Sunday, April 20, 2008 . 11:35 PM
Fulham 0 - 2 Liverpool
Fulham could not be blamed for going into this match supposing that perhaps Liverpool might give away a victory at Craven Cottage; that perhaps Liverpool would take their gas off the pedal for just this match, since they were already 5 points clear of Everton with a game in hand since their loss to Chelsea less than 48 hours earlier, also keeping an eye on the Champions League match with Chelsea the week later.
As the line ups for both teams were revealed before the start of the match, no one could blame the Fulham fans for hoping that they could nick something from Liverpool, for Rafa Benitez had made 8 changes to his (first team) line up from Blackburn a week ago, keeping only Reina, Lucas and Skrtel. Torres was on the bench, and Gerrard wasn't even in the squad. Fulham, on the other hand, did not make a change at all, putting forth their strongest side to face the Reds. Fulham, 5 points from safety from relegation, needed a win desperately to boost their chances of survival.
Fulham began strongly, expressing their desire to stay in the Premiership for another season at least. Liverpool were once again slow to start off the blocks, and nearly paid the price a couple of times with some good Fulham grit and running. Healy, Dempsey and Bullard were looking dangerous with their attacking play and only the hard work from the Liverpool defence denied Fulham anything from their early running, albeit giving away several free kicks and corners in the process. Liverpool, on the other hand, were not creating anything to test the Fulham defence or keeper at all.
Liverpool will be happy to note that, given their recent problems with set pieces, they managed to deal with the early onslaught from Fulham rather comfortably. Reina looked confident and almost impressive as he came off his line several times to claim high balls into the box from free kicks and crosses, denying Fulham the chance of a flick-on, knock down or follow up from set plays.
Despite Fulham's early attacking play, Liverpool were the ones who manufactured the first real chance of the game. Pennant was allowed to run at the Fulham defence, and in the 14th minutes, he produced a quality cross to meet the head of Peter Crouch. Crouch, under pressure from Paul Stalteri, headed inches wide of the post, with Fulham keeper Kasey Keller stranded.
If that was a sign of things to come, then Fulham certainly paid the price for not taking note of it. Barely 3 minutes later, Andriy Voronin passed from the centre of the park to Lucas, who then produced a brilliantly disguised throughball to find Pennant, who was making his run diagonally to the right, across the Fulham centre back Brede Hangeland. With the burly Norwegian making up ground on him, the former Arsenal right winger took his shot early, smashing it into the top corner at Keller's near post. Keller was left rooted to the spot, not expecting the shot to come so early and at his near post as well. Against the run of play, Liverpool were 1-0 up.
If that was a sign of things to come, then Fulham certainly paid the price for not taking note of it. Barely 3 minutes later, Andriy Voronin passed from the centre of the park to Lucas, who then produced a brilliantly disguised throughball to find Pennant, who was making his run diagonally to the right, across the Fulham centre back Brede Hangeland. With the burly Norwegian making up ground on him, the former Arsenal right winger took his shot early, smashing it into the top corner at Keller's near post. Keller was left rooted to the spot, not expecting the shot to come so early and at his near post as well. Against the run of play, Liverpool were 1-0 up.Liverpool slowly began to get into it, with their rearguard putting up a defensive clinic and their attacking men slowly finding their rhythm. Pennant once again produced a great cross from the right in the 28th minute, originally intended for Crouch, but the big man missed it and Riise was on hand to pick it up. A low cross shot at goal was deflected clear by Stalteri, who had gotten back to the Fulham goal line to aid his goalkeeper.
Towards half time, Liverpool were looking comfortable, but nearly let Fulham sneak an equalizer, when Hangeland got his head to the ball from a Bullard free kick that was wide of the mark. A wake up call for Liverpool then, who were not yet safe with a slender 1-0 lead.
Liverpool were well and truly in control in the second half, with Fulham struggling to keep up the pace they had set for themselves in the early stages of the match. Voronin had a chance to put his side 2 up when he found himself unmarked in the Fulham box from a Pennant corner, but his overhead kick was a tad too high. Fulham were not going to give up without a fight and nearly equalized when Clint Dempsey's header flashed just wide of Reina's left-hand post.
Liverpool have paid the price so many times this season from not being able to finish teams off once they have gone 1-0 up, and this was evident in many poor attempts at goal, from Voronin and Benayoun in particular. Despite this, they chose not to sit back and defend, and put all their effort into scoring a second and putting the game beyond doubt.
Their endeavours paid off in the 70th minutes, when a poor pass from former Liverpool man Danny Murphy was intercepted by Javier Mascherano, who squared it to the excellent Pennant. Taking on Paul Konchesky, the Englishman took the ball inside and played a pass beyond the reach of Aaron Hughes to find Crouch, whose first touch took him wide to the right and clear of Hughes, and his second was a neat strike through the legs of Keller, into the back of the net. 2-0 to Liverpool.Fulham finally realized that for them to survive the drop, they probably needed to win their remaining 3 games if they could not get anything out of Liverpool in this match, and they shot to life in the 75th minutes, with arguably their best player Jimmy Bullard putting a fine through pass to find Danny Murphy, who had the chance to score against his former club. But Reina closed the angle very quickly and stayed on his feet while one-on-one with Murphy, and the midfielder smashed his effort against Reina's leg, which deflected the ball to the right and away from goal.
As the final whistle sounded, Liverpool had established an 8 point lead ahead of Everton in the race for 4th, while Fulham were condemned to yet another defeat and possibly looking at Championship football next season, if they fail to improve on their performance this weekend.
Player Ratings:
Jose Reina - 8
Much improved this week, coming out to claim high crosses from free kicks and corners several times instead of flapping at them in previous games. Did well to stand his ground when one-on-one with Murphy to save an almost certain Fulham goal.
Steve Finnan - 6
Was poor against his former club, looked short of match fitness and made a few mistakes in defence to let the Fulham attackers through.
John Arne Riise - 7
A quiet game by his standards, his shots were off target, his free kick hit the wall. His defending was a plus though. However, by his standards, it was not an impressive performance by the once impressive Norwegian.
Martin Skrtel - 8
Put in several great tackles and showed good anticipation several times to make crucial interceptions. Denied the Fulham forwards much to work with.
Sami Hyypia - 8
A world class performance today from the big Finn, despite playing only half the game. Was so effective that he kept Brian McBride quiet for the whole first half.
Jermaine Pennant - 9
Staking a place in the first team, Pennant should be well and truly pleased with his performance today. He was a crossing machine, delivering pinpoint balls to find Crouch in the box, and was a constant thorn in the side of Paul Konchesky.
Yossi Benayoun - 6
Was not very impressive on the left for Liverpool. Did not display his creative side much, and had a couple of chances to put Liverpool 2 up but his shots were disappointing.
Lucas Leiva - 7
Usually looks short of match fitness but wasn't too bad in the middle of the park for Liverpool today. Was the creative force for the opening goal.
Javier Mascherano - 8
Was all over the place, not giving the Fulham attackers any time to think as he constantly snapped at the heels of them.
Peter Crouch - 7
Did well to get his goal, but his target man play was not as good as it was against Arsenal two games ago.
Andriy Voronin - 6
Was involved in the first goal and was very lively, but failed to get his shots on target, and that's the most important thing to do for a striker.
Substitutes:
Jamie Carragher - 7
The no nonsense Liverpool man came on at half time for the injured Sami Hyypia and did well.
Xabi Alonso - 6
Came on for Mascherano but did not really get into the game at all, losing possession a few times.
Fabio Aurelio - 7
Came on for Voronin to boost Liverpool's defence as they looked to maintain their 2-0 lead.
Archangel's Man of the Match: Jermaine Pennant
Final Score: Fulham 0 - 2 Liverpool
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
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