[Friendly] Espanyol v Liverpool
-
The last 3rd friendly b4 their EPL season begins.
Match held on 02 August 2009
-
Maybe Luis Garcia will play in this?
-
Originally posted by chrisbenoit:
Maybe Luis Garcia will play in this?
Luis Garcia at Espanyol?????? -
-
This is the other Luis Garcia
-
Imagine both play on the same team.. headache.
-
This is a defender,not my fav Luis.
:D
-
I checked secveral websites, the score is 2-0 to espanyol!!!
-
What a disgrace, we lost 3-0!!
-
REDS SLUMP TO ESPANYOL DEFEAT
Liverpool were unable to spoil Espanyol's party atmosphere as the Reds were condemned to a 3-0 defeat in Spain.
Steven Gerrard struck the frame of the goal twice in the first half, but the visitors fell behind to a composed finish from Luis Garcia.
Ben Sahar doubled Espanyol's advantage midway through the second period before claiming a late second as the La Liga outfit marked the opening of their new brand-new Estadi Cornella-El Prat in style.
A carnival mood greeted the start of the game as lively celebrations took place to welcome the official debut of the 40,000 all-seater ground.
The travelling support were not left out either as 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was given an airing over the PA system in the moments before kick-off, although it was on a sombre note that the Liverpool players took to the field sporting black armbands following the recent passing of English football legend Sir Bobby Robson.
As the sun began to set in Barcelona, Espanyol created the first opening of note when Ivan Alonso, who played for Alaves in the 2001 UEFA Cup final, brought a routine stop out of Pepe Reina with his low drive from the edge of the box.
The home side were in buoyant mood, visibly lifted by a sold-out crowd who thought their team had taken the lead in the 12th minute when Jamie Carragher headed a corner narrowly wide of his own post.
The Periquitos' tails were up, but the Reds almost silenced the boisterous home faithful when Steven Gerrard rattled the crossbar of goalkeeper Carlos Kameni with a trademark effort from 25 yards.
However, Espanyol opened the scoring just seconds later as Luis Garcia - no connection to the former Reds star - pounced on a ball into the box and steered a low shot beyond Reina from close-range on 19 minutes.
Gerrard again struck the woodwork just before the half hour mark. This time his curling effort from a free-kick struck the inside of the right post after Fernando Torres had been cynically prevented from going through on goal by Daniel Jarque.
Liverpool had responded well to falling behind and a goal mouth scramble almost saw the ball deflected off Yossi Benayoun and over the line.
Espanyol thought they had extended their lead when Raul Tamudu escaped the attentions of Mikel San Jose and fired past Reina, but the striker had his effort ruled out for offside to ensure the home team went into the break with just a solitary goal advantage.
Verdu forced Reina to tip a swerving shot over the bar as the second half resumed, while at the other end substitute Philipp Degen saw a goal bound strike from six yards deflected behind by Nico Pareja after Gerrard's centre had broken kindly for the Swiss full-back.
A flurry of substitutions followed and it was Espanyol who profited as former Chelsea forward Ben Sahar evaded the Liverpool offside trap and burst into the area prior to coolly slotting through the legs of Reina with 25 minutes remaining.
The goal prompted Rafa Benitez into withdrawing the likes of Gerrard and Torres, with Albert Riera introduced to the action against his former club.
Liverpool struggled to muster a reply to falling further behind, although Ryan Babel's powerful strike from 10 yards struck the legs of David Ngog before Sahar wriggled his way through the Reds defence only to be thwarted by Reina.
The Spain goalkeeper could do little about Espanyol's third as Sahar was on hand to tap home after the Reds custodian had repelled an effort from Verdu.
The Spaniard's Israel striker almost completed a hat-trick second after rounding Reina, however Martin Kelly was on hand to hack the ball off the goal line, but it did little to spoil Espanyol's celebrations at the final whistle.Liverpool: Reina, Insua, Carragher, San Jose Dominguez, Johnson, Benayoun, Mascherano, Leiva, Kuyt, Gerrard (captain), Torres. Subs - Alonso, Plessis, Kelly, Cavalieri, Dossena, Ngog, Riera, Degen, Babel, Voronin, Spearing
Espanyol: Kameni, Garcia, Pareja, Gonzalez (captain), Pillud, Garcia, De La Pena, Hurtado Perez, Nakamura, Tamudu, Alonso Vallejo. Subs - Alvarez, Chica Torres, Corominas, Callejon, Ruiz, Roncaglia, Verdu, Marquez, Sahar, Lola Smijlanic, Rossello
Referee: Unknown
Conditions: Fine
Attendance: Unknown
Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Steven Gerrard -
i tink e Alonso saga has to do w e result..
-
=.= Wth..
-
i wonder if e back 4 were all napping away or wad..
-
Rafa: We did not do enough
Rafa Benitez spoke of his disappointment after Liverpool crashed to a 3-0 defeat to Espanyol in Spain on Sunday evening.
Ben Sahar struck twice in the second half to add to an early goal from Luis Garcia as the 'Periquitos' celebrated the opening of their new Estadi Cornella-El Prat in style.
"The game was very important for them," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv. "For us it was a friendly game, but you have to play with intensity in every match and you have to work harder than we did today.
"For 25 minutes in the first half we were more or less okay, but for the rest of the game they were on top of us, winning every second ball and challenge. You cannot win these kind of games if you don't work harder.
"We had chances and hit the crossbar and post, but clearly we did not deserve to win."
Benitez refused to single out any individuals, insisting the team as a unit did not perform.
"I don't think it was a problem of one or two players, I think the team as a whole were not working hard enough," said the Reds boss.
"Espanyol were very good moving between the lines. We were not pressing and working together and it created a big problem for our defenders.
"But when these things happen in pre-season, you can change things for the start of the season. We have 15 more days and all the players can work together."
The Reds will now head back to Merseyside before travelling to Norway to take on FC Lyn in Oslo.
Benitez added: "We have had some players coming back late and they need to play and train more for their fitness, so we will see if we can improve in the next game." -
RIERA: FITNESS MORE IMPORTANT THAN RESULT
Albert Riera believes Liverpool fans should not read too much into Sunday's 3-0 friendly defeat to Espanyol.
Goals from Luis Garcia and Ben Sahar (2) condemned the Reds to their second loss of the summer.
However, Riera insists the fitness of the squad is more important than results at this stage of Liverpool's preparations for the 2009-10 campaign.
"I think this kind of match is all about being ready for the start of the season," the Spain winger told Liverpoolfc.tv.
"It was a fantastic game for them and they played better than us. They have trained for around 10 days more than us and I think you saw this clearly. When you are in pre-season, 10 days is a lot.
"Some of us came back from our national teams a little bit later and have only had 10 or 12 days' training. We need a little bit more before the start of the season, but we will be ready.
"Of course we are disappointed because we lost. Even if it's a friendly match, you always want to win, but as I said, it is all about being ready for the very first game."
Despite having spent three years at Espanyol before moving to Anfield last August, Riera was subjected to loud boos from the home support after being introduced as a second-half substitute by Rafa Benitez.
"I spent three very good years at Espanyol, but of course fans want players to stay at their club and are not happy about it when they leave," added the No.11.
"But now I am playing for Liverpool. I am very happy here and the fans are supporting me. This is the most important thing." -
Originally posted by Patrik:
This is a defender,not my fav Luis.
:D
Pat , no la , this Luis Garcia is a forward , not defender .