FOOTBALL Live

Saturday February 23, 2008 Finished Anfield

Logo 3 - Middlesbrough 2

Liverpool

  • Torres 28’, 29’, 61’

Middlesbrough

  • Tuncay 9’
  • Downing 83’
  1. Torres hat-trick lifts Liverpool

    Torres hat-trick lifts Liverpool

    A Fernando Torres hat-trick dragged Liverpool to a 3-2 win at home to Middlesbrough after Tuncay had headed the visitors into the lead. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Liverpool
    • Middlesbrough
    • - Thank you for joining uk.eurosport.yahoo.com for this match. We'll be back tomorrow with the Carling Cup final and much, much more!!
    • 90+3' The final whistle sounds, moving Liverpool fourth in the Premier League table.
    • 90+2' Last Liverpool change: hero Torres departs, with Peter Crouch entering the fray for a minute before the end of the match.
    • 90' Gerrard's free-kick is headed for the top corner and Schwarzer gets a hand to it... the ball strikes the bar and comes down, where Benayoun scores... no goal. It looks like the ref has given handball against the Israeli.
    • 89' Mascherano surging forward... he is felled by Young. Booking for the right-back.
    • 85' There was a bit of pushing and shoving between Luke Young and Mascherano. When the Argentine grabbed the Frenchman's nose, he gave him a slap - silly boy. A straight red card, despite his earlier booking. Mascherano gets away with it.
    • 85' Aliadiere is sent off!!!
    • 83' A great goal by the left-winger, who met a long ball with superb control that forced him towards goal on the outside - and he slipped the ball under Reina for 3-2.
    • 83' DOWNING SCORES FOR MIDDLESBROUGH!! THEY ARE BACK IN IT!!
    • 80' Lucas fouled by Pogatetz, who smacks the ball into the side-netting in frustration. Boro's chance seems to have gone.
    • 79' Free-kick right on the edge of the box for Boro in a central position... Rochemback slams it into the wall and the ball flies for a corner.
    • 77' Ironic chants of USA! USA! from the away fans, in response to the Liverpool tensions with their American owners.
    • 73' Liverpool change: Kuyt is replaced by John Arne Riise.
    • 72' The home fans shout for a penalty as Kuyt is caught... nothing doing.
    • 70' A flowing attack from the Reds as Gerrard passes down the left for Torres, whose cross is headed away... at the other end Downing cuts inside and shoots - but it is with his right foot and the ball is sliced for a throw-in on the far side. He holds his head in his hands.
    • 69' Boro change: Afonso Alves comes on in place of Tuncay.
    • 68' Torres fed on the right and he heads straight for goal like an arrow, forcing Schwarzer to tip just around the far post!!! The striker is man of the match.
    • 67' Boro pass the ball about in attack but lose it and Liverpool will break...
    • 66' Kuyt down the channel smacks a low cross at the near post and Schwarzer blocks then recovers with Benayoun, Gerrard and Torres bearing down!
    • 65' The two-goal cushion allows Benitez's men to relax and play some stuff at last. Rochemback booked for a tackle on Torres.
    • 63' A Gerrard free-kick almost finds its mark right in front of goal, but Boro survive.
    • 62' Liverpool change: Yossi Benayoun on for Babel.
    • 61' A long ball forward was anticipated by the Spain forward - and when he turned with it he saw with surprise that Schwarzer was there outside his box and knocked it home! The Aussie went Walkabout - get it? Torres's marker Wheater was powerless to block.
    • 61' TORRES HAS HIS HAT-TRICK!!!
    • 60' The big man's first touch is to drop a cross into the danger zone...
    • 59' Boro change: Mido on for O'Neil. A striker for a midfielder.
    • 58' Downing cannot clear Finnan as he seeks to cross from the left again... the away fans chant Mido's name as the Egyptian warms up.
    • 57' There is unease around Anfield, although Boro aren't currently looking dangerous...
    • 54' Reina is booked as well for being unhappy. That is unfair on the shot-stopper.
    • 53' Chaos in the Liverpool area as Reina catches the ball under pressure from Emanuel Pogatetz and runs out to throw - only to be tripped by Wheater, who stuck out his leg. That should be a red card, but the ref only shows him yellow. There was a scrap brewing there...
    • 52' Hyypia wins a long throw in the air and Schwarzer leaps to claim the ball.
    • 51' Arca penalised for a tackle... Gerrard takes the kick short and it is wasted after Babel finds Steve Finnan.
    • 49' A long bouncing ball has Reina in a spot of trouble as Wheater jumps with him... he regains the ball and sets Liverpool on a counter-attack that ends when Babel opts to shoot instead of setting up Kuyt or Gerrard.
    • 46' Downing threatens early doors, but his pass into the penalty area is to a man in a red shirt.
    • 46' The second half begins, Liverpool now kicking to the right as we look at it.
    • - There are no changes at the break.
    • 45+2' There the whistle goes. Liverpool leading, but only because Torres is on form.
    • 45+2' Tuncay spins off down the left and pulls back for Gary O'Neil... he shoots well wide of the far post. A final moment of worry for the home side before the half.
    • 45+1' As a dinked cross arrives Hyypia inexplicably falls backwards and there is a comedy moment when Lucas sprawls over someone on the deck with most of the players in and around the box... no penalty for that.
    • 45' Torres wins a corner for Liverpool with the clock ticking down to half-time... the wind moves the ball about on the corner spot, it is that strong...
    • 43' Babel has Gerrard and Torres to aim for in the middle but crosses straight out of play on the far side. Poor.
    • 42' Babel controls well and looks for the one-two with Gerrard... foul as the young Dutch winger is stopped in his tracks on the touchline.
    • 41' There is a sense of disquiet inside this ground now. Boro have been the better team.
    • 39' Rochemback instigates a passing move for Middlesbrough that ends with Tuncay backheeling through for Aliadiere... HE SCORES!! The flag is up against Tuncay though, who was just off when he received it with his back to goal.
    • 37' The incident has left Liverpool nervy again, so works to the away side's advantage...
    • 35' The Turk arrived on the end of Downing's cross and deliberately knocked the ball past Riena with his forearm. Yellow card. Incredibly he looks shocked beyond belief that the ref has disallowed it!
    • 35' TUNCAY HAS THE BALL IN THE NET!!! But the referee rules it out for handball!
    • 34' Aurelio caught, resulting in a booking for Aliadiere.
    • 33' The eleven men in red also look happier... Torres almost on the end of a ball through! That could've been a four-minute hat-trick...
    • 31' That has made a world of difference to the Liverpool supporters. It is all down to one man - 'El Nino', as he was known playing for his boyhood idols Atletico Madrid.
    • 29' Aurelio found his team-mate and Spanish compatriot and he set himself to strike a great shot into the near post bottom corner, like an absolute bullet!!
    • 29' TORRES SCORES A CRACKER - TWO GOALS IN TWO MINUTES!!
    • 28' A horrible header back towards Schwarzer from Julio Arca was pounced on by Fernando Torres, who rounded the 'keeper and stayed on his feet under a challenge to stick the ball home. 1-1.
    • 28' GOAL FOR LIVERPOOL!!!
    • 27' Babel with a nice move to make half-a-yard of space and hit a shot at goal... off the head of Wheater and out for a corner...
    • 26' Aliadiere flagged for offside... he was through but a yard off.
    • 25' Fabio Aurelio with a dangerous free-kick that ends with Kuyt again on that right wing. He goes down under the challenge of Fabio Rochemback, but no foul awarded by referee Lee Mason.
    • 23' A better pass this time from the England man to the right side. Kuyt controls, passes inside to Mascherano... the Argentina star lets fly, a good two or three feet wide of the post.
    • 22' Another wayward pass from Gerrard, which leaves Kuyt reaching to control in vain. Throw-in.
    • 21' Liverpool are really struggling to keep hold of the ball. They seem short on confidence.
    • 18' Babel hits the left by-line for Liverpool and centres... Boro don't get anything on the clerarance and Kuyt is there to hook just over the crossbar!! The Dutchman will be annoyed that he didn't score that.
    • 18' Aliadiere takes it on and finds a path into the box... Alvaro Arbeloa is there to nick the ball away from him just as he looked through on Reina's goal!! Good standing tackle.
    • 17' Javier Mascherano loses possession in midfield and the home fans groan again.
    • 16' Middlesbrough have had the majority of the ball in the first part of this match. They are working the field well, keeping the ball high up the pitch.
    • 14' Kuyt with a rubbish cross on the volley that runs out of play on the far side. Goal-kick to Middlesbrough.
    • 13' Tuncay wheeling about in midfield, dispossessed by Lucas... Gerrard cannot feed a pass through for a team-mate after good work by Kuyt.
    • 11' A hammer blow to Liverpool after they recovered some of their confidence with the win over Internazionale in midweek. If Barnsley can hold on at Anfield, there's no reason to think that Boro won't think they can do so too...
    • 9' The Turk was left completely alone as Stewart Downing's cross arrived and headed past Jose Reina at the Spaniard's near post. Shocking defending - there wasn't a Liverpool man within yards of him!
    • 9' GOAL FOR MIDDLESBROUGH!!!! TUNCAY!!!
    • 8' Middlesbrough win a free-kick on the right after Ryan Babel seems to handle. David Wheater awaits in the middle, menacing...
    • 7' Kuyt curls in a cross that Mark Schwarzer claims high up with men arriving... early pressure from the Reds.
    • 6' Gerrard receives the ball in to feet in midfield and gets it out of his feet before slamming a shot wide of the near post. He looks like a man with a point to prove.
    • 5' Liverpool win a corner after Dirk Kuyt looks to flick on to Lucas Leiva with a backheel... Gerrard's kick is cleared.
    • 4' Jeremie Aliadiere working to close down space in Liverpool's defensive third. Soon after he is on the end of a pass into the corner and crosses, cut out by Sami Hyypia.
    • 2' Gerrard with space on the left to attack and whips in a wicked cross with the outside of his right foot... headed away.
    • 1' The first half begins, Liverpool in all red kicking from right to left. Boro are in their fetching away colours of white and gold...
    • - Liverpool are without striker Andriy Voronin and centre-half Daniel Agger, who is close to a return after five months out. Jamie Carragher is suspended. Recent signing Martin Skrtel is struggling with a calf problem but makes the bench.
    • - Tuncay Sanli makes the clash despite a hamstring injury while Lee Cattermole (knee), Chris Riggott (hamstring) and Robert Huth (foot) remain on the sidelines for Boro.
    • - The teams are in... scroll down to see who has been selected by Rafael Benitez and Gareth Southgate.
    • - Welcome to uk.eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League encounter between Liverpool and Middlesbrough from Anfield.

  • Team Stats

    Liverpool Stats Middlesbrough
    58% Possession 41%
    16 Shots 7
    6 Shots on target 2
    0 Saves 1
    6 Corners 2
    11 Fouls 8
    1 Offsides 3
    2 Yellow cards 5
    0 Red cards 1
    33 Tackles 33
    346 Accurate passes 222
    71 Bad passes 48

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Liverpool
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Jose Reina 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 15 4 0
      17 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 26 2 5
      12 Fabio Aurelio 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 55 20 4
      3 Steve Finnan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 29 0 2
      4 Sami Hyypia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 3 2
      20 Javier Mascherano 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 44 11 11
      21 Lucas Leiva 0 3 1 3 1 0 0 37 5 4
      8 Steven Gerrard 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 31 11 2
      19 Ryan Babel 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 16 6 0
      9 Fernando Torres 3 4 4 0 1 0 0 10 1 1
      18 Dirk Kuyt 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 27 1 2
      15 Peter Crouch 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
      11 Yossi Benayoun 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16 4 0
      6 John Arne Riise 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 0
      40 David Martin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      37 Martin Skrtel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Middlesbrough
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Mark Schwarzer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0
      31 David Wheater 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 2 3
      40 Jonathon Grounds 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 7 3
      2 Luke Young 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 1 9
      6 Emanuel Pogatetz 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 2 3
      10 Fábio Rochemback 0 1 0 4 2 0 0 39 7 7
      3 Julio Arca 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 42 14 5
      4 Gary O'Neil 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 24 0 1
      19 Stewart Downing 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 30 9 1
      11 Jeremie Aliadiere 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 11 2 0
      17 Tuncay Sanli 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 15 3 0
      12 Afonso Alves 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0
      9 Ahmed Hossam Mido 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1
      7 George Boateng 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      38 Sebastian Hines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Ross Turnbull 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • - Thank you for joining uk.eurosport.yahoo.com for this match. We'll be back tomorrow with the Carling Cup final and much, much more!!
    • 90' Gerrard's free-kick is headed for the top corner and Schwarzer gets a hand to it... the ball strikes the bar and comes down, where Benayoun scores... no goal. It looks like the ref has given handball against the Israeli.
    • 85' Aliadiere is sent off!!!
    • 83' A great goal by the left-winger, who met a long ball with superb control that forced him towards goal on the outside - and he slipped the ball under Reina for 3-2.
    • 83' DOWNING SCORES FOR MIDDLESBROUGH!! THEY ARE BACK IN IT!!
    • 79' Free-kick right on the edge of the box for Boro in a central position... Rochemback slams it into the wall and the ball flies for a corner.
    • 68' Torres fed on the right and he heads straight for goal like an arrow, forcing Schwarzer to tip just around the far post!!! The striker is man of the match.
    • 66' Kuyt down the channel smacks a low cross at the near post and Schwarzer blocks then recovers with Benayoun, Gerrard and Torres bearing down!
    • 61' TORRES HAS HIS HAT-TRICK!!!
    • 45+2' Tuncay spins off down the left and pulls back for Gary O'Neil... he shoots well wide of the far post. A final moment of worry for the home side before the half.
    • 35' TUNCAY HAS THE BALL IN THE NET!!! But the referee rules it out for handball!
    • 29' Aurelio found his team-mate and Spanish compatriot and he set himself to strike a great shot into the near post bottom corner, like an absolute bullet!!
    • 29' TORRES SCORES A CRACKER - TWO GOALS IN TWO MINUTES!!
    • 28' A horrible header back towards Schwarzer from Julio Arca was pounced on by Fernando Torres, who rounded the 'keeper and stayed on his feet under a challenge to stick the ball home. 1-1.
    • 28' GOAL FOR LIVERPOOL!!!
    • 18' Babel hits the left by-line for Liverpool and centres... Boro don't get anything on the clerarance and Kuyt is there to hook just over the crossbar!! The Dutchman will be annoyed that he didn't score that.
    • 18' Aliadiere takes it on and finds a path into the box... Alvaro Arbeloa is there to nick the ball away from him just as he looked through on Reina's goal!! Good standing tackle.
    • 9' The Turk was left completely alone as Stewart Downing's cross arrived and headed past Jose Reina at the Spaniard's near post. Shocking defending - there wasn't a Liverpool man within yards of him!
    • 9' GOAL FOR MIDDLESBROUGH!!!! TUNCAY!!!
    • - Welcome to uk.eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League encounter between Liverpool and Middlesbrough from Anfield.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Liverpool

    Manager: Rafa Benitez

    On the Field

    • Reina Yellow Card
    • Finnan
    • Arbeloa
    • Hyypia
    • Aurelio
    • Lucas
    • Gerrard
    • Mascherano
    • Babel Substitution Out (62′)
    • Kuijt Substitution Out (73′)
    • Torres Goals×3 Substitution Out (90′)

    Subs

    • Riise Substitution In (73′)
    • Crouch Substitution In (90′)
    • Benayoun Substitution In (62′)
    • Skrtel
    • Martin

    Injured

    • Voronin
    • Agger

    Suspended

    • Carragher

  • Middlesbrough

    Manager: Gareth Southgate

    On the Field

    • Schwarzer
    • Young Yellow Card
    • Wheater Yellow Card
    • Pogatetz
    • Grounds
    • O'Neil Substitution Out (59′)
    • Rochemback
    • Arca
    • Downing Goal
    • Aliadière Red Card
    • Tuncay Goal Yellow Card Substitution Out (69′)

    Subs

    • Boateng
    • Mido Substitution In (59′)
    • Turnbull
    • Hines
    • Alves Substitution In (69′)

    Injured

    • Riggott
    • Jones
    • Cattermole

    Suspended

    None