't convert into goals. Our chances to goals ratio remains pretty horrible, but what's important is that we got one of those chances to hit the net, and we got the three points. What matters is that we win games, whether it's 6-0 or 1-0 is quite irrelevant. We avoided another embarrassing draw at home and got the points. That's a major positive. What we need to do is start another good run of results, preferably wins, and even more preferably are goals. So let's hope this result can build a bridge that we extend to have a great winter of points, wins and goals. That's it from me, have a good night.

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