APRIL 16
Rush
praises partnership
By Al Campbell - LFC Online
Ian Rush has again praised the partnership
of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.
Torres and Gerrard were both on the scoresheet again at the
weekend having scored 50 goals between them this season.
Their partnership has won the amiration of Ian Rush.
"If there is a better partnership in English football at the
moment than Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres I certainly
haven't seen it," the Liverpool legend told the Echo.
"The fact that they have both been nominated for PFA player
of the year speaks volumes about what a wonderful season
they have both had and everyone connected with Liverpool
should be delighted to have them.
"The PFA awards are the most prestigious in this country as
far as the players are concerned because they are voted for
by your peers in the game.
"Clearly, there are many players in England who think that
Gerrard and Torres are up there with the very best and I
would definitely agree with that.
"We saw again at the weekend just how good they are when
both of them got their names on the score sheet against
Blackburn at Anfield.
"This was always going to be a difficult game for Liverpool
because it came hot on the heels of their magnificent
performance against Arsenal and there was bound to be a bit
of a hangover from that.
"But on days when you're maybe lacking a bit of energy and
struggling to lift yourselves it is vital that you have that
bit of extra class in the ranks and that is exactly what
Liverpool have in Gerrard and Torres.
"I was starting to wonder if Blackburn were going to be able
to hold out for a draw because they are such stubborn
opponents but just as it seemed as if Liverpool were not
going to be able to find a way through their defence,
Gerrard popped up with a wonderful goal.
"As soon as that went in you just got the feeling that
Liverpool would go on and get another one or two because
Blackburn would have to push forward in search of an
equaliser and that meant there would be one or two gaps
opening up at the back.
"That's where a genuine goalscorer like Torres comes into
his own and I wasn't in the least bit surprised to see him
get on the end of a great cross from Gerrard to score his
30th goal of the season.
"What a great achievement that is in his first season in
English football. No wonder his fellow players have
nominated him for the PFA awards.
"Class told in the end on Sunday and it meant Liverpool have
all but sealed fourth place in the Premiership and a lot of
the credit for that must go to Torres and Gerrard because
their contribution this season has been incredible."
APRIL 14
Phenomenal Torres tells it all
By Laurent Picard - Setanta Sports
Liverpool star Fernando Torres has
declared how happy he is at Anfield and revealed he is
determined to keep breaking records in England.
Torres is surprised by his own statistics, but says the warm
welcome he has received in the city has helped his
transition.
“You have to enjoy it when everything is fine,” he said
during an interview with Radio Marca from Liverpool on
Monday. “I want people to always remember me here.
“It is what I was dreaming for. I expected it to take more
time. Achieving all that in the first season is amazing.
“The team have been working very well and helped me a lot.
“Settling has been very easy and you can see it on the
pitch. I have been helped with everything.
“Every player feels important thanks to the fans, from Pepe
to the strikers because they sing their names and support
them.
“People respect you a lot here. For example I was in a
supermarket this morning and the fans were very calm, did
not jump on me, they just congratulated me and asked me if
they could take pictures with me.
“There are plenty of Everton fans in the streets but there
are no problems.
“We have fans around the world and we can see it every time
we play away.
“It is a different culture than in Spain, obviously and the
rivalry with Manchester United and Liverpool is impressive.”
“El Nino” could beat Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 23
goals scored in his first Premier League season, as he has
netted 22 times so far.
“I am proud and want to beat every record I can,” he said.
“I feel important in the team. The game against Chelsea gave
me confidence to carry on.
“I have never scored 30 goals in a season in my career and I
have made it here. It has been helped by the team’s style of
football.”
The Spaniard has expressed his views on the difference
between the leagues in Spain and England.
“The top four teams are great in England and in Spain, but I
think that the mid-table ones are more competitive in La
Liga,” he declared.
“In Spain we are more technical and slower. Here they are
very dynamic and never stop.
“As far as The Premier League is concerned, there is a world
between the top four and the other teams.
“The coaches are managers, they sign the contracts, control
everything, from the team to the Academy to the working
hours, they are at training with us, and watch the reserves
as well.
“They have given more time than in Spain, for example you
can see how Sir Alex Ferguson has been good and how many
titles he has won.”
Torres feels sorry for Arsenal, who were eliminated from the
Champions League and who lost all hope of taking the title
inside a week.
“Football is like that, Arsenal have achieve an amazing
season, being at the top all the time and then lost
everything in a week, that is cruel,” he said.
“They play very well. It is their policy. But in football
you never know.”
APRIL 14
Gerrard pleads: Keep
the ownership spat private
Liverpool Daily Post
Steven Gerrard was thrilled to mark his
300th Premier League game for Liverpool with a goal in the
3-1 victory over Blackburn yesterday.
But the Anfield skipper insisted the club should be rising
above a public brawl between the owners and management.
It took Liverpool an hour to break the deadlock, but
Gerrard’s clever run and finish was followed by further
goals from Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin before Roque
Santa Cruz pulled one back in injury time.
Gerrard declared: “It’s a really proud day to clock up that
many games. It’s a great day, a good performance, we’re just
disappointed with conceding late on. It’s going to be a good
chase but we’re confident we can achieve fifth place.”
Gerrard and Torres have now scored more than 50 goals
between them this season, and the skipper paid tribute to
the Spaniard’s impact since his move from Atletico Madrid
last summer.
“He’s a good player, he makes good runs and he’s a pleasure
to play with,” Gerrard added. “To get 30 goals in his first
season is unbelievable and I’m sure he’s got a few left.”
However, Gerrard admitted to his disappointment at the
publicity surrounding the club at the moment.
“We’re Liverpool FC, we’re better than that,” he said. “But
the players have got more important things to worry about.”
APRIL 13
Hughes
bemoans errors
By James Dall - Sky Sports
Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes
believes individual errors cost his side as Liverpool
claimed a 'deserved' victory at Anfield on Sunday.
Second-half goals from Steve Gerrard, Fernando Torres and
Andriy Voronin effectively ended Rovers' faint hopes of
claiming European qualification.
And Hughes, whose side netted a late consolation through
Roque Santa Cruz, has bemoaned the individual mistakes
leading up to the opener.
"There was not a great deal created by either team in the
first half if we are honest," Hughes said on the club's
official website.
"Liverpool didn't really put us under any concerted pressure
during that opening period.
"But in the second half we came out and felt there was
something in the game for us, but the first goal is poor
from our point of view, we had chances to address the
situation and nip it in the bud, but we allowed poor passes
and mis-timed challenges to allow Steven Gerrard through,
and one-on-one with the keeper you always suspect that he is
going to take the chance which he obviously did.
"In fairness to Liverpool today I thought they worked
extremely hard and closed down spaces and as a consequence
they force errors and they are able to convert the chances
as the consequence of those errors, and that is what
happened with the last two goals, which I didn't think gave
a true reflection on the game.
"But at the end of the day we haven't done enough going the
other way to deserve something out of the game.
"But we'll keep going, we've got four games left and we are
still trying to achieve something and that is a credit to
us, but today we just didn't quite have enough to test
Liverpool."
APRIL 13
Rafa:
We are nearly there
By Jimmy Rice at Anfield - LFC Official Website
Rafa Benitez believes his side are 'nearly
there' in the race for Champions League qualification after
a 3-1 victory over Blackburn on Sunday.
The Anfield boss was delighted with his side's second-half
performance when goals from Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres
and substitute Andriy Voronin sunk the Lancashire outfit.
The Reds now have a five-point lead over fifth-placed
Everton with just four games remaining.
Benitez said: "We must be pleased because we knew it was a
difficult game against a good team. We played well in the
second half, especially Benayoun and after that Gerrard and
Torres.
"We scored good goals so we must be pleased, particularly
after the game against Arsenal when we worked really hard,
played well and everyone was saying how good we were. It's
not easy to keep the players ready for the next game, so
that is the most positive thing.
"We now need to go to Fulham to try to win. If we win we'll
be nearly there. The Champions League is always a
distraction, so it's important we get qualification sorted
as quickly as possible.
"We cannot say what will happen with Everton, but we are
five points clear and that is important."
APRIL 13
Deadly Reds duo defeat Rovers
By James Dall - Sky Sports
Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were
both on target as Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners over
Blackburn Rovers at Anfield.
The Reds dominated the first half, but much of the attention
surrounded referee Alan Wiley as he waved away appeals for a
penalty when Gerrard went down after knocking the ball past
goalkeeper Brad Friedel, before Christopher Samba was
fortunate not to be penalised for a clumsy foul on the
England midfielder.
But it mattered little, with Gerrard breaking the deadlock
on the hour mark as he played a clever one-two with Lucas
before squeezing through the Rovers defence to slot home
coolly.
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes brought on Benni McCarthy in
an attempt to boost his side's attacking prowess, but
Torres' fine header took his tally to 30 goals with
substitute Andriy Voronin tapping home to make it 3-0, while
Santa Cruz volleyed home an injury-time consolation to
restore some pride for the visitors.
The first chance came after nine minutes when Gerrard,
playing his 300th league game for the club, saw a whipped in
cross flicked narrowly wide by Torres.
A fine challenge by ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock
then stopped Torres in full flow.
Soon after, Gerrard went down too easily as Rovers
goalkeeper Brad Friedel came out to meet him on the left of
the box, and Wiley waved away appeals for a penalty.
Wiley then ignored far more obvious claims for a free-kick
when Samba bundled Gerrard over on the edge of the box.
And when Torres and Dirk Kuyt combined to set-up Gerrard for
a 20-yard shot that looked to be deflected wide the official
gave a goal-kick, much to the growing anger of the home
crowd.
Kuyt then saw a 25-yard shot held by Friedel before the
Dutch forward headed just wide from a Gerrard free-kick.
Warnock received a tremendous reception from the Kop at the
start of the second half, the young full-back having played
67 games for Liverpool before moving to Ewood Park 15 months
ago.
Morten Gamst Pedersen saw two free-kicks saved by Jose Reina
before Lucas, at the other end, fired wide.
After 59 minutes, Benitez introduced Yossi Benayoun in place
of Babel and his energy was instrumental in the early
build-up to a fine Gerrard goal on the hour.
Benayoun won possession and fed Lucas, the Brazilian
exchanging passes with Gerrard before the Liverpool skipper
cut into the box and side-footed the ball past Friedel.
Roberts appealed for a penalty in the 71st minute after a
clash with Martin Skrtel, replays suggesting he was more
sinner than sinned against.
But when the same pair clashed again a minute later, Skrtel
was booked.
Rovers, who sent on McCarthy for Pedersen a minute later,
were far from out of it and David Bentley sent a 25-yard
free-kick just wide.
But Liverpool went further ahead after 82 minutes.
Lucas won possession and fed Gerrard on the right. When his
cross curled into the box, Torres was there to head past
Friedel.
Gerrard was denied another penalty by the official as he
fell under a Samba challenge, before Torres was spared any
further involvement, allowing Voronin a late run-out.
And in the final minute Voronin slid home the third from
substitute John Arne Riise's low cross.
In injury time Santa Cruz volleyed home on the turn after a
poor header from Skrtel, but by then the points had been
well won by Liverpool.
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