Source: Daily_Mail
Unirea 1 Liverpool 3 (agg 1-4): Rafa's men enjoy a banquet in Bucharest
Liverpool avoided a potential Europa League embarrassment in Romania as they came from behind to book their place in the last 16.[LNB]Shaky defending from set-pieces in the first half saw them fall behind to Bruno Fernandes' header in the 19th minute and for a while they looked rattled.[LNB]However, Javier Mascherano from long-range, and Ryan Babel from close, turned things around before the interval before Steven Gerrard's 33rd European goal wrapped things up after the break.[LNB] Unbridled glee: Yossi Banyoun grabs goalscorer Javier Mascherano after his exquisite opener[LNB] It was the first time since the 6-1 win over Hull in September that Liverpool had scored more than twice in a game, a run of 29 matches.[LNB]A year ago today they beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Bernabeu on the way to a 5-0 aggregate win before their eventual Champions League quarter-final defeat by Chelsea.[LNB] But their early struggles in the Steaua Stadium showed just how far the club's fortunes have plummeted in 12 months as Unirea created a number of chances, mainly from free-kicks and corners, which the visitors almost shambolically failed to deal with.[LNB]Backed by a vociferous crowd, the Romanian champions created their first opening in only the second minute.[LNB]Jamie Carragher's header from Iulian Apostol's free-kick only reached the edge of the penalty area and Sorin Frunza lashed a dipping volley onto the top of Jose Reina's net.[LNB]Less than 60 seconds later, Lucas Leiva picked out Gerrard with a through-ball but the Liverpool captain's fierce low drive was parried into the air by goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis.[LNB] Liverpool were retaining possession for long periods without really hurting their opponents but it was to cost them as, in the 19th minute, Unirea levelled the tie on aggregate.[LNB] Tidy performance: Steven Gerrard helped Liverpool ease into the last-16[LNB] Daniel Agger's last-ditch tackle on Marius Onofras gave the hosts acorner from the left and Razvan Paduretu's inviting delivery wasperfect for centre-back Fernandes to power home a header virtuallyunchallenged.[LNB] George Galamaz's foul on Martin Skrtel resulted in the Unireacaptain coming off worst and, despite trying to run off his injury, hewas replaced by Ersin Mehmedovic in the 28th minute.[LNB]Two minutes later Liverpool seized control of the tie from the most unlikely of sources.[LNB]Yossi Benayoun and David Ngog combined to allow Carragher to crossand, although Babel mis-controlled Gerrard's far post header with onlythe goalkeeper to the beat, the ball broke to Mascherano outside thepenalty area to lash a shot past Arlauskis.[LNB]But they almost handed the initiative back to Unirea in the 36thminute when Paduretu's inswinging corner caused chaos in the six-yardarea, hitting Agger but bouncing inches wide.[LNB]The Romanian midfielder's low 25-yard shot then had Reina diving to his right to tip around the post.[LNB] However, Liverpool gave themselves the cushion they so desperately needed five minutes before half-time.[LNB] Eat me: Rafa Benitez gave the best answer to jibes about his weight, guiding Liverpool to a convincing victory in Bucharest [LNB]Gerrard swung in a free-kick from the right and Babel took one touch before swivelling to fire home from close range.[LNB]Early in the second half Gerrard fired wide of Arlauskis' right-handpost and also forced him into a low save on the same side, as Liverpoolstarted to play with slightly more freedom.[LNB]If there was any doubt about Unirea staging an unlikely comeback it was snuffed out by Gerrard in the 57th minute.[LNB] Babel broke down the left, moving the ball to Lucas and he pickedout Benayoun, whose mazy dribble into the area was only half-stopped toallow the Liverpool captain to run onto the loose ball and blast a lowshot under Arlauskis.[LNB] That strike was his 33rd in Europe, taking him past Alan Shearer, who scored 30 for Newcastle and two for Blackburn.[LNB]That prompted the introduction of youngster Martin Kelly forCarragher at right-back and, almost immediately, Sotirios Kyrgiakosafter Unirea substitute Antonio Semedo caught Skrtel in a challenge.[LNB]With thoughts turning to Blackburn on Sunday in the Barclays PremierLeague, manager Rafael Benitez replaced Benayoun with Fabio Aurelio forthe final 15 minutes.[LNB] Emiliano Insua's late intervention poked the ball off the toe ofPaduretu just as he was about to pull the trigger in the six-yard areabut otherwise there were no other scares.[LNB] But their first-half defensive lapses will not have gone unnoticedby Rovers boss Sam Allardyce ahead of his side's visit to Anfield.[LNB]Much greater challenges lie ahead for Benitez and his Liverpool team.[LNB] Rafa Benitez gets grilled by Romania's press and asked: Why are you so fat?Mascherano targets Europa glory to boost Liverpool hopes of top-four finishLIVE: EUROPA LEAGUE - Unirea Urziceni v Liverpool and Shakhtar Donetsk v Fulham - as it happensLIVERPOOL FC
