WOW, what a performance!

So I was worried about the game yesterday, but what a performance and what a response by the players, to give a fantastic performance full of pride and passion. Each and every player who played if for a minute or the whole game played with passion and pride and did the club and fans proud.

So I wanted to break it down a bit, lets take a look:

Pepe, had a great game. A good save from a Rooney header, but it was not a great header, but still a good save. He was a bit weak on some of the corners, he does not seem to command the box like you think he might be able to, but that is being very critical of him. So a solid performance from him, but there was not to much to worry him in truth.

Our defence looked more like last season. They were all very solid and didn't allow them to get anything. What I did notice about the defence was that they tried and did tackle very early. They did not allow any of the United players to take the ball on a first touch without being challenged for the ball.

Johnson proved all his critics wrong with a fantastic defensive game. He had to keep quite United's best player in my opinion in Ryan Giggs and he did keep him quiet. He also had to deal with a very attacking Evra. Beanayoum did his fair share as well to help Jonson but that is also his job to help out with the defence. While he was not as adventurous as he has been in other games he was available to help in attack but his main duty in this game was to defend and he did that very well.

Carragher was but to his Istanbul best. He did not loose anything. He tackled cleanly and quickly and for his life would not let anything pass him. Back to his best or better than the best he has ever played. What a leader in the absence of our regular captain and truly led by example.

Agger for me is our best defender to partner Carra. He is very calm under pressure and he reads the game as good as anyone in the game today. Very assured on the ball as well which will allow us to build from the back. He will be a key part of any success that this club will have over the next few or many years. He tackled very well and his covering and positioning was excellent.

Insua, while still young I think had a good game. Along with Aurelio in defence they kept Valencia very quite and I can only think of two crosses that came in the whole game from the right. He did well for a young lad in such a big game and has a very bright future and I hope he will stay with this club for many years to come. Like the other full back he did not get to advanced into the oppositions half, but still managed to contribute at times going forward.

Our midfield was great in this game as well. They controlled everything and did not allow two of the best center midfield player to string together many passes. They also were creative going forward and not many teams will create that many chances against a good United team, so they deserve allot of credit for that.

Kuyt as always ran allot had some good moments and not so good moments but he is ever reliable ans you always know that you are going to get a solid performance from him. Perhaps if he had controlled Lucas pass a bit better it could have led to a goal scoring chance.

Benayoun was very good, he had a fantastic game. Always a threat and always creating something. If only he would have shot a couple of time in the game he might have had a goal or two. He also did his fair share of defensive work and did it very well. a constant threat and always looking like he was going to destroy that defence. He had a good shout for man of the match as well. And it has to be said that pass for Torres was absolute class, what a player he has become for this club.

Aurelio was absolute class, nothing else. He was everywhere and controlled the left side of the field. He help Insua in defence and in attack he very nearly scored with his head. He has fantastic control with his feet and is very good technically on the ball. He has a great delivery both from open play and from a set piece. Hid combination with Insua could be fantastic especially against smaller teams who park the bus. He also has to in with a shout fo man of the match with that kind of performance. Pure class!

Mascherano was his usual fantastic destructive self. He broke down the play very well and with Lucas controlled the midfield. He was superb in covering the full back and defending. He was also good going forward some nice neat passing. I just with he would either learn to shoot or just not shoot but he has only hit the target once that I can recall. But a solid display form him and With his foot that high off the ground I don't think he could complain that much about his sending off.

Lucas finally showed the reason why we bought him. He had a very very good game. He passed forward very well and made some very good and intelligent runs forward and had a good opportunity to shoot, but it went wide. If he can get into those positions a bit more and get a few goals, it would really create another threat in our team for the opposition to worry about. Hid defending was great as well. He made some very good tackles and his positioning was good. The only defensive criticism I have of Lucas is that he give away to many free kick close to edge of our box. Considering how bad we have been this season at defending set plays, it could cost us big time. But his display aside from that was excellent. Now I hope he can push on and perform like that on a consistent basis and he will improve and we will have on hell of a player.

Torres was not fully fit as we only found out after the game, but by his display you would not have known that. He took his goal very well. He showed again that he is the best out and out striker in the world. He showed he has pace, power, good positioning and can finish incredibly well. When he runs at defenders they must be so scared to actually try tackle him. It give me such joy to watch him run at them.

Skrtel had very little to do at the end, but help defend at a time when we needed him and did a solid job for the time that he was on the field.

N'Gog looks such a good prospect to me. He could and should have a very productive future at this club. He can hold the ball up well, has good strength and showed he can finish. With a bit more experience and learning I believe he will become a very good striker.

A very special mention tio the entire team and staff for getting our defending at set pieces right. Evrytime they had a free kick or corner I got worried but we handled it very well. A tribute to the team a s a whole.

Well done to the whole team and all the staff. I just hope the they will be allowed to play like that more often. Pressing high up the field like that really didn't allow them to settle at all which set the tone for the rest of the game as they never really come to terms with it. At the end of the game we were not pressing as high and they started to come into the game a bit more. I just hope Benitez can see this and allow us to press higher up the pitch in our other games as well......

Well  done let carry this spirit and good play forward throughout the season.