Out-of-sorts Liverpool front man Fernando Torres scored a brace and was denied a hat trick as his team dispatched their old rivals in the 108th Merseyside derby. Torres, who hadn’t scored since the opening day of the season at Sunderland, was unfortunate not to claim the match ball, as his clinical third strike was harshly ruled out for a Dirk Kuyt push.
Unsurprisingly, the game started at a fast pace, will no lack of passion on display from either side. The early signs for the match looked a little bleak as referee Mike Riley booked Everton record signing Marouane Fellaini in the 8th minute. It looked for a moment as though the man in black was going to take center stage as he frequently blew up, stopping the game from being able to flow. Perhaps he thought he was at a rave? Although Liverpool dominated the middle of the park, they lacked penetration and it started to look as though it could be Stoke all over again. Interestingly, the men from Anfield have only managed one goal whilst Keane and Torres have been on together. This, coupled with the fact that the hosts were showing very little creativity, prompted the inevitable nil-nil half time score line. That’s not to say the game was devoid of entertainment, it just lacked in the final third.
The second half however, proved to be a much more palatable affair. Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard both had decent long range efforts saved before Torres broke the deadlock with a neat volley. Robbie Keane was released on the left side of the box and clipped a lovely ball to the far side. Credit must be given to Dirk Kuyt who took two Everton defenders out with his run, to allow Fernando Torres to arrive unmarked to slip his volley underneathth the despairing Tim Howard. It was sweet relief for the Spaniard, who was growing increasingly frustrated and had earlier picked up a booking for his petulant gesture towards the linesman.
It wasn’t long before ‘El Nino’ doubled his tally for the day, as he expertly finished the kind deflection that fell to his feet, smashing the ball high into the top left. An intricate build up from Liverpool saw the ever workmanlike Kuyt receive the ball in the box. He looked to pull the trigger until a last ditch challenge pushed the ball into the path of Torres. It was a blistering 10 minute spell for Rafa’s boys as they scored 4 times. One was justifyably ruled out for the ball going out of play, but the other, as already mentioned seemed harsh.
With the 2 goal cushion the game was effectively over, especially if you consider that Liverpool have only conceded one goal away from home so far this season, away to Marseille. The Toffees did rally, but in truth never did enough to test Pepe Reina as they failed to manufacture a single shot on target. Their afternoon was altogether ended when Mike Riley farcically dismissed Tim Cahill in the 80th minute, for a late challenge. By no means was it a good tackle, but at the worst, it was a yellow card offence.
Everton’s poor start to the season continues, and they look quite a way off from their Merseyside neighbors. They will need to sure up their defence and need another 15-20 goal a season striker to help Yakubu. Today was a much welcomed return to form for the Reds after the disappointment of last week and their fans must finally be starting to believe they can crack that top two this season.
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