German Bundesliga Recap 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below are brief recaps for all the Bundesliga matches played on February 11, 2012.

Bayer Munich 2-0 Kaiserslautern

Bayern keeps pace with Dortmund with a clean sheet. Both goals came in the first half as Bayern held Kaiserslautern to one shot on goal.

Scottish Premier League Recap 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below is a recap of all the SPL matches on February 11, 2012.

Dunfermline 1-4 Rangers

Rangers get goals from four different players to keep pace in the title race. Dunfermline remains last in the table with a -30 goal difference.

Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) Recap 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below is a recap of all the La Liga matches on February 11, 2012.

Racing Santander 0-0 Atletico Madrid

Racing moves out of the relegation zone Atletico Madrid are up to 6th place. It was a physical match with four yellow cards given to each side.

Italian Serie A Recap 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below is a recap of all the Serie A matches on February 11, 2012.

Udinese 1-2 AC Milan

AC Milan scored a late goal to move top of the table. Udinese's Antonio Di Natale scored in the 19th minute while Maxi Lopez scored in the 77th minute and Stephan El Shaarawy scored the winning goal.

English Premier League Recap 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below are brief recaps for all the EPL matches played on February 11, 2012.

Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool

The Red Devils go top of the EPL table with a brace from Wayne Rooney. Luis Suarez scored a late goal for Liverpool but it wasn't enough for a comeback.

United get a deserved victory on the strength of a Wayne Rooney brace, taking advantage of a lifeless performance in the second half from a Liverpool side that were wholly disappointing. Given the occasion and atmosphere you'd have expected Liverpool to at least show up, but on the day they lacked any sense of urgency, purpose or desire.

It may not have been a man of the match-calibre performance, as those honours would have to have gone to one of the defenders—and probably either Glen Johnson or Martin Skrtel. And he likely didn't even have as good a game as his previous two against Wolverhampton and Manchester United. Regardless of that, however, after nearly a full calendar year filled almost entirely by futility as he struggled first with fitness and then with fitting in, it's understandable that on the back of three strong showings on the bounce people would be eager to look for any upside they can find in the 2012 edition of Andy Carroll.

For many, there has been a belief that in order to get the most out of Charlie Adam he must be played as part of a three-man midfield, alongside players who will be able to cover for his shortcomings and in doing so allow him to do what he does best—break down tough opponents and create scoring opportunities.

Liverpool can't continue their hot streak and end up with their eighth home draw of the campaign, failing to take advantage of a Spurs side that were lacking in both personnel and intent. With the success of the past few weeks creating a healthy dose of optimism this one's got to be chalked up as a disappointment, and worrying in that Liverpool yet again failed to capitalize in a match that mostly looked like theirs for the taking.

The NextGen Series was always more important for the experience it would provide to Liverpool's talented youngsters than for the chance to win a trophy, and so in the end one can only consider a run to the quarter-finals after a testing group stage to have been a success.

It was another chance for a struggling club to inject some life into their season by facing a Liverpool side unable to find consistent results against opposition below them in the table. Unlike Liverpool's last opponents Bolton, however, Wolves never really threatened to take control of the match, though it nevertheless seemed to be going down a familiar path for Liverpool for the first fifty minutes as chances were wasted and midfield devolved into an indecisive muddle.

The out-Stoking of Stoke at Anfield two weeks ago, followed a week later by the utter shambles of a performance at Bolton, set the table for a four-day stretch in which Liverpool's future, not only in the two domestic cup competitions, had been placed in the balance by a fairly significant portion of those who fancy themselves supporters of both Liverpool and general unrest.

Liverpool progress past a Manchester side in a cup competition for the second time in four days, this time defeating United on the strength of a late Dirk Kuyt winner. After the nadir at Bolton, it's been a terrific week for Liverpool, first reaching the final of the League Cup with the aggregate win over City, and now fighting through a tense match that was dominated at times by the visitors to get the win in the dying moments.

"Would it be a risk to play defensively?" the reporter asked Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool prepared to face Manchester City at Anfield in the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals.

After months of praise for being one of the best defensive units in the Premier League, Saturday's game against Bolton saw Liverpool's normally stout defensive line concede three against the side with the worst home record of any club in the seven leagues that make up the top end of the English footballing pyramid.

We're not gonna do this. Not right now. Just go read the Blackburn recap. Or the Swansea recap. Or any other match in which Liverpool never really looked like doing something worth watching, subtract any chances that were created but not taken, punch yourself in the face for watching the whole thing, and then go back to drinking yourself into oblivion.

A week after falling 3-0 to Manchester City in the league, a Liverpool side without two of their top players returned to face a City side missing three of their best for the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals.

It's finally the scoreline we were waiting for, but a lackadaisical first half and an incident late in the second take some of the sheen off for Liverpool, who worked their way past Oldham on the strength of a terrific display by Craig Bellamy.

Manchester City make the gulf in cutting edge clear at the Eastlands, putting three past Liverpool and pushing themselves ahead at the top. Liverpool looked good for spells, particularly between the first and second City goals, but couldn't do anything with their possession and scarcely threatened Joe Hart's goal.

Another match, another dazzling display off the bench for Steven Gerrard. Only this time it led to three points, with the captain once again changing the complexion of a match with his introduction. Like the appearance against Blackburn, the boost was both sentimental and practical, with a notable change in confidence and quality in the side.

The first Friday night league game in England in over twenty years hardly started well for Liverpool, following the pattern set by matches against Blackburn, Wigan, and Fulham in recent weeks.

In a match in which the build-up was impossible to ignore, Liverpool once again work themselves into a corner, failing to create anything dangerous in a match that they ultimately looked lucky to get a point from. It's always the same story with this iteration of Liverpool looking promising early, create a few clear-cut chances, and then piss it all away with dire football that isn't deserving of three points, let alone one.

Like the reverse fixture last season, Liverpool barely get a fight from Aston Villa, easing to victory over an opposition that makes it hard to tell if they're that bad or if Liverpool were really that good.

It can't just be about playing with Daniel Agger, as in recent weeks he has seemed to outshine even his highly regarded Danish teammate, though perhaps that the partnership allows him to now consistently play on his favoured right side could be part of it.

It isn't entirely a surprise, either, as in his early days at Liverpool he was for many the man who would replace Jamie Carragher; a confident, physical defender set to anchor the defence for years to come.

On Saturday against Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool dominated nearly every conceivable statistical category, at times more than doubling their opponent's tallies as they racked up the numbers from possession to passing to shots on target. At least this time around they won. Still, that they only barely did win, once again doing their best to keep an overmatched opponent in the game, is a continuing source of frustration for this year's squad.

Liverpool play well for large spells and endure a late QPR surge to get the result they needed at Anfield, using the one chance they finished to get all three points. The result's obviously most important, particularly on the heels of the disappointment at Craven Cottage earlier in the week.

It was a match that Liverpool should have won, if only they'd taken their chances. If only the officials hadn't overturned an offside Luis Suarez goal that wasn't. If only Kevin Friend hadn't given Jay Spearing a questionable red card or if only he had awarded a penalty and not a free-kick when Charlie Adam was felled as he entered the sixteen-yard box.

Same old song and dance for Liverpool with a questionable sending-off and a Pepe Reina error to spice things up, as the hosts get a late winner and the wasteful guests spend most of their possession not finishing chances. Posts were hit, fouls weren't given, upper hand was wasted.

In the end, a well-deserved win at Stamford Bridge—the second in ten days—sees Liverpool join Cardiff and Manchester City in the semi-finals of the League Cup, with Manchester United set to take on Crystal Palace for the last open slot on Wednesday.

His numbers speak for themselves: 69 completed passes on 75 attempts for a 92% success rate, 13 out of 16 challenges won on the ground, four out of four headers won, seven successful tackles on seven attempts, and seven interceptions.

Gael Clichy had 7 interceptions; Joleon Lescott had five successful tackles; Gareth Barry completed 69 passes but misplaced three more of his attempts for an 88% passing rate; and Yaya Toure managed the unlikely feat of also completing 69 passes on 75 attempts—though his three successful challenges to go along with a single header and tackle won pales in comparison to Lucas' numbers.

Liverpool prove their mettle but were stifled by Manchester City and Joe Hart, as once again the hosts can't convert the chances that would have won them the match. This one's as much about Hart's impressive ability in goal as it is Liverpool's inability to find the net; both he and Pepe Reina kept their clubs in a match that was plenty entertaining.

On Sunday, Martin Skrtel won 100% of his challenges on the ground, 100% of his challenges in the air, 100% of his tackles, added a pair of interceptions, and managed to be one of the very few players nobody seemed to think was to blame for Chelsea's goal. John Terry and Frank Lampard won all their aerial challenges; Craig Bellamy and Didier Drogba won all their attempted tackles in attack; and Florent Malouda won all his aerials and tackles.

Yesterday we broke down Liverpool's winning goal, and while the focus may have been on Glen Johnson's run from deep and his fantastic finishing of it, the team effort involved in the buildup was plain to see. It might be fair to say that most goals, if you dig deep enough, are team efforts, though often that effort can either be fairly self-evident or, conversely, hopelessly muddied.

Dirk Kuyt draws Ashley Cole inside to cover for John Terry. Glen Johnson's run from deep catches Florent Malouda unaware. And Liverpool recover from a long stretch where they were outplayed by Chelsea to win for the second time in a row at Stamford Bridge under Kenny Dalglish. For some, Johnson's composure in the box and skilful, left-footed finish might seem one more reason to deploy the attacking fullback higher up the pitch.

Liverpool come away with a deserved win in a tense affair at Stamford Bridge, extending their winning streak over the London club to three. The sides traded spells of dominance, with Liverpool much better for the opening forty-five, and Chelsea maintaining the upper hand for most of the second.

The end product may not be there yet, with a bad miss in the opening minutes against Swansea highlighting that fact, but in recent weeks Andy Carroll has certainly put in a shift—and looked far more useful for it, especially compared to the opening weeks of the season when he could at times seem indifferent.

With everyone's skins a fair bit thinner in the 24 hours since yesterday's draw with Swansea, it's probably best to avoid reliving the collective disappointment. But you know, whatever. Watching Fulham do their best Liverpool impression in the dying minutes at Craven Cottage makes some sort of flashback unavoidable, so we might as well just go full-on exposure therapy.

The script stays the same, with Liverpool failing to convert the chances they manage to create, except that for once, it wasn't Kenny Dalglish's side dominating the match. Swansea spent large spells of the match on the front foot, taking it to a Liverpool side that failed to put much of anything together prior to the dying minutes.

The insanity of Arsenal going to Stamford Bridge and beating Chelsea 5-2 may have taken up a solid plurality of Match of the Day yesterday, leaving the runtime a little light when it came to Liverpool versus West Brom and so robbing us of the chance to watch highlights of Charlie Adam trying out his special edition Adidas FlubberZero boots, but for the time being it's the best we've got.

Liverpool win comfortably in a match that was only made difficult by their own doing, as they scored twice and eased to victory despite failing to convert a handful of chances that would have made the scoreline more reflective of the performance.