Home   >   MOTDs   >   MOTD: Liverpool 1-0 Besiktas

MOTD: Liverpool 1-0 Besiktas

By on February 19, 2015

There went the first odd taste of life without Steven Gerrard at Anfield, both the good, and the bad. Placed high above in the ITV broadcasting booth, Gerrard commented while Jordan Henderson subbed as captain in midfield and continued to cement his position as Gerrard’s heir. Jordan Ibe provided the flair, meanwhile, with an exceptional performance down the wing, while Mario Balotelli inevitably grabbed the headlines. However, as Henderson and Balotelli squabbled over taking a late penalty, Gerrard cringed at the issue his absence created, calling Balotelli’s antics “a bit of disrespect” to Henderson.

Gerrard commented on the likely atmosphere in the dressing room should Balotelli have missed; without their captain, Liverpool suffer from their lack of experience. And Gerrard was forced to comment on Demba Ba, returning to Anfield for the first time after capitalizing on Gerrard’s infamous “slip” against Chelsea last season. On that, he offered only the fact that he “knows Demba better than most.”

Yet Ba today drew a blank, in large part due to the changes in Liverpool’s defense. In a 3-4-3 Liverpool afforded a man-marker on Ba, and with the defensive solidity provided by wing-backs Ibe and Alberto Moreno, could sit back and absorb pressure. In the first half Bestikas piled pressure on early on, but didn’t come close to goal once the tides changed and Liverpool pushed out. Henderson thread many lovely through balls in down the wings, often looking for Daniel Sturridge up front, but Brendan Rodgers’ men were most dangerous down the right, where Ibe terrorized defenders.

Yet Besiktas did threaten on the break and Ba nearly brought a haunting reminders of his goal at Anfield last season when slipped in on goal thirty-four minutes in. This time, though, Simon Mignolet pulled out a top-drawer save to deny the Frenchmen’s low finish. Veni Kavlak also came close with a near post header from a corner, while at the other end of the pitch Moreno’s screamer pulled a fantastic save from Cenk Gonen to tip the effort forty-yard over.

On the other side of the half Liverpool began to dominate, with Moreno scuffing a golden opportunity to score on the far post from Henderson’s lovely lofted cross. Just two minutes later, forty-eight minutes in, another Henderson cross caused chaos, with the ball falling to Adam Lallana with an open net just six yards out; somehow, though, the Englishman put it over. Sturridge and substitute Balotelli both forced awkward saves out of Gonen with bouncing free-kicks, yet it was eventually Ibe’s work that rewarded Liverpool with a deserved late winner. The teenager cut into the box from the right and earned a penalty after a tangle of legs, with Balotelli coolly tucking home the spot-kick. Besitkas may feel got the short end of the stick after a resolute defensive performance, yet anything is still possible as Liverpool travel to the always hostile atmosphere at the Atarurk Olympic Stadium.
Man of the Match: Jordan Ibe

Photo credit: John Jones on Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.