Source: Telegraph
Nervous Liverpool eke out scrappy win at Hull City
The exertion and excitement of their previous two games has clearly taken its toll on Liverpool. It was not just the lack of attacking verve which brought them eight goals against Arsenal and Chelsea which had disappeared, their reserves of invention exhausted, but also the sense of defensive resolution which characterises Benitez's sides. [LNB]Passes were misplaced, tackles ill-timed, touches unsure. Goals from Xabi Alonso and two from Dirk Kuyt, aided by Caleb Folan's dismissal and despite Geovanni's consolation, gave Liverpool three precious points, prolonged their title campaign for another week. But the nerves are jangling. The pressure is starting to tell, and not just at Old Trafford. [LNB] Related ArticlesTelegraph player raterPremier League tablePremier League Round-up: Liverpool beat Hull and Chelsea see off West HamChelsea v Liverpool: Man markingLiverpool v Arsenal: Man markingChelsea v Liverpool: History old and new gives Rafa Benitez hope over expectation'We were a little bit nervous,' said Rafa Benitez. 'The pitch was terrible and, credit to Hull, they pressed hard. We have to be satisfied.' [LNB]Rattled by Hull's relentless harrying, the visitors struggled to get started. Fernando Torres forced Boaz Myhill into a fingertip save after Yossi Benayoun's shot deflected into his path and the Israeli fired one effort onto the roof of the net, but before Alonso's divine intervention, the hosts had their illustrious guests on the ropes. [LNB]They poured forward, encouraged by the vast expanses of space Liverpool's central midfield, bereft of their usual order, granted them. When they could not create a chance of their own, they played expertly on the nerves infused into Liverpool by the harrowing experiences of the last 10 days. [LNB]Caleb Folan twice dallied on chances early on presented to him by defensive muddles. Dean Marney shot wide after being allowed to run 30 yards through the midfield. Jamie Carragher's poor clearing header presented the solar-powered Geovanni – he only plays when it's sunny - with a chance for a 30-yard volley, which he fizzed agonisingly wide. [LNB]When Nicky Barmby failed to convert a pinpoint cross from the menacing Craig Fagan, it looked just a matter of time before Liverpool finally buckled. As it was, on the stroke of half time they were granted a slice of luck they scarcely warranted, Alonso lashing a 25-yard volley low past Myhill after his initial free-kick – from a decision branded an 'injustice' by Brown - hit the wall. [LNB]Phil Brown must have suspected at that point it was not to be his side's day. When Caleb Folan was rightly dismissed after almost an hour for kicking out at Martin Skrtel, he will have guessed he was cursed. When Skrtel dusted himself down, ambled forward for a corner and saw Kuyt head his scuffed shot home two minutes later, Brown was no doubt certain. [LNB]Liverpool, though, have developed a taste for the dramatic. Geovanni's equaliser, tapping home Daniel Cousin's cut-back, set weakened Merseyside hearts racing, an ailment not helped when Torres struck the bar when Kuyt offered him the chance to settle the game. Eventually, the Dutchman finished the job himself, bundling home after Myhill parried Arbeloa's shot. [LNB]The fear abated, the hangover survived. The nerves, though, will not have steadied. The remedy is yet to be found. [LNB]
