Reds bring the fear factor

Cardiff 3 Liverpool 6

It’s now 24 goals in their last six games and 50 for the season for Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. There was even a two-goal salvo from centre-half Martin Skrtel.

But for Rodgers, it’s the very presence of the SAS and the likes of the irrepressible Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson that is causing angst for opposition managers.

Rodgers said: “What you fear most as a manager stood on the touchline, is a team that can score from anywhere, any angle, and a team that can dominate the ball.

“It is something we have developed and cultivated here, it’s not something that was presented to us. Some of these other teams have spent a hell of a lot of money and are looking to get that.

“We know that if we go behind in a game, we can stay calm, stay focused and win.”

Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was the scourge of so many Liverpool sides during his prolific spell with Manchester United, believes the Liverpool Class of 2014 are just about the best counter attacking side in Europe. Privately, Rodgers would admit as much. However, against the stubborn resistance of a Cardiff side fighting for their Premier League survival, they showed terrific patience and poise too.

“I do think the variety and imagination in our game is at a top level,” said Rodgers.

“When I came in last season, I said that after scoring more goals last year, we wanted to find 20-plus more goals in the team.

“We believed we could achieve that through more work. We’ve done that.”

Liverpool went behind to a ninth-minute goal from Jordon Mutch and trailed for a second time, after 25 minutes, when Fraizer Campbell cut inside to beat Simon Mignolet.

Suarez bagged his first of three in between, before Skrtel levelled with a close-range volley just before the interval. There were clear problems in the back four as Liverpool retreated too quickly when the like of Mutch and Craig Bellamy had the ball.

However, despite leaking two goals and conceding possession on far too many occasions for the liking of Rodgers, there were no signs of anxiety in the visiting side.

“I said at half-time, just stay calm. We’ve scored two goals, if we can just tighten up with the ball a little bit, just make more passes.”

Liverpool’s title bid has been helped by their absence from Europe. No midweek trips from which to recover and no issues with player burnout. That said, Rodgers is keen not to have another season in the European wilderness.

“That’s what we want next year, in fairness. We don’t want to be playing one game a week,” he said.

“We want to be in these competitions and we want to keep evolving and winning trophies. That’s what being at a big club is all about.

“If you think back to when I first came in, there was always a panic. We played ’last-five minutes football’ with 70 minutes to go. We’d lose our composure. Thankfully, now, I think there’s an inherent belief in the team.

“You see the players and what was great for me on Saturday is that you see the self-coaching going on. We spent a lot of time coaching on the training field but now the players are self-coaching.”

Skrtel’s 50th-minute header from a Coutinho corner gave Liverpool the lead for the first time. Cardiff were furious that both Mutch and Kevin Theophile-Catherine were off the field at the time, having just received treatment. However, in the greater scheme, it was of no real consequence.

Suarez made it 4-2 with his second, after a sublime backheel from Sturridge, who sealed Cardiff’s fate with a tap in from a Suarez cross.

A late consolation from Mutch did give Cardiff a modicum of respect, but Suarez completed his hat-trick in stoppage time.

Cardiff are locked in the relegation zone with seven games left, starting at West Brom on Saturday. Campbell said: “It’s going right down to the wire and we’ve got to stick to our guns, work hard and keep performing like we did today. I’m sure if we play like we did in the first half, we are good enough to beat most teams in the league. We are playing the teams around us in the next few games so we have to win them.

“Next week, against West Brom, is going to be like a cup final game. Form goes out the window.”

As for Liverpool’s title hopes, Campbell added: “I don’t know if they can win it. Chelsea look strong and Man City are strong so it will be out of them three. However, if they keep playing like that, they won’t be far off.”

CARDIFF CITY: Marshall 6; Fabio 6, Theophile-Catherine 6, Cala 5, Caulker 6, John 5 (Daehli 64, 6); Mutch 7, Medel 6, Kim 5 (Zaha 64, 6); Bellamy 6 (Jones 70,5), Campbell 6.

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet 6; Johnson 6, Skrtel 7, Agger 6, Flanagan 5 (Cissokho 73); Gerrard 7; Henderson 7, Allen 6, Coutinho 8 (Sterling 67, 6); Suarez 8, Sturridge 8 (Sakho 90, 6).

Referee: N Swarbrick