Gareth Bale & Luis Suarez
Two laughable dives that should have been punished by yellow cards.
Suarez was starting to earn some sympathy for repeatedly being denied genuine penalty claims this season, but his dying swan act against Stoke only served to enhance his costly reputation.
Robert Huth
Given the precedent of the FA's retrospective action taken against Mario Balotelli for his stamp on Scott Parker last season, Huth can expect to receive a three-match ban for planting his studs in Luis Suarez's chest (Balotelli recieved a four-match suspension; three for violent conduct and an additional game as he had already been sent off earlier in the campaign).
Tony Pulis
Yes, Suarez's dive was embarrassing. But more embarrassing than Pulis making a quick exit from his post-match press conference before journalists had the opportunity to question him about Robert Huth's stamp on the striker? I think not.
Liverpool
A disappointing, but predictable draw against a team who love nothing more than to kill a game. Sunday proved a gruelling test for Liverpool and with only two of 18 attempts hitting the target despite a sizeable advantage in terms of possession (although the Reds actually had more of the ball in the 0-0 draw at home to Stoke last season) the afternoon told a familiar story not just of this fixture, but of an on-going failure to take chances.
Indeed, it could be that the 5-2 thrashing of Norwich was simply an anomalous result against currently the worst defence in the division. Liverpool have only scored four goals in their other six Premier League fixtures so far and while Brendan Rodgers was pleased with a first clean sheet, six points from a possible 21 shows there is plenty of work to do.
The manager must ensure that he focuses on the positives, though, as there are quite a few players in the Reds' squad who look as though they could be shattered by criticism. After the 3-2 defeat to Udinese in midweek, I wrote that Rodgers shouldn't be too hard on his troops, and Stewart Downing's response to the manager publicly questioning his desire hints at problems with morale.
"You'll have to ask the manager what he meant by his quotes. I would have preferred it obviously if it was private," said Downing, and it does seem that Rodgers likes to talk a bit too much. The manager's recent claim that Liverpool fans are "very educated and clever" was also rather foolish as the enlightened fanbase can easily see through flattery to poor results.
Either Rodgers will have to work exceptionally hard on his soundbites or improve the club's fortunes on the pitch if he is to be given the time he craves to develop his philosophy at Anfield. A first home win of the season (in the Premier League) against Reading in two weeks' time would be a start.
究竟係stoke防守得好, norwich防守太差, 定係自己水準不穩定呢....?
希望下場聯賽可以為主場開齋啦....
