Liverpool Winning Streak!
Could this be the moment that Liverpool is finally turns their season around? They beat Wolverhampton at Anfield last week, 2-0, on goals from Steven Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun, despite looking rather lackadaisacal in the match. Gerrard’s goal was an incredibly brave diving header in the box, after which he celebrated like he had just saved Liverpool’s season, and he may have done just that. Benayoun’s goal to put the game away was a typical one for him, great ball control and patience, and then a clinical strike. But of course, the Reds were expected to beat the Wolves, particularly at home, and especially after the Wolves had a player red carded.
Yesterday was a chance for revenge on the road against Aston Villa, who beat Liverpool at Anfield in August, 3-1, and started them on the road to ruin in 2009. The game was played in a driving snowstorm, and was chippy and entertaining in the first half despite a 0-0 score. Both former US goalie Brad Friedel for Villa and Pepe Reina for Liverpool made fanstastic first half saves. But the second half was even better. Both teams played at a high tempo, with Villa pouring it on early, and Liverpool late. Just when it looked like Villa would earn the draw, El Nino, Fernando Torres, popped loose with a ricochet ball and scored like only he can, with a great finish at 93 minutes. With that goal, Torres became the fastest ever Liverpool player to 50 goals with the club. Huge win. Liverpool are now in seventh place, just two points behind Aston Villa in sixth, and four points out of the coveted fourth place spot. In fact, after the game, coach Rafa Benitez promised Liverpool fans they would finish in the top four. The only bad news from this game was that defender Glen Johnson apparently tore his MCL late in the game, which could be a significant injury not just for Liverpool, but for the England National Team. Next up for Liverpool is fourth place Tottenham at Anfield on January 10, although they play Reading in the FA Cup before that.
Photo from ESPN Soccer Net
Tags: Liverpool, Rafa Benitez, Soccer
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Liverpool. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.