Starting line up cost us tbh, we should have started with one of Coutinho/Lallana. We were too defensive and safe in the first half and there wasn't anyone with a creative spark to influence the game. First half was absolutely appalling considering it was a must win game.
We shouldn't have had that red card, it was at max a yellow. For the 15 mins Markovic played he looked really bright and exciting when he attacked with the ball. The last 20 mins is how we should be playing all the time, we looked like a threat and it was exciting to watch. Gerrard's goal was ****ing fantastic, who else apart from Gerrard to get a goal when it matters. Such a shame we couldn't get the second goal but at least the boys tried.
Overall it was a poor performance by the team bar the last 20 mins. Apart from Gerrard's goal he was pretty poor throughout with a lot of passes going wayward. Sterling had glimpses of being good but his final ball was abysmal, rarely he got the cross past the first man. In general we couldn't create and the tempo of the game was very slow. During the second half once we started speeding things up with Coutinho on the ball and having movement up ahead we looked so much more threatening.
I don't think Rodgers will get sacked halfway through the season. He still has my support and I'm convinced he will help us improve, this first half of the season has been a huge learning curve for him. I can only see him being sacked if we carry on with the poor performances throughout the 2nd half of the season and end up 6th/7th with no domestic/EL trophy. Sunday will be very important, if we can beat United at OT then we won't seem too far off 4th place. The Europa League looks like our most likely way of gaining entry to the CL, I say we go all out for it and prioritise it.
I honestly can't wait till Sturridge comes back. I still feel the team will improve instantly when he's fit and back in the starting XI. Such a shame he wasn't able to play a game in the CL since he did really well last season to help us get into it in the first place.