Premier League Player Ratings: Liverpool 2-2 Man City
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
u should ask rafa why they dun have players manning the goalpost defending a corner, left and right goalpost? is that zonal marking system or what?
Scolari : Post don't score goals
stubborn like scolari, die also mai change tactic.
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Gary Lineker: Sorry Rafa, but strikers love zonal marking
Dreamland: Unmarked Emmanuel Adebayor rises to put City ahead
Used to love playing against teams who used zonal marking. It was dreamworld for a striker like me. Rather than have some big, hairy centre-half stuck by my side all afternoon at corners and free-kicks, I knew I'd find enough space at some point to have a good chance to score. Happy days.
I'm sure Emmanuel Adebayor felt the same going up against Liverpool yesterday. He would have been licking his lips beforehand thinking about all the crosses that would come his way without anyone specified to mark him. And sure enough, it was no surprise when he buried a free header to help Manchester City earn a deserved draw and heap more pressure on Rafa Benitez.
Overall, we saw two teams at Anfield yesterday who are not going to compete to win the Premier League until they sort out their defences and make themselves more difficult to beat.
That is where Liverpool and Manchester City are at the moment, and that is encouraging to Aston Villa and Spurs because it shows a top-four place might be attainable. But what struck me was the continued use - and failure - of Benitez's zonal marking at the back.
As I said, I used to love playing against that system because it meant you could find that little half a yard of space. Most teams used to put a marker on you at set-pieces and there is nothing worse than trying to find space with a defender grabbing your shirt. The worst one was the French defender Basile Boli.
He had my head in a vice-like grip at corners and when it became clear my mournful looks at the referee weren't going to help, I stamped on Boli's foot to get him away from me.
I don't like to admit it, but it was my only hope. It's a lot easier with zonal marking. It means you are going to get small gaps where nobody is picking you up. If the ball falls in the right area between defenders, you will get a free header like Adebayor did to score City's equaliser.
The area of space isn't huge, but it exists. I kept telling myself to keep running into those small slots of space and the chance would come. Most of the time you would gamble and the defender in front would clear, but persevere and the ball would reach you.
Despite being relatively small for a striker, I still managed to score a lot of goals from corners. Most teams I played against went man-for-man and my percentage went up when it was zonal.
The irony for Liverpool fans is that English teams were more likely to play zonally than foreign sides. But clearly the system made its way to Madrid where Benitez felt comfortable with it.
I am sure all Liverpool's opponents plan for it throughout the week, getting the delivery and movement right. Because when it works, Liverpool can be a piece of cake to score against. Set-pieces are so important nowadays, it is no coincidence the two teams who generally defend them the best, Chelsea and Manchester United, win the most trophies.
Considering the money spent by Liverpool and City, it is quite shocking to think they have won only one of their last 12 league games between them.
City looked equally vulnerable to Liverpool at the back and their only mitigation is that Mark Hughes is building a new, emerging team. You can see now why they fought so hard for John Terry.
In the end, City could count themselves unfortunate not to end up winning at Anfield - they came out of their shell once Liverpool had gone ahead, and Liverpool's equaliser to make it 2-2 was a bit flukey.
Neither team looks strong enough at the back to win enough games to guarantee challenging Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal.
Perhaps the manager with the broadest smile tonight will be Harry Redknapp as he prepares his Spurs team to take on Wigan today.
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barry is really a flop.