Source: Eurosport
Aquilani makes Reds bow
Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani played 15 minutes on his long-awaited Liverpool debut on Thursday night.[LNB]The £20million signing from Roma was on the bench for the reserves' home match with Sunderland at Tranmere's Prenton Park. Liverpool won 2-0 courtesy of a fine free-kick from Daniel Pacheco and a header from defender Robbie Threlfall from another Pacheco free-kick.[LNB]But all eyes, including those of co-owner George Gillett, were on Aquilani, who replaced Swedish winger Alex Kacaniklic in the 75th minute. His contributions to the game included a clever backheel, a couple of neat passes and a stunning cross-field ball, before he disappeared down the tunnel with a broad smile on his face and club doctor Mark Waller's arm around his shoulder.[LNB]Aquilani joined Liverpool in August as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, who joined Real Madrid. But he arrived while still recovering from a summer knee operation and had not kicked a ball in anger for the Reds until tonight.[LNB]Benitez admits Aquilani has taken longer to recover than expected, but the 25 year-old had been in full training for a week before the game.[LNB]He is not being lined up for a surprise first-team debut against Manchester United on Sunday though, despite Liverpool losing their last four games, including Tuesday's Champions League defeat at home to Lyon.
