The Report: Liverpool FC vs. FC Gomel

The Review: Liverpool FC vs. FC Gomel

Liverpool 3-0 Gomel (Agg: Liverpool 4-0 Gomel)

Ø  Borini 21’

Ø  Gerrard 41’

Ø  Johnson 72’

o   Woodwork No#1 of the season from Steven Gerrard

o   Need to win 17 more matches if Liverpool have to win the UEFA Europa League

o   First home match of the season

o   Gerrard scores his 150^th career goal for Liverpool

 Pre-match practice session

Coming into the match after a mediocre performance in Belarus on the 2nd of August 2012, Liverpool were expected to win the match by at least 2 or 3 goals. Liverpool had won the 1st leg of the fixture by the lone goal scored by Stewart Downing. Gomel who weren't that bad in the 1st leg, though failed to score goals even though they had pretty good opportunities at the Liverpool goal, then kept by Brad Jones.

Liverpool was boosted by the return of Luis Suarez, who joined the squad, after his national side, Uruguay was knocked out from the Olympics. Pepe Reina also was made part of the starting line-up. So was Daniel Agger and he started alongside Slovak Martin Skrtel at the helm of defence.

Brendan Rodgers' side were fully in control of proceedings against the Belarusian outfit, maintaining their winning start upon their return to European competition this term Liverpool cruised into the next round of the Europa League after an impressively dominant 3-0 win over FC Gomel at Anfield.

Brendan Rodgers’ sole signing of the summer, Fabio Borini, scored his first competitive goal for the club, driving home from inside the box to beat the goalkeeper at his near post.

Their second goal of the game came just minutes before the half-time whistle, with Luis Suarez turning his man inside out before laying it on a plate for Steven Gerrard to tap home into an empty net.

In a quieter second half, Glen Johnson scored the goal of the game, adding the icing on the cake in what represented a fine return to European football for the club on home soil, as he volleyed home with a sweetly hit left-foot strike from the edge of the box.

Rodgers rang the changes from the side that emerged victorious from the first leg, naming a strong starting eleven, with Pepe Reina returning in goal in place of Brad Jones and Daniel Agger taking Jamie Carragher's spot at the back.

Elsewhere, Lucas got his first competitive start since December in place of Jay Spearing while Jonjo Shelvey came into the middle of midfield instead of Jordan Henderson, with Luis Suarez taking the place of the injured Joe Cole out wide.

Liverpool began the game at a lively tempo as they sought to put the game to bed early on but, despite dominating possession, they failed to carve open many clear cut opportunities in the opening stages, with only a Steven Gerrard punt from the edge of the box to show for their efforts.

With FC Gomel struggling to get out of their own half, Suarez pinched the ball off Kuzmyanok's toes before racing in on goal, but with the angle against him, goalkeeper Vladimir Bushma stood up well and tipped his low drive behind for a corner.

However, the home side didn't have to wait too long for the first goal, and Borini was the main to break the deadlock. Suarez displayed some fabulous footwork on the touchline to turn his marker before sending the ball in to allow the former Roma man to rifle in a shot into the bottom left-hand corner on the 20-minute mark.

Borini’s shot and the 1^st goal at Anfield this season

The knife in the mouth celebration from Borini

Knife in the mouth with the slide

In a rare forward foray, just after the half hour mark, Dmitri Platonov stung the palms of Reina with a fierce effort from a narrow angle, before the ball was hacked clear away by Skrtel with the referee waving away weak claims for a penalty in the process.

Pepe Reina in action during the match

With Lucas and Shelvey controlling the tempo of the game from the middle, Gerrard was afforded the time to venture forward and get on the scoresheet following more good work from Suarez to beat his man.

Gerrard’s strike on goal

Gerrard heading off to celebrate after his 150th goal

The Gerrard Celebration

The second half started much in the same way that first ended, with the hosts bossing the game even if the tempo dropped off slightly.

Rodgers’ side looked full of purpose as they chased a third a goal and it took an excellent save from Bushma, diving low to his right, to prevent Suarez from opening his account for the season.

With the visitors seemingly content to sit deep and to try and threaten on the break, Liverpool found it more difficult to get in behind the Belarusian side's defence in the second half.

Suarez went close once again shortly after the hour mark with a free kick from the edge of the box which curled just over the bar with Bushma well beaten.

Liverpool managed to add a third in the 72nd minute, though, when Johnson ran onto a bouncing ball thirty yards from goal, before chesting it down and volleying home into the top right-hand corner on his weaker left foot for a stunning strike.

With the result all but academic, a raft of substitutions only served to disrupt the pace of the game and the two sides played out an entertaining fixture, with the interplay between Suarez, Gerrard and Borini in particular standing out.

Player Reviews and Ratings

Pepe Reina: Didn’t have much to do when compared to the Gomel keeper, Vladimir Bushma, but was there when the need came and made couple of good saves in the 1^st half. Average

Jose Enrique: Drastic difference in the performance of the full back from the pre-season friendlies and the 1^st leg. Was good going forward and was trying to attack at all times. Good

Daniel Agger: Not many attacks from the Belarusian side strikers. So not much work to do and was good to stop the Gomel attackers. Good

Martin Skrtel: Was good to thwart the attacks of the Gomel strikers. Good

Glen Johnson: The full-back was really good in defence and going forward as well. Deserved the goal, which was indeed a fantastic strike. Good

Jonjo Shelvey: Played that important deep lying mid-fielder role pretty well, but still is very young and requires quite some more experience to play against quality sides. Impressive

Lucas Leiva: As always, his presence is not felt by the team when the match is going on, it is felt only when he is not there on field. Good

Steven Gerrard: Captain Fantastic. Scored his 150^th goal for Liverpool. His link-up play with Suarez was simply a treat to the eye. Very Good

Stewart Downing: Was good on the right side of the field and gave important crosses at crucial circumstances. Good

Fabio Borini: Was very good on his debut at Anfield. Got the opportunity to watch his trademark the Knife-in-the-Mouth celebration. His link-up with Suarez was impressive, especially when mentioning that this was the 1^st time both of these players are playing together. Very Good

Luis Suarez: The Magician. Was in god mode in the match. Was able to find gaps in the Gomel defence and exploit them. The link-ups with Borini and Gerrard were just brilliant. Man of the Match. Brilliant

Charlie Adam: Came on for Jonjo Shelvey in the 76^th minute and made a few good passes right after he came on. Ok

Jamie Carragher: Was an icing in the cake for Carragher. 701^st appearance for Liverpool was a namesake substitution. Even though, as usual, this veteran was good for the last 13 minutes. Ok

Jay Spearing: Came on for Lucas Leiva with just 8 minutes to play and played a good part during his time in the pitch. Ok

Verdict

Good victory for Liverpool, but don’t expect this kind of opposition in the coming days. A satisfactory performance indeed. Hope the Suarez show never ends this season.

#WECOMENOTTOPLAY