Man. City 2 - LFC 3 (we have to do it the hard way... like always...)

Torres, the savior. Some TV commentators and columnist (UK based) pointed out that LFC is relying too heavily on Fernando Torres to win a match. If not Torres, the same is said about Gerrard. According to them, in the event both players sustain injury or were banned, LFC will be doomed. It has a ring of truth there... a bit.

But my reply is : in the first place, the very reason LFC forked out nearly 20 million pounds plus Luis Garcia to get Torres is simply for Torres to score and win the match for LFC. So for me, the question whether LFC overtly relying on him or not - is not relevant. In some games, Torres doesn't even have to score to help LFC win. It's just simply him running around the defenders, thus enabling other players to roam freely in and near the penalty box to give it a shot. He didn't score in the PSV Eindhoven game but he assisted (Keane's goal) and stir away the defenders (Kuyt's goal).

Torres is indeed has returned to his best. Over 2 games, he scored 4 goals. That is magnificent stats by any standard. Unfortunately, the international break forces everyone to divert their attention for a while this week. I hope his momentum will carry on. The crunch game against Chelsea is on Oct.26th. A must watch. Beat the Blues, and we'll go above them.

As for Kuyt, he scored at last. Though it cannot help the disappointment I feel with his poor form. In the 1st half, he should have converted the pass from Reira. The whole game could have been different and Man. City could never have scored at all. Kuyt did gets the bulk of the opportunity. He squandered one after another chances inside the penalty box. If he failed to convert the winning goal, I would be joining kajang-today in condemning Kuyt game.

Actually, the 1st half can be considered the most weird spectacle. Even Masherano and Gerrard played as if they have their minds somewhere else. The passing was lousy. When they lose the ball, there's no conviction shown by them to regain it. It was very un-Liverpool of them in the 1st half.

The whole ``new'' players came aboard in the 2nd half. Mind you, there was no changes until the 70th minutes. But they play with more determination. Gerrard looks like he just arrived and orchestrated the 1st goal by way of neat passing to Arbeloa who swing it to the centre of the goalmouth for Torres to convert it. Phew...

My verdict : This is not a beautiful match at all. People might buzzing claiming that LFC was repeating the Istanbul's memory. My argument is : LFC shouldn't have to do it the hard way. Evidently, Man City's fullbacks - marshaled by Mr Dunne is not China's Great Wall. They were easily beaten by Torres, Reira and later, Benayoun. We gave undue respect to the so-called the most expensive player in the world, Mr Robinho. I have said that Robinho is nothing special. Carra didn't have any problem in stopping him. The menace of Skrtel terrified not only Robinho but the whole of Man City's forwards. But how in the world, LFC conceded the 2 goals? It is unacceptable.

It may be still a long way to go before we can dream of becoming the Premier League Champion but with the ever-efficient Torres and the whole world-class midfielder in the team, that dream still looming beautifully in front of us. However, if we continue having such blunders and allowing the opposition to score... the dream will only be a mere dream. We must not concede such easy and stupid goals anymore.