Premier League

August 29, 2010
  • FTFT
     
    Bolton
    Birmingham
    2
    2
    2
    2
    1
  • FTFT
     
    Liverpool
    West Brom
    1
    0
    1
    0
    2
  • FTFT
     
    Sunderland
    Man City
    1
    0
    1
    0
    3
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    Aston Villa
    Everton
    1
    0
    1
    0
    4

Full-time

Liverpool

1 - 0

West Bromwich Albion

Premier League

15:00 BST, August 29, 2010

Anfield, England

Referee: Lee Probert

Torres nets winner

Fernando Torres
PA Photos
Goalscorer Fernando Torres is mobbed.

Scoring Summary

Liverpool West Bromwich Albion
Fernando Torres (65') 

Match Stats

Liverpool

West Bromwich Albion

11(4) Shots (on Goal) 16(3)
8 Fouls 8
7 Corner Kicks 6
1 Offsides 1
51% Time of Possession 49%
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 1
3 Saves 3

Teams

Liverpool West Bromwich Albion
25 Pepe Reina1 Scott Carson
37 Martin Skrtel3 Jonas Olsson
23 Jamie Carragher30 Gabriel Tamas
5 Daniel Agger20 Nicky Shorey
2 Glen Johnson36 Gonzalo Jara
28 Christian Poulsen17 Graham Dorrans
21 Lucas7 James Morrison
14 Milan Jovanovic21 Youssuf Mulumbu
18 Dirk Kuyt11 Chris Brunt
9 Fernando Torres24 Peter Odemwingie
8 Steven Gerrard28 Marc-Antoine Fortune
Substitutes
17 Maxi RodríguezBoaz Myhill 13
19 Ryan BabelSteven Reid 12
1 Brad JonesPablo Ibañez 6
16 Sotirios KyrgiakosGiles Barnes 8
12 Dani PachecoSomen Tchoyi 5
26 Jay SpearingChris Wood 15
34 Martin KellySimon Cox 31
Substitutions
Maxi Rodríguez for Milan Jovanovic (60)
Somen Tchoyi for Graham Dorrans (76)
Ryan Babel for Fernando Torres (89)
Chris Wood for Marc-Antoine Fortune (82)
Red Cards
 James Morrison (86)
· Squads: Liverpool | West Bromwich Albion

Striker Fernando Torres may still be some way short of his lethal best but he underlined his quality - and importance to Liverpool - with a brilliant strike to defeat 10-man West Brom at Anfield.

• Hodgson praise for Torres

Two knee operations at the back-end of last season and a late return from the World Cup have impacted on the 26-year-old's fitness and match sharpness.

But a clinical strike midway through the second half - his first Barclays Premier League goal since March 28 and 50th at Anfield in all competitions - proved too good for promoted West Brom.

Torres was rested for the midweek Europa League play-off trip to Trabzonspor and the decision was justified with victory in Turkey without him and, more importantly, rewarded with the winning goal against the Baggies.

He had not scored in 10 matches for club and country coming into this game as he has been working his way back to fitness but even a 75% fit Torres provides a threat for opposition defences.

Torres had three half-chances in the opening 45 minutes but none could have been classed a genuine opportunity.

His first in only the third minute was curled straight into the arms of former Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson before a close-range strike was then crowded out at the near post.

His third sight of goal, in the 15th minute, was an indicator of where the Spain international is in terms of sharpness.

Martin Skrtel's header sent Milan Jovanovic charging down the centre of the pitch but Torres was half-a-yard short in reaching the pass as a sliding Gabriel Tamas cleared the danger.

Liverpool dominated possession but there were a couple of occasions when West Brom threatened to make them pay.

Marc-Antoine Fortune, making his first appearance for the club since he returned from Celtic, fired in a low shot which goalkeeper Jose Reina collected at the second attempt while late in the half James Morrison sliced a long-range shot just wide.

New signing Raul Meireles, given the number four shirt vacated by Alberto Aquilani's loan to Juventus, would have been hugely underwhelmed by what he saw.

It is doubtful, though, whether the display would have been enough to have had left-back Paul Konchesky, also watching from the stands, reconsidering whether to complete on his move from Fulham in the next 24 hours.

Four minutes after the interval Steven Gerrard controlled the ball on his chest before attempting a speculative 40-yard volley which dropped harmlessly wide of Carson's left-hand post.

West Brom midfielder was off-target with two long-range efforts while the closest Liverpool came to scoring was when Martin Skrtel hooked a half-cleared Torres cross narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

That was until Baggies defender Jonas Olsson almost gifted them a goal when he attempted to roll Tamas' pass back to Carson but sent it past the far upright.

The goal eventually came in the 65th minute when Torres combined with Dirk Kuyt down the left and when his team-mate returned the ball to the edge of the penalty area the Spain striker expertly shifted his position to volley into the turf and past Carson.

Seven minutes later he almost had his second when he side-footed Gerrard's far-post cross straight at Carson.

Eight minutes from time he was denied again when Kuyt and Gerrard worked the ball across the top of the penalty area only for the Spaniard's strike to be charged down by Gonzalo Jara with the aid of an arm - unseen by referee Lee Probert.

However, the referee did spot Morrison's lunge at Torres and responded with a straight red card.

Torres departed after another 89-minute work-out safe in the knowledge he is gradually edging closer to his prolific best and Liverpool had secured their 2000th league victory.

  • Hodgson praise for Torres

    After the match, Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson paid tribute to the quality of Fernando Torres after his strike proved to be enough to beat ten-man West Brom.

    "It was hard-fought, especially the first half when we weren't firing on all cylinders and they were playing well and causing us problems," said the Liverpool manager. "I thought we got better as the game went on and we got the points thanks to a world-class strike.

    "It was an excellent piece of play, starting with Pepe Reina's throw and then the build-up down the left with Dirk Kuyt and the ball played in and the volley.

    "It was good goal to win the game and I thought we were going to get a second when Steven Gerrard produced a piece of magic to find Fernando at the far post but (Scott) Carson was equal to that.

    "He is trying very hard at the moment and he is playing catch-up - we've said it many times before - but I think that goal will be great for his confidence."

    Over the international break Spain face Liechtenstein in a Euro 2012 qualifier on Friday and then a friendly in Argentina on Wednesday. Hodgson is still optimistic Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque will listen to the opinion of the club's medical staff and decide not to take on Torres.

    "We are hoping Spain will pass up on his services and give him a chance to continue his recovery and his pre-season really," added the 62-year-old. "He needs more training and needs more matches and you won't see the best of him until a little bit later down the line.

    "It would be very nice if Del Bosque would look kindly on him and us because there is no doubt he would prosper from two weeks of serious quite hard training.

    "Training for, and playing, matches is not really what he requires at this moment in time. We also want to keep an eye on the knee which caused him so many problems last season.

    "We've spoken to the Spanish national team and I'm due to speak to someone later this evening but we can only propose for the player himself this is the best option."

    Hodgson also confirmed he expected Fulham left-back Paul Konchesky to sign "in the next couple of days" with Liverpool's reserve-team striker Lauri Dalla Valle going the other way as part of the deal.

    West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo was unhappy not to get something out of the match and felt the sending-off of James Morrison late in the game was harsh.

    "We are massively disappointed. We put in a good performance against a very good team and they needed a piece of quality by one of their players," he said.

    "I watched it (the sending-off) again and it looks a bit harsh. I don't think there was any intention to hurt anyone. I think a yellow card would have been appropriate. I will look and see if there is a chance to appeal."

    Di Matteo also confirmed the club were in talks with utility player Paul Scharner, a free agent after leaving Wigan last season.

    "We are talking to Paul and we will see if there is a possibility to do a deal with him," he added. "I guess that would conclude our [transfer] business."