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| MEDIA WATCH |
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LIVERPOOL 4-0 REAL MADRID
Daily Mirror
11 March 2009
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No Doubt a million Scousers will eventually claim to have been here - but the lucky thousands inside Anfield last night experienced another of those truly great European occasions.
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Not only were the mighty Real Madrid destroyed and utterly humiliated, the famous old stadium, in all its seething glory, was treated to two performances that will rank alongside the best ever in a Liverpool shirt. Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard already compare favourably to the legends of Anfield.
Last night, they added to their burgeoning reputations by taking apart the team rated currently the best in Europe on form before this tie began.
Some hope. Real were atrocious, an appalling imitation of the giants who have strode majestically through the history of this competition.
And they were reduced to that level because of the genius of the Liverpool stars.
A fourth and final goal from substitute Andrea Dossena in the 88th minute brought the You'll Never Walk Alone anthem to a crescendo.
Torres was inspired against the club he hated as a child supporter of their city rivals Atletico. But he shared the goals and the star billing with Gerrard, who proved beyond doubt that he is a colossus of the world game now.
He was denied a hat-trick only by the genius of Iker Casillas, and that told the story of the game really - that the Real keeper was by far their best performer when they were still thrashed.
No wonder this game will go down in Anfield history.
Casillas is generally regarded as the finest keeper on the planet.
Last night, he had to be - merely to briefly hold back a torrential Liverpool onslaught from the first whistle that blew Real away.
If the Spaniards expected their opponents to sit back and try to kill the game with the oppressive brand of football they have mastered, then the hurricane that raged across Anfield in the first 10 minutes shredded that notion.
It was breathtaking stuff, the most compelling passage of play Liverpool have produced all season, and inevitably talisman Torres was at the heart of it all.
Finally, in the 16th minute, the Real stopper's imposing barricade cracked too. It was sweeping move that started with Jamie Carragher's long ball and was advanced by the fleet-footed Torres, whose pace was too hot for the Madrid defence to handle.
As the limp-wristed Pepe tried to clear, he succeeded only in diverting the ball to Dirk Kuyt on the right, and his cross was perfect for Torres to continue his run and steer the ball past the despairing Casillas. Real claimed a freekick for a pull on the defender but given that he went down in instalments, it was a forlorn shout.
It was no more than Liverpool deserved - and Torres deserved it most.
His run in the first minute that had Madrid falling over like Keystone Kops signalled his deadly intent, and a turn on four minutes from a clever Gerrard pass was out of this world.
The shot after it wasn't bad either, but Casillas performed the impossible to stick a foot in the way and then repeated the trick from the resulting corner to somehow turn over a scorching drive from Javier Mascherano.
Martin Skrtel almost added to the lead and from there, Gerrard came into his own.
The only surprise was that it took a dodgy 28th-minute penalty for Liverpool to extend their lead, when Gabriel Heinze was adjudged to have handled when the ball struck his shoulder.
In truth though, the visitors could hardly complain because they were shocking, and Gerrard confidently converted from the spot.
He confirmed his side's total superiority two minutes after the break.
It was a great run and cross from Ryan Babel and Gerrard dashed in to convert the bouncing ball with an arrogant ease.
Game over of course, and who can bet against Liverpool in the Champions League?
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