|
By Ian Hughes
|
 Benayoun's goal keeps Liverpool in the hunt for a first league title since 1990
|
Liverpool moved top of the Premier League and kept their title hopes alive with an injury-time winner at Fulham.
The Reds, above Manchester United by two points but having played two games more, struck very late after hitting the woodwork four times in the match.
Andrea Dossena hit the bar twice - each time with a header, Xabi Alonso volleyed against the bar and Fernando Torres dragged a shot against the post.
But on 92 minutes, Yossi Benayoun drove in from 12 yards to snatch victory.
Benyoun's strike was met with wild celebrations on the touchline as Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez and his staff released pent-up emotions after the had been frustrated viewers for more than an hour-and-a-half.
It had looked as though Liverpool would fail to win a game they had dominated, particularly in the first half.
And that would have seriously harmed their chances of winning their first league title since 1990.
But instead, they have applied maximum pressure on United, who play Aston Villa on Sunday.
Benitez's players were right to show their relief - having cut through their opponents time and again only to be frustrated by the frame of the goal.
Typically, Steven Gerrard and Torres were involved in most of Liverpool's best moments.
The Spain striker set up Dossena for Liverpool's first chance but the make-shift left winger saw his shot tipped over.
From that corner, Martin Skrtel's shot was flicked on by Dossena's head and the ball bounced off the top of the bar.
Fulham already looked a different side - despite an unchanged line-up - to the one that beat Manchester United last time out.
The hosts offered nothing in attack, as Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora were cut adrift from their team-mates.
Additionally, Fulham's defensive plan of denying Gerrard the space to work between the defence and midfield lacked execution.
It was the England midfielder who played in Torres but Mark Schwarzer was equal to the striker's low shot.
Schwarzer was beaten soon after when Alonso cracked a thunderous volley from 25 yards but again the bar came to the keeper's rescue.
There was a sense of deja vu when Gerrard and Torres combined again - an excellent one-two cutting open the defence - and not least because Torres' shot came back off the post.
Incredibly, Liverpool were denied by the woodwork once more when Dossena met Gerrard's superb cross with a diving header and it smacked back off the bar.
Surprisingly there was little urgency on show from Liverpool after the break.
Fulham's doggedness - which has seen them take points off all the top four sides this season - was again in evidence and seemed to be carrying them to a share of the points.
A weak Torres header was all Rafael Benitez's side could produce in the first 25 minutes after the interval.
Then an injection of pace from substitute Ryan Babel - on for Dossena - almost unlocked Fulham, but the Dutchman's cross-shot was cleared by John Pantsil.
It seemed to wake Liverpool from their lethargy and Schwarzer did well to push away Gerrard's low cross as a host of attackers queued up to add a finishing touch.
And after a goalmouth scramble, Yossi Benayoun - who had been on the pitch for only five minutes - flicked a heel at another Gerrard cross and the ball went only inches wide.
Benayoun created himself another chance in the final minutes, but his near-post shot went wide.
But the Israeli was fortunate to get a chance at redemption and he took it when the ball came his way in the box and he arrowed a shot into the top corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment