Aston Villa 0-1 Liverpool
Fernando Torres: 50 goals in 72 league games
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Tuesday, 29, Dec 2009 09:29
By James Christie
Fernando Torres snatched an injury-time winner at a snowy Villa Park as the hotly-contested race for a top-four spot in the Premier League took a further twist.
The goal meant that Torres has scored 50 goals in 72 Premier League games, making him the fastest Liverpool player to reach the half-century mark.
The result preserves the Reds' record of not losing at Villa Park since 1998 and the days of Stan Collymore.
Both Torres and his manager, Rafael Benitez, will be more interested in the fact that Liverpool are now just two points off fifth-placed Aston Villa and just four points off fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur as the Merseysiders chase Champions League qualification.
Villa settled as quickly as the snow flakes on the pitch; moving the yellow match ball around with pace and purpose.
But Liverpool, wearing shirts as Persil-white as the falling snow, were anything but invisible. With 17 minutes on the clock a 20-yard shot from Steven Gerrard had to be tipped over the bar by Brad Friedel.
It was a corner - conceded after Liverpool's erratic England right-back Glen Johnson lost possession - which nearly broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark; Stewart Downing getting a free volley in the six-yard box which would have burst the net but for Pepe Reina's superb reflexes.
The visitors launched the best move of the match just before half-time, a flowing exchange of passes between Dirk Kuyt, £20 million signing Alberto Aquilani and Gerrard almost engineering a scoring chance for Torres.
The second half began with a bizarre wardrobe change from Reina, the goalkeeper taking an eternity to put on new boots prior to a goal-kick.
Nigel Reo-Coker was rather more lively, marking his 250th league game with a fine run into the Liverpool penalty box, before a lack of support from his team mates saw the move break down.
The quality of the play was also fizzling out with Gerrard turning in the kind of patchy performance which is sure to merit mention on radio phone-ins.
Not until the second half was 24 minutes old did it come to life with a flurry of action; the previously-anonymous Gabby Agbonlahor shooting on target from a tight angle and Carew heading just wide from a corner.
Benitez responded by hooking Aquilani ten minutes from the end, his replacement, Ryan Babel, immediately spurning a glorious chance to snatch a close-range goal when he failed to make proper contact with a header.
Then, Liverpool were lucky that the referee adjudged it was ball-to-hand rather than hand-to-ball when Emiliano Insua tried to clear some danger in his own penalty box.
Jamie Carragher was also riding his luck, struggling to retain his balance and composure when faced with the muscular presence of Carew and Agbonlahor.
But he did make a fine clearance to keep the sides on level terms and his intervention took on extra significance when Stephen Warnock gave away the ball and gifted Torres his first half-chance of the evening.
The Spaniard needed no second invitation, slotting the ball home from inside the penalty area to give Liverpool victory at the death.
It was a result they just about deserved and one which could help them fulfil their manager's brave assertion that they will finish in the top four.