Liverpool lucky to escape with all 3 points against QPR

Premier League
Sunday 19 October 2014 - 1:30 pm
Loftus Road
QPR2
3Liverpool
Show Match Events
67'own goal ⚽️
90'own goal ⚽️
90'Coutinho ⚽️
Hide Match Events

Lucky lucky Liverpool.

QPR scored four times today, thankfully twice in their own net as LFC grabbed all three points when their performance deserved none.

Miraculously Liverpool's dismal performances have landed them in 5th place with 8 games played in the Premier League - but too many more performances like this and the luck will certainly run out.

Mario Balotelli, again, cut a lone lost figure - still without a Premier League goal as Brendan Rodgers judgement can continue to be questioned.

If there is one thing that has been central to Rodgers tenure at Anfield it is that he cannot produce teams capable of defending.

Simon Mignolet has by far the worst clean sheet record of any significantly capped LFC goalkeeper this side of the second world war.  While he produced some 'saves' - invariably tapped wide for a corner - he was also guilty again of some poor goalkeeping intelligence.  Dejan Lovren, at £20M, looks about £20M overpriced and Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique look to be well past their best-before date.

QPR started the day bottom of the Premier League - by the end of the first half they should have been 3-0 up.  Liverpool's crumbling defence beaten a number of times - poor finishing from QPR keeping LFC in the game.

Midway through the second half and against the run of play - a Liverpool goal.  Richard Dunne notching up his 10th League own goal - putting the ball in his own net from a Glen Johnson cross.

Substitute Vargas, who had replaced the excellent Bobby Zamora, equalised in the dying embers of the game.  Poor defensive marking from Liverpool allowing the ball to sweep through the penalty area.

Liverpool had their own substitute ready to grab a goal. Coutinho put Liverpool back in the lead in injury time from a fast LFC counter attack.  All over? Erm no.

Vargas grabbed another before miraculously a last minute LFC break - a magnificently timed pass from Coutinho found Sterling who was powering into the box - his pass across the box tapped in by Caulker who was running towards his own goal.

Liverpool now face Madrid on Wednesday.  If they play like they did here they will get destroyed.  It will be interesting to see if Balotelli is still Rodgers number one pupil because on the evidence of his attitude in this game he doesn't even deserve a seat in the stands.

Discuss with Liverpool fans on the LFC Reds Forum