As the full-time whistle was blown at Carrow road, the score-line read; Norwich City 2-5 Liverpool. This was Brendan Rodgers’s first win in the league as a Liverpool manager, six games into the season. If the score-line was impressive, a look at the statistics of the game will impress even further, Liverpool had 67% possession and played a total of 700 passes with 90% reaching the target. Simply put Norwich were ‘passed-to-death’ by an impressive Liverpool side. The purpose of highlighting all these stats is to put into perspective the way Brendan Rodgers wants Liverpool to play. Keep the ball, pass it around..plain and simple
The season began with much optimism and positivity around Anfield with promise of a ‘European’ brand of football, but five games into the season and Liverpool were still without a win in the league. Three defeats in the opening 5 games had some sections of Liverpool supporters already doubting the credentials of the newly appointed manager. However, five games is not a time frame on which you can judge a manager’s ability and only a madman will be calling for the manager’s head right about now.
5 points in 6 games is not exactly a bright start but clearly there is light at the end of the tunnel. Right from the start of the season, Rodgers’s style was evident in Liverpool’s game. Against West Brom on opening day they controlled a lot of the first half till Daniel Agger was sent off, although after that they just seemed rudderless and went down 3-0. A harsh score-line but the right result. Liverpool purely dominated visiting champions Manchester City with their passing and pressing but were eventually undone by two individual errors, denying Rodgers a deserving first win in front of the home crowd, with the game ending 2-2. Games against Arsenal, Sunderland and Manchester United followed with Liverpool still without a win.