Premier League - Misery for Ince as Liverpool stay top
Liverpool maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a 3-1 win over Blackburn at Ewood Park.
Despite the scoreline, it was a far from convincing display from the visitors, who had - until Xabi Alonso broke the deadlock in the 69th minute - looked second best against a Blackburn side motivated by recent criticism of manager Paul Ince.
But the opener changed the complex of the game and Yossi Benayoun doubled the lead 10 minutes later to put Liverpool firmly in the driving seat.
Roque Santa Cruz's 86th minute header briefly gave the hosts hope of staging an unlikely comeback but Steven Gerrard (pictured) netted deep in injury time to seal all three points and snap a run of two consecutive goalless draws.
Victory also ensured the attack on the Premier League summit staged by Chelsea - who were 2-0 winners at Bolton - was successfully fended off - at least for the time being.
For Blackburn, the result - if not the performance - brought nothing but misery. Ince's side are now mired in the relegation zone and should West Brom beat Portsmouth at the Hawthorns on Sunday, Rovers will finish the weekend bottom of the league.
It could easily been a different story. Having seen their manager go public with his grievances at perceived unfair treatment by the media in the build-up to the match, Blackburn's players seemed determined to show their support for Ince with a gutsy performance on the pitch.
And from the first whistle, Rovers looked like a side with a point to prove. In the early stages of the game, they were a far more hungry side than Liverpool; that mind-set was typified by their desire to get to every ball first and the bite in every challenge.
The home crowd soon followed suit and, having voiced concerns over Ince's leadership during the 5-3 Carling Cup reverse at Old Trafford on Wednesday, gave their full vocal backing to the team three days later.
The result was a stirring start to the game from Rovers and it was the hosts who went closest to taking the lead when Morten Gamst Pedersen's wickedly swerving effort from 25 yards forced Jose Reina into tipping the ball onto the cross-bar.
The Norwegian again forced Reina into action with a bouncing free-kick on 38 minutes as Rovers edged the opening period, even though Liverpool had a decent chance of their own to get on the scoresheet.
Having struggled for goals since his summer move from Tottenham, Robbie Keane was relegated to the bench as Rafa Benitez turned to Dirk Kuyt to lead the Liverpool line at Ewood.
And the Dutchman was the architect of the Reds' best chance of the first half, finishing off a neat passing move by playing in Benayoun with a clever through ball on 18 minutes. But the Israeli midfielder delayed pulling the trigger for a moment too long, allowing Stephen Warnock to get back and make a decisive tackle.
That was to prove as near as Liverpool came during the opening period; without a decisive pass in their repertoire, they struggled to break down a determined home defence.
But after the break, Liverpool upped the tempo slightly and began to find chinks in Blackburn's armour, Alonso, Gerrard and then Benayoun all bringing Paul Robinson into his first meaningful action of the day within a five minute period.
It remained goalless until the 69th minute, when the ball fell to Alonso on the edge of the box after Kuyt had seen his first-time effort well blocked. The Spaniard coolly sidefooted past Robinson to put the visitors into the lead.
Santa Cruz was then given a golden opportunity to level for Rovers on 76 minutes, Andre Ooijer's cross finding the Paraguayan's head, but he could only direct the ball wide of the mark.
The hosts were made to rue that miss as Benayoun netted three minutes later, finishing well after having left Warnock for dead on the right hand side.
Santa Cruz did mange to pull one back for Rovers - a header from a quickly-taken short corner - but it proved nothing more than a consolation as Gerrard swooped with a third in the 95th minute of play.
The Liverpool skipper had the easiest of tasks after Robinson's block at the feet of substitute Nabi El Zhar rebounded out to another replacement Albert Riera who had the presence of mind to square for Gerrard to find the back of an empty net. |
發表於 2008-12-7 03:05 AM
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