Liverpool Look Good

[jayp]

Steven Gerrard's superb free-kick secured a 2-1 victory for Liverpool over Aston Villa on the opening day of the Barclays Premier League campaign for the first time during the Rafael Benitez era.

Villa looked to have rescued a point when skipper Gareth Barry cancelled out Martin Laursen's first-half own goal with an 86th-minute penalty.

But then Gerrard curled a 20-yard shot past the dive of Stuart Taylor barely 60 seconds later, after he had been brought down by Stiliyan Petrov.

Overall Liverpool was a worthy winner, with record signing Fernando Torres making a satisfactory debut despite spurning a golden first half opportunity.

The signing from Atletico Madrid linked up effectively with Dirk Kuyt before being taken off with 11 minutes remaining.

But man of the match for the umpteenth time was England midfielder Gerrard who exerted so much influence over proceedings even before his goal, while Jamie Carragher excelled at the heart of the Villa defence.

If Benitez could have hand-picked a first day opponent it would surely have been Villa given it has not beaten the Reds in front of their own fans for nine years.

Villa huffed and puffed with Barry outstanding in midfield but it seldom tested Jose Reina until he turned over an injury-time John Carew header.

Villa made a bright start in front of a capacity 43,000 crowd and Reina had to be alert to deal with a stinging 30-yard volley from makeshift Villa right-back Craig Gardner.

But Liverpool gradually took command and Torres had his first half-chance after 17 minutes when he blazed over the bar from a narrow angle following a long clearance by Reina.

Taylor parried a low Gerrard drive and a superb pass from the England midfielder was seized on by Kuyt but he hesitated instead of shooting first time.

Increasing pressure from the visitors paid off in the 36th minute although it needed an own goal from Martin Laursen to break the deadlock.

Taylor did well to parry a Torres effort but Kuyt managed to cut the ball back into the danger area from the by-line and the unfortunate Laursen only succeeded in lofting the ball into the roof of the net.

O'Neill made a half-time substitution, replacing Laursen with Gary Cahill although it was not known whether it was tactical or because he had suffered a knock.
Villa tried to build up some momentum and Nigel Reo-Coker tried his luck from the edge of the Liverpool box but dragged his shot well wide.

Villa was still struggling to create any openings and it needed a brilliant block from Gardner to prevent Gerrard doubling Liverpool's lead.

Kuyt made good ground down the right and squared the ball across goal to his unmarked skipper who struck his shot cleanly enough but Gardner threw his body in the way to stop a certain goal.

Gerrard was denied again when Taylor turned aside his fierce first-time drive.

Villa looked to have rescued a point with four minutes remaining when Barry converted a penalty after Carragher had handled in the box.

But the Villa celebrations had not died down when Gerrard restored Liverpool's lead within 60 seconds.

He was brought down 20 yards out by Petrov and himself curled a superb free-kick past Taylor to cap an excellent individual performance.

[BeeJesus]

Great free kick and they deserved the 3 points, but it wasn't a foul for the winner

[Spencer89]

Originally Posted by BeeJesus

Great free kick and they deserved the 3 points, but it wasn't a foul for the winner

It was gerrard that gave that freekick. It didnt look like the ref was going to give it until gerrard turned around and shouted

[jayp]

Steven Gerrard is doubtful for Sunday's Premier League match against Chelsea at Anfield after the England player limped home, heavily bandaged, from the south of France last night, the victim of a cynical stamp on his right foot.
The captain and inspirational midfielder suffered from the attentions of Achille Emana and his fate now lies in the hands of the medical staff back on Merseyside. Even at this stage of the season, a meeting with Chelsea is crucial and the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, will be desperate for Gerrard to line up.




Benítez said last night that it was too early to make a prognosis. "We shall have to wait and see about that. I do not know whether it is a problem," conceded the Spaniard. The Gerrard injury aside, Benítez was content enough with the performance in Toulouse, the first-leg tie being settled by a wonderful first-half strike by Andriy Voronin.
When the forward arrived at Anfield last month he pledged to make a much bigger impact on English football than his fellow Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko managed at Chelsea last season. Yesterday, under a searingly hot afternoon sun, he suggested this was no empty promise by scoring a superlative winner as his new side took their first, largely tentative, steps along the road to Moscow and next May's Champions League final. Moreover his was the sort of audacious, technically brilliant, goal only the best strikers tend to pull off.

Generally the Merseysiders' mood was buoyant at the end of a low-tempo game, which had been drifting, goalless, towards half-time when the recalled Peter Crouch flicked Steve Finnan's long pass in Voronin's direction. Chesting the ball down adroitly, the Ukranian allowed it to bounce before dispatching the most eye-catching of half-volleys from more than 25 yards, the ball arcing imperiously and, inexorably, into the top corner.

"A fantastic goal," enthused Benítez. "Voronin is an intelligent striker and we always knew he could be a revelation. He does different things."

Appreciably less celebrated than the similarly newly installed Fernando Torres, the Liverpool manager's record attacking signing who began on the bench yesterday, Voronin frequently exhibited his penchant for dropping deep and cleverly finding space. Indeed if he supplies many more of these sort of performances, the ultra-hyped Torres will find he has a lot to live up to.

Shortly before kick-off Toulouse fans unfurled a giant, and wonderfully artistic, banner commemorating 1986 and their team's famous victory on penalties against a Napoli side featuring a certain Diego Maradona. That was in a Uefa Cup tie and, 21 years on, this was arguably the most glamorous game the club have hosted since the Neapolitans left town.

Even so, Élie Baup's team should not be patronised after finishing third in the French League last season and defeating Lyon, the champions, here last weekend. Configured in 4-1-4-1 mode, their multi-layered formation initially seemed to confound a Liverpool ensemble featuring the new summer signings Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and Voronin.

Although Gerrard directed an early free-kick wide of the base of the far post from a promising position, last season's losing Champions League finalists started slowly in a temperature sufficiently warm for many fans to have limbered up for the game with a dip in a public outdoor swimming pool situated conveniently close to the Stade Municipal.

Alarmingly for Benítez, Javier Mascherano and Sami Hyypia appeared to be mentally at the Lido as Cesar skipped past them before being thwarted by Jamie Carragher's unfussily seamless, perfectly timed, penalty area interception.

It was the cue for the Liverpool manager to order the somewhat subdued Babel and Benayoun to swap wings and the latter's move to his preferred right side duly succeeded in livening up the Merseysiders a little.

Nevertheless, the tempo remained slow enough to satisfy Toulouse and make a mockery of what, on paper at least, looked an unusually attack-minded Benítez starting line-up. Indeed, had a dangerous, defence-splitting, through pass from Cesar not been fractionally overhit, Johan Elmander, a Swedish striker apparently much admired by Manchester City and West Ham, would have been presented with an excellent chance.

Within a couple of minutes Voronin's stunning strike had altered the course of the match but, suitably inspired, Emander very nearly equalised courtesy of a spectacularly acrobatic overhead bicycle kick which flew narrowly wide.

Toulouse introduced Fodé Mansaré, a second striker, at the interval as they switched to 4-4-2 and Liverpool once again had their England refusenik, Carragher, to thank for keeping his cool and clearing a menacing low cross from Jérémy Mathieu as Baup's side threw bodies into José Reina's box.

Anxious not to concede an away goal Benítez replaced Benayoun - who had freedom to roam but mainly flattered to deceive - with the more defensive-minded John Arne Riise.

Hyypia, though, was to endure an anxious moment when his error prompted a swerving, dipping shot from Elmander following a Gilles Siriex cross which provoked a competent diving save from the generally under-worked Reina. That said Liverpool's goalkeeper was relieved to see a subsequent Elmander header loop off target after the Swede had beaten Carragher to a whipped-in cross.

"We did a professional job in difficult conditions," reflected Benítez, who, like England's Steve McClaren, must be hoping for reassuring news regarding Gerrard's foot this morning