FOOTBALL Live

Saturday March 15, 2008 Finished Craven Cottage

Logo 2 - Reading 1

Liverpool

  • Mascherano 19’
  • Torres 48’

Reading

  • Matejovsky 5’
  1. Liverpool scrap to victory

    Liverpool scrap to victory

    Liverpool continued to tighten their stranglehold on fourth place with a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League win over Reading at Anfield. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Liverpool
    • Reading
    • - Phew! That was entertaining. Thanks to Liverpool and Reading for that, a win which keeps the Reds in that coveted fourth-placed spot while Reading stay in lower-mid table, still not safe from relegation. Next Premier League match is in 20 minutes, Arsenal - briefly second after Manchester United's win at Derby - at home to Middlesbrough.
    • 90+3 The ball is swung into the box by Shorey AND CISSE WITH THE FLICK HEADER BUT SAVED BY REINA WHO SPILLS IT BUT DIVES ONTO THE REBOUND! That was the final chance as Liverpool hoof it into touch and the ref blows for full-time.
    • 90+2 Late, late free kick to Reading and Hahnemann is up for this! Gerrard comes off for Hyppia to waste time...
    • 90' Reading get a free kick on the right, Liverpool are furious as Alonso thought he was fouled... swung in and headed away by Gerrard AND KITSON WITH A VOLLEY BUT BLOCKED BY GERRARD! Reading are convinced it was a penalty!! It did strike him on the arm but he knew nothing about it and that would have been harsh!
    • 89' Skrtel and Kitson tangle, the former coming off worse as they fall together, nothing more than a free kick though.
    • 87' Kebe falls over on the edge of the Liverpool box after trying some Torres-style skills, the Reds break and Alonso has a pop from 25 yards but it's high, wide and handsome.
    • 85' Cisse now booked for chopping down Torres around 35 yards out, free kick wasted though.
    • 84' That looked like a corner as Alonso put the ball out but the ref thinks it took a last touch off Kebe so the break goes Liverpool's way, goal kick.
    • 82' LIVERPOOL SUB: Riise on for Babel as Liverpool shore it up.
    • 80' LIVERPOOL SUB: Kuyt off for Benayoun.
    • 77' A screaming match between Bikey and Gerrard after a foul is given on the Liverpool left, Bikey is booked but quite frankly Gerrard dived. Tenner says it doesn't get mentioned in the papers, because of course English players don't simulate.
    • 75' Great Kitson flick-on, Doyle is played through, he's past the last man and is bundled over by Carragher but nothing given! Now how is that not a penalty? Six to one and half a dozen of the other I suppose is the theory, both had their arms out.
    • 74' READING SUB: Cisse on for Majetovski, who shows no such histrionics at being substituted.
    • 71' READING SUB: Jimmy Kebe on for Oster.
    • 66' A break in play as Skrtel - who is out of our view - flew over the advertising hoardings and is now receiving treatment. I assume he's ok as no-one looks too concerned at his plight, play restarts with a drop ball which Oster sportingly kicks back to Liverpool. Skrtel indeed returns from the wilderness and seems fine, frightening-looking chap that he is.
    • 64' Great run by Gerrard, cutting inside froom the left and hammering a shot that takes a massive deflection for Hahnemann to stumble back and claim under the bar.
    • 63' Ingimarsson pulls back Gerrad, quite cynically. Yellow card.
    • 62' READING SUB: Big Dave Kitson makes an entry for Shane Long, who quite disgracefully throws his shirt to the ground. What is he playing at, he was in the Eircom league two years ago and quite frankly is lucky to be playing Premier League football let alone starting against Liverpool.
    • 61' Quite brilliant control from Torres to take it down, juggle while running at full pace and thread it wide to Babel, WHO TAKES A TOUCH BEFORE FIRING IN A SHOT WHICH FLIES JUST OVER! Great football by Liverpool.
    • 59' Hunt down the left loses out to Arbeloa and, in frustration, raps the back of his legs and gets a yellow.
    • 58' Masherano and Matejovski clash and the ref finds favour with Liverpool.
    • 57' A bit of handbags between two of the least hard men on the pitch, Hunt and Arbeloa he-man &£!!-slapping each other over a disputed throw. It would be cute if they weren't being watched by 50-odd thousand people.
    • 55' Oster is almost played through but Reina is again wise to the threat and claims with ease.
    • 52' Aurelio rather idiotically tries a "clever" trick that he totally shanks into the path of Rosenior, but big, hard Martin Skrtel gets his sizeable frame in the way to shepherd the ball back.
    • 48' Free-kick to Liverpool on the left, Gerrard to take and curl it into the box... and he sends it far post FOR TORRES TO RISE UNMARKED AND POWER THE HEADER INTO THE BOTTOM LEFT! Super header, great cross but where was the marking?! 2-1 to Liverpool.
    • 47' Doyle is down injured after being clattered by Skrtel when challenging for a header, but he soon gets up and gingerly carries on.
    • 46' Second half underway!
    • - CORRECTION: Bikey was NOT booked for the foul on Torres, merely warned.
    • 45+2 Half-time, 1-1 at Anfield and a very entertaining half!
    • 45+1 Bikey late and into the back of Torres to give away a free kick and pick up a booking... the free kick is sent too deep, however, and Hahnemann claims with ease.
    • 45' Reading play themselves into trouble on the edge of their own box and Xabi Alonso gets the ball and fires in a dipping, vicious effort that flies just over!
    • 44' Reading only half clear the corner, the ball is wide right for Arbeloa who crosses but nicked away from Babel by Ingimarsson and SKRTEL CONTROLS AND SHOOTS but well over.
    • 43' Great play by Babel to take it past Matejovski but clever defending by Rosenior to force him wide, corner to Liverpool though...
    • 42' Utterly pointless step-over from Xabi Alonso almost plays Liverpool into trouble, but the ball through the middle is too long for Doyle and Long and Reina can clear.
    • 40' Reading with their best spell since the early part of this half, Doyle again on the left but his cross is deflected into Reina's arms...
    • 39' Reading clear and break at pace from that corner, Doyle chasing through touches it wide to Hunt but he sends him down a blind alley and Arbeloa follows it out fo a throw.
    • 38' Alonso wins a corner on the right after a neat one-two with Kuyt which Shorey is wide to... played far post but headed out for another corner by Bikey, who thinks he should have been awarded a free kick for a push.
    • 36' The free kick is cleared, well cleared actually as Liverpool counter and Babel wins a corner. That is, however, wasted and after a bit of head tennis Reading counter but Aurelio plays it back to Reina.
    • 35' Hunt with a mazy dribble through the middle is forced back but then wins a free kick off Mascherano... Arbeloa comes back on the pitch...
    • 34' Arbeloa is ordered off for treatment to a cut just above his left eye, blood trickling down his face...
    • 33' Ball from Pennant flicked on by Torres but too wide for Babel, who chases it into the corner and plays the bal back and the cross for Arbeloa is too deep.
    • 31' Arbeloa gets forward on the overlap, Babel is more central now and slides it wide to the Spaniard who cuts the ball across to KUYT WHO HAMMERS IT TO THE ROOF OF THE NET BUT INCHES OVER! Unlucky for Liverpool who are gaining the edge now…
    • 29' Reading don't fully clear the corner after a looped header up in the air, back on the right for Gerrard to whip in a cross FOR BABEL TO POWER THE HEADER IN FOR 2-1 but the flag is up! Good decision, Babel is angry but Hunt had left about a yard from the edge of the six yard box to play the Dutchman offside. And the cross seemed to go slightly forwards too, so he was ahead of the play.
    • 28' Babel again cuts inside from the byline, moves onto his right foot to play Rosenior out of it and fires a superb shot on goal but palmed away for a corner by Hahnemann!!
    • 25' Babel on the left, cuts inside into space to shoot but sends it well wide, Hahnemann just watches on.
    • 23' Gerrard does take it and he plays a poor attempt at a through ball which Reading clear with ease.
    • 22' Free-kick to Liverpool, central, 30 yards out, Gerrard and Alonso over it but surely Alonso will take...
    • 21' Free-kick to Liverpool on the left which Gerrad will swing in right-footed... but a total waste, straight at Hahnemann.
    • 19' Babel inside left, plays it to Mascherano on the edge of the area, he takes a touch to shimmy past Hunt and sends a brilliant drive flashing past Hahnemann for 1-1! Cracking strike. This game is quite a lot of fun.
    • 16' Long this time with a cute through ball for Doyle but just a little too heavy for Oster's late run, easy for Reina.
    • 14' Reading almost make it two when Matejovski slides Oster through with a great little pass but Reina is wise to it and rushes out to dive onto the ball.
    • 11' Torres is played through and he races past Ingimarsson and surely must score but a brilliant piece of keeping from Hahnemann who rushes out to smother!
    • 10' Torres goes down in the area under a challenge from Bikey but a corner is given not a penalty... Reading eventually manage to clear.
    • 9' Reading haven't properly cleared it and the ball is played wide to Xabi Alonso on the right, who tries a cross that is far too deep and almost catches Hahnemann out, bouncing off the top of the bar and out.
    • 8' Free-kick to Liverpool indirect around 30 yards out... Mascherano and Gerrard over it.... Mascherano touches it short to Gerrard who can shoot but feints and feeds XABI ALONSO but it's blocked!
    • 6' Reading could be in again with Matejovsky free in the middle and he's in space but with no support and the shot is blocked.
    • 5' Free-kick then on the left, played low to the far corner of the area AND MATEJOVSKY WITH AN INCREDIBLE DRIVE INTO THE TOP LEFT!! What a strike! Incredible goal! He was complaining that his team-mates didn't give him enough of the ball, well they blooming well should.
    • 4' Poor decision from the ref as Arbeloa slides in quite brilliantly on Hunt, clean tackle from the side, one-footed but a free kick given.
    • 3' Tight on the edge of the box for Liverpool Torres back to Babel who touches it to Gerrard who tries an audacious backheel to play Torres in but blocked by Ingimarsson and Reading clear.
    • 2' Reading could be in here on the Liverpool right, but Oster cuts the ball back quite inexplicably for Babel. Liverpool come forward...
    • 1' Match underway!
    • - READING TEAM NEWS: It's an all-Irish strikeforce for the Royals, Shane Long alongside Kevin Doyle with Dave Kitson on the bench. Otherwise as expected.
    • - LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS: Martin Skrtel starts again in defence, Jamie Carragher moving to centre half after playing as full back in the Champions League win over Inter midweek. Fernando Torres starts alone up front, Gerrard playing off him and Pennant and Babel as orthodox wingers. Xabi Alonso returns after childbirth.
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of Liverpool v Reading, coverage from Anfield starting at 15:00 GMT!

  • Team Stats

    Liverpool Stats Reading
    61% Possession 38%
    24 Shots 7
    7 Shots on target 1
    0 Saves 2
    7 Corners 2
    22 Fouls 7
    1 Offsides 1
    0 Yellow cards 5
    0 Red cards 0
    26 Tackles 22
    305 Accurate passes 177
    72 Bad passes 51

  • 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 0 0 0 9 4 0
      37 Martin Skrtel 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 23 2 4
      12 Fabio Aurelio 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 43 22 3
      17 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 27 0 4
      23 Jamie Carragher 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 25 2 1
      8 Steven Gerrard 0 3 1 1 3 0 1 31 10 1
      20 Javier Mascherano 1 2 1 1 3 0 0 35 7 5
      14 Xabi Alonso 0 5 1 0 4 0 0 53 12 5
      19 Ryan Babel 0 4 1 0 1 1 1 24 7 0
      9 Fernando Torres 1 5 2 1 5 0 0 9 2 1
      18 Dirk Kuyt 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 19 4 2
      11 Yossi Benayoun 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0
      6 John Arne Riise 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
      4 Sami Hyypia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Charles Itandje 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      15 Peter Crouch 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Reading
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Marcus Hahnemann 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 0
      22 André Stéphane Bikey 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 9 0 1
      3 Nicky Shorey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 16 0
      19 Liam Rosenior 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 22 1 6
      16 Ivar Ingimarsson 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 7 1 1
      15 James Harper 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 24 8 0
      28 Marek Matejovsky 1 3 1 4 0 0 0 20 8 3
      11 John Oster 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 20 0 1
      10 Stephen Hunt 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 13 5 3
      9 Kevin Doyle 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 12 6 3
      24 Shane Long 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 5 0 1
      12 Dave Kitson 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 7 2 0
      5 Ibrahima Sonko 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      4 Khalifa Cissé 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 8 2 1
      32 Adam Federici 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Jimmy Kebe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2

  • Summary

    • - Phew! That was entertaining. Thanks to Liverpool and Reading for that, a win which keeps the Reds in that coveted fourth-placed spot while Reading stay in lower-mid table, still not safe from relegation. Next Premier League match is in 20 minutes, Arsenal - briefly second after Manchester United's win at Derby - at home to Middlesbrough.
    • 90+3 The ball is swung into the box by Shorey AND CISSE WITH THE FLICK HEADER BUT SAVED BY REINA WHO SPILLS IT BUT DIVES ONTO THE REBOUND! That was the final chance as Liverpool hoof it into touch and the ref blows for full-time.
    • 90' Reading get a free kick on the right, Liverpool are furious as Alonso thought he was fouled... swung in and headed away by Gerrard AND KITSON WITH A VOLLEY BUT BLOCKED BY GERRARD! Reading are convinced it was a penalty!! It did strike him on the arm but he knew nothing about it and that would have been harsh!
    • 75' Great Kitson flick-on, Doyle is played through, he's past the last man and is bundled over by Carragher but nothing given! Now how is that not a penalty? Six to one and half a dozen of the other I suppose is the theory, both had their arms out.
    • 64' Great run by Gerrard, cutting inside froom the left and hammering a shot that takes a massive deflection for Hahnemann to stumble back and claim under the bar.
    • 61' Quite brilliant control from Torres to take it down, juggle while running at full pace and thread it wide to Babel, WHO TAKES A TOUCH BEFORE FIRING IN A SHOT WHICH FLIES JUST OVER! Great football by Liverpool.
    • 48' Free-kick to Liverpool on the left, Gerrard to take and curl it into the box... and he sends it far post FOR TORRES TO RISE UNMARKED AND POWER THE HEADER INTO THE BOTTOM LEFT! Super header, great cross but where was the marking?! 2-1 to Liverpool.
    • 45' Reading play themselves into trouble on the edge of their own box and Xabi Alonso gets the ball and fires in a dipping, vicious effort that flies just over!
    • 44' Reading only half clear the corner, the ball is wide right for Arbeloa who crosses but nicked away from Babel by Ingimarsson and SKRTEL CONTROLS AND SHOOTS but well over.
    • 31' Arbeloa gets forward on the overlap, Babel is more central now and slides it wide to the Spaniard who cuts the ball across to KUYT WHO HAMMERS IT TO THE ROOF OF THE NET BUT INCHES OVER! Unlucky for Liverpool who are gaining the edge now…
    • 28' Babel again cuts inside from the byline, moves onto his right foot to play Rosenior out of it and fires a superb shot on goal but palmed away for a corner by Hahnemann!!
    • 19' Babel inside left, plays it to Mascherano on the edge of the area, he takes a touch to shimmy past Hunt and sends a brilliant drive flashing past Hahnemann for 1-1! Cracking strike. This game is quite a lot of fun.
    • 11' Torres is played through and he races past Ingimarsson and surely must score but a brilliant piece of keeping from Hahnemann who rushes out to smother!
    • 9' Reading haven't properly cleared it and the ball is played wide to Xabi Alonso on the right, who tries a cross that is far too deep and almost catches Hahnemann out, bouncing off the top of the bar and out.
    • 8' Free-kick to Liverpool indirect around 30 yards out... Mascherano and Gerrard over it.... Mascherano touches it short to Gerrard who can shoot but feints and feeds XABI ALONSO but it's blocked!
    • 5' Free-kick then on the left, played low to the far corner of the area AND MATEJOVSKY WITH AN INCREDIBLE DRIVE INTO THE TOP LEFT!! What a strike! Incredible goal! He was complaining that his team-mates didn't give him enough of the ball, well they blooming well should.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Andre Marriner

  • Liverpool

    Manager: Rafa Benitez

    Captain: Steven Gerrard

    On the Field

    • Reina
    • Arbeloa
    • Carragher
    • Skrtel
    • Aurelio
    • Mascherano Goal
    • Alonso
    • Gerrard Substitution Out (90′)
    • Kuijt Substitution Out (80′)
    • Babel Substitution Out (82′)
    • Torres Goal

    Subs

    • Riise Substitution In (82′)
    • Hyypia Substitution In (90′)
    • Crouch
    • Benayoun Substitution In (80′)
    • Itandje

    Injured

    • Agger

    Suspended

    None

  • Reading

    Manager: Steve Coppell

    Captain: Ivar Ingimarsson

    On the Field

    • Hahnemann
    • Rosenior
    • Ingimarsson Yellow Card
    • Bikey Yellow Card
    • Shorey
    • Oster Substitution Out (71′)
    • Matejovsky Goal Substitution Out (74′)
    • Harper
    • Hunt Yellow Card
    • Doyle
    • Long Substitution Out (62′)

    Subs

    • Sonko
    • Kitson Substitution In (62′)
    • Kebe Substitution In (71′)
    • Federici
    • Cisse Substitution In (74′) Yellow Card

    Injured

    • Gunnarsson
    • Little
    • Murty
    • Fae

    Suspended

    None