Liverpool 1-0 Everton

It has been a long time since I post something about Liverpool in my blog. Just now, I went to Hazlan and watched the match, but I only watched the 2nd half. Liverpool played pretty good and thanks to Dirk Kuyt whom scored the winning goal. It is his 50th goal for the Liverpool. Liverpool now is in top 4 in the league. If Man City loses the game against Hull and Villa and Tottenham just draw, Liverpool's position will be secured. Ok, here's the match report.

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Liverpool made light of losing a man in the first half to beat their local rivals and move, however briefly, back into the top four. Rafa Benítez attracted some derision when he guaranteed his side would secure a Champions League finish, though Liverpool are showing signs of their old solidity and have every chance of turning their season around.

Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal of the game with a straightforward header from a Steven Gerrard corner just before the hour, though inevitably the major talking point was the 18th red card in Premier League-era Merseyside derbies. Referee Martin Atkinson had shown a commendably lenient attitude as both sides went at it hammer and tongs in the first half hour – commendable in that had he applied the letter of the law there may only have been eight players on each side by half-time.

But he erred on the side of generosity in only showing a yellow card to Steven Pienaar for a horrific challenge on Javier Mascherano, and the game had still not settled down into a football contest by the time Marouane Fellaini and Sotirios Kyrgiakos converged on a 50-50 ball in the 33rd minute. Both players went over the top, but whereas Fellaini was lucky to escape unpunished for stamping on the Greek defender's ankle, Kyrgiakos launched himself two-footed into the tackle and was dismissed for ending his opponent's participation.

Anfield howled in protest, but Liverpool actually did quite well with 10 men, with Mascherano excelling as emergency right-back, whileEverton failed to make the most of their numerical superiority despite sending on Michel Arteta as a replacement for Fellaini. Gerrard hit the bar with a free-kick at the end of the first half, before Tim Cahill botched the clearest chance of the game by uncharacteristically missing the target with a free header. When neither Tim Howard nor Phil Neville managed to prevent Kuyt nodding in Gerrard's corner from a stationary position in front of the Everton goalkeeper, the match was over, though not without another bad-tempered outbreak after Gerrard was booked for sliding into the already prostrate Pienaar.

Match Facts

Next Match : vs Arsenal on 10 Feb 2010 ( 3 days to go)

* Some preview about next match:

• The Reds go in search of their first away victory against the Gunners since Titi Camara helped us to a 1-0 win at Highbury.

• Arsenal moved to the Emirates in 2006 and it's a venue Liverpool have yet to win at, having secured three draws and suffered two defeats.

• Arsene Wenger's outfit have already defeated the Reds this season, coming from a goal behind to claim a 2-1 win at Anfield in December.