Defensive Worries Still Linger For Liverpool

Despite an emphatic victory over Phil Brown's wavering Hull City, Saturday saw a Liverpool performance once again marred by defensive frailties.

The 6-1 win over the Tigers was almost entirely attributable to the masterclass show put on by a radically potent 'El Nino' - despite the former Atletico striker's claim that he has not yet hit his full potential this season.

The Spanish striker, turning the Hull City defence inside-out in the process, was able to complete a sublime hat-trick in 47 minutes.

However, despite what the scoreline suggests, Liverpool's defence was disorganised in the least. Off-the-ball they were poor.

Both centre-backs, Carragher and Skrtel, struggled with clearing crosses whipped in from both wings. This manifested itself in a Geovanni equaliser. 

The goal was ultimately the result of poor communication between the veteran defender and the Slovakian Skrtel. After contesting a header, waiting to be cleared by Carragher, Skrtel knocked the ball to an unmarked Geovanni on the edge of the penalty box. Taking the chance, the Brazillian strike fired it past Reina into the bottom left corner of the net.

Such miscommunications are ominous. Liverpool would have been punished severely by a higher opposition. Two upcoming away fixtures against a "slightly weakened" Fiorentina team and Chelsea will be decisive acid-tests.

At half time - with the score at 2-1 -  Hull still had a fighting chance. Only after the hat-trick was completed by Torres was the wind fully knocked from Hull's sails.

And yet, despite the visible dejection of the visitors, and a two-goal cushion, Liverpool were still unable to control the game effectively as you might expect. Only a fortuitous cross/shot-on-goal by Gerrard and 'back-heel' from Babel sealed the three points for Benitez and co.