The defence were excellent apart from a couple of Liverpool runs down the their left and 1 shot on target which did not bother Seaman tells the whole story.
The success of yesterday's match apart from the obvious I would say it was Wiltord on the left, Edu was excellent in the first half and Silva was as good in the second half rounding off a good debut in the English League with an excellent goal.
Here are my ratings :
Seaman – Not much to do but looked assured whenever necessary especially with crosses. 7/10
Lauren – I thought he had an excellent game; lots of forward runs and very sound defensively. Did anyone manage to get pass him ? 8/10
Cole – superb going forward and although he wasn't too bad defensively, Diouf was a tricky customer and ensured that Cole was 100% concentrated. 7.5/10
Keown – Was named man of the match which I disagreed with but he did have an excellent game by marking Owen completely out of the match. It feels so good to see Keown had lost none of his appetite for the game so lets hope that he avoids injuries. 8/10
Campbell – Sol has started really well and looks in great shape unlike when he joined us last season. This guy is awesome and I believe that he is the main man in a defence that could concede the least number of goals in the premiership. 8/10
Vieira – What an immense display by a guy who is back to his best. Is there a better defensive midfield in the world ? Steve Gerard tried his bully boy tactics but of course you need more than that to stop Patrick. He was back defending (how many headers did he win from corners and free kicks ?) one minute and the next beautiful passes to Vieira and Bergkamp. The other main encouraging point was his communication with the players, encouraging them, instructing them to take positions during free kicks etc. – 9.5/10
Edu – had a great half and it was a shame that he had to go off injured even though it gave us the opportunity to see Silva. Edu and Vieira (and later Silva) seem to have a very good understanding and move around freely with the knowledge that one of them will protect the defence. I was particularly impressed with his defensive qualities and the ability for long cross field balls – 7.5/10 (would have been more but only played the first half).
Wiltord – Can people continue to criticise this guy's ability and commitment ? he is a striker and has so far played on the right side of midfield (scoring 18 goals last season) and yesterday he had a great game on the left side and finished the game playing up front with Henry. I really hope people will get off his back once and for all (it was interesting to see that Q had only given Wiltord 5/10) – 8/10
Parlour – For me parlour had an a quite game; he wasn't terrible but its now becoming obvious to me that Parlour is a better central midfield than on the right. His problem is that he has to get passed Vieira, Edu and Silva first. – 7/10
Bergkamp – Wasn't brilliant but still had the skill to create the goal, had several shots on target and at times showed lively skills – 7.5/10
Henry – Can you imagine how the opposing defenders feel watching him on this form ? the way he went passed the Liverpool defenders when his shot came off the post was incredible. In just over 20 meters the defenders seem like 3-4 metres behind him when they had started level. We must make the most of watching players like Henry because god knows when we will see another like him – 9/10
Subs :
Silva : What a great debut on English soil. Wenger's words were that Silva makes things look simple but to do that you must have lots of skill and be a good reader of the game. A good example was his goal for which he started the move in our own half. I can't wait to see him live next Sunday. – 8/10