I HAD hoped that going on about Xabi Alonso would become a thing of the past once the season kicked off. Because you always know that if you’re talking about players who have left early in the campaign, then you know it’s been a bad start.
The reason I don’t like talking about Alonso is that he engineered his move and there was very little Liverpool could do to stop him moving to Real Madrid. It’s not as if selling him was a decision Rafael Benitez made so you do have some sympathy for the manager – finding someone to fill Alonso’s boots was always going to be difficult.
And that is how it is proving already and no greater evidence was needed than in the performance on Monday night when Liverpool went down 3-1 at home to Aston Villa.
Anyone who thought the Spaniard wouldn’t be missed only needs to look at that game to realise the massive difference from last season.
In midfield, without the quick, accurate passing of the Spaniard, Liverpool all too often ran out of ideas and couldn’t penetrate going forward.
Brad Friedel did make some decent saves but the sustained pressure and relentless moving off the ball was sadly lacking.
And without someone who can deliver the killer pass, particularly against the kind of crowded midfield Aston Villa put out, then it’s always going to be a struggle.
Javier Mascherano can do many things but he’s not one of those players whose first pass is always knocked forward in an instant – he’s there to break things up and a good job he does of that too.
As for Lucas, well Benitez can go on about how much he is improving and learning all he likes, but in comparison to Alonso he still has a long way to go.
And what Monday night showed was that if he hasn’t got the space to keep possession and think about what he’s going to do, then he’s going to get closed down to the point of suffocation in that midfield.
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