The fighting spirit

29th December Aston Villa Vs Liverpool (Premiership)

Has any one had such an impact on Premiership football than Fernando Torres? 50 goals in 72 premier league games is an exceptional scoring rate. When you consider he plays on his own as a lone striker, spending the vast majority of the game in isolation and becoming frustrated, it further highlights is unquestionable quality.

In a way, this game epitomised the role Torres plays for Liverpool. He didn’t enjoy much possession, wasn’t supplied with many balls, but when his solitary chance came, he took it with the most deadly of finishes.

The luck of the bounce assisted the Spaniard, but the manner in which he dispatched the ball past the hapless Friedel was as cool a finish as you’ll see all season. To remain focussed and calm until the 93rd minute shows the resolve and character the man has.

Injury time winners taste all the sweeter, especially after exciting encounters, and this game was no exception. There were chances for both teams throughout, with Reina’s cat-like reflexes keeping his side in the game to the very end.

Either side deserved to nick all 3 points. In football you need to remain positive, with a battling spirit to the 90th minute, or the 94th in this case. Think of the countless injury time winners Manchester United under Ferguson. It’s not because of luck or fortune or bias from the officials, but because of the belief that the manager has instilled in his players.

Such late goals were a vital aspect of the start of last season for us, which gave the team confidence, belief and most of all a platform of points, something that has been missing from the start of this season.

This created momentum throughout the squad, a massive factor which enabled the team to finish 2nd in the league, with their highest ever Premiership points tally. Definite progress.

We’re 2 points behind Villa now and if we beat Tottenham at Anfield in our next league game, we’ll be only one 1 point behind them. A nice turnaround from how our season’s been looking. With league games against Stoke, Wolves and Bolton to follow the Spurs game, a run of wins is now looking possible.

The injury to Johnson is an obvious set-back but Carragher is man who can adapt to the right-back position. With Martin Kelly soon to return from injury, and Stephen Darby getting first team games under his belt, I feel we have sufficient back-up in Johnson’s absence.