LIVERPOOL 4-0 REAL MADRID
Tuesday 10 March 2009 19:45 ,
Champions League Last 16 (Leg 2)
RAMPANT REDS MARCH INTO LAST EIGHT
Liverpool have booked their place in the quarter finals of the Champions League after Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard combined to see off Real Madrid 4-0 in a breathtaking team performance at Anfield.
Torres struck his first Champions League goal of the season from close range on 16 minutes before Gerrard scored from the penalty spot on 28 minutes and finished from 17 yards out just after the restart.
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Andrea Dossena rounded off the win with a well-taken finish with two minutes remaining to make sure the Reds registered an impressive 5-0 aggregate win over one of the European big boys.
Liverpool dominated from start to finish in what will surely go down as a sublime team performance to knock out one of the giants of the European game. Javier Mascherano, Ryan Babel, Xabi Alonso, Gerrard and Torres all put in storming performances.
The Reds went in to the match knowing they have gone through to the next round on each of the last 29 ties where they won the away leg first, and they had even more reason to be confident when it was revealed that Fernando Torres and Alvaro Arbeloa were returning to the starting line-up.
Both players picked up minor injuries in the 1-0 Bernabeu victory two weeks ago and were major doubts for this second leg clash. Rafa Benitez reshuffled his pack from last week's 2-0 win over Sunderland to accommodate both players and make up for the suspended Albert Riera and injured Yossi Benayoun.
Javier Mascherano returned to the centre of the park to partner Xabi Alonso, Dirk Kuyt went back to his usual right wing berth and Steven Gerrard took up a position just behind El Nino in attack. Ryan Babel also came into the side on the left side midfield.
Where Liverpool started the game as slight favourites after Benayoun's now-famous first-leg winner in Spain, they more than justified their upper hand with a fantastic first-half display that left los Blancos well and truly on the ropes.
Fernando Torres stormed through the Real defence with 30 seconds gone, but his final touch just got away from him for a Real defender to clear for a corner. Then Babel had a potshot from just outside the area to set up another corner kick.
Although his touch let him down in the previous chance, Torres then produced a sublime turn from a Steven Gerrard pass to put himself clean through on goal two minutes later.
Madrid defender Pepe was left for dead and Torres fired into the narrow angle, only for Iker Casillas to save low to his left. That touch was truly of the highest order, Dennis Bergkamp eat your heart out.
Javier Mascherano hit the bar from the resulting corner and had another shot saved a matter of seconds later.
Then Liverpool got a free-kick in an excellent position on seven minutes. Torres played in Gerrard with his back to goal and the Reds captain was taken down 20 yards out. He shot through the Real wall from the spot kick and almost got past Casillas' blind side. But the Spanish goalkeeper got a hand to it and cleared the danger.
Los blancos looked to stamp their own identity onto the game after that with some neat passing, but the sheer pace at which Liverpool were insisting on playing this second leg match was really throwing Juande Ramos' side. Every time they tried to get into some kind of rhythm, there was a red shirt on hand to disrupt them.
Then the Reds got a well-deserved goal from the lively Torres on 16 minutes. Pepe Reina hit a long ball forward which fell fortuitously for Torres to edge past Cannavoro and to Kuyt. Then the Dutchman played the ball across the six-yard box for Torres to tap home from close range.
And with that Anfield erupted. While the Real players protested for a non-existent infringement, Gerrard, Torres and Kuyt were savouring a crucial goal to bring the aggregate scoreline up to 2-0. El Nino couldn't have picked a better moment to score his first Champions League goal of the season.
Torres came close again five minutes later with a fantastic glancing header, then Gerrard nearly doubled the lead on 23 minutes with a shot on the stretch. Liverpool's number nine turned two Real defenders near the left-hand byline and fired a cross in across the face of goal and Casillas did well to save from Gerrard's shot.
More drama followed on 28 minutes when Liverpool were awarded a penalty on after Gabriel Heinze handballed just inside the right-hand side of the area.
Gerrard made no mistake from the resulting spot kick and fired past Casillas to double Liverpool's lead.
While one should never get carried away at such an early stage, it's fair to say that Liverpool were playing some of their best football of the season in this opening 45 minutes at Anfield. Even the September win over Manchester United was not played at such a high tempo. Real could not cope with it.
The dominance continued, albeit at a slightly lower intensity. Real managed the odd foray forward but Liverpool swept up the danger on each occasion via a couple of impressive Reina saves and some confident Carragher defending.
Reina produced another fine save from a Real counter attack before the referee booked Mascherano for a reason no one in the whole ground could fathom. It didn't help that the fiery Argentine was so aggrieved about the situation that he spent the remaining minutes berating the official.
But that incident notwithstanding, this was nothing short of a 43-minute master class from Liverpool.
It might have had something to do with the raucous Anfield atmosphere, and those who are taken by such things might have put it down to the full moon, but either way Liverpool were playing like a team possessed throughout the first half. Or maybe it had nothing to do with the outside elements, the whole team deserved credit for such an all-encompassing display.
Juande Ramos attempted to stem the flow with the introduction of Marcelo in place of Arjen Robben at the start of the second half. But within 90 seconds of the restart Liverpool had scored a third through a trademark Gerrard finish and had one foot in the quarter finals.
Fabio Aurelio passed up the wing to Ryan Babel, who took one touch past Sergio Ramos in the Real defence to deliver a pinpoint cross to the incoming Gerrard. The Liverpool captain stormed into the area and met the cross with precision to fire into the roof of the net at the Kop end.
Real already had a mountain to climb before the second half kicked off, but that goal left them well and truly out for the count. No amount of sporting clichés could do justice to such this scoreline - 4-0 up on aggregate and in the hunt for more, Liverpool were well and truly dominating one of the great European giants.
Argentine midfielder Gago tried a curling shot from range on 53 minutes, but it went a yard over the bar and out for a Liverpool goal kick. That was Real's first chance of the half.
Liverpool were at it again from the restart and Babel, who was playing with a new-found spring in his step, skipped past Sergio Ramos to deliver another excellent cross into the danger zone. But no one was quick enough into the area and Casillas comfortable collected.
Lucas Leiva was introduced to the action on 60 minutes for Xabi Alonso, who was making his 200th European appearance, and the Brazilian midfielder made sure the Reds kept up the intensity for the remainder of the match.
Wesley Sneijder had an excellent opportunity to reduce the arrears on 68 minutes. Martin Skrtel was lucky not to get booked for a nasty foul on Rafael van der Vaart which led to a free-kick on the edge of the aread. But despite lining up to shoot a precise drive, Sneijder blasted over the bar into the Anfield Road end.
For all their toiling, Real just couldn't get through the Liverpool rearguard. Each time the Reds calmly cleared and regained their dominant edge.
Torres came close to getting another on 82 minutes when he curled a fierce shot towards the far post, then the Kop began singing a new name in the form of Jay Spearing, who had replaced Gerrard with 17 m.
Teams
Liverpool: Reina, Aurelio, Carragher, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Babel, Alonso, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard (c), Torres. Subs - Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Kelly, Leiva, Ngog, Spearing
Real Madrid: Casillas, Heinze, Cannavaro, , Ramos, Sneijder, Diarra, Gago, Robben, Higuain, (c). Subs - Dudek, Metzelder, Saviola, Torres, van der Vaart, ,
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere
Conditions:
Attendance: Unavailable
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