Liverpool Comment: Kuyt, Leiva Step Out Of The Shadows
ASKL!
Torres takes the plaudits, but support cast deserve the credit..
Criticized, written off, derided as below-par; the season's of Dirk Kuyt and Lucas Leiva have eerily mirrored that of Liverpool, yet tonight it is the also-rans who are the toast of Merseyside, as Rafael BenÃtez's side prepares for a Europa League semi-final showdown with Atletico Madrid.
As Anfield did its best to instill a Champions League atmosphere into a Europa League tie, it was Kuyt and Lucas who did the damage with their own impromptu impressions of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Torres - the real one - got in on the act in the second half and Benfica, so confident and assured for so much of this tie, simply had no answer.
Kuyt's 27th-minute header - awarded after a bizarre debate between three of the five on-pitch officials - was crucial in settling the nerves that were swirling round a boisterous Anfield, whilst Lucas' clinical finish seven minutes later was key in eliminating the danger of Benfica stealing the tie with a goal of their own.
But more than anything, it was the all-round contribution of that pair - along with the more regular heroes Gerrard and Torres - which enabled Benitez's men to swamp very good opposition with the kind of oppressive ease which has long personified Liverpool's European displays. It may have been a Europa League night, but it was a Champions League performance.
Kuyt was in Benfica's face all evening, and would depart having added an assist to his goal. His low cross was swept home by Torres for the first of his second-half pair - his 50th Anfield goal no less - at the end of a blistering counter-attack. The kind, it is fair to say, that many have accused Liverpool of being unable to produce.
Lucas, meanwhile, is winning over more and more of Anfield each week. Having set the ball rolling with a lively early run which drew a penalty in the last round against Lille, the 23-year-old Brazilian went one better this evening. His lung-busting run enabled him to casually round Julio Cesar and slot in his first goal of the season, and he would clear off the line soon after.
Considering the criticism often leveled at the former-Gremio man - a genuinely top professional - it was significant that the Kop were singing his name this evening.
He began the move for Torres' all-important clincher by winning a shuddering tackle in midfield, and his endeavor - as good and as consistent as the more-celebrated Javier Mascherano's - meant Benfica's midfield were not given the time or the space to pull any strings. The dangerous Pablo Aimar and Angel Di Maria saw precious little of the ball, and Oscar Cardozo cut an isolated figure. The Paraguayan's 70th-minute free kick, which briefly threatened to spoil the Anfield party, was a strike born out of anger.
Of course Torres will get plenty of headlines, and rightly so. The Spaniard, who will return to face his old club in Madrid for the first time later this month, took both his goals with his customary coolness - his second will draw comparisons with Kenny Dalglish's winner in the 1978 European Cup final - but he, and Benitez, know they have the class and the professionalism of his support cast to thank. Liverpool's squad has been castigated in plenty of quarters this season, but tonight the supposed lesser-lites stood up to be counted.
Kuyt had spoken before the game of how he wanted to 'make history' with Liverpool by winning this season's Europa League, and here he ensured his words were backed by actions. It is little wonder that Benitez values the Dutchman so highly.
If the doom-mongers are to be believed, English football's bubble has burst this week with defeats meted out to Manchester United and Arsenal. Good thing Liverpool still know how to win over two-legs in Europe. And with Fulham joining the Reds in the last four, the prospect of an all-English final in Hamburg on May 12 looms large. Not bad for a nation in crisis.
Criticized, written off, derided as below-par; the season's of Dirk Kuyt and Lucas Leiva have eerily mirrored that of Liverpool, yet tonight it is the also-rans who are the toast of Merseyside, as Rafael BenÃtez's side prepares for a Europa League semi-final showdown with Atletico Madrid.