Watch Liverpool

Posts Tagged ‘match reports’

Diego Forlán inflicted greater hurt on Liverpool than he ever did in a Manchester United jersey. Rafael Benítez’s side had moved ahead 2-1 on aggregate in this Europa League semi-final when Yossi Benayoun took a fine pass from Lucas Leiva and finished confidently three minutes into extra-time. Atlético Madrid reacted, though, to ensure they would go through to a final against Fulham in Hamburg on 12 May when Forlán knocked in José Antonio Reyes’s cross after 102 minutes to decide the tie on the away goals rule.

Only nine seconds had elapsed when Daniel Agger’s long ball forward picked out Benayoun in the penalty area and his low shot from a narrow angle was turned behind by the Atlético goalkeeper David de Gea.

But despite that effort, and three corners for Liverpool inside the first couple of minutes, there had never been much prospect of a quick conclusion to the contest. Neither team had the initial sharpness to do serious harm and there was an absence of authority to much of the work. A seeming breakthrough after 32 minutes proved to be an illusion when Agger was rightly ruled to have been offside as the free-kick from which he bundled the ball home was taken.

Nonetheless, the incident contributed to Liverpool’s momentum and the tie was pulled level on aggregate a minute before half-time. The absurd ease of the build-up perhaps indicated that Atlético had become harassed. It took no more than a Javier Mascherano throw-in to send Benayoun turning past the defence, for a cut-back converted delightfully by Alberto Aquilani.

It was to be expected that some degree of patience would be essential. These, after all, are interlocking clubs who even chose to engage in a friendly on this ground in August. It is hard to separate them. The matches in last season’s Champions League group phase both ended in 1-1 draws and now they share a mood of anti-climax over their featureless domestic campaigns.

There are certain differences, all the same. Atlético’s disappointment has been even more marked since they stand 10th in La Liga at the moment. In the first leg at the Vicente Calderon, Quique Sánchez Flores’ side struggled for conviction even after an opener from Diego Forlán.

It was late in the evening before they were fully convinced that a more decisive win over Liverpool was feasible. The visitors survived those scrapes in the closing spell and could be relieved to have been beaten merely by that single goal.

A 1-0 loss, all the same, is still a poor result in an away leg. Atlético could also feel encouraged that the Argentine forward Sergio Agüero had completed his suspension in Madrid. Benítez had to be fearful of the striker. The presence of Agüero was enough to make him demote the stolid Sotiris Kyrgiakos to the bench and put Agger at centre-back in the hope that the Dane’s greater mobility would be telling.

In consequence, the defence had to be rejigged in other ways, too, Mascherano filled the right-back post as Glen Johnson was relocated to the left. With a deficit to be addressed, defending could only be a secondary issue for the side and as the first half developed Atlético began to be pinned down. Agüero then must have been exasperated. When he did slip into space with the aid of a good Raúl García pass his final ball drifted away harmlessly.

Benítez’s line-up was not ideal but an important ingredient was present. Since Fernando Torres has been lost to knee trouble for the remainder of the season it was important that Dirk Kuyt had overcome a calf strain to fill the role of centre-forward. It was not an encounter of particular distinction and each team seemed to hope that experience would search out a path to the final.

A single slip might after all have been enough to see one of them fall out of the competition. If the tie was in the balance, the visitors re-emerged to try and tip it back in their favour. Each team needed a goal to advance but Liverpool, with the crowd behind, seemed to have a confidence that matters would flow in their favour.

The immediate effect of parity in the tie was a booking apiece for Gerrard and, later, Paulo Assunção. There had been a certain

The debate about the meaning of the Europa League for Liverpool is at an end. The real worth of the tournament was expressed in Atlético Madrid’s resolute attitude that saw them reaching a level well beyond their wearying opponents in the closing stretch. Their single goal lead, secured through Diego Forlan’s early strike, might have been doubled after 76 minutes when Jamie Carragher had to make a frantic clearance after Pepe Reina had blocked an angled drive by Tomas Ujfalusi.

There was a sense of occasion to this contest that neither club can presently find in their domestic programme. As befits the home side, Atlético Madrid were more stimulated to go on the attack and Liverpool did not look their normal, well-drilled selves. A goal in the ninth minute from the former Manchester United attacker Forlan arose from slackness in defence and the scorer maintained the slapdash tone in the way he converted it. José Manuel Jurado had far too much scope to cross and the Uruguayan, having miscued an attempted header, poked the loose ball past Reina.

The match, prior to the interval, was mostly haphazard when Liverpool were in possession and the side did not seem to have access then to the expertise stashed away after so many past exploits in European football.

Nonetheless, they would have been level in the 19th minute had Yossi Benayoun not been ruled off-side incorrectly when taking a ball from Dirk Kuyt. Infuriating as that was, Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, would also have been aghast by the disorganised play that only seemed to be corrected when half-an-hour had gone.

One very obvious reason, or excuse, could be advanced in the visitors’ enforced travel plans. The manner in which Liverpool made their way to this game, when English airports were closed, risked the self-pity that comes with tedium, but Benítez had been adamantly cheerful about a trek he preferred to think of as an exercise in team-building.

This was a venture that could not readily be written off by his squad. In other days, the Europa League might have been treated as an exasperating duty for Liverpool, but there are no other prizes to be seized in this campaign. Liverpool’s other target of landing a Champions League place for next season is unlikely to be achieved. They currently lie seventh in the Premier League.

In principle, this match, by contrast, offered clarity and hope. The Anfield side has not been alone in feeling subdued and, if anything, they could feel happier with their present form than the opposition. After three La Liga defeats in a row, it did look as if the impact of the manager Quique Sánchez Flores has worn off now that he has been at the club for six months. It would have been wiser to recognise that Atlético, at their own ground, would be galvanised by a night that offered a certain amount of prestige.

While they were distressed by the unavailability of the Argentina striker Sergio Agüero through suspension, Liverpool lack the former Atlético forward Fernando Torres after his recent knee surgery. It had been drilled into Flores’ men, too, that no English side had ever won here in a European tie.

It was therefore a grind for Benítez’s team even to occupy territory initially, although there were fragile hints by the interval of Liverpool achieving some concerted play.

This occasion required far more than that of Benítez’s players and immediately into the second-half there was an even more marked feeling of the side striving to impose itself. Regardless of the greater effort and better organised passing, they were still being kept at too great a distance from the goalkeeper David De Gea.

In an episode that typified frustration, Steven Gerrard, the visitor’s captain, continued a run when he might have put Benayoun clear. The general tone was encouraging for Atlético, who set out to dictate terms. Forlan was sent beyond the defence in the 54th minute but mysteriously attempted to finish with a fanciful and ineffective flick with the outside of the foot that caused puzzlement more than alarm to the Liverpool defence.

There had been true fear in the Liverpool ranks in the 57th minutes when Reina had to pull off an outstanding save. A cross reached Simão and his shot bounced off the turf before being tipped over the bar by a goalkeeper whose reflexes were uncanny.

Benítez’s had to intervene in a match where his line-up was again losing its edge. The ineffective striker David Ngog was removed, but Ryan Babel, the man introduced, is a wide midfielder who has to rummage for the memories of his time as a centre-forward for Ajax and the Dutch national team.

Meanwhile, the volume rose in a home crowd that saw little cause to doubt its control of the night.

Liverpool now face a real challenge to recover in this tie at Anfield next Thursday. The side had spells of endeavour but the display did not gel. Frustrations familiar in the Premier League had seeped into the European scene.

Europa LeagueAtlético MadridLiverpoolKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk

Liverpool lost ground in their pursuit of the fourth Champions League place this afternoon after being held to a goalless draw at home to Fulham. Rafael Benítez’s team dominated from start to finish against opponents who parked the proverbial bus at Anfield, but the thought that this could be a dress rehearsal for the Europa League final is chilling.

Progress to the semi-finals on Thursday night took a toll on both clubs with Fernando Torres, described as exhausted and troubled by a slight knee injury by Benítez after the Benfica victory, the most notable absentee. The omission of a striker with two goals on each of his last four appearances at Anfield inevitably lessened the menace and quality of Liverpool’s attack, but not the side’s commitment to it, and the first half flowed exclusively in the direction of Mark Schwarzer’s goal.

Fulham did not create a single opening before the interval as their supremely well-drilled banks of four in midfield and defence invited Liverpool to go forward. A risky policy no doubt, particularly with Steven Gerrard appearing left, right and centre in his free role and Alberto Aquilani anxious to impress on only his ninth start for the club, but also an indication of Fulham’s justifiable self-confidence.

Unsurprisingly, Liverpool monopolised opportunity. Ryan Babel fluffed his lines from close range as early as the third minute while David Ngog, Torres’s willing replacement, and Aquilani, with an over-head kick, also threatened. Schwarzer made a key save from Maxi Rodriguez when the Argentinian ghosted unmarked into the Fulham area and another impressive stop from Javier Mascherano’s powerful drive from 25 yards.

Irritation at the stalemate for Liverpool, however, was secondary to their incredulity when Jonathan Greening failed to collect a second yellow card for a blatant body-check on Glen Johnson. The Fulham midfielder had been harshly booked for a foul on the same player when he committed a clearer offence in front of the assistant referee. Andre Marriner, the match official, opted only for a word.

The pattern of play did not alter in the second half. Aquilani and Babel forced fine reaction saves from the Fulham goalkeeper, Sotirios Kyrgiakos squandered a free header and the visitors’ central midfield of Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu continued to lead a stubborn resistance. Liverpool’s dominance, however, gradually petered out. Their Champions League prospects may well have followed suit.

Premier LeagueLiverpoolFulhamAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk