Liverpool FC Vs. Wigan Athletic: Raul Meireles Volleys Liverpool Into The Lead

Liverpool are 1-0 up at Anfield and it's that man Raul Meireles again, who appears to be taking over Frank Lampard's mantle as the quintessential goalscoring midfielder. Fabio Aurelio's cross didn't look terribly dangerous before it found Meireles in space via a deflection, and the Portuguese sent a sweet volley crashing past Ali Al-Hamsi and into the back of the net. Less than four minutes later, Luis Suarez smacked an angle shot off the far post and out after waltzing into the area unchecked. The home side look very dangerous going forward. However, the match hasn't gone all Liverpool's way.

If anyone's doubting the value of tactics, the fact that Wigan Athletic have had more scoring chances in the first ten minutes at Anfield than Chelsea did against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Pepe Reina remains untroubled in the and the Reds have (obviously) had their fair share of chances as well, but the game is much, much, much more open than the match last Sunday, where no less than eight central midfielders were going for the ball in the middle of the pitch. Wigan have a chance of getting back into the match despite the early setback.