FOOTBALL Live

Saturday December 6, 2008 Finished Ewood Park

1 - 3

Blackburn Rovers

  • Santa Cruz 86’

Liverpool

  • Alonso 69’
  • Benayoun 79’
  • Gerrard 90’
  1. Ince misery as Liverpool stay top

    Ince misery as Liverpool stay top

    Liverpool maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a 3-1 win over Blackburn at Ewood Park. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Blackburn Rovers
    • Liverpool
    • - Thanks for joining us today! 3-1 rather flatters Liverpool, but they won't care - they're still top of the league!
    • 90'+6 And there goes the final whistle! And there's to be no late fightback from Blackburn as Liverpool maintain their position at the top of the Premier League table!
    • 90'+5 GOAL! GERRARD SEALS ALL THREE POINTS! Riera splits open the defence with a pass through for El Zhar... Robinson is off his line quickly to block, but the ball bounces back out to Riera, who plays the ball square to Gerrard! He has the easy task of sticking the ball into an empty net and that, as they say, is that!
    • 90'+2 A final throw of the dice from Ince as he brings on Treacy for Derbyshire.
    • 86' Liverpool bring on Riera for Benayoun... it's going to be a hectic final couple of minutes!
    • 85' GOAL! SANTA CRUZ PULLS ONE BACK! Liverpool react slowly to a quickly-taken short corner... Samba flicks on at the near post and the Paraguayan is there to nod home at the far stick! Maybe this one's not over!
    • 84' Vogel for Tugay as Ince shuffles his pack.
    • 83' And Liverpool bring off Mascherano.... Lucas Leiva on for the Argentinian.
    • 82' Blackburn make a change, but it looks like it's too late... McCarthy on for Pedersen.
    • 79' GOAL! BENAYOUN DOUBLES LIVERPOOL'S LEAD! Kuyt finds him out on the right hand side... he cuts inside, skips past Warnock and fires past Robinson and into the far corner! Game over!
    • 76' Oooh! Ooijer finds Santa Cruz in the middle, but the Paraguayan heads wide of the mark! He really should have done better there! Real chance wasted...
    • 70' So unfortunate for Blackburn... they'd done well up until that point.
    • 69' GOAL! ALONSO PUTS LIVERPOOL INTO THE LEAD! Gerrard centres for Kuyt who has his first-time effort blocked... the ball falls to the Spaniard who pushes the ball past Robinson to put Liverpool one up!
    • 64' Liverpool take the opportunity to make a change... off goes Babel, who looks injured, and on comes El Zhar.
    • 63' Pedersen is nobble by a challenge! And they'll be a break in play...
    • 62' Oooh! Gerrard and then Benayoun go so clos! Gerrard forces Robinson into action with a snap shot from the edge of the box... the keeper can only parry into the path of Benayoun! But he can't net the follow up under pressure from Ooijer and Robinson! He's forced wide and the chance goes begging!
    • 60' Oh dear, that's a poor challenge from Warnock on Babel... and he rightly goes into the book.
    • 59' Yellow card for Arbeloa for bringing down Warnock as he threatened to break through the back line!
    • 57' Chance for Liverpool to break the deadlock! Insua's cross finds its way to Alonso on the edge of the box, but Robinson saves from the Spaniard!
    • 56' Mascherano is now getting booed every time he touches the ball...
    • 54' It's a dangerous ball in from the free-kick... no one gets a head to it and it bounces in front of goal... by the time Hyypia reaches it at the far post, it has already gone out of play.
    • 53' Mascherano hits the deck under a challenge from Derbyshire... the ref gives it, but the crowd don't like it.
    • 48' Cool defending from Hyypia under pressure from Derbyshire... he plays the ball back to Reina who pumps the ball downfield.
    • 46' Straight away Pedersen links up well with Santa Cruz! Carragher is forced to make a last ditch challenge to divert the Norwegian's shot behind for an early corner!
    • 46' Back underway at Ewood Park!
    • 45'+2 There goes the half-time whistle! And Blackburn boss Paul Ince will be pleased with his side's performance during the opening period.
    • 45' Just one minute of added time to be played.
    • 43' Yellow card for Andrews for a trip on Gerrard as the Liverpool man looked to break away. No arguments there.
    • 42' Babel heads on for Kuyt who hooks the ball into Gerrard's path! But the Liverpool skipper can only drag his effort wide of the mark!
    • 41' Blackburn are first to the ball at the moment and their passing is more incisive than the visitors'....
    • 40' Rovers are well up for this one! And the crowd are also up for the fight! Great noise from the home fans!
    • 39' Good spell of pressure from Blackburn now... they win another corner, which Emerton will take... cleared by Gerrard!
    • 38' Pedersen again forces Reina into action! It's another long range effort, this time from a free-kick which bounces just before it reaches its target! Reina gets down well to turn behind for a corner!
    • 33' Alonso this time with a poor ball, straight to Pedersen... but this time the Norwegian simply hammers clear. Not the best option from him that time. Why not race forward and unleash a screamer from 30 yards? He's already proved he's quite good at doing that.
    • 30' Blackburn are up for the fight today! That was a stunning effort by Pedersen!
    • 29' OOOOH! OFF THE BAR BY PEDERSEN! What an effort from the Norwegian! He intercepts a terrible pass from Gerrard before moving forward and unleashing a wickedly swerving effort that Reina is at full stretch to reach and divert onto the bar!
    • 26' Insua and Emerton tangle on the far side... and it's the Aussie who comes out on top, winning a goal kick!
    • 24' That's neat play by Pedersen in the centre circle.... he's eventually brought down and Blackburn have a free-kick.
    • 23' Derbyshire's through here! He fires goalwards! But the flag is up for offside! Reina saves with his feet, for the record.
    • 21' Liverpool play neat triangles to try to get out of trouble... but it nearly has the opposite effect... eventually they are forced to hack it clear! No room to do that at Ewood Park today!
    • 19' Babel meets the resulting corner with his hand - not quite Ronaldo-style but it's a yellow card nonetheless!
    • 18' Lovely play from Liverpool to carve open the Blackburn defence... Gerrard to Kuyt to Benayoun! But the Israeli delays his shot a little too long, allowing Warnock to get back and make the challenge!
    • 16' Blackburn are biting into the tackle in the middle of the pitch... this isn't going to be easy for Liverpool today.
    • 14' Pedersen delivers the corner... it reaches Santa Cruz, but he's rather unprepared for it and the ball smacks him in the face!
    • 13' Babel is dispossessed by Pedersen in the centre of the park and Blackburn move forward... and Santa Cruz wins a corner for the hosts!
    • 11' The ball falls for Emerton on the edge of the box... but the Australian's effort sails over the bar and into the stands behind Reina's goal!
    • 7' It's been a decent start from Blackburn today... and at least the home crowd are behind the team - and Ince - so far.
    • 5' Pedersen gets past his man on the Blackburn left... but his cross is well held by Reina.
    • 2' Paul Ince is under pressure at the moment... another defeat today will not do him any favours.
    • 1' Underway at Ewood Park!
    • - For Blackburn, Christopher Samba, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Keith Andrews are recalled to the side that lost to Manchester United in the Carling Cup.
    • - So, no Robbie Keane for Liverpool... Dirk Kuyt leads the Reds' line instead.
    • - Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands)
    • - Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Insua, Benayoun, Mascherano, Alonso, Babel, Gerrard, Kuyt. Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Keane, Riera, Leiva Lucas, El Zhar
    • - Blackburn: Robinson, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Emerton, Andrews, Kerimoglu, Pedersen, Roque Santa Cruz, Derbyshire. Subs: Brown, McCarthy, Vogel, Villanueva, Simpson, Fowler, Treacy
    • - Good afternoon and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Blackburn v Liverpool in the Premier League.

  • Team Stats

    Blackburn Rovers Stats Liverpool
    38% Possession 61%
    7 Shots 9
    2 Shots on target 6
    1 Saves 0
    5 Corners 6
    9 Fouls 12
    2 Offsides 2
    2 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    23 Tackles 26
    252 Accurate passes 496
    35 Bad passes 59

  • 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
    • Blackburn Rovers
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Paul Robinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 4 0
      4 Christopher Samba 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 16 1 3
      3 Stephen Warnock 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 24 7 4
      7 Brett Emerton 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 21 1 5
      2 Andre Ooijer 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 27 0 1
      6 Ryan Nelsen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 1 2
      17 Keith Andrews 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 33 6 4
      5 Kerimoglou Tugay 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 41 5 3
      12 Morten Gamst Pedersen 0 3 1 2 3 0 0 13 7 0
      9 Roque Santa Cruz 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 24 2 0
      27 Matt Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 9 0 0
      19 Carlos Villanueva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      32 Jason Brown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      14 Johann Vogel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 1
      24 Keith Treacy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
      10 Benedict McCarthy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
      23 Robbie Fowler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 Danny Simpson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Liverpool
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Jose Reina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0
      23 Jamie Carragher 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 39 1 1
      22 Emiliano Insua 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 12 3
      17 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 45 0 0
      4 Sami Hyypia 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 43 3 5
      8 Steven Gerrard 1 4 3 1 2 0 0 74 10 3
      14 Xabi Alonso 1 4 2 1 1 0 0 83 16 3
      20 Javier Mascherano 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 57 4 5
      15 Yossi Benayoun 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 29 1 0
      19 Ryan Babel 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 32 4 0
      18 Dirk Kuyt 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 30 5 1
      5 Daniel Agger 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      31 Nabil El Zhar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 2
      2 Andrea Dossena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Lucas Leiva 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 3
      1 Diego Cavalieri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      11 Albert Riera 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0
      7 Robbie Keane 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 90'+5 GOAL! GERRARD SEALS ALL THREE POINTS! Riera splits open the defence with a pass through for El Zhar... Robinson is off his line quickly to block, but the ball bounces back out to Riera, who plays the ball square to Gerrard! He has the easy task of sticking the ball into an empty net and that, as they say, is that!
    • 85' GOAL! SANTA CRUZ PULLS ONE BACK! Liverpool react slowly to a quickly-taken short corner... Samba flicks on at the near post and the Paraguayan is there to nod home at the far stick! Maybe this one's not over!
    • 79' GOAL! BENAYOUN DOUBLES LIVERPOOL'S LEAD! Kuyt finds him out on the right hand side... he cuts inside, skips past Warnock and fires past Robinson and into the far corner! Game over!
    • 76' Oooh! Ooijer finds Santa Cruz in the middle, but the Paraguayan heads wide of the mark! He really should have done better there! Real chance wasted...
    • 69' GOAL! ALONSO PUTS LIVERPOOL INTO THE LEAD! Gerrard centres for Kuyt who has his first-time effort blocked... the ball falls to the Spaniard who pushes the ball past Robinson to put Liverpool one up!
    • 62' Oooh! Gerrard and then Benayoun go so clos! Gerrard forces Robinson into action with a snap shot from the edge of the box... the keeper can only parry into the path of Benayoun! But he can't net the follow up under pressure from Ooijer and Robinson! He's forced wide and the chance goes begging!
    • 57' Chance for Liverpool to break the deadlock! Insua's cross finds its way to Alonso on the edge of the box, but Robinson saves from the Spaniard!
    • 46' Straight away Pedersen links up well with Santa Cruz! Carragher is forced to make a last ditch challenge to divert the Norwegian's shot behind for an early corner!
    • 42' Babel heads on for Kuyt who hooks the ball into Gerrard's path! But the Liverpool skipper can only drag his effort wide of the mark!
    • 38' Pedersen again forces Reina into action! It's another long range effort, this time from a free-kick which bounces just before it reaches its target! Reina gets down well to turn behind for a corner!
    • 29' OOOOH! OFF THE BAR BY PEDERSEN! What an effort from the Norwegian! He intercepts a terrible pass from Gerrard before moving forward and unleashing a wickedly swerving effort that Reina is at full stretch to reach and divert onto the bar!
    • 18' Lovely play from Liverpool to carve open the Blackburn defence... Gerrard to Kuyt to Benayoun! But the Israeli delays his shot a little too long, allowing Warnock to get back and make the challenge!
    • - Good afternoon and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Blackburn v Liverpool in the Premier League.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Andre Marriner

  • Blackburn Rovers

    Manager: Paul Ince

    Captain: Ryan Nelsen

    Starting line-up

    • P. Robinson
    • A. Ooijer
    • C. Samba
    • R. Nelsen
    • S. Warnock Yellow Card
    • B. Emerton
    • K. Andrews Yellow Card
    • K. Tugay Substitution Out (85′)
    • M. Pedersen Substitution Out (82′)
    • R. Santa Cruz Goal
    • M. Derbyshire Substitution Out (90′)

    Subs

    • R. Fowler
    • B. McCarthy Substitution In82′
    • J. Roberts
    • J. Vogel Substitution In85′
    • J. Brown
    • C. Villanueva
    • D. Simpson

    Injured

    • D. Dunn
    • V. Grella
    • S. Reid

    Suspended

    None

  • Liverpool

    Manager: Rafael Benitez

    Captain: Steven Gerrard

    Starting line-up

    • J. Reina
    • A. Arbeloa Yellow Card
    • J. Carragher
    • S. Hyypia
    • E. Insua
    • J. Mascherano
    • S. Gerrard Goal
    • X. Alonso Goal
    • Y. Benayoun Goal Substitution Out (88′)
    • R. Babel Yellow Card Substitution Out (64′)
    • D. Kuyt

    Subs

    • R. Keane
    • A. Riera Substitution In88′
    • A. Dossena
    • D. Agger
    • N. El Zhar Substitution In64′
    • L. Lucas
    • D. Cavalieri

    Injured

    • F. Aurelio
    • F. Torres
    • P. Degen
    • M. Skrtel

    Suspended

    None