Last-gasp defeat.
Warning signals rang as Aaron Lennon controlled the ball on the right wing and moved towards goal. They were not heeded by Paul Konchesky however, granting Lennon the freedom of White Hart Lane to fire beyond Pepe Reina and defeat Liverpool.
For a while, it looked as though Martin Skrtel’s scrappy opening goal might be enough to win an entertaining fixture away at Tottenham. Indeed, upon gaining the lead Liverpool seized the initiative early in the second half and were unlucky not to be two goals to the good before Skrtel cancelled out his opener with an own goal. Chances were traded at both ends, Defoe missing a penalty whilst Raul Meireles fizzed a scorching drive just wide, before Lennon’s late interjection.
Carragher dislocates shoulder.
One of the more darkly amusing moments of the game was the sight of Sortiris Kyrgiakos on Liverpool’s bench as Jamie Carragher launched a furious tirade at him for not warming up quickly enough to replace him.
Carragher exited the field with a dislocated shoulder, and the news after the game would only darken Liverpool’s mood further following the defeat. “We think it’s a dislocated shoulder. I don’t know how long he’ll be out, but it’s a serious injury,” Roy Hodgson told the Daily Telegraph. “We’ve also got [Daniel] Agger still injured and we’re not overly blessed with centre-halves.”
Reds draw Man Utd.
Compounding Liverpool’s misery yesterday evening was the FA Cup draw which forces Roy Hodgson’s men to go to Premier League leaders Manchester United. Whilst the rest of the country awaits the tie between England’s two biggest clubs with anticipation, Liverpool are understandably muted.
“It’s a bit unfortunate that two Premier League teams of the quality of Manchester United and Liverpool get drawn together in the third round,” Hodgson was quoted in the Daily Telegraph. Whilst he is ‘sad’ by two big teams drawing each other early on, the anticipation of a fixture as rich in drama as Liverpool’s defeat of United in 2006 and United’s last minute double-salvo in 1999 to break Liverpool hearts makes the game the tie of the round.
Can your football knowledge help you win big? Try the Football Pools
Don’t forget to check out the Liverpool Club page, updated daily here at A Different League for the latest in-depth analysis.
