Liverpool FC: Rating the Reds at Anfield

Liverpool continue to impress and do what most have called impossible.  Despite all the naysaying that has gone on this season, you can no longer ignore that the Reds look like they are getting better.

Yes, they missed out on Europe this season, but so far it looks like it has been a good thing for the club.  Kenny Dalglish has been allowed time each week to work on his team and his strategy as the rebuilding Reds and reappointed manager learn what works best for them.

The Reds' recent exploits—a victory over Chelsea and a draw with Manchester City that more than likely should have ended in a win—is proving they are getting better each match.

Given their improvements, we can take stock of how the starting 11 fared individually against Manchester City in the afternoon showdown at Anfield on Sunday, Nov. 27.

Pepe Reina has been phenomenal during the Reds' unbeaten run, doing his fair share of goalkeeping, defending and even more.  It has been a long time since I saw a keeper that was a mix between a first rate shot stopper and a sweeper. 

However, Reina has been just that.  Despite being caught out of position and nearly allowing David Silva a goal, the Spaniard was excellent.  But the problem is that he was caught out on multiple occasions, which is exactly why he cannot be a keeper and a sweeper at the same time.

Glen Johnson picked up where he left off in the dying minutes of the Chelsea match as he helped to press the Liverpool attack against Manchester City, but he would have liked to have done more. 

Johnson is showing marked improvement with his defending as Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Silva all were handled rather well by the Englishman.

While many have heavily criticized Martin Skrtel, trying to get him sent out of Anfield, the Slovakian defender continues to prove why he played every single EPL match for the Reds last season at the back. 

Skrtel was great for the entire match, except when he failed to mark Vincent Kompany and the Citizen put his side up 1-0 in the first half.

Daniel Agger is, without a doubt, the best central defender the Reds have when he is fit, and hopefully he will continue to be so for the rest of the season.  The lack of European football is surely allowing the Dane more time to heal between matches, thus improving his durability. 

Agger was excellent at stopping the City attack from Sergio Aguero, and showed keen eyes at reading the play to make key interceptions.

The play of Jose Enrique continues to be solid, but short of excellent.  He is always moving and willing to defend as well as attack.  His attacking effectiveness, however, was limited without the presence of Andy Carroll in the middle; the crosses that he did turn into the box were left without an attacker who could make use of them.

Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva was once probably the most loathed member of the Reds when he first joined under Rafael Benitez.  However, the last two seasons have seen him rise to prominence as most likely one of the first three names on the team sheet for Dalglish. 

Leiva was excellent all night against City, and despite being smaller than his opposing holding midfielders, he bossed the game, making 11 interceptions on his way to the Man of the Match award for the Reds.

Dalglish wanted Charlie Adam, and after seeing the Scotsman perform in the game against Chelsea, and yesterday's match against City, he is starting to find his feet at Anfield. 

Adam perhaps should have gotten the winner with his shot assisted by Dirk Kuyt, but Joe Hart proved his worth to City all night long.  Adam's performance was solid on both sides of the ball and he showed a great willingness to move in and out of the midfield in support of the wings as well.

Jordan Henderson is an anomaly in the Reds' lineup at the moment; he has all the ability to be a great Liverpool player, but he is yet to match his skills to his potential.  At times he shows excellent ability to wriggle out of a jam, or great ball skill, only to have them ruin it by failing to execute something simple. 

Henderson was perhaps the most disappointing in the side against City, and looks to still have a long way to go in order to make a solid contribution match after match.

Stewart Downing made his way back into the lineup, but the former Aston Villa man continues to disappoint.  He has been good at going forward, but not great.  He made sure Micah Richards was busy all day, but 14 games without even a solid shot on goal by the England international is starting to draw questions.

Another change to the side that faced Chelsea was the inclusion of Kuyt.  The Dutchman was his usual industrial self down the right hand side, but he failed at being as effective on the wing as Maxi Rodriguez perhaps might have been going forward. 

However, that may have been the point of his inclusion.  Dalglish knew that Kuyt would track back all day long, and with City's weapons, that had to be done with industry and a stamina that Maxi does not possess for 90 minutes.

Lastly, Luis Suarez had a decent game in attack, but had he spent more time on his feet being the tough player he has proven to be, he might have made more of a difference.  His isolation up front only proved that he really needed the presence of a fellow creative attacker such as Craig Bellamy in order to make the most of his skill.

Andy Carroll made a late appearance and put a great header in on goal, but Joe Hart continued to be the Sky Blues' savior on the day.

In the end, the Reds have to feel hard done by not to taking the win at home.  The same feeling that wrenched every Liverpool fan's guts when they failed to beat United at home gripped me when they managed to let a massive win slip through their fingers at home for the fourth consecutive draw in front of the Kop.

Liverpool have to look at this as a positive, despite not getting the victory, as they improved to a tenth consecutive match unbeaten between all competitions.

With a rematch against Chelsea right around the corner back at Stamford Bridge in the Carling Cup Quarter Finals, Liverpool have to maintain their momentum in order to keep pushing forward in both the Cup and the League.

For a full preview of the Reds' rematch with Chelsea in the Carling Cup, as well as the three other fixtures in the Quarter Finals, you can check out English Carling Cup: Quarterfinal Match Previews and Predictions.

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