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FOWLER AND CISSE FIRE REDS TO VICTORY
Liverpool have chalked up their fourth straight Premiership victory with a comfortable and deserved 2-0 success at The Hawthorns.
Robbie Fowler and Djibril Cisse netted before the break to put the Reds in command and, although the home side rallied after the break, the destination of the three points was never in doubt.
Rafa Benitez's side went into the game knowing Manchester United had already won at Bolton and so the pressure was on to claim victory and stay in the race for second place. There was never going to be any other outcome after a thoroughly professional evening's work in the Midlands.
The Reds' early dominance suggested they were in the mood to continue their recent excellent record at a ground where they had scored eleven goals without reply on their last two visits to this stadium.
It came as no surprise when the deadlock was broken as early as the sixth minute as Rafa Benitez's men served notice that they were in no mood to be forgiving towards a side fighting desperately for their lives at the foot of the table.
Only six minutes had elapsed when Djibril Cisse scampered down the right hand side and sent a low cross into the danger area at the far post where Robbie Fowler was on hand to joyfully slot home his second goal since returning to Anfield.
Fowler's goal was his 173rd throughout his two spells at Anfield - taking him ahead of King Kenny Dalglish in the club's all time goalscoring charts.
It was all Liverpool throughout a one-sided first half as the Baggies failed to recover from that early setback and failed on numerous occasions to cope with the Reds' fluid attacking movements which so often featured Djibril Cisse, Peter Crouch and Harry Kewell.
Cisse was in menacing form down the right hand side where his pace was too much for Paul Robinson to handle and it was the Frenchman who added a second before the break to confirm Liverpool's superiority on the match.
Xabi Alonso picked the ball up deep inside his own half and drilled a sensational ball forward over the top of the home defence. Cisse anticipated the pass and was first to react as he controlled the ball and rounded the goalkeeper before stroking his fifteenth goal of the season into the unguarded goal.
Bryan Robson made a change at the break when he introduced Hungarian midfielder Zoltan Gera to the action and he almost made an immediate impact with a dipping shot which just missed Pepe Reina's far post.
Cisse almost killed the game as any sort of contest shortly after when he again beat his man for pace down the right but this time drove his shot into the side-netting.
Reina was forced into his first save after 50 minutes when Gera again went for goal but his well struck volley was comfortably stopped by the Liverpool goalkeeper. Kuszczak then made a similar save at the other end of the field to deny Cisse grabbing his second of the night.
The home side enjoyed their best spell of the game midway through the second period and after 67 minutes Reina was forced into another sharp stop from another stinging effort from the lively Gera.
Liverpool were perhaps fortunate to escape a penalty claim with twenty minutes left when Greening's cross appeared to strike the arm of Carragher but thankfully referee Uriah Rennie, who was well placed, saw nothing wrong.
Greening had a chance to give the Baggies a late life-line in the game in the final ten minutes when the ball fell nicely into his path on the edge of the box, but his well struck volley flew over Reina's goal.
Substitute Fernando Morientes missed a golden chance to add a third in the closing minutes when he somehow contrived to turn Kewell's cross wide from close range.
It mattered little though as the Reds had already done more than enough to win an important three points and keep up the pressure on Manchester United in the battle for second place in the Premiership.
Teams
Liverpool: Reina, Riise, Hyypia, Carragher, Finnan, Kewell, Alonso, Sissoko, Cisse, Crouch, Fowler. Subs - Dudek, Kromkamp, Garcia, Morientes, Warnock
West Brom: Kuszczak, Robinson, Albrechtsen, Davies, Watson, Greening, Wallwork, Johnson, Kamara, , Ellington. Subs - Hoult, Clement, Gera, Kozak, Campbell
Referee: Uriah Rennie
Conditions: Fine and dry
Attendance: 27,576
Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Xabi Alonso |
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