Steven Gerrard Underlines Why Liverpool Need Match-Winners in Transfer Window
Despite dominating much of the game, Liverpool needed a late Steven Gerrard header to secure the three points in a hard-fought 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers at Anfield on Saturday, and their struggle to put the game to bed highlights a need to sign match-winners in the upcoming summer transfer window.
An early goal from Philippe Coutinho was cancelled out by the QPR's Leroy Fer, before Gerrard made amends for a second-half-penalty miss by driving home from Coutinho's corner in the dying moments.
In truth, Brendan Rodgers' side left it too late in a contest they dictated.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
With Gerrard leaving the club in the summer to join MLS franchise LA Galaxy, there is all the more need to sign match-winning players in the summer.
Match-Winning Quality
Over 90 minutes, Liverpool overran QPR:
- They had more possession, seeing 57.6 percent of the ball compared to QPR's 42.4 percent.
- They had more shots on goal, with 25 attempts to QPR's 10; they also registered eight shots on target, compared to QPR's two.
- They made almost 200 more passes than QPR, with the Reds making 465 successful passes, compared to QPR's 266.
- They also created far more chances, with 17 key passes compared to QPR's five.
- They dominated the impressive Robert Green, with the QPR goalkeeper having to make six saves to Reds counterpart Simon Mignolet's one.
Yet, with the embers dying out at a increasingly discontent Anfield, Liverpool looked no closer to truly putting Chris Ramsey's side to the sword.
Before Fer's goal, the Reds had plenty of chances to do so, too.
Both Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling missed when it was arguably easier to score—Sterling's inability to convert when directly in front of Green's goal saw him squander what was a sumptuous cross-goal ball from Jordan Henderson.
Following this, Jordon Ibe, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren all had chances to convert and put the Reds on their way to a comfortable victory.
But that wasn't to be. As Liverpool's chance-creation statistic of 17 key passes made proves, Rodgers had set his side up perfectly at Anfield, but their prolonged failure came down to a lack of individual composure.
They needed a match-winner, and eventually, Gerrard stepped up.
"Big Games Need Big Players"
After Liverpool's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final loss to Aston Villa last month, former Reds centre-back and Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carragher offered a stark appraisal of the quality of Rodgers' squad:
Throughout that Wembley clash, the Reds limped on without any sign of true leadership while Fabian Delph, Jack Grealish and Christian Benteke ran riot.
"Big games need big players." At that point, Liverpool had few.
This continued against both West Bromwich Albion (a 0-0 draw) and Hull City (a 1-0 loss) in the Premier League. Rodgers' side looked devoid of incision.
It could have continued to go this way at Anfield on Saturday too, but for the efforts of Gerrard.
After the game, Rodgers pointed towards this rare quality found in his captain, as tweeted by This is Anfield:
Gerrard was one of few players capable of dragging Liverpool through this game, which is a glaring problem within Rodgers' squad.
The Transfer Window
The rapturous applause afforded Gerrard on his 89th-minute substitution was a recognition of his contribution to the game but more so a case of an adoring Anfield support lapping up some of the last moments of a long and successful Liverpool career.
Gerrard's departure for LA Galaxy this summer comes at the right time for the player, as he has struggled to produce any kind of quality for much of 2014/15.
His paltry contribution in midfield at Wembley, for example, is proof of this.
But this decisive Anfield contribution, while those around him flailed towards a stalemate, highlights an intangible match-winning quality that Liverpool could miss more than anything next season.
When Gerrard leaves, it can be argued that Coutinho is the only player in Rodgers' squad who can consistently grab games by the scruff of the neck and surge towards an unlikely victory—the No. 10's goal against Blackburn Rovers on the way to that FA Cup semi-final stands as the perfect evidence of this.
But as Coutinho's toil against the likes of West Brom and Hull (and towards the latter stages of this latest victory) proves, he can't do it alone.
Gerrard's departure must prompt the targeting of players with match-winning quality this summer.
Acquiring the talents of PSV Eindhoven forward Memphis Depay would be a great start; Liverpool has been linked with the player by ESPN FC's Richard Jolly. But two or three others must follow the Dutchman into this Liverpool squad.
Gerrard bailed his side out at Anfield, and the Reds will miss this ability.
This upcoming transfer window is a necessary opportunity for Rodgers to look to fill that void with match-winning quality.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
