Despite spending millions in the summer, Saturday's win at Villa showed again how much Benitez and Co depend on their brilliant skipper.
'Gerrard was dynamic and influential, driving the team forward to get the result'
It’s been an exciting summer for Liverpool fans. Rafa Benitez has been on a £40m spending spree the like of which Anfield has never seen before, a magnificent huge new stadium has been proposed and expectations are higher than they have been in a while. But after the first game of the season, despite the massive spend, one thing remains the same: Steven Gerrard is the key to their success.
There is no doubt that Benitez has made some exciting signings. Fernando Torres is a magnificent player with much skill and a great scoring record in Spain. Ryan Babel has shown a lot of potential in his time at Ajax and Andrei Veronin, Yossi Benyoun and young Brazilian Leiva Lucas all look like excellent acquisitions, but once again it was Gerrard who provided Liverpool’s spark and inspiration against Aston Villa in the opening game of the season.
As ever, he was dynamic and influential, driving the team forward to get the result after Jamie Carragher gave away a penalty. Gerrard's never-say-die attitude is infectious towards those around him, and his free kick that ensured the three points for the reds was fantastic.
This is all well and good, but you worry for Liverpool if their talisman was to get injured or suspended. You look at the rest of their midfield and there is no-one who could take on Gerrard’s mantle, in a couple of years Javier Mascherano maybe, but for the time being Gerrard is untouchable. This could prove to be a problem for their championship aspirations.
You compare the depth of Liverpool’s squad to that of Manchester United or Chelsea and it seems this summer’s massive spending spree may not have been enough. Man for man Liverpool are probably still weaker than Chelsea, and definitely inferior to United. A midfield line up of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Owen Hargreaves is streets ahead of Liverpool. If Ronaldo was to have an off-day then any of the other three can take hold of the game in a way which Harry Kewell, Xabi Alonso or Momo Sissoko could not if Gerrard was out.
I’m sure the gap between Liverpool and the champions will be less than the 21 points this time round, but I think they will fall short once again until they sign midfield players who are nearer the calibre of their captain.
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