Hull City vs. Liverpool: 6 Things We Learned
Hull City profited from what was easily Liverpool's worst display of the season to deservedly beat the Reds 3-1 at the KC Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It was their first win over their opponents in their history.
The out-of-sorts visitors were bullied into submission by Steve Bruce's excellent side. Victory saw them leap into the top half of the table and secure the perfect end to a day which started with controversial owner Assem Allam saying that fans protesting over the club's proposed name change "can die," per the BBC.
The hosts did have fortune on their side in the victory, though, with their first goal coming when Jake Livermore's effort from distance took a wicked deflection off Martin Skrtel.
It wasn't long before Steven Gerrard levelled matters with a fine free-kick―his first goal for the Reds that wasn't a penalty since February―but Liverpool were below par all afternoon and succumbed to defeat thanks to two goals in the final 20 minutes.
First, David Meyler fired into the corner following Liverpool's frequent inability to clear their lines. A home win was sealed in the dying moments when Tom Huddlestone's weak effort was headed into his own net by the luckless Skrtel.
The win was comfortably the best result of the season for Hull. Liverpool will be deeply disappointed with their display on a day when boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed that forward Daniel Sturridge could miss the next two months through injury, per The Guardian.
Here are six things learned from a day of contrasting emotions:
Moses and Sterling Fail Their Auditions
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It is one thing pleading for more game time, as Victor Moses did recently, according to the Liverpool Echo, but when the chance comes, you have to take it.
In the now-prolonged absence of Daniel Sturridge, both Moses and Raheem Sterling failed their first audition for more regular first-team football here, and quite spectacularly so.
Given his status as a more established player over the still-teenage Sterling, it is only natural to be more critical of the on-loan Moses than his young teammate. The Nigerian failed to show his undoubted talents at any point of the contest.
You can't really blame him for missing the chance at 1-1, which would surely have swung the game in Liverpool's favour due to the excellence of Allan McGregor's save. But the miss contributed to a poor day for the winger, who must now improve quickly with Sturridge not available.
The same can be said of Sterling too, although it would be a surprise to see him start against Norwich on Wednesday.
City Slickers
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Hull City were simply fantastic here, with both players and fans deserving credit.
Supporters, who have been with the club through good times and bad and who were so arrogantly dismissed by owner Asssem Allam in the morning newspapers, enjoyed their day. Their protest of the club's apparent rebranding did not distract the team at all.
Their relentless, dare we say tigerish, pressing of the Liverpool midfield from the likes of Jake Livermore, David Meyler and Tom Huddlestone―all of whom were involved in the goals―was what won them the day. The Reds were often reduced to long balls up from the back, which seemingly had little or no destination.
Of the three promoted clubs, Hull appear to have the most on their side to earn at least one more season in the top division after this one. Results such as this one only further that belief.
Liverpool's Leaking of Goals Has Become Epidemic
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Three at Everton, two at Newcastle, Swansea and Arsenal, and now three at Hull. Liverpool's frequent concession of goals on the road has to be a concern for Brendan Rodgers.
The Reds now haven't kept an away clean sheet since the 1-0 win at Aston Villa in August. At times here, they looked incredibly disorganised as Rodgers changed things around again to include Kolo Toure.
With centre-backs such as Daniel Agger and Mamadou Sakho sitting on the bench, the Reds boss does have plenty of options to switch around personnel should he wish to, but the constant chopping and changing seems to be creating seeds of doubt in those players planted in front of Simon Mignolet.
Rodgers needs to pick a consistent defence to solve this problem. Now that he's been left out of the last three games, the answer could well be found in the leadership skills of Sakho.
Isolating Suarez Doesn't Help Anyone
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This Liverpool performance was reminiscent of the disappointing displays in the first half of last season, when Luis Suarez was left up front on his own and had to rely on the support of a couple of teenagers in Raheem Sterling and Suso.
With Sterling and Moses failing to help out the Uruguayan here, the forward cut a frustrated figure and surely turned in his least effective display of the campaign.
When he's upfront with Sturridge, Suarez thrives and revels in dropping off the frontman and getting into positions from which he can harm an opponent.
Perhaps now that he's going to be without his English forward for the next six to eight weeks, Rodgers would be better served just looking to recreate his two-forward policy with another body in Sturridge's position.
Iago Aspas returned to the substitute's bench at Hull, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see both him and Philippe Coutinho restored to the starting lineup against Norwich on Wednesday.
Martin Skrtel's Mixed Day
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It seems hugely ironic that Martin Skrtel was probably Liverpool's best player here, yet his image is the one that will be used by many to mock the Reds' defeat.
Without the Slovakian, this would have been an even more embarrassing afternoon for the Reds, but his interventions in both the first and third goals ultimately proved costly.
Up against Hull's Yannick Sagbo―exactly the kind of big, burly forward that has given him trouble previously (remember Oldham's Matt Smith?)―Skrtel largely did very well, until his late lunge to try to stop Huddlestone's effort ensured that his will be the face on the back pages on Monday.
Bouncing back from this has to be his and his team's next aim.
Sometimes a Little Nepotism Goes a Long Way
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It is only right that the last word goes to Hull, though, and their father-and-son combination.
Alex Bruce might not have thanked his father Steve for throwing him in for just his second Premier League start of the season against a forward such as Suarez, but Bruce Jr. did admirably well alongside the equally impressive Curtis Davies and Maynor Figueroa, with Ahmed Elmohamady and Robbie Brady acting as wing-backs.
It is an approach that Liverpool have tried at several times this season, but here they were powerless to stop a team who at times looked as though they had more players on the pitch than their opponents.
Amber and black stripes were everywhere. Hull delivered a result that ensured whatever—and perhaps more importantly, whoever—was being talked about before the game was quickly forgotten.
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