Torres on fire as Liverpool destroy Hull

Fernando Torres scored a stunning hat-trick as the Reds crushed Hull 6-1 at Anfield.

This was the fourth Liverpool hat-trick for Torres, who took his goal tally for the season to eight in seven matches including five in the last two league games.

After a shaky start to the season, Liverpool have now won their last six matches, scoring 18 goals in the process. They currently lie third in the Premier league table, and have the best goal difference.

Rafael Benitez made one change to the side that won at West Ham last weekend, with Riera replacing Mascherano in a more attack-minded selection.

The Spanish winger had an immediate impact as his low ball in from the left was shifted out of his feet by the quick-thinking Torres before he rolled into the far corner.

It was far from an ideal start for Hull, who had lost their previous three matches, but they quickly hit back when Skrtel could only flick the ball up in the air from a cross into the box, and Geovanni cooly directed it into the corner from 10 yards.

Torres restored the lead on the half hour mark, slipping on to a Benayoun through pass, rounding Sonko and Myhill before side-footing into the net.

Hull simply could not live with the Spanish marksman and he sealed his hat-trick two minutes after the break, again found by Benayoun and again coming inside Sonko before firing home.

Liverpool began to run riot, and Gerard scored Liverpool’s fourth with a cross-shot from the left that swirled over Myhill's head and flew in-off the crossbar. Babel then converted Kuyt’s cross at the near post for the fifth, and in injury time Riera's shot struck Babel and looped over Myhill to make it six.

Watch all the Liverpool goals here.

Liverpool next head to Florence knowing that a victory would put them well on course for a place in the knockout stage of the Champions League. The Reds got off to a winning start in Group E with a 1-0 success over Debrecen and another three points against the Italian side would leave put them in a strong qualifying position. The Italians suffered a 1-0 defeat against Lyon in their first match and need a positive result to get their campaign back on track.

Torres double sinks Hammers

Fernando Torres scored twice to help Liverpool overcome battling West Ham. The victory, Liverpool’s fourth successive win, lifted Liverpool into third place in the Barclays Premier League.

The Hammers, still looking for their first win since the opening day of the season, started off brightly and came within a whisker of taking the lead within only two minutes.

The Jamaican-born Hines, making his second Premier League start, stole possession from the napping Carragher on the edge of the box but could only curl his shot against the upright.

The Reds though, adopting a 4-2-3-1 formation with Torres as the solo striker, poured forward and grabbed the opener on 20 minutes thanks to a dash of Spanish magic.

The West Ham midfield lost the ball to Emiliano Insua and his through-ball found Torres on the left who weaved around James Tomkins before blasting over the on-rushing Green.

But the home side were back in the game in the 28th minute when referee Andre Marriner adjudged that Hines had been pushed by Carragher in the box.

Up stepped Italian Diamanti for the spot-kick and although the ball flew over Pepe Reina, the Liverpool bench were incensed, claiming the striker had kicked the ball twice after slipping.

Liverpool fought back and grabbed the lead again with Kuyt's boot getting on the end of a towering Gerrard header from an inswinging Benayoun corner.

For all of Liverpool's possession, West Ham's frontline was always threatening and stunned the visitors on the stroke of half-time when Cole outjumped three defenders to nod in the equaliser.

The second period was a case of West Ham hanging on with a handful of players suffering from cramp as Liverpool poured forward looking for the winning goal.

The Reds finally clinched the game in the 75th minute when substitute Babel’s cross was headed into the corner of the net by Torres from eight yards.

Watch all the Liverpool goals here.

In their next match, Liverpool begin their quest for the Carling Cup with a third round tie against Leeds United at Elland Road. The two teams haven't met since Leeds' relegation from the Barclays Premier League in 2004 and, last time, Harry Kewell and Milan Baros were the Reds' scorers in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Elland Road.

Yossi hat-trick inspires Liverpool to fine victory over Burnley

Yossi Benayoun fired a hat-trick as Liverpool beat Premier League new boys Burnley 4-0 at Anfield.

Liverpool made two changes to the side that won at Bolton a fortnight ago.

Martin Skrtel returned to central defence in place of Greece international Sotirios Kyrgiakos, and with Javier Mascherano picking up a muscle injury while on international duty with Argentina, Yossi Benayoun came into midfield.

The absence of Mascherano meant that Steven Gerrard played in a much deeper role, alongside Lucas Leiva in the centre of midfield, while Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt were left to play just behind Fernando Torres.

The creativity produced by Benayoun showed he can help ease the pressure on Gerrard and Torres, and the lively Israel captain scored the opening goal with a fine individual effort in the 27th minute. He surged from midfield, turned away from Graham Alexander and moved into the box to fire across Jensen and into the bottom corner.

Liverpool went further ahead after 40 minutes with a dynamic five-man break from defence. Torres and Insua combined to set up Benayoun for a 20-yard shot that Jensen blocked, but only as far as Kuyt, who clipped the ball home from five yards.

Gerrard, playing in a deeper midfield role, still made an impact in attack as he forced his way into the Burnley box before squaring a ball for Benayoun to tap in for his second, and Liverpool’s third goal.

With the points secure, Benitez took the opportunity to give Philipp Degen his league debut 14 months into his Anfield stay.

This was Benayoun's day, however. The Israeli was denied a hat-trick by the offside flag after pouncing on another Jensen parry but he was not to be denied a second time when in the 81st minute, Voronin’s pass sent him clear in the box and he side-footed the ball past an exposed Jensen, having being played onside by Jordan.

Watch all the Liverpool goals here.

In their next match, Liverpool will kick-off their 2009-10 Champions League campaign with a home encounter against Debreceni on Wednesday. The Hungarian champions are something of an unknown quantity to the Reds as the two teams have never faced each other before.

Gerrard, Carragher to be fit for Spurs opener

We have good news all round concerning Liverpool's injury crisis going into this Sunday's Premier League opener at Tottenham.

Carragher is making good progress after twisting his ankle in last Saturday's 2-1 friendly defeat to Atletico Madrid, and is expected to play at White Hart Lane.

Skrtel is also reported to be in training and is expected to be fit in time to face Spurs. The Slovakian central defender has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in the friendly against Thailand on July 2.

Meanwhile, Liverpool is confident that Gerrard will be fit to lead the Reds out at White Hart Lane. The Reds skipper had earlier pulled out from the England squad for last night's international friendly against Holland in Amsterdam due to a tight groin (match ended in a 2-2 draw).

Gerard is desperate not to miss out on the chance to get the club’s title charge off to a flying start. Interestingly, it will be the sixth successive campaign that Liverpool have started away from home - Liverpool have never started with a home game under manager Rafa.

The Reds' Spanish trio of Torres, Reina and Riera also returned from their international friendly against Macedonia without any injury scares. We are especially pleased with that since Torres has come back injured from international duty three times in the past two years. Both Torres and Riera scored in the 3-2 win over Macedonia, showing that they are close to returning to top form.

Meanwhile, former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham believes Liverpool can win the Premier League title this season. The Reds finished in second position behind Man United last season however, Sheringham believes Liverpool could be lifting the title in 9 months’ time.
"I’m going for Liverpool," Sheringham said. "They looked so good at the end of last season.
"They will be the team to beat. United fans won’t like me saying it, but it’ll be their year.

All Reds fans are certainly looking forward to a good start against Tottenham this Sunday, and build up the momentum to challenge for the Premiership!

Reds can win Premier League 2009/10

I am looking forward to the new 2009/10 season of the English Premier League with hope and excitement.

It has been almost two decades since Liverpool last won the Premier League (I think it was called the First Division back then). And the time has come for us to reclaim the crown, and not let MU break our record for the most number of titles!

Last season, we came agonisingly close, finishing second, despite Torres playing only 20 games due to injury. If Torres and Gerard stay fit, I reckon we have a team that is strong and experienced enough to push for the title. Most squad members from last season are still around, except for Arbeloa and Alonso who have moved on to Real Madrid. Rafa has spent the money well to bring in exciting new talents Glen Johnson and Aquilani as replacements - these two players will add attacking flair to the side.

We definitely need to attack more and make extra effort to win games - we had too many draws last season which proved to be our undoing. Glen is an attacking right back who likes to go forward - he can put in those high quality crosses for Torres et al to bang them in. I have not seen enough of Aquilani to comment, but from what I have read about this guy, he is a great passer of the ball, just like Alonso. The guy is also more dangerous and has a better strike rate than Alonso - sadly however, he is still injured so we need to wait to see what the guy can do.

Meantime, we have Lucas who is more than capable of filling in for Alonso. Lucas has been in good form during the pre-season, scoring a goal in the recent1-2 friendly loss to Atletico Madrid. I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed with Liverpool's poor pre-season form, who only managed wins against an outclassed Singapore side and minnows FC Lyn.

Results from Liverpool's pre-season friendlies:
St Gallen 0, Liverpool 0
Rapid Vienna 1, Liverpool 0
Thailand 1, Liverpool 1
Singapore 0, Liverpool 5
Espanyol 3, Liverpool 0
FC Lyn 0, Liverpool 2
Liverpool 1, Atletico Madrid 2

I hope the team will put all those pre-season games behind them now, and give Liverpool a good start to the League competition when it opens this weekend.

By the luck of the draw, we will be playing in the first match of the season, the same team that we played in the final match of last season i.e. Tottenham Hotspur.

We easily brushed Spurs aside 3-1 in that last home match played at Anfield. However, this weekend's match will be an away game, and I am sure all of us still remember that this was one of only two away games that Liverpool lost throughout the whole of last season. We will be looking to avenge that defeat, which was caused by an unfortunate own goal by Carragher and a heart breaking last-minute goal scored by Russian striker Pavlyuchenko.

Both teams' central defence are facing injury problems going into the match. Liverpool defender Carragher took a knock on his ankle during the Atletico Madrid game, and both Agger and Skrtel are also racing to be fit in time for this weekend's game. Spurs has a much bigger crisis at hand, with Michael Dawson, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate all sidelined by injury. Redknapp has signed Sebastien Bassong from Newcastle as replacement, but the player will miss the Liverpool game as he is suspended for the first two matches. The game may also see ex-Liverpool striker Peter Crouch playing in his first match for Spurs against his former team mates.

Previous league results between these two teams:
2008/09 Liverpool 3, Tottenham 1
2008/09 Tottenham 2, Liverpool 1
2007/08 Liverpool 2, Tottenham 2
2007/08 Tottenham 0, Liverpool 2


Enjoy your football!