Posted by 510bluebird | Posted in Liverpool FC | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2010
Fernando Torres struck twice as Liverpool produced a devastating attacking performance to power past Benfica into the Europa League semi-finals.
Dirk Kuyt and Lucas were also on target on a pulsating night at Anfield as the Reds overturned a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
Their first-leg nemesis Oscar Cardozo threatened to make life difficult with a goal that made it 3-1 on the night but Torres' second delightful finish ended the contest.
It was a performance that came in marked contrast to Liverpool's struggles in the Barclays Premier League and their increasingly forlorn attempts to finish fourth.
They left the field frustrated after being held at Birmingham on Saturday but, after a slow start, their determination to progress in this competition soon became obvious.
They made two changes from the weekend, the key one being the deployment of first-leg goalscorer Daniel Agger in the unfamiliar role of left-back due to Emiliano Insua's suspension.
Jamie Carragher and Sotirios Kyrgiakos started in central defence while Javier Mascherano replaced the ineligible Maxi Rodriguez.
Torres, who was controversially substituted at Birmingham to rest a knee injury, showed worrying signs of discomfort in the early stages.
His mobility was not helped by a crude early challenge from Sidnei and that set the tone for a night of rough treatment for the Spaniard, who had clearly been identified as the dangerman.
Benfica actually started the stronger and had an early opportunity after Carragher pushed the charging Pablo Aimar over on the edge of the box.
Angel di Maria's free-kick went straight into the wall and was put behind for a corner.
Liverpool took time to find their stride and it was not until the 15th minute that they worried Benfica as Steven Gerrard's whipped free-kick was headed behind by Amorim.
Gerrard then fired in a cross for Torres but the striker, who headed straight at Julio Cesar anyway, was offside.
Torres had another chance from a Glen Johnson cross but his glancing header went wide.
The Reds were taking charge and although Benfica continued to look dangerous on the break, they carried the greater threat.
They levelled the tie in the 27th minute after Yossi Benayoun won a corner on the left.
Gerrard delivered a perfect cross for Dirk Kuyt from the resulting set-piece and the Dutchman firmly headed home from six yards.
A moment of confusion followed as the goal initially appeared to have been disallowed as the assistant referee on the far side flagged for offside.
Liverpool protested and the referee and additional assistant behind the goal agreed the goal should stand.
With an away goal in the bank, that gave the Reds the edge overall but they had the momentum and wanted more.
They followed up with a second goal six minutes later as Gerrard slipped the often-maligned Lucas in on goal with a superb ball.
The Brazilian showed great composure to swerve around Cesar and tap in his first goal in 11 months.
The job was far from done, however, and Liverpool survived a couple of scares before the break as Cardozo fired a free-kick at Jose Reina and Sidnei had a shot deflected for a corner.
But Benfica captain Luisao almost handed Liverpool another goal early in the second half.
Kuyt won possession on the right and fed Gerrard, who delivered a low ball across the box.
Luisao slid in to make the interception but lost control and needed Cesar to palm it away.
Liverpool's deserved third arrived just before the hour from a swift counter-attack.
Lucas was struck between the legs as the Reds defended a free-kick inside their own half and left their colleague in pain as they charged downfield.
Benayoun raced into the Benfica half and spread the ball wide for Kuyt, whose first-time cross was swept in by the onrushing Torres.
The atmosphere at this point was raucous, but anxiety soon set in as Benfica pulled one back on 70 minutes after Kuyt fouled Ramires on the edge of the area.
Cardozo, who scored two penalties in the first leg, blasted in a low shot through a gap in the wall.
Benayoun conceded another free-kick in a similar position for tripping the same player four minutes later but this time Cardozo's curling effort flew narrowly wide.
The Reds battled on and showed the resolve to kill off the tie eight minutes from time.
Lucas won the ball in midfield with a powerful challenge and Mascherano sent Torres clear with a brilliant pass.
Torres made no mistake as he raced into the area and clipped the ball over substitute goalkeeper Moreira - a replacement for the injured Cesar just moments earlier - with delicate poise.
Liverpool could at last breathe easily and took off Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun in the closing minutes.
Posted by 510bluebird | Posted in Liverpool FC | Posted on Monday, April 05, 2010
Liverpool's hopes of securing a Champions League spot are hanging by a slender thread after Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell earned his side a share of the spoils at St. Andrew's.
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard put his side ahead a minute into the second half but Ridgewell levelled matters nine minutes later.
It means Rafael Benitez's side are four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City and have played a game more.
And the Spaniard is still searching for a first Premier League victory over Blues in eight attempts spanning his six seasons at Anfield.
Birmingham again showed the resilience which has been their trademark in preserving a seven-month unbeaten home record.
And the share of the spoils with Liverpool means they have drawn at St. Andrews with every one of the current top six this season.
Benitez made three changes from the side beaten at Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday with Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Yossi Benayoun and Maxi Rodriguez replacing Daniel Agger, Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel respectively.
Blues boss Alex McLeish fielded an unchanged side as he kept faith with the players who had held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw.
The first half-chance fell to the in-form Fernando Torres after he was picked out by a pass from Maxi Rodriguez but his first touch was surprisingly poor and took him away from goal.
Gerrard was operating mainly in a deeper role but he ventured forward to find the overlapping Rodriguez in space only for his shot to be blocked by Roger Johnson.
Torres tried his luck from 30 yards out but his curler was high and wide of Hart's goal.
Then after 35 minutes Joe Hart produced a superb reflex save to prevent Rodriguez from giving the Reds the lead.
Torres was the creator with a menacing dipping cross and Rodriguez's powerful first-time shot from 10 yards out was tipped onto the crossbar by the on-loan Manchester City keeper.
The game started to come to life and Jose Reina beat out a shot from Cameron Jerome at the expense of a corner, although the striker appeared to be offside.
Then Reina failed to deal with a deep centre from James McFadden and Johnson's header at the far post was only just off target.
Lucas became the first player to be booked after 38 minutes for a shirt pull at McFadden.
Gerrard needed only a minute of the second half to break the deadlock although there was an element of fortune about the goal.
Glen Johnson's attempted shot was well off target but dropped nicely into the path of Gerrard on the left side of the Birmingham box.
The England player had time to cut inside before unleashing a fierce cross-shot which flew into the corner of the net.
Keith Fahey became the first Birmingham player to be yellow-carded after 51 minutes for a challenge on Lucas but Gerrard's free-kick flew well wide.
Birmingham responded in positive fashion to going behind, with full-backs Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell getting forward at every opportunity.
And after 56 minutes Ridgewell brought the home side back on level terms.
Former Everton player McFadden was the creator with some neat trickery on the right flank before floating over a teasing cross which left Ridgewell with the simplest of tasks from close range.
Benitez made his first change after 65 minutes with David N'Gog replacing Torres, who looked far from happy at being taken off.
N'Gog was greeted with a crescendo of boos from the Blues fans after winning a controversial penalty in the 2-2 draw at Anfield earlier in the season.
N'Gog had a great chance to restore Liverpool's lead but he headed wide when well placed from Johnson's cross.
Then Lee Bowyer was guilty of an even more glaring miss. Ridgewell's cross found him unmarked six yards out but he poked the ball wide with the goal at his mercy.
N'Gog squandered another golden chance, drilling his shot wide from 12 yards after Dirk Kuyt had dispossessed Bowyer to set up the opportunity.
Substitute Alberto Aquilani inadvertently blocked a close-range shot from Rodriguez as the visitors searched for a late winner.
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard put his side ahead a minute into the second half but Ridgewell levelled matters nine minutes later.
It means Rafael Benitez's side are four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City and have played a game more.
And the Spaniard is still searching for a first Premier League victory over Blues in eight attempts spanning his six seasons at Anfield.
Birmingham again showed the resilience which has been their trademark in preserving a seven-month unbeaten home record.
And the share of the spoils with Liverpool means they have drawn at St. Andrews with every one of the current top six this season.
Benitez made three changes from the side beaten at Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday with Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Yossi Benayoun and Maxi Rodriguez replacing Daniel Agger, Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel respectively.
Blues boss Alex McLeish fielded an unchanged side as he kept faith with the players who had held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw.
The first half-chance fell to the in-form Fernando Torres after he was picked out by a pass from Maxi Rodriguez but his first touch was surprisingly poor and took him away from goal.
Gerrard was operating mainly in a deeper role but he ventured forward to find the overlapping Rodriguez in space only for his shot to be blocked by Roger Johnson.
Torres tried his luck from 30 yards out but his curler was high and wide of Hart's goal.
Then after 35 minutes Joe Hart produced a superb reflex save to prevent Rodriguez from giving the Reds the lead.
Torres was the creator with a menacing dipping cross and Rodriguez's powerful first-time shot from 10 yards out was tipped onto the crossbar by the on-loan Manchester City keeper.
The game started to come to life and Jose Reina beat out a shot from Cameron Jerome at the expense of a corner, although the striker appeared to be offside.
Then Reina failed to deal with a deep centre from James McFadden and Johnson's header at the far post was only just off target.
Lucas became the first player to be booked after 38 minutes for a shirt pull at McFadden.
Gerrard needed only a minute of the second half to break the deadlock although there was an element of fortune about the goal.
Glen Johnson's attempted shot was well off target but dropped nicely into the path of Gerrard on the left side of the Birmingham box.
The England player had time to cut inside before unleashing a fierce cross-shot which flew into the corner of the net.
Keith Fahey became the first Birmingham player to be yellow-carded after 51 minutes for a challenge on Lucas but Gerrard's free-kick flew well wide.
Birmingham responded in positive fashion to going behind, with full-backs Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell getting forward at every opportunity.
And after 56 minutes Ridgewell brought the home side back on level terms.
Former Everton player McFadden was the creator with some neat trickery on the right flank before floating over a teasing cross which left Ridgewell with the simplest of tasks from close range.
Benitez made his first change after 65 minutes with David N'Gog replacing Torres, who looked far from happy at being taken off.
N'Gog was greeted with a crescendo of boos from the Blues fans after winning a controversial penalty in the 2-2 draw at Anfield earlier in the season.
N'Gog had a great chance to restore Liverpool's lead but he headed wide when well placed from Johnson's cross.
Then Lee Bowyer was guilty of an even more glaring miss. Ridgewell's cross found him unmarked six yards out but he poked the ball wide with the goal at his mercy.
N'Gog squandered another golden chance, drilling his shot wide from 12 yards after Dirk Kuyt had dispossessed Bowyer to set up the opportunity.
Substitute Alberto Aquilani inadvertently blocked a close-range shot from Rodriguez as the visitors searched for a late winner.
Posted by 510bluebird | Posted in Shin Chan aka Dik Cerdas | Posted on Saturday, April 03, 2010
Shin Chan Volume 17
"Pertarungan Harmoni Persaudaraan Hari Kebahagiaan Keluarga Nohara"
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"Pertarungan Harmoni Persaudaraan Hari Kebahagiaan Keluarga Nohara"
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Posted by 510bluebird | Posted in Liverpool FC | Posted on Friday, April 02, 2010
Ten-man Liverpool were undone by two harsh penalty decisions and an at-times shambolic refereeing display as they lost 2-1 to Benfica in a hostile Europa League quarter-final first leg in Lisbon.
Daniel Agger gave his side the perfect start in the ninth minute but things took a turn for the worse when Ryan Babel was dismissed on the half-hour for thrusting a hand in Luisao's face.
Oscar Cardozo wasted numerous chances before converting two spot-kicks but with an away goal Rafael Benitez's side still have hope for the return leg.
Benitez had said before the game he did not expect the Portuguese league leaders to target striker Fernando Torres - but he was wrong.
The Spain international was on the receiving end of some hefty challenges which Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson seemed content to leave unpunished.
It was no surprise to see Torres withdrawn before the end, firstly to avoid injury and secondly to prevent him getting a booking which would rule him out of the second leg at Anfield.
Playing against a backdrop of a cacophony of noise and, in the second half, a stream of fireworks aimed at Jose Reina's goal, Liverpool had the ideal start.
Maxi Pereira's ninth-minute foul on Steven Gerrard gave the Liverpool captain a chance to whip in a dangerous free-kick from just left of the penalty area.
However, with the hosts massed around the six-yard area the midfielder fooled everyone by rolling a low pass in towards the penalty spot where Agger produced a classy backheel into the corner of the net.
It was reminiscent of a similar move which saw the Denmark defender score in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea in May 2007, although that one was hit with more power.
Fortunately for Liverpool, Benfica's European top scorer this season, Cardozo, could not show the same composure as he squandered three good chances in quick succession.
The profligacy was contagious as Pablo Aimar's usually reliable first touch let him down as he looked to beat Reina, making his 250th appearance for the club.
Ramires was next to head over at the far post from a cross by Di Maria, whose shot from 25 yards fizzed just over Reina's crossbar in the 28th minute as the pressure built.
The highly-charged atmosphere exploded on the half-hour when referee Eriksson appeared to completely lose control.
Centre-back Luisao took exception to a tackle by Babel and subsequently hacked right through the back of Torres, who had already been on the end of some severe punishment.
A melee ensued in which Luisao continued his protest at Babel and the Dutchman responded by pushing the Brazilian in the face.
The Swedish official showed the Benfica defender a yellow card and then flashed a red at Liverpool's Holland international - sparking a sustained but fruitless protest by Liverpool's entire team.
David Luiz was next to go into the book for clattering Torres in the 37th minute and the Spain striker thought he had exacted the perfect revenge when he volleyed home Julio Cesar's weak punch from Gerrard's free-kick - only to be denied by an offside flag.
Emiliano Insua was booked for pulling back Di Maria just before the break, ruling him out of the second leg.
Within four minutes of the restart Cardozo planted one header straight at Reina and the other over from five yards and you sensed just maybe it was going to be Liverpool's night.
But, after a stray firework landed close to the fourth official next to Reina's goal, their luck changed.
Cardozo's 59th-minute free-kick rattled back off the right-hand post and when Aimar went down under Insua's tackle chasing the rebound Eriksson pointed to the penalty spot.
This time Cardozo finally hit the target to beat Reina.
In the 76th minute Torres had a glorious chance to put his side back in front - and score his first Liverpool goal on foreign soil since March 11 2008 - but with only Cesar to beat he dragged his shot wide from Kuyt's pass.
It was to prove costly as two minutes later Di Maria's cross hit Carragher as he slid in to tackle and the fourth official signalled a penalty for handball.
The defender was booked and Cardozo scored his second spot-kick of the night.
With more fireworks raining down behind Liverpool's goal towards the end Benitez's side were fortunate to leave Lisbon with just a one-goal deficit.
Daniel Agger gave his side the perfect start in the ninth minute but things took a turn for the worse when Ryan Babel was dismissed on the half-hour for thrusting a hand in Luisao's face.
Oscar Cardozo wasted numerous chances before converting two spot-kicks but with an away goal Rafael Benitez's side still have hope for the return leg.
Benitez had said before the game he did not expect the Portuguese league leaders to target striker Fernando Torres - but he was wrong.
The Spain international was on the receiving end of some hefty challenges which Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson seemed content to leave unpunished.
It was no surprise to see Torres withdrawn before the end, firstly to avoid injury and secondly to prevent him getting a booking which would rule him out of the second leg at Anfield.
Playing against a backdrop of a cacophony of noise and, in the second half, a stream of fireworks aimed at Jose Reina's goal, Liverpool had the ideal start.
Maxi Pereira's ninth-minute foul on Steven Gerrard gave the Liverpool captain a chance to whip in a dangerous free-kick from just left of the penalty area.
However, with the hosts massed around the six-yard area the midfielder fooled everyone by rolling a low pass in towards the penalty spot where Agger produced a classy backheel into the corner of the net.
It was reminiscent of a similar move which saw the Denmark defender score in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea in May 2007, although that one was hit with more power.
Fortunately for Liverpool, Benfica's European top scorer this season, Cardozo, could not show the same composure as he squandered three good chances in quick succession.
The profligacy was contagious as Pablo Aimar's usually reliable first touch let him down as he looked to beat Reina, making his 250th appearance for the club.
Ramires was next to head over at the far post from a cross by Di Maria, whose shot from 25 yards fizzed just over Reina's crossbar in the 28th minute as the pressure built.
The highly-charged atmosphere exploded on the half-hour when referee Eriksson appeared to completely lose control.
Centre-back Luisao took exception to a tackle by Babel and subsequently hacked right through the back of Torres, who had already been on the end of some severe punishment.
A melee ensued in which Luisao continued his protest at Babel and the Dutchman responded by pushing the Brazilian in the face.
The Swedish official showed the Benfica defender a yellow card and then flashed a red at Liverpool's Holland international - sparking a sustained but fruitless protest by Liverpool's entire team.
David Luiz was next to go into the book for clattering Torres in the 37th minute and the Spain striker thought he had exacted the perfect revenge when he volleyed home Julio Cesar's weak punch from Gerrard's free-kick - only to be denied by an offside flag.
Emiliano Insua was booked for pulling back Di Maria just before the break, ruling him out of the second leg.
Within four minutes of the restart Cardozo planted one header straight at Reina and the other over from five yards and you sensed just maybe it was going to be Liverpool's night.
But, after a stray firework landed close to the fourth official next to Reina's goal, their luck changed.
Cardozo's 59th-minute free-kick rattled back off the right-hand post and when Aimar went down under Insua's tackle chasing the rebound Eriksson pointed to the penalty spot.
This time Cardozo finally hit the target to beat Reina.
In the 76th minute Torres had a glorious chance to put his side back in front - and score his first Liverpool goal on foreign soil since March 11 2008 - but with only Cesar to beat he dragged his shot wide from Kuyt's pass.
It was to prove costly as two minutes later Di Maria's cross hit Carragher as he slid in to tackle and the fourth official signalled a penalty for handball.
The defender was booked and Cardozo scored his second spot-kick of the night.
With more fireworks raining down behind Liverpool's goal towards the end Benitez's side were fortunate to leave Lisbon with just a one-goal deficit.
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