For a long time we struggled to break down Blackburn's defence, and I feared that this could become another frustrating 0-0 draw (but then, Man Utd needed an injury time strike to breach the Sunderland rearguard).
I think that recent stalemates against Fulham and West Ham may have affected our confidence because, still without Torres, we looked short of ideas in the final third - despite the introduction of Babel and Benayoun. Once the goal did come - Alonso slotting in from the edge of the area after a Kuyt knock-down - we looked to have more confidence and began to play better. Benayoun's individual effort looked to make things safe, although Santa Cruz's consolation ensured that the last 5 minutes would be nervy. I was worried when I heard there'd been another goal on Final Score, afraid that we'd thrown two points away, but it turned out Gerrard was able to put a gloss on the scoreline as Rovers pushed for an equalizer.
Overall, it was far from a fluent performance, but another three points (keeping us top of the table) and an end to our scoring duck. Insua got a full 90 minutes, and looks like he can challenge Dossena for the left-back slot, while El Zhar provided another lively cameo (indeed, he played a role in the third: forcing Robinson to slide out of his area but only to clear as far as Riera). Also, despite Torres' absence, we were able to 'rest' £20m worth of striker in Robbie Keane...
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