- Torres (58)
- Date:2008-05-04
- Kick-off:16:00
- Venue:Anfield
- Attendance:43074
- Referee:Halsey, M
Live Commentary
90mins
Full time at Anfield and Liverpool record a win in their last home game of the season after dominating a City side who failed to create much going forward.
90mins
The fourth official indicates there will be three minutes of added on time, and the game is beginning to die down.
87mins
Garrdio's second corner isn't as good as the first and in the end comes to nothing after Benjani fouls Reina.
86mins
Garrido takes a corner towards the near post which Johnson manages to flick on, sending it towards goal and Reina has to push it over the bar.
84mins
Hyypia plays a nice looking ball down the right for Voronin who collects the ball an delivers a low cross into the box and Hart has to gather the ball before Torres arrives.
82mins
Torres shows another pair of clean heels to Dunne and then tries to chip the ball over Hart but can't quiet manage it, the City keeper plucking the ball out of the air.
80mins
City make their last change of the game with Darius Vassell being replaced by Javier Garrido.
80mins
Benjani offers some resistance for City, his freekick swerves in the air and Reina has to beat the powerful effort away with a set of fists.
78mins
Insua does well going forward, jinking past a couple of City players before squaring it for Voronin but he can't control the ball and his shot is a tame effort when it comes, easily gathered by Hart.
77mins
Liverpool make their last change of the game with Steven Gerrard going off and Andriy Voronin coming on.
73mins
Lucas Leiva goes off to a decent reception and Xabi Alonso comes on.
71mins
Ball swings in a high freekick looking for Ireland at the far post, but he can't reach the cross and Reina can just watch drift behind
67mins
Liverpool make a change of their own with Ryan Babel going off and Yossi Benayoun getting a run out.
66mins
Man City make two changes with Nery Castillo coming on for Martin Petrov and Blumer Elano coming off for Dietmar Hamann, who gets a standing ovation from the whole crowd, nice touch.
65mins
Liverpool are really clicking into gear, Torres taking the ball past Dunne again and squaring it for Babel who fluffs hs shot, great chance.
64mins
Another chance for Kuyt from Lucas' corner which finds the Dutch forward again but his header is straight at Hart.
63mins
Gerrard takes another corner for Liverpool which is headed away by Dunne, but only as far as Hyypia hose cross is inch perfect for Kuyt whose header rattles the crossbar and Benjani has to scramble it away.
60mins
Hart produces a brilliant double save, first denying Kuyt but the goalkeeper couldn't hold the ball and Babel looks to be odds on to score but Hart saves brilliantly at the feet of Babel.
59mins
Lucas tries a long range effort after City only half clear the ball, but his shot goes a long way wide, dissapointing effort in the end.
57mins
Torres does it again for Liverpool with his 23rd league goal of the season, skipping past Dunne and leaving him for dead before squeezing the ball past Hart from a tight angle into the opposite corner, great goal.
55mins
Mascherano shows some lovely piece of skill, firstly to nutmeg Elano and then shimy past Ball but the shot can't match the build-up and it flies well wide of the goal.
52mins
Gerrard fires in a corner from the left hand side which Hart comes for and flaps at it, doing just enough to clear the ball with Kuyt lurking.
50mins
City have their first notable effort, striking a great freekick from 25 yards which takes a deflection off the wall and looks to be heading towards the top corner but it just drifts over the crossbar with Reina scrambling.
46mins
Gerrard slips Torres through who sprints away from Ball and then tries to place his shot past Hart but can only roll it wide of the goal, great chance for Spaniard.
45mins
City get the second half underway knowing a win could save Sven's job but Liverpool were beginning to pick City apart as the first half went on.
45mins
Half time at Anfield and a quiet first half goes by with only Gerrard shot the only thing worth mentioning, City haven't tested Reina yet and both teams already seem on the beach.
45mins
Just one minutes of added on time to be played and the game has gone very flat, both sides content with the current scorline it seems.
42mins
Torres and Gerrard try and play a nice one-two to unlock the City defence but Corluka puts in a great sliding interception to prevent Gerrard releasing Torres away on goal.
38mins
Babel swings in a corner from the right which he sends towards the far post where Vassell does well to head it away but only as far as Insua whose cross finds Lucas, but the Brazilian midfielder can ony put his header over.
37mins
Petrov takes City's first corner of the game which he delivers into the centre of the penalty, but his cross is meet by the head of Hyypia.
35mins
Babel gets away from Corluka on the wing and floats in a cross towards Kuyt in the penalty area and the ball drifts over Dunne but Kuyt can't direct his header on target and Ciy can clear.
31mins
Gerrard takes the resulting corner, finding Kuyt in the centre of the penalty area, but the Dutchman can only direct his header wide of Hart's left hand post.
31mins
Gerrard forces the first save of the game from Hart, trying to curl the ball in from the left of the penalty area and Hart has to push it behind for a corner.
26mins
Gerrard tries one of his spectacular long range efforts from 30 yards but it's a poor effort by his standards, the ball ending up in the fans behind the goal.
22mins
Torres has the first real note worthy effort of the game, strking the ball from the edge of the penalty area just wide of Joe Hart's goal.
19mins
Kuyt gets in another nice cross towards the near post and Babel steams in there ahead of his marker Jihai but can only send his header over the bar from six yards.
16mins
Kuyt tries to pick out Torres with a chipped cross but Jihai does well to just stick a foot out and take the ball away from Torres inside the penalty area.
10mins
Long ball over the top from Gerrard who looks to have sprung the City offside trap for Torres but the linesman's flag goes up and a tight decision goes City's way.
6mins
Gerrard takes the first corner for Liverpool, swinging it in towards the near post but Dunne is there to head it clear under pressure.
5mins
Well both sides have nothing to play for and that seems to be how the players feel, pretty much nothing has happened since the kick-off with just a serious of throw-ins the only thing to report.
0mins
Referee Mark Halsey gets the game underway at Anfield with neither side having much to play for, a win for Man City may not even be enough to save Sven's job but football is a funny old game.
0mins
Man City XI: Hart, Corluka, Dunne, Ball, Jihai, Vassell, Ireland, Johnson, Petrov, Elano, Mwaruwari
0mins
Sven Goran-Eriksson takes charge of what could be his penultimate away game for City and welcomes back Richard Dunne to what has been a shaky defence, but Micah Richards isn't risked despite being fit.
0mins
Liverpool Starting XI: Reina, Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Gerrard, Babel, Torres
0mins
Liverpool make a collection of changes for the last home game of the season with Hyypia, Lucas and Babel coming into the starting eleven and Emiliano Insua getting a first start for the Reds.
Match Preview
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez faces the unenviable task of attempting to raise his shattered players for a league clash with Manchester City.
Wednesday's Champions League semi-final exit to Chelsea in extra-time at Stamford Bridge left the Reds physically and mentally drained after a hard season that has yielded no rewards.
Fourth place in the table has already been assured so it's highly likely the Spaniard will turn to some fringe members of his squad to finish the season.
Peter Crouch, Steven Finnan, Lucas Leiva, Jermaine Pennant and Andriy Voronin are all set to step into the starting line-up.
All five started last weekend's 2-2 draw with Birmingham City and are likely to be given the opportunity of another rare 90 minutes.
Fernando Torres is not expected to feature even on the bench after the Spanish hot-shot was withdrawn in the 3-2 second leg defeat at Chelsea with a hamstring strain.
Martin Skrtel is also a major doubt after being replaced in the early stages at Stamford Bridge with a knee problem.
Manchester City will have to put managerial problems behind them when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday.
Owner Thaksin Shinawatra ignited debate this week when it was revealed that he had told manager Sven-Goran Eriksson that he would be dismissed at the end of the season.
Since then the League Managers' Association, numerous commentators and many supporters have denounced the former Thai prime minister's decision, while Benfica have announced their interest in appointing Eriksson as manager.
Meanwhile, the squad have been preparing for one of their toughest tests of the season - a trip west to Anfield.
It is a fixture made all the more difficult by the performance of City last weekend, when they lost 3-2 at home to Fulham.
"We lost a game we should have won. We controlled most of it, and we thought it was done. We can't blame anyone but ourselves for losing a game like this," Eriksson said after the match, which City had been leading 2-0.
England international defender Micah Richards is back in full training following an operation on a cartilage problem in his knee and may even return to face Liverpool this weekend.
"I'd do anything to play. But until the manager and the medical staff think that I am good enough to play, they don't want to risk it," he explained.
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Match Report
Fernando Torres continued his remarkable debut season in England with a slick winner as Liverpool ended their home campaign with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
The Spanish hot-shot pounced after 56 minutes to notch his 23rd league goal of a season and liven up a match in which most of the players seemed to have their minds on the summer holidays.
With City languishing in mid-table and Liverpool having already secured a Champions League spot, both teams had little to play for, and it showed as they started the game at a snail's pace.
It took almost 20 minutes for the game's first chance when Dirk Kuyt sped down the right wing and fired in a pinpoint cross, but Ryan Babel's header cleared the bar.
The chance seemed to wake the home side from their slumber and the lively Kuyt almost found Torres unmarked in the box with another dangerous cross.
Then Torres ghosted into the box and flashed a shot wide before Steven Gerrard unleashed a 25-yard drive that flew inches wise of Joe Hart's post.
And the City keeper was at full-stretch to superbly palm away a wicked Gerrard curler on the half-hour.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's men looked disinterested as they failed to fashion a single chance in the first half.
And they were on the back foot again two minutes into the second half as Gerrard's defence-splitting throughball freed Torres but the Spaniard placed his shot wide.
The Blues did manage a meaningful attack after 50 minutes - and it very nearly brought them the lead.
Stephen Ireland was brought down on the edge of the box and Brazilian Elano stepped up to curl a brilliant free-kick which struck the outside of Pepe Reina's post.
Liverpool hit back, with Javier Mascherano blasting wide after cleverly jinking his way past two City defenders
And on 58 minutes they took a deserved lead through their prolific player of the season. And it was vintage Torres, the Spaniard leaving Richard Dunne in his wake before side-footing the ball through Hart's legs and into the corner of the net.
Liverpool were rampant and poured forward at every opportunity as Kuyt forced a smart save from the City keeper with a thunderous volley.
The Dutchman went even closer on 63 minutes, heading a superb Sami Hyypia cross against the bar before heading a Gerrard corner straight at Hart when it would have been easier to score.
Then Ryan Babel inexplicably fired over after Torres had embarrassed Dunne.
The game should have been out of City's reach so dominant were Liverpool, but they were nearly made to rue their missed chances on 83 minutes when Benjani struck a ferocious free-kick which Reina did well to palm away.
Seconds later Javier Mascherano powered forward for the Reds and hit a low drive only to see Hart dive brilliantly to his right to push it out.
Liverpool Team
Manchester City Team
Liverpool | Manchester City |
Corners
| 12 | 5 |
Fouls
| 9 | 5 |
Goal attempts
| 23 | 4 |
Shots off target
| 12 | 0 |
Offsides
| 5 | 1 |



90mins
Garrido takes another corner for City floating it into the box where Hyypia is waiting to head the ball up and away.