Suarez stars in Liverpool victory

09 August 2012 22:46

Luis Suarez was the inspiration as Liverpool cruised into the final qualifying round of the Europa League with a 3-0 victory over FC Gomel.

Suarez created first-half goals for Fabio Borini and skipper Steven Gerrard as Belarus outfit Gomel went down 4-0 on aggregate.

Glen Johnson added the third after half-time.

Gomel found it impossible to subdue Suarez and when he outsmarted them with a run to the byline, it led directly to Liverpool's opener.

Kashevsky stuck out a leg to turn the low cross out of the six-yard area but in doing so sent it straight to Borini, who promptly smashed a first-time shot under Vladimir Bushma's body.

It was a fine way for Borini to mark his home debut and the former Chelsea man thought he was going to get another shortly afterwards, only for Sergey Matsveychyk to turn away a Suarez cross that was about to leave the Italian with an empty net. Instead, Gerrard got one four minutes from time.

Once again Suarez did the spadework, driving into the heart of Gomel's defence and drawing Bushma, leaving the Reds skipper with the simplest of tasks.

Liverpool went in search of more goals after the break. Gerrard thudded a shot against the base of a post before Suarez went on another mazy run through a Gomel defence. His shot would have squeezed in at the far corner had Bushma not managed to touch it behind with an excellent low save.

Liverpool's third eventually arrived from an unlikely source 19 minutes from time as Johnson charged onto a loose ball, controlled on his chest, then belted home a left-footed shot from the edge of the area.

Suarez's hopes of a goal were dashed when he was denied a clear run by a debatable offside flag and then curled a shot straight at Bushma in the final minute.

Source: PA