Liverpool’s 11-match unbeaten run came to a disappointing end at Craven Cottage on Monday night, as a late goal from Clint Dempsey gave Fulham a 1-0 win. The Reds had already done more than enough to win the game despite being down to ten men after Jay Spearing’s dismissal and will be cursing their luck at coming away with nothing.
Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing both hit the post, while Luis Suarez had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. As has been pointed out so many times this season, Liverpool simply have not been clinical enough in front of goal. Suarez has not scored a league goal since the beginning of October, while Andy Carroll , Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt have just three between them.
Of the new signings, Charlie Adam only has only scored two times, one of which was a penalty, Henderson only once, and Downing is yet to open his account. What Kenny Dalglish really needs right now is someone who can stick the ball back in the net. A player who is in decent goalscoring form. And he has one sitting on the bench almost every week.
That man is Maxi Rodriguez . The Argentine midfielder ended last season in excellent form, scoring seven goals in his last four games of the campaign. So far during 2011-12, he has made just one league start, in which he scored away at Chelsea, and one substitute appearance.
City can have no excuses for not qualifying irrelevant of the difficult nature of the group, because of the money they have spent. But we can see in how the two teams approached this week’s game some clues that explain the end result. Whilst Napoli’s league form has tailed off and the goals dried up, they were fully focused, as were their fans, on playing City and getting the necessary victory. Mancini and City find themselves five points clear at the top of the Premier League, and perhaps their focus has slightly shifted in that direction.
Maxi should be given a starting line up against Fulham. He can do what others don’t. Include him in the next gameand he costs nothing to Liverpool.