Liverpool didn't look at the races and their supporters were not happy. But that is not to take away from a terrific Wigan Athletic performance that sudded Liverpool and also allowed the key Latics players to have their stamp on proceedings.
Once again Roberto Martinez showed his tactical competance as he tied Rafa Benitez in knots.
The Latics boss told us in his interview this week that he felt his team were one result away from everything clicking. Hopefully this will be the result and the Latics will press on to a strong end of season finish.
Momo Diame and James McCarthy were a different class in the middle of the park. So impressive was their display that Steven Gerrard was forced to hack down McCarthy five minutes from the end. This was a display of pure frustration from Gerrard as McCarthy ad beaten him to everything for 90 minutes.
Diame on the other hand was equally impressive. He was all over the pitch and along with McCarthy showed a class on the ball that was absent from the Liverpool side.
Marcelo Moreno worked very hardup front and forced Carragher and Krygiakos to play long balls forward, disrupting the Liverpool flow. Then at the back, Titus Bramble and Gary Caldwell had the better of Fernando Torress.
Then Maynor Figueroa and Emmerson Boyce were both outstanding at full back as they not only stifled the attacking threats offered by Kuyt and Benayoun, but also had the steel to get forward and support the attack.
And finally this leads us to Charles N'Zogbia and Hugo Rodallega who were able to have a strong impact on the new pitch. The pitch allowed a better level of football from the Latics and htis meant our wingers were allowed to get the ball down and play.
Moreno no longer looked isolated as both Rodallega and N'Zogbia got forward to damage the heart of the Liverpool defence.
A fantastic display last night from everyone involved and thoroughly deserved. This was a clear display of what Roberto Martinez is looking to achieve and a big silence can be heard from his critics.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Roberto Martinez
It's only three points but it is a massive result for us. We spoke a few months ago about beating the top four clubs, and to now have beaten two of those sides - and the manner in which we have done it - is fantastic.
It wasn't a lucky win. We kept Liverpool very, very quiet, and the concentration and the togetherness of the players saw us through. We finished the game with a very youthful side with a backbone of experience, it is a huge step forward for us.
This is something that sends out a great message from the club - we want to play the right way and compete with the best teams in the Premier League. I would like to thank the fans for their support during the tough moments, and hopefully we are creating something really special for the future.
They really make a difference, and when the players match that with the right determination and desire, it creates a special combination. We were very disciplined at the back and we stopped Liverpool from creating anything.
Not many teams score goals from open play against Liverpool, and we looked a real threat in the second half when everyone expected them to impose themselves on the game.
It was great to see Hugo finally getting his rewards for getting into those positions, as he always does. It's very easy to hide when things are not going your way, and not continue to get into the right positions, and his goal was the icing on the cake for us.
If we want to be successful in the future we need every player to reach a certain level and win as a team. I am sure one or two players will take the headlines but you don't beat Liverpool with individual performances. You beat Liverpool with a complete performance and great support from the fans.
Rafa Benitez
I have to be really disappointed and I can't be happy after losing a game like that," the boss told his post-match press conference. In the first half we didn't do anything and we kept giving the ball away. We didn't win any first or second balls and it was difficult to explain.
We talked about our first-half performance during the break and in the second half our attitude was much better, but it still wasn't enough. We had some chances but we didn't play well enough. Everybody is really low after the game.
It was a question of our attitude in the first half. The players showed their character in the second half. Sometimes we were in too much of a hurry with our play in the second half, but at least we showed character. Wigan worked very hard from the beginning until the end but we expected this.
You have some good games and bad games, but especially at this time, at a crucial moment, we could have done better. It's a question of analysing why we didn't show the character we had to show in the first half.
The table
| Latest match Monday, 8th March 2010 |
Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 1 | Manchester United | 29 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 16 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 67 | 24 | 63 | +43 | ||||
| 2 | Chelsea | 28 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 65 | 26 | 61 | +39 | ||||
| 3 | Arsenal | 29 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 41 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 69 | 32 | 61 | +37 | ||||
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50 | 27 | 49 | +23 | ||||
| 5 | Manchester City | 27 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 52 | 35 | 49 | +17 | ||||
| 6 | Liverpool | 29 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 45 | 29 | 48 | +16 | ||||
| 7 | Aston Villa | 26 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 37 | 21 | 45 | +16 | ||||
| 8 | Everton | 28 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 28 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 44 | 40 | 41 | +4 | ||||
| 9 | Birmingham City | 27 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 28 | 40 | -2 | ||||
| 10 | Fulham | 28 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 32 | 29 | 38 | +3 | ||||
| 11 | Stoke City | 27 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 27 | 32 | 34 | -5 | ||||
| 12 | Blackburn Rovers | 28 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 33 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 45 | 34 | -15 | ||||
| 13 | Bolton Wanderers | 28 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 32 | 50 | 29 | -18 | ||||
| 14 | Wigan Athletic | 28 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 27 | 53 | 28 | -26 | ||||
| 15 | West Ham United | 28 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 45 | 27 | -9 | ||||
| 16 | Sunderland | 27 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 30 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 27 | -12 | ||||
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 28 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 21 | 46 | 24 | -25 | ||||
| 18 | Hull City | 28 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 39 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 26 | 59 | 24 | -33 | ||||
| 19 | Burnley | 28 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 46 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 29 | 60 | 23 | -31 | ||||
| 20 | Portsmouth | 27 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 23 | 45 | 19 | -22 | ||||
Next game
Next up for the Latics is the trip to Bolton oon Saturday for a game that could really see the Latics kick on and rise away from the drop zone.
