Showing posts with label The Reds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Reds. Show all posts

Europa League - Reports

Liverpool 4 - 1 Benfica (agg 5 - 3)

Fernando Torres scored twice to help Liverpool overpower Benfica at Anfield and set up an Europa League semi-final clash with Atletico Madrid.
The Reds levelled the tie on aggregate when Dirk Kuyt met Steven Gerrard's corner and his header was allowed to stand after initially being ruled out. 
Lucas ran clear to make it 2-0 before Torres added a third on the break. 
Oscar Cardozo's drilled free-kick gave Benfica hope but Torres made sure of victory late on with a cool finish. 
The Spanish striker can look forward to returning to his former club Atletico in the last four after keeping alive Liverpool's last hope of silverware this season but, in the meantime, his side will resume their bid to secure fourth place in the Premier League with added confidence after an impressive display. 
Torres's eventual contribution more than justified Rafael Benitez's decision to replace him during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Birmingham to rest a knee injury, but initially he appeared to be struggling against the Portuguese champions and was in some discomfort.
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Wolfsburg 0 - 1 Fulham (agg 1 - 3)

Fulham produced a superb second-leg display to beat German champions Wolfsburg and seal their place in the Europa League semi-finals.
The Cottagers took 21 seconds to make amends for Wolfsburg's late goal in the first leg as Bobby Zamora neatly turned Jan Simunek and slotted his side ahead. 
Grafite saw a shot blocked on the line as the home side pressed late on but Fulham held out for a deserved win. 
They now face Hamburg in what is their first ever European semi-final. 
The success continues a sensational second European campaign for Fulham, who had eliminated defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk and favourites Juventus in the previous two rounds.
It is a fitting reward for an extremely determined and intelligent performance from the London side, who struck with their first attack and then frustrated their talented opponents. 
Wolfsburg came into the game full of confidence following Alexander Madlung's late header in the first leg, which had given them a priceless away goal and a strong foothold in the tie. 
Fulham were punished for a poor final 10 minutes at Craven Cottage last Thursday but it took them all of 21 seconds in the Volkswagen Arena to rectify the previous week's last-ditch lapse in concentration as Zamora gave them the lead straight from the kick-off. 
The in-form striker, who passed a fitness test before the game on an Achilles injury, collected a pass inside the area from fellow forward Zoltan Gera and stylishly set up a cool, side-foot finish past home keeper Diego Benaglio for his sixth Europa League goal of the season and 19th in total.
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Liverpool - Blackburn

Liverpool started to raise their shape in correct time as they’ve approached to the final third of the season. The fact is 4th place would save the season as it wasn’t achieved more than that in previous campaigns. Otherwise, club would see a departure of Torres and probably Gerrard. However, they’re four points behind 4th Man.City and have to collect points in games like today’s. Good thing is Gerrard has been returning his shape which means all team plays for about 25% percents better. Rafa faces defensive problems as Skrtel suffered a broken metatarsal in EL, Kyrgiakos remains suspended and Johnson just started with light training. Carragher will return to his natural position in the center of defense, while Rafa will give a chance to Degen or youngster Martin Kelly on right back. The Reds like to play against Blackburn. They have lost only once to Rovers in their last 22 league meetings and only once at Anfield in last 15 games. 

Blackburn hold 12th place on the table, with ten points margin from relegation zone and it seems Big Sam has making an excellent job with, I think it is fair to say, limited squad. They look comfortable, but only thankfully to their record at home where they’ve collected 28 of total 34 points. On the road, they’re defending trying to keep 0-0, but it has only resulted with 8 scored goals (31 conceded) in 13 games! At the same time, their away record against top Premier sides looks more than discouraging. Arsenal (2-6), Chelsea (0-5), Man.Utd. (0-2), Everton (0-3), Man.City (1-4), Aston Villa (1-3, 4-6)! In last two visits two Anfield, they conceded seven goals in total (0-4, 1-3). Also, defense line will miss the skipper Ryan Nelsen. Chris Samba returns after a ban, while Dunn, Basturk, Di Santo and Reid played a midweek reserve game and will appear.

Liverpool desperately need three points and there’s no space for any kind of relaxation. It’s too big stake. They perform much better and consistent than before a month, for example and I expect a confident performance. On the other hand, Rovers feel comfortable in the middle of the table and possible defeat at Anfield wouldn’t be a disaster. I expect little less defensive formation from Allardyce than usual and few goals conceded. Liverpool win with -1.5 handicap.

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