Torres Sees Liverpool Past Preston North End

Preston North End 0 – 2 Liverpool

Liverpool dominated proceedings at Deepdale for much of the first hour with Rafa Benitez fielding an extremely strong Liverpool side – perhaps weary following last season’s FA Cup exit to lowly Barnsley. Preston had spells of pressure but it was Liverpool that would ultimately triumph.

But it was Preston that had the early chances with on loan winger Ross Wallace testing goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri with a free kick. The Brazilian deputy saved well to his left to prevent an embarrassing start for Rafa Benitez’s side.

Preston had looked resolute and organised in defence early on and had some tidy if simple interplay going forward. However Liverpool’s class and numerical advantage in midfield began to bare fruition. Spaniard Xabi Alonso dominating in the middle of the park and summer signing Albert Riera’s quality shining through.

The former Espanyol man weaved his way through three Preston defenders on the left, driving into the box and cutting back precisely in the 11th minute to the advancing Robbie Keane. The Irish international misqueued his strike and sent the ball wide. It wasn’t the only opportunity he would spurn in the first half with Keane missing at least three guilt-edged chances.

Liverpool grew into the game, an impressive swivel and snapshot from Stephen Gerrard triggering vicarious vocal support from the travelling fans. The away team’s dominance was probably more due to Preston boss Alan Irvine’s tactical naivety in opting to deploy a 4-4-2 formation when an extra man in midfield was sorely needed.

This lead to the inevitable, which was Liverpool opening the scoring. It was a brilliant individual goal from the impressive Riera. He found himself driving into the right-hand side of the box following a corner from the opposite side. Cutting back, beating two defenders and rifling a vicious shot into the top left hand corner.

Liverpool continued to create chances, with Keane conspiring to waste them. Preston did have a short period of good pressure before the half was up, with Wallace making a fool of Jamie Carragher at right-back. His cross was easily cut out by the goalkeeper and in truth Liverpool looked comfortable in dealing with the threat.

The most significant development of the half was Alonso picking up an injury and his failure to re-emerge at the beginning of the second half draining the creative spark from Liverpool’s play. A lacklustre Lucas replaced the remarkable Spaniard. The away team then became more dependant on shots from range, the pick of the bunch coming from Gerrard on the hour mark forcing a good save from Andy Lonergan. Riera continued to show his class with great work on the left resulting in his cross flashing past an immobile Keane.

Preston then increased the pressure on the Premier League leaders, culminating in a disallowed goal for the home side. On first glance it looked to be a legitimate goal, Richard Chaplow crossing from the left onto the head of Sean St Ledger. However the replays showed Jon Parkin had needlessly held back Jamie Carragher, a pointless intervention that cost his side dearly. Though Parkin may have had a case for a penalty after being bundled over by Carragher himself.

The battling performance continued, but a wasted free kick from Wallace saw the introduction of Fernando Torres whose first meaningful contribution was to skilfully turn his marker and leave him for dead with an outstanding turn of pace. Unfortunately his strike wasn’t of the same standard and he skewed wide.

Liverpool then took the sting out of the game and finally killed it off in the third minute of injury time. A long ball forward saw a disappointing Ryan Babel hold off the last defender with Gerrard springing onto the loose ball. With Torres in support and no defenders in sight the conclusion was inevitable. The Spaniard was left with a simple tap in from short range.

In the end, the game was much closer than it needed to be and should have been over by the half-time whistle if it hadn’t been for Robbie Keane’s woeful finishing. Liverpool dominated the game and never seriously looked under threat, though once again they did ride their luck with the disallowed goal. In truth, Liverpool deserved their place in the fourth round.

--Owen Watson, Goal.com