Dirk Kuyt’s hat-trick on Sunday was a well-earned reward for one of those players often slated too much and praised too little in the cut-throat Premier League.
The Dutchman may have neither the astute grace of the perfect top level support man or midfielder, nor the prolific strike rate of the centre forward that was what he was originally bought as by Rafael Benitez, but those with their eyes open know that he is nothing if not a heart-on-the-sleeve fighter, who always endeavours to give the team the worthy sum of his parts.
Steven Gerrard’s value to Liverpool has been over-hyped in the past, as has his rate of effort in the side if things are not going their way. His brilliance and commitment to the side are often excellent, but not always, and in terms of hunger he has often been outshined by the less talented and far more criticised Kuyt. So, it was just nice for Kuyt, a first-choice pick in a side that got to last year's World Cup final and a man who Benitez was keen to being to Inter Milan with him when he left, to be the man who would give the Reds fans their best day of the season.
And characteristically they were not the three greatest goals (finishes anyway, Luis Suarez’s efforts in the build-ups must not be forgotten) in the world, which of course worried absolutely nobody supporting the team in red on the day.
So Liverpool's best day and Manchester United’s worst! A 3-1 defeat at Anfield is a sickening result for those associated with the Red Devils, but even worse was a performance where the defence was asleep, the midfield lethargic and unhelpful and the forwards stifled and static. The fact that it was a sub in Javier Hernandez who got their last gasp goal only emphasised that the team was wrong from the start.
The absences of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic could not be helped on the day, more so it was the lack of movement in a midfield where admittedly Sir Alex Ferguson was short of numbers that cost his side any real chance of coming back into this game once they had gone 2-0 behind. Michael Carrick has had a good innings at the club. Five years is more than enough for a man who has been a bit of a lucky charm at times but who has gradually been found wanting at Old Trafford. His new three-year deal seems unnecessary at a time when that whole area of the team needs an overhaul, not a lick of paint.
There were also some ugly incidents in the game. Jamie Carragher once again proved to be the man they cannot send off, while Rafael could easily have gone too and surely would have had the Carragher call – for a worse offence – not been made in the way it had. Fergie stayed quiet publicly after the game as he looked to avoid any more FA charges. He was also likely laying into his team. They were unlucky to lose at Chelsea, but were lucky to only lose by two at Anfield. The league is still theirs to lose but, now that they are no longer the team who cannot be beaten, sides will be lining up to stop their charge, and as injuries continue to mount they may be in line for quite a battle as squeaky bum time hovers.
Later on the same Sunday Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur paid a moving tribute to their former player Dean Richards, who so sadly passed away last week at just 36.
The 90 minutes that followed was every bit as fitting a gesture as the two teams provided great entertainment, some smashing goals and also some reward for another player who does not always get the goal count his efforts merit – Wolves’ Kevin Doyle. He bagged two and is a player who deserves to keep his place in the Premier League as the titanic battle at the bottom rages on. On the other side Jermain Defoe has been a more regular scorer, though not this season, so his two crackers were another welcome addition to an enthralling day of football.
As at Anfied and as last week there were more bad decisions in this game. Alan Hutton should have been sent off. Wolves were denied a goal when they could have had a penalty, etc, etc. It’s not proving to be a great spring for the referees.
United’s three defeats in five games has given Arsenal great hope of winning the league, yet they are eating away at that hope with some shabby efforts of their own and their 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland was probably as frustrating as any iffy result that they have had all season. Yes, the spectre of Barcelona loomed large as Arsene Wenger’s men lined out against a resilient Black Cats, but they really had been given a way right back in by United four days earlier, so to only take a third of the points on offer at this stage is D minus stuff. Simon Mignolet, in the Sunderland goal, did – in fairness – make some great saves to keep them at bay, but the failure to go the extra mile could be what costs Arsenal in the end.
Chelsea reckon they might be back in it after having too much for Blackpool in another game where the refereeing sparked some anger. The result was always going to be a Chelsea win once John Terry had scored though you feel. Whether the champions can stage the comeback of comebacks remains to be seen, but shame on the teams above them if they do. The hairs just grow and grow on the Blackpool necks, but they are still outside the drop zone – just.
Manchester City kept their chase alive, but needed Wigan’s Ali Al Habsi to have a nightmare moment for them to do so as he allowed David Silva’s shot to squirm in on a day when the Latics could have taken a point or more at Eastlands. They had their chances and crucially did not take them. It is no good saying they have gotten some of their tougher fixtures out of the way now if they take no points from the supposedly less tough ones. There was a reward there for them on Saturday and bottom of the league is no place to be as the weeks count down.
Their next game is against fellow bottom three dwellers Birmingham City, who must also face Everton before then. The Blues won the Carling Cup last week and had the almost-to-be-expected slump in their next game. However, it was a big derby with huge survival points at stake so it might not have been the best time for them to let West Brom come and dance rings around them. James Morrison’s goal was the stand-out moment of this match for the Baggies who have gotten their first win under Roy Hodgson and look to have got some life in them at the right time.
That is something that can also be said for West Ham and how! I warned last week that they could follow up their fine win over Liverpool in typical fashion by not turning up the next day, but turn up they did. Demba Ba and Thomas Hitzlsperger – a new signing and someone who has been like one – have been great additions to the team previously held together by Scott Parker and their battle to escape the drop looks more and more positive after they handed Stoke a hiding. And it is great to see Hitzlsperger fit again because his goals always look good whether from near or far.
Elsewhere, Damien Duff rolled back the years to sink his old club Blackburn, Gary Cahill also put away a brace to sink his old club Aston Villa and Leon Osman and Mikel Arteta helped sink a Newcastle side who opted to put Mike Williamson up front. Alan Shearer the centre-half is not!
Team of the week (3-4-3): Simon Mignolet (Sunderland); Titus Bramble (Sunderland), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool); Raul Meireles (Liverpool), Thomas Hitzlsperger (West Ham United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Damien Duff (Fulham); Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Kevin Doyle (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur).