Source: SKY_Sports
Reds suffer pain in Spain
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Liverpool suffered a 3-0 defeat by Espanyol on Sunday in a game which marked the opening of the Spanish side's new stadium.[LNB] The Reds fielded a strong team at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat in Barcelona, with Real Madrid target Xabi Alonso coming off the bench with six minutes remaining.[LNB]Reports in Spain suggest it may be the 27-year-old midfielder's final appearance for the club as they are thought to be on the verge of finalising a transfer deal with Real.[LNB]Espanyol went in front through a 19th-minute strike by Luis Garcia - a namesake of the former Liverpool player now at Atletico Madrid.[LNB]Sell-outEx-Chelsea reserve striker Ben Sahar then scored a second-half double to make it a memorable occasion for the Barcelona-based team, who were inspired by a sell-out crowd at their new 40,000-seater home.[LNB]Liverpool actually started strongest, with Steven Gerrard firing narrowly wide from distance.[LNB]The Reds captain then almost gave the visitors the lead after 18 minutes when he crashed a fierce effort against the crossbar.[LNB]Liverpool fell behind a minute later, though, as former Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura played in Luis Garcia and the Spain forward beat international team-mate Jose Reina with a neat low finish.[LNB]Gerrard replied by curling a 20-yard free-kick against a post but Espanyol were proving hard to break down.[LNB]The hosts thought they had doubled their lead three minutes before the break when Raul Tamudo fired clinically past Reina but the veteran striker was ruled offside.[LNB]ChangesPhilipp Degen, Andrea Dossena, Ryan Babel and Jay Spearing came on for the visitors at half-time, replacing Glen Johnson, Emiliano Insua, Yossi Benayoun and Javier Mascherano.[LNB]Espanyol made five changes themselves and showed greater urgency in the second half.[LNB]And they were rewarded in the 62nd minute as Jose Callejon's pass found Sahar in the area and the Israel striker slid the ball under Reina.[LNB]Besides Alonso, Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez also brought on Albert Riera, Andriy Voronin, David N'Gog and Damien Plessis late on.[LNB]But Espanyol wrapped up a fine win in the closing stages when Sahar pounced after Reina parried Ferran Corominas' close-range effort.[LNB]
