Source: Daily_Mail
Liverpool 3 West Ham 0: Torres who? Reds run riot to leave Hammers in relegation dogfight
[LNB]Liverpool went intothis encounter moreworried about whethertheir new chairmancould use his contactsat British Airways to speedthem to Madrid than whatnow seems to be a hopelesspursuit of a ChampionsLeague place. [LNB]That and the question of whetherthey have seen the last of FernandoTorres, whom they would very muchlike to stay, and their Americanowners, whom they would verymuch like to go. [LNB]But amid the chaos of a week thatonly adds to a truly shockingseason, Rafa Benitez's side stillmaintained enough focus to secure avictory so comfortable the West Hamhierarchy will again wonder if theyshould have changed their managerwhen they had the chance.[LNB]Kop that! David N'Gog is congratulated after scoring Liverpool's second [LNB]A three-point gap between themand 18th-placed Hull City looks asthough it may yet save them butthe chances of Gianfranco Zola lastingbeyond the summer now seemto have disappeared, even if his sideavoid what their co-chairman DavidSullivan calls Armageddon. [LNB]This was an abject display fromWest Ham, their failure to musterany kind of response to the first-halfgoals from Yossi Benayoun andDavid Ngog as disturbing as thedefending, not least at set-pieces,that allowed Liverpool to go aheadof Aston Villa into sixth in theBarclays Premier League.[LNB]Clearly, Zola was not helped bythe absence of the suspended ScottParker or the kind of problems thathave too often forced him to makechanges to his back four.[LNB]But if a drop into the Championshipwould spell financial disasterfor the football club, the message isnot getting through to the playersand that does not reflect well on themanager or the overpaid individualshe commands. [LNB]On target: David N'Gog doubles Liverpool's lead at Anfield [LNB][LNB]They might blame their predicamenton the departure of playersoff-loaded in desperation over thelast year. But there was no excusefor their apathy last night; nothingthat could hide how little survivalwould appear to mean to too manyof these players.[LNB] This was thelowest league crowd at Anfield inmore than five years; clearly thefans now think a Champions Leagueplace is beyond their reach, and noteven that lifted West Ham. [LNB]There were exceptions, most notablyin the form of Robert Greeneven if he did suffer the embarrassmentof a 58th-minute own goal.But there were not nearly enough. [LNB]Parker has too often stood alonein taking responsibility this season,the one player who embodies thefighting spirit shown by the likes ofCarlos Tevez when West Ham werelast in this situation. [LNB]In tune: new chairman Martin Broughton (left) sings with club chief executive Christian Purslow [LNB][LNB]No wonder heremains such a favourite with theUpton Park faithful.For Liverpool the evening was agood deal more positive. They nowpursue the Europa League withoutthe injured Torres but the goalNgog scored will provide a renewedsense of hope ahead of the first legof their semi-final against AtleticoMadrid. [LNB]Torres would have dearlyloved to have made a triumphantreturn to his old club this week. InNgog, however, Benitez does atleast have a replacement who wouldhave been boosted by a timely, notto mention terrific, strike. [LNB]This was a decent Liverpool sideeven if the appearance of JavierMascherano on the benchsuggested Benitez already had oneeye on Madrid.[LNB] [LNB]Down in the dumps: West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola [LNB]They dominatedfrom the start, Maxi Rodriguezforcing a decent save from Green inthe first few minutes.An animated Zola watched fromthe technical area, demanding moreurgency; trying to remind them, nodoubt, of exactly what was at stake. [LNB]But his efforts were to no avail. Themanner in which his team concededBenayoun's 19th-minute goal wasas disturbing as it was disappointing,not least because of the waythey failed to intercept StevenGerrard's teasing cross from theright flank.[LNB] Instead they allowed itto bounce kindly for Benayoun, whoscored against his old club byguiding the ball with his chest in offGreen's right-hand post. [LNB]Zola could only look on in despair,knowing full well how lucky his sidewere not to concede a second whenSotirios Kyrgiakos somehow missedwith a close-range header soonafterwards. [LNB]For all the work that has beendone on the training pitch, for allZola's efforts to get his teamplaying attractive, fluent football,their apparent inability to retainpossession was just shameful. [LNB]By the 30th minute Liverpool hadincreased their lead, Ngog goingsome way to mitigating the loss toTorres with a super goal. It was afine cross from Rodriguez and the21-year-old Frenchman exploited itwith the kind of first-time finishTor res would cons ider hi strademark. [LNB]The only sense of WestHam defiance came from theirsupporters. Their club might nothave won here since 1963 but theyunderstood just how important itwas to end that run, even if theplayers they follow did not. [LNB] First blood: Yossi Benayoun puts Liverpool ahead[LNB][LNB]Zola now cut a forlorn figure, thesight of Steve Clarke joining him onthe touchline adding to the sense ofdesperat ion. But Liverpoolremained in control. [LNB]MATCH STATSLIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina 6; Johnson 6,Carragher 6, Kyrgiakos 6, Agger 7; Maxi 6, Gerrard 7 (Mascherano 71min, 6), Lucas 7, Benayoun 8 (Deggen 77); Kuyt 6, Ngog 7 (Babel 81).[LNB]WEST HAM UNITED (4-4-2): Green 6;Faubert 6, Da Costa 6, Upson 6, Spector 6 (Daprela 80); Stanislas 5 (Franco 46, 6), Kovac 7, Noble 6, Behrami 6; Ilan 5,Cole 6 (McCarthy 72, 5).Booked: Kovac, Faubert.[LNB]Man of the match: Yossi Benayoun.Referee: Peter Walton.[LNB]Gerrard threatenedwith a free-kick and Dirk Kuytforced a fine save from Green. [LNB]But when Kyrgiakos touched aGerrard free-kick on to a post withan outstretched boot, Green had tosuffer the ignominy of seeing itbounce off his left foot and rollacross the line.[LNB] For West Ham, andfor Zola, a miserable night wascomplete.[LNB]For Martin Broughton, the BAboss and new Liverpool chairmanwho made his first appearance atAnfield last night, there were otherconcerns.[LNB] 'He is a busy man rightnow,' said Benitez. No doubt.[LNB][LNB] [LNB] THE ACTION AS IT UNFOLDED AT ANFIELDLiverpool set to avoid 21-hour journey from hell despite UEFA giving green light to Europa League semi-finals [LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People:Gianfranco Zola, Martin Broughton, Rafa BenitezPlaces:Liverpool, Madrid
