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. 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.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.Espanyol went in front through a 19th-minute strike by Luis Garcia - a namesake of the former Liverpool player now at Atletico Madrid.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.Liverpool actually started strongest, with Steven Gerrard firing narrowly wide from distance.The Reds captain then almost gave the visitors the lead after 18 minutes when he crashed a fierce effort against the crossbar.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.Gerrard replied by curling a 20-yard free-kick against a post but Espanyol were proving hard to break down.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.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.Espanyol made five changes themselves and showed greater urgency in the second half.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.Besides Alonso, Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez also brought on Albert Riera, Andriy Voronin, David N'Gog and Damien Plessis late on.But Espanyol wrapped up a fine win in the closing stages when Sahar pounced after Reina parried Ferran Corominas' close-range effort.