In another night of superb Champions League football, Liverpool continued their strong start to the season.
They faced a PSV side who had been dismantled by Atletico Madrid in the first game of the group stages, and who had been booed off at the weekend, despite winning their game.
Everyone was expecting a comfortable home win.
And that is exactly what they got. Liverpool were in complete control throughout, and the victory never looked in doubt after Dirk Kuyt gave them a fourth minute lead.
His goal came from a corner, and went straight to the unmarked Fernando Torres, who was denied by a good save from Andreas Isaksson, before the rebound fell to Kuyt, who slotted it in.
Rafael Benitez, who has now been in charge for 250 games as Liverpool manager, looked pleased. He was going to get a lot more pleased as the night went on.
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Some good work from Fernando Torres brought the second goal. The scorer? Robbie Keane. After weeks of endless criticism for not being able to find the net, he has finally got the rather large monkey off his back.
As the game wound down Liverpool got another, this time Steven Gerrard with a typical strike, which just so happened to enter him into the Liverpool centurion goalscorer's club. He joins the likes of Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, and Roger Hunt.
PSV looked poor. They were a shadow of the team that got to the 2005 Champions League semifinal, narrowly missing out on a chance to play Liverpool in Istanbul.
However they did get a late consolation goal, which prevented it from being a perfect night for the men in red.
Other than the goal, they never looked like troubling Reina. Huub Steven's came out with strange tactics, playing a midfielder in defence, a centre back in left back, and a winger alone up front.
Having said that, I would probably give that winger, Amrabat, the man of the match award. He gave the Liverpool defence something to think about every time he got the ball. They dealt with him eventually, but only when there was four on one, and after he had taken it past a few.
Elsewhere in the group, Atletico Madrid beat Marseille, ensuring they keep their 100 percent record in the group.
Barcelona were spared blushes by wonderkid Lionel Messi after he came off the bench to score two late goals and give Barcelona a 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, and Cluj held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw.
So Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season continues, and they take a huge step towards qualification. Next up is Atletico Madrid, in what could be the group decider.
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2 months ago
brilliant ,brilliant, brilliant night! damn proud of them
good article
cheers ;)
from 2 months ago
Cheers Michelle!
Not a bad performance and Keano getting his first goal was a pretty big bonus. Lets hope theres lot more to follow!
2 months ago
So glad Keano scored!! And he hasn't forgotten his trademark celebration.
Let's hope the good times roll!
2 months ago
The class of Group D has definitely asserted itself with Atletico Madrid and Liverpool on 6 points and PSV and Marseille sitting on zero. This is a very good thing because, while it might make a group win a bit tougher for Liverpool, it makes advancement a near certainty. Considering Liverpool got the worst draw of any of the top 8 seeds, any kind of survival is something to be pleased with.
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