With the Portuguese side having a goal advantage from the 1st Leg, the only way forward for the Reds was to win without conceding, and the thought of an away goal for Benfica would virtually end the tie, we started as the underdogs in front of our own fans at Anfield..
Starting with the favored 4-4-1-1 formation, with Benayoun and Kuyt on the wings, Masch and Lucas in the centre of the park..and Gerrard supporting Torres upfront.. the onus was on Liverpool to grab this match by the scruff of the neck.. and the Reds started very brightly indeed.. Gerrard falling back in the midfield creating various chances for the attacking players.. And the home side struck on the 28th minute mark.. Steven Gerrard whipped in a lovely ball in the Benfica box, which Dirk Kuyt, standing just in front of the keeper , headed home to give Liverpool the lead on the night..But there was a moment of controversy when the linesman raised the flag for a foul by Kuyt on the goalie which the referee overruled.. The goal was a reminiscent of the one he scored in the Merseyside derby....
and just six minutes later, Liverpool were at it again, the home side won the ball in midfield , and Gerrard threaded a lovely through ball for Lucas , who rounded off the keeper and calmly slotted it home to double the advantage for the Reds.. A well taken goal by the young lad, very striker like..
Even though Liverpool were 2-0 up, we didn't actually dominate the game, as Benfica kept possession well without really threatening..
The 2nd half started much the same way, with Liverpool playing often on the counter attack .. and it proved fruitful as on the 58th minute mark, with Benfica committing too many men forward for the corner, the Reds broke into a swift counter, Mascherano passing the ball to Benayoun, and the Israeli had the vision to pick out Kuyt, who put in a delightful ball in the box, which Torres, who had made a lung bursting run from his own box, met with aplomb to give us a 3-0 advantage on the night.. Benfica were outplayed by a lovely sweeping Reds move, and as a Liverpool fan, that was brilliant to watch..
And with the goal , Torres suddenly burst into life, running at defenders and chasing all lost causes.. THE Spaniard might have had a shout for a penalty, when he cut past Luisao in the box only for the Big Brazilian to check his run with an elbow, but escaped without any punishment..
On the other side, Ramires won a free kick for Benfica just outside the Liverpool box, and Cardozo, the big forward, thumped the ball with his left foot , and a wicked deflection off the Liverpool skipper took it past Reina... A glimmer of hope for the Portuguese champions and the home crowd which was singing out aloud , became a little nervy and anxious..Conceding another goal would have given the advantage back to the Eagles, and considering what happened to Manchester United a fortnight ago, a seed of doubt had been planted. But all doubts and anxiety were put to rest when Torres timed his run perfectly to meet a lob pass by Masch, and dinked it expertly past substitute goalie Moreira to bring joy to the KOP again...
Both Torres and Gerrard were substituted in the closing stages with Ngog and Aquilani....and both left the field with well deserved cheers from the home crowd..
FINAL VERDICT - Hammering the Portuguese champions on route to the semis..
Player Ratings -
Reina - A more consistent performance, and with him signing a new 6-year deal , its an obvious delight to us .. 8
Johnson - Didn't contribute much going forward, but defended very well, keeping Di Maria quite .. 7
Carragher - Had Cardozo in his pocket for large parts of the game.. 8
Kyrgiakos - The big Greek was an absolute rock in defence , dealing with crosses and corners very effectively.. 8
Agger - Was exposed a few times as he was playing in an unfamiliar fullback role .. Nevertheless, put in a good shift.. 7
Kuyt - Credit to the Dutchman today.. Opened the scoring and set up a goal for Torres .. Also doubled up with Johnson to keep a check on Di Maria.. 9
Lucas - Very effective.. The young lad was excellent today, scoring a goal and never afraid to go into a tackle.. 8
Mascherano - Did what he does best.. 8
Benayoun - Looked more like himself , excellent vision to set up Liverpool's third goal.. 8
Gerrard - Fabulous set piece delivery.. And a lovely through ball for the second.. The captain back to his best.. 8
Torres - I would have slated him for his first half display.. But El Nino burst into life In the second period.. scoring two excellent goals.. 9
Ngog and Aquilani - Not enough gametime to be given a rating..
Hoping that the team maintains this momentum so that this season can finish with a silverware..Next Stop, Athletico Madrid..
YNWA
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