Lucas Leiva
We could sit here all day, and debate what areas of our current squad needs strengthening. We could also discuss potential targets, and how realistic a chance of a certain team accepting a bid, and a certain player joining. In fact, I have read many a debate on the the forums here […]
Maxi Rodriguez scored a hat trick as Liverpool ran riot at Anfield. It was the first time that Liverpool FC had scored more than 3 goals in a game this season and there was no better team to do it against. The Reds had drawn the last seven games against Birmingham City and they put that right in emphatic fashion.
The longest myth going about Lucas, has been that he only plays the simple pass, and this is mainly sideways, or back-wards. This brief post is aimed to demonstrate he really doesn't, and I have taken 3 randomly selected games from this season which Lucas featured in to help explain.
The third, and final, instalment of our nostalgic look at the midfield trio of the 2008/2009 season will concentrate on their performance in the attacking third of the pitch.
We'd expect Xabi Alonso to be ahead in the race for most creative central midfielder out of the three. Xabi's passing, whether it be a simple pass or a long ball, was always of the highest quality. We'll look at how much of his passing helped in creating chances for Liverpool FC in the season 2008/2009 and how his midfield partners did in comparison.
In this instalment we're going to discuss tackling, possession duels, interceptions, blocks and fouls conceded or won. As you know this is going to fit right into Javier Mascherano's. You'd not expect this one to be close at all and expect Mascherano to be far and away the better tackler out of the three.
"We've got the best midfield in the world!" is what reverberated in Anfield and mainly on the Kop in the heights of Rafael Benitez's reign at Anfield. The song mentioned Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko, Gerrard and Mascheranoooooooooo! We loved that song, we loved that midfield quartet. Since then we've undergone a total transformation in midfield, no longer does it have the passing range of Alonso or the terrier like tackling of Mascherano or Sissoko.
SamSports looks at Lucas Leiva's performances earlier this season, during the Roy Hodgson era. How has he done? Why should his performances be classed as impressive? Where can he improve? All those questions answered in this article.
