Lazar Markovic’s wasted chances cost Liverpool a victory they deserved

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/21/lazar-markovic-liverpool-paul-wilson

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It would be hard to argue that Martin Skrtel did not deserve the injury time or the dramatic late equaliser that rescued a point for Liverpool. It was his nasty gash to the head that had occasioned a whopping nine minutes of added time in the first place and the defender was not only on the Arsenal six-yard line to head an unstoppable goal from Adam Lallana’s corner but turned up on his own goalline after that to help out Brad Jones when the visitors were threatening an even more improbable late twist.

Anfield was a happy place again by the final whistle, Brendan Rodgers’ Christmas not completely spoiled, though the frantic finale concealed a number of home shortcomings, namely that Liverpool should have taken a more commanding lead in a first half they shaded and that their defence was too easily unlocked when Arsenal began to show signs of attacking adventure of their own.

The best news for Liverpool was that Alexis Sánchez, the Arsenal summer signing who might have ended up on Merseyside, failed to score against his erstwhile admirers. The less good news for Liverpool was that two other Arsenal players did, and that familiar failings in central defence undermined what had been a promising attacking display from the home side.

It was nothing like as effective as last year’s 5-1 Liverpool victory, of course; nothing ever could be. That remarkable game saw Arsenal huddled in their own half for safety before the end of the first half. No one really expected a repeat with Luis Suárez in Spain and Daniel Sturridge still out injured, though at least some of the pace and tempo Liverpool crave made a return.

In the circumstances Rodgers has had to do some thinking and admitted he had been up half the night coming up with the 3-4-3 formation he introduced before the 3-1 win against Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. In its favour the system allows the front three to use their pace and gives Lazar Markovic free rein on the left to try to link midfield to attack. Perhaps a disadvantage is that Raheem Sterling becomes too isolated in the centre; this time last season he was making his name utilising space on the flanks but that is where Markovic now operates and the England player is having to make the most of the limited opportunities that come his way. It was significant that Sterling began to make more of an impression on the game in the second half, when he was moved out to the wing as Markovic tired and was withdrawn.

Markovic appears to be a confidence player and his self-belief is high at the moment after scoring his first goal for the club at Bournemouth and getting a run of games at last. He was arguably Liverpool’s liveliest attacker while the game was scoreless or at least he was the recipient of some of the best chances. Unfortunately he missed them all and Liverpool had to wait until Philippe Coutinho supplied a composed finish for something to show for their first-half attacking endeavour.

A £20m buy from Benfica in the summer, Markovic certainly has the pace to succeed in English football, along with a willingness to run directly at defenders and the confidence to attempt, sometimes even to manage, passes to team-mates without looking up to check their position. On the debit side not everything he does comes off, he seems to tire quickly and disappear from games and finishing does not look to be a strong point.

Once a determined Arsenal muscled their way back into this game to take a lead they never looked like throwing away, Liverpool were left to rue the first-half chances Markovic missed. The first one was the more forgivable, Wojciech Szczesny leaving his line smartly to cut down Markovic’s space after he strode past Danny Welbeck into the penalty area. The second looked hasty and wasteful, wafting over the bar after Sterling had presented him with a shooting opportunity.

Had either of those chances gone in, Liverpool might have had the platform to keep running at the Arsenal defence, though right from the start the visitors looked more resolute than last season and once they had achieved a degree of control in midfield it left the home side looking short of ideas even before Fabio Borini’s dismissal. The Liverpool crowd predictably disputed the referee’s decision, though there was little doubt the second offence was a foot-up challenge and deserved a booking. It was the petulance that brought Borini his first card that should have incensed the Anfield crowd, when a striker is sent on to chase a game he should be able to last longer than 17 minutes through collecting a wholly unnecessary caution.

But Liverpool are just not having any luck with strikers at the moment. Even when Mario Balotelli returns he will still be waiting for his first league goal since joining the club, while Sturridge’s injury will soon have cost him the greater part of the season.

It was widely suggested that the presence of a Sturridge or a Suárez at Old Trafford last week might have seen Liverpool take something from the game but neither Rickie Lambert nor Borini seems able to step up to the plate and most of the chances that are being created fall to less accomplished finishers such as Sterling or Markovic. Even Coutinho missed a couple of presentable opportunities late in the game, unable to summon his earlier conviction.

It was no surprise that it was a defender who rescued a point at the end but, even playing with an enormous bandage wrapped round his head, Skrtel cannot be accused of lacking conviction.