Articles
Fernando Torres sets the agenda for rampant Liverpool
Fernando Torres did not say a word but Liverpool found their voice for this season regardless. Shoved in the back and bloodied from a clash of heads, the Spain international followed Rafael Benítez's warning to keep his counsel against Stoke City and received a reminder that the greatest response to intimidation lies at his feet, not his mouth. Liverpool's campaign lifted in the process.
Torres sent Benítez's team towards a comfortable victory over Tony Pulis's men last night, his first, early goal of the season banishing the misery of White Hart Lane at the first opportunity and helping to eradicate a bugbear from last season in the process. Seven times Liverpool were held on home soil by the lesser lights last season, and their hopes of the title suffered with each one.
Stoke were among them, twice, but with Torres and Steven Gerrard in tandem once more and Glen Johnson making an immediate impression, they made light work of the first Anfield test of this campaign. Not that it would be Liverpool without distractions of course.
Rumours about Benítez's future have stirred with ludicrous haste this season and stories of the Spaniard quitting over a lack of transfer funds circulated around Anfield last night even as he strolled inside. His budget has been seriously slashed and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the Greece international who was in attendance, could be the manager's last signing this summer in an initial £1.5m move from AEK Athens. The Kyrgiakos fee would leave the pot empty at Liverpool but Benítez has strenuously denied his commitment is disappearing too. He has already stated a duty to the club twice this season, and the campaign is not even a week old.
"It's 1000 per cent rubbish," said the Liverpool managing director, Christian Purslow. "I've only just had dinner with him today and the fact I hadn't heard the rumours should tell you everything."
Benítez is keen to leave financial problems on the back burner for now, but supporters are not constrained by club politics and turned the first home game of the season into another protest at Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Liverpool's credit-crunched owners.
"Gillett and Hicks Out Now," proclaimed a leaflet distributed by the Spirit of Shankly supporters group and held up by thousands during You'll Never Walk Alone.
"Give the owners the red card." They were quickly drawn back to the real purpose of the night, however, thanks to a welcome intervention from Torres.
The Spanish striker promised a blistering start from Liverpool in the buildup as he sought therapy from the collective and individual disappointment of White Hart Lane. He did not disappoint. Johnson, identified by his manager as one solution to the problem of rigid defences at Anfield, instigated the move with a pass into Lucas, who rolled the ball more by accident than design on to Steven Gerrard.
Stoke's two central defenders, Ryan Shawcross and Abdoulaye Faye, showed that opponents are naturally terrified whenever Gerrard takes possession in the area as both chose to close him down. They were therefore powerless to prevent Torres sweeping a close-range finish beyond Thomas Sorensen when Gerrard pulled a cross behind them.
Stoke's gameplan had gone inside four minutes and though Tony Pulis's side gradually began to display the mettle and bite that held Liverpool to two goalless draws last season, predictably through Rory Delap's long throws and Matthew Etherington's corners, their cutting edge was blunted.
Emiliano Insúa should have doubled Liverpool's advantage when Torres led a counterattack from a clever, but ultimately poorly executed, Stoke free-kick in front of the Kop. The young Argentina left-back met the Spaniard's cross with a defender's finish, however, and prodded wide when unmarked six yards out.
Liverpool's biggest headache of the first half followed an aerial collision between Torres and Ryan Shawcross, with the Spaniard coming off worse and joining Jamie Carragher as the second Liverpool player in two matches to require stitches in a head wound. A third, Martin Skrtel, was absent due to a hairline fracture of the jaw suffered at Spurs, giving 18-year-old Daniel Ayala his full Premier League debut. The raw Spaniard handled the occasion encouragingly.
Stoke were a renewed threat in the second half but by then they were in pursuit of a lost cause. Johnson had again demonstrated the attacking bonus he brings from full-back with an acrobatic finish that doubled Liverpool's lead on the stroke of half-time, volleying home from close range after James Beattie had blocked a Dirk Kuyt header on the line.
The £17m summer signing from Portsmouth impressed throughout, forcing a fine save from Sorensen and intervening expertly on a dangerous Dean Whitehead cross. The Kop were singing his name long before the end of his home league debut.
It was a more long-standing hero who applied the glorious finale, however. Collecting a Javier Mascherano pass on his in-step, Gerrard spun away superbly from Etherington on the by-line to set-up Kuyt for a simple, sliding finish. Normal service resumed.
Johnson provide another assist in injury time when his cross was headed in off the crossbar by substitute David Ngog.
Final score Liverpool 4 – 0 (HT 2 – 0) Stoke City
1. Torres 5
2. Johnson 45
3. Kuyt 78
4. N'Gog 90
Bookings
1. Whitehead 12
Liverpool
* Jose Manuel Reina,
* Emiliano Insua,
* Glen Johnson,
* Jamie Carragher,
* Daniel Sanchez Ayala,
* Steven Gerrard (Andriy Voronin, 81),
* Lucas Leiva,
* Javier Mascherano,
* Yossi Benayoun,
* Dirk Kuyt (Albert Riera, 82),
* Fernando Torres (David N'Gog, 84)
Stoke City
* Thomas Sorensen,
* Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye,
* Danny Higginbotham,
* Andy Wilkinson,
* Ryan Shawcross,
* Matthew Etherington,
* Dean Whitehead (Danny Pugh, 69),
* Rory Delap,
* Glenn Whelan,
* Richard Cresswell (Liam Lawrence, 62),
* James Beattie (Ricardo Fuller, 62)
Referee Walton, P
Venue Anfield
Attendance 44,318
Copyright - The Guardian
Torres sent Benítez's team towards a comfortable victory over Tony Pulis's men last night, his first, early goal of the season banishing the misery of White Hart Lane at the first opportunity and helping to eradicate a bugbear from last season in the process. Seven times Liverpool were held on home soil by the lesser lights last season, and their hopes of the title suffered with each one.
Stoke were among them, twice, but with Torres and Steven Gerrard in tandem once more and Glen Johnson making an immediate impression, they made light work of the first Anfield test of this campaign. Not that it would be Liverpool without distractions of course.
Rumours about Benítez's future have stirred with ludicrous haste this season and stories of the Spaniard quitting over a lack of transfer funds circulated around Anfield last night even as he strolled inside. His budget has been seriously slashed and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the Greece international who was in attendance, could be the manager's last signing this summer in an initial £1.5m move from AEK Athens. The Kyrgiakos fee would leave the pot empty at Liverpool but Benítez has strenuously denied his commitment is disappearing too. He has already stated a duty to the club twice this season, and the campaign is not even a week old.
"It's 1000 per cent rubbish," said the Liverpool managing director, Christian Purslow. "I've only just had dinner with him today and the fact I hadn't heard the rumours should tell you everything."
Benítez is keen to leave financial problems on the back burner for now, but supporters are not constrained by club politics and turned the first home game of the season into another protest at Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Liverpool's credit-crunched owners.
"Gillett and Hicks Out Now," proclaimed a leaflet distributed by the Spirit of Shankly supporters group and held up by thousands during You'll Never Walk Alone.
"Give the owners the red card." They were quickly drawn back to the real purpose of the night, however, thanks to a welcome intervention from Torres.
The Spanish striker promised a blistering start from Liverpool in the buildup as he sought therapy from the collective and individual disappointment of White Hart Lane. He did not disappoint. Johnson, identified by his manager as one solution to the problem of rigid defences at Anfield, instigated the move with a pass into Lucas, who rolled the ball more by accident than design on to Steven Gerrard.
Stoke's two central defenders, Ryan Shawcross and Abdoulaye Faye, showed that opponents are naturally terrified whenever Gerrard takes possession in the area as both chose to close him down. They were therefore powerless to prevent Torres sweeping a close-range finish beyond Thomas Sorensen when Gerrard pulled a cross behind them.
Stoke's gameplan had gone inside four minutes and though Tony Pulis's side gradually began to display the mettle and bite that held Liverpool to two goalless draws last season, predictably through Rory Delap's long throws and Matthew Etherington's corners, their cutting edge was blunted.
Emiliano Insúa should have doubled Liverpool's advantage when Torres led a counterattack from a clever, but ultimately poorly executed, Stoke free-kick in front of the Kop. The young Argentina left-back met the Spaniard's cross with a defender's finish, however, and prodded wide when unmarked six yards out.
Liverpool's biggest headache of the first half followed an aerial collision between Torres and Ryan Shawcross, with the Spaniard coming off worse and joining Jamie Carragher as the second Liverpool player in two matches to require stitches in a head wound. A third, Martin Skrtel, was absent due to a hairline fracture of the jaw suffered at Spurs, giving 18-year-old Daniel Ayala his full Premier League debut. The raw Spaniard handled the occasion encouragingly.
Stoke were a renewed threat in the second half but by then they were in pursuit of a lost cause. Johnson had again demonstrated the attacking bonus he brings from full-back with an acrobatic finish that doubled Liverpool's lead on the stroke of half-time, volleying home from close range after James Beattie had blocked a Dirk Kuyt header on the line.
The £17m summer signing from Portsmouth impressed throughout, forcing a fine save from Sorensen and intervening expertly on a dangerous Dean Whitehead cross. The Kop were singing his name long before the end of his home league debut.
It was a more long-standing hero who applied the glorious finale, however. Collecting a Javier Mascherano pass on his in-step, Gerrard spun away superbly from Etherington on the by-line to set-up Kuyt for a simple, sliding finish. Normal service resumed.
Johnson provide another assist in injury time when his cross was headed in off the crossbar by substitute David Ngog.
Final score Liverpool 4 – 0 (HT 2 – 0) Stoke City
1. Torres 5
2. Johnson 45
3. Kuyt 78
4. N'Gog 90
Bookings
1. Whitehead 12
Liverpool
* Jose Manuel Reina,
* Emiliano Insua,
* Glen Johnson,
* Jamie Carragher,
* Daniel Sanchez Ayala,
* Steven Gerrard (Andriy Voronin, 81),
* Lucas Leiva,
* Javier Mascherano,
* Yossi Benayoun,
* Dirk Kuyt (Albert Riera, 82),
* Fernando Torres (David N'Gog, 84)
Stoke City
* Thomas Sorensen,
* Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye,
* Danny Higginbotham,
* Andy Wilkinson,
* Ryan Shawcross,
* Matthew Etherington,
* Dean Whitehead (Danny Pugh, 69),
* Rory Delap,
* Glenn Whelan,
* Richard Cresswell (Liam Lawrence, 62),
* James Beattie (Ricardo Fuller, 62)
Referee Walton, P
Venue Anfield
Attendance 44,318
Copyright - The Guardian
