Watch Liverpool

Posts Tagged ‘game’

Fernando Torres scored for the first time since April to put a flattering gloss on Liverpool’s performance against West Bromwich Albion this afternoon. Roberto Di Matteo’s side, who had James Morrison sent off late on, were a comfortable match for Liverpool throughout but one touch of class from the Spain international gave Albion another painful lesson away from home.

Despite Torres, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger and Milan Jovanovic all returning after missing the Europa League play‑off win at Trabzonspor, Liverpool started as poorly as they had done in Turkey. Ponderous, disjointed and overly reliant on the long ball, Hodgson’s side invited the pressure that duly came from the composed, intelligent visitors, for whom Youssouf Mulumbu shielded the back four expertly while Morrison and Graham Dorrans took the game to the home side.

Albion, with Marc-Antoine Fortuné making his second debut for the club following his £2.5m return from Celtic, lacked both a cutting edge and the benefit of the doubt from the referee Lee Probert to make this a damaging afternoon for Liverpool. The match official dismissed Albion’s appeals for a penalty in the 28th minute, when Jonas Olsson was clearly wrestled to the floor by Martin Skrtel, and again when Christian Poulsen almost removed the substitute Somen Tchoyi’s shirt in the second half. Probert did even matters out, however, when he refused to award a spot-kick when Gonzalo Jara handled inside his own area.

The visitors’ grievance was compounded in the 65th minute when, after Jara had failed to convert Fortuné’s cut-back to the far post, Liverpool counter-attacked to devastating effect.

Dirk Kuyt led the break, exchanged passes with Torres, and surged onwards down the left before picking out the unmarked Spaniard on the edge of the area with a perfectly weighted chip. Torres connected cleanly on the volley and found the bottom corner of Scott Carson’s goal. With five minutes remaining the striker was felled by a late swipe from Morrison, and Probert had no hesitation in showing the Albion midfielder the red card.

Premier LeagueLiverpoolWest BromAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

The portents were not exactly encouraging for Roy Hodgson and Liverpool in Trabzon. Absences, enforced or otherwise, had complicated their interest in a competition the manager conceded fell a distant second to the Premier League and, as the thunderstorms rolled off the Kacker Mountains and Trabzonspor led, the watershed Hodgson had denied witnessing against Manchester City threatened to follow. His relief on the final whistle, however, showed this did matter.

With a clenched fist salute, a yelp that pierced the night air and a bear-hug for his assistant Sammy Lee, Hodgson demonstrated that, regardless what his team selection and pre-match comments may have suggested, embarking on a prolonged European campaign as a Liverpool manager was a prerequisite to any honeymoon period. “You’re Alone Here” taunted the fanatical home fans on one banner, but Liverpool will be in the hat with 47 other clubs in the Europa League group draw.

“Liverpool are a team with remarkable European pedigree so it would have been very sad to go out in the qualifying stages,” said Hodgson. “I think this is a very, very good victory. We were looking down the barrel here coming down to Trabzon, you saw their incredible support, you saw how fanatical their fans are. To get a result here was something important that will stand us in good stead for plenty of other matches throughout the coming season.”

Liverpool matured with the game but then they could hardly have started worse. Only poor finishing by Trabzonspor and another vital contribution from Jose Reina kept Hodgson’s team in the tie before the opening 25 minutes had elapsed.

The Liverpool manager was hamstrung to some extent in his selection but, having declined to risk Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger and Maxi Rodríguez due to various yet slight ailments (all are expected to be fit for Sunday’s league game with West Bromwich Albion) he took a major gamble in sparing Fernando Torres and Milan Jovanovic the journey. A Kop zealot would hesitate to show as much faith in the remainder of this Liverpool squad than Hodgson did in both encounters with the Turkish Cup winners. In fairness, his early days as manager are complicated by having to assess all options during an unrelenting, demanding sequence of matches. Most importantly, his decisions and his faith were vindicated.

It was the absence of Javier Mascherano that had the most detrimental effect on Liverpool’s fragile start. The displays at Manchester City on Monday and in Trabzon, where the hosts frequently by-passed a ponderous, rigid and soft midfield centre of Lucas Leiva and Christian Poulsen, have demonstrated the importance of the Argentinian. An anticipated move to Barcelona would leave a sizable void in this team but his replacements did eventually wrestle the tie in Liverpool’s favour.

Trabzonspor levelled the tie on aggregate with just four minutes on the clock. Dirk Kuyt, who will not be joining Rafael Benítez at Internazionale, was dispossessed deep inside his own half by Gustavo Coleman. The Argentinian’s shot-cross dissected the centre of the Liverpool defence and the unmarked Teofilo Gutiérrez prodded past Reina. Alarmingly simple, and the tone of the night did not alter until Trabzonspor’s energy and adventure drained late in the first half and anxiety plus Liverpool took over.

A characteristic block from an airborne Jamie Carragher prevented Ibrahima Yattara finding the target after the visitors were caught on the break from their own corner. Reina, targeted by lasers from the crowd, tipped a low drive from Colman wide seconds later and Yattara, the captain, squandered a glorious chance when he headed Burak Yilmaz’s free-kick wide when unmarked in front of goal. Liverpool did not respond with an accurate shot of their own until the 43rd minute, when Lucas drove straight at Onur Kivrak, but they had at least stemmed the tide.

Poulsen and Lucas began to impose themselves, Glen Johnson started to find space down the right, Joe Cole, on the receiving end of several fouls, improved the supply to the previously isolated David Ngog and Trabzonspor players and crowd alike were suddenly afflicted by doubt. They were silenced completely when Liverpool capped a vastly improved second-half display with two goals in the final seven minutes.

Ngog had gone close twice before helping to secure Liverpool’s passage into tomorrow’s group draw when, after Johnson had easily beaten the left back Hrvoje Cale and crossed low, he pressured Remzi Kacar into slicing the ball in off his own near post. With two minutes remaining the impressive substitute, Dani Pacheco, forced Kivrak into a desperate low save and Kuyt’s predatory instincts took over. The Dutch international converted into an empty net from close range. His Liverpool career, and his club’s involvement in Europe this season, is far from over.

Europa LeagueLiverpoolAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Man Utd striker will line-up alongside former team-mates
• Owen uncertain about reaction from Anfield crowd

Michael Owen is to pull on the colours of Liverpool for the first time since leaving the club six years ago after agreeing to brave a potential backlash from Manchester United’s supporters by playing for his old team in Jamie Carragher’s testimonial match. Owen, reviled by some Liverpool fans after crossing one of the game’s oldest divides, is said to be uncertain of the reaction he will get from the Anfield crowd but does not have great expectations considering the abuse when he returned last season for the first time since joining their rivals at Old Trafford.

The former England striker has given his word to Carragher, however, that he will play in the match at Anfield on Saturday week, swapping the red of United for that of the team where he began his career. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, has given him permission to play for 45 minutes and Owen will be in attack for a Liverpool XI taking on an Everton XI.

Carragher has also persuaded Jamie Redknapp, Danny Murphy, Jason McAteer and Emile Heskey to play, but he had told Owen he would understand if he thought it was too delicate for him politically bearing in mind the rivalry between Liverpool and United.

There is also the distinct possibility that United’s fans will not be too impressed about one of their players being willing to wear a Liverpool shirt, especially with their first encounter of the season to follow only two weekends later.

Owen, though, regards Carragher as one of his closest friends in football and the organisers hope the goodwill felt towards the long-serving Liverpool defender will persuade the Anfield crowd to go easy on their former player and maybe even demonstrate some warmth and appreciation for a man who scored over 200 goals for the club in eight years and has been described by Steven Gerrard as “the best striker in the history of Liverpool Football Club.” Nonetheless, it is understood Owen will be given his own security on his way to and from the stadium.

Michael OwenLiverpoolManchester UnitedDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk