Archive for the ‘Fernando Torres’ Category
Football: Gerrard Leads Liverpool To FA Cup Victory Over Preston
PRESTON, England - Steven Gerrard put his testing week behind him by leading Liverpool to a 2-0 FA Cup third round victory away to fellow north-west side Preston North End at Deepdale here Saturday.
Goals from Spanish duo Albert Riera and Fernando Torres secured a victory for the Premier League leaders against the second-tier team which was only sealed in stoppage-time.
Gerrard, 28, could have expected to sit out this third round tie in normal circumstances, but having been charged with assault over an alleged incident that took place in nearby Southport in the early hours of Monday morning, manager Rafael Benitez opted to select his captain from the start as “the best thing for him and for us is to focus on football.”
The England midfielder, due to appear at a magistrates’ court on January 23, has been told he has the full support of his club and he was likely to have welcomed the chance to have played against Alan Irvine’s Championship outfit.
Having been embarrassed in FA Cup shocks by Burnley and Barnsley in recent seasons, Benitez underlined his determination to avoid another upset by naming a formidable starting line-up for this game.
Only goalkeeper keeper Diego Cavalieri, in for Spain international Pepe Reina, could be considered as a fringe player.
Liverpool started slowly, though, and the home side, buoyed by a run of four successive home clean sheets, attempted to make an early breakthrough.
Scottish winger Ross Wallace forced Cavalieri into the first save of the game with a curling left-foot free-kick on five minutes, but the striker lacked the pace to worry the Brazilian shot-stopper.
Preston’s defence struggled to cope with the penetration of Liverpool widemen Ryan Babel and Riera created a golden chance for Robbie Keane after racing to the byline.
His cross was perfect for Keane to slot into the net from six yards, but the Ireland striker sliced his shot so much that it almost went out for a throw-in.
Gerrard then tested Preston keeper Andy Lonergan with a snapshot from 20 yards before Riera gave Liverpool the lead with a classy 25th minute strike.
A Gerrard shot was half-cleared by Preston and the ball dropped to Riera on the edge of the six-yard box.
Instead of shooting with his right foot, Riera cut back on to his left and headed away from goal before beating Lonergan with a powerful left-foot shot from 12 yards.
Liverpool would have had the game in the bag by half-time had Keane taken two clear chances before the interval, but the former Tottenham Hotspur star’s poor finishing gave Preston a lifeline.
Keane continued in a similar vein in the second-half, missing at the near post from Gerrard’s cross, before Lonergan denied the Liverpool skipper with a brilliant save from his long-range shot in the 59th minute.
And five minutes later, Preston believed they had equalised when Sean St Ledger headed in Richard Chaplow’s cross.
However, a foul by Jon Parkin on Jamie Carragher in the build-up led to the ‘goal’ being disallowed.
Benitez ended Torres’s six-week injury-enforced absence by putting him on in place of the misfiring Keane 18 minutes from time.
Torres’s first effort on goal flew wide from 25 yards but his second, a tap-in from Gerrard’s injury-time pass, made it 2-0.
-AFP /ls
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Football: Benitez And Torres Close To Liverpool Returns
LIVERPOOL, England : Rafael Benitez is close to a return to the Liverpool dugout for Friday’s clash against Bolton, while star striker Fernando Torres should also be back in action soon.
Liverpool manager Benitez missed Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal while he recovered from a kidney stones operation, but he is expected to be back on the bench for Bolton’s Boxing Day visit to Anfield.
Benitez’s assistant Sammy Lee hopes his imminent return can provide the perfect boost for Liverpool to finish the year on a high.
“Rafa is a lot better, he’s on the mend. He has been in a lot of pain but he is improving,” Lee said.
“His presence is always missed, but the organisation he has put in place is such that even though he has not been here this week, the battle plan is still there.
“We know what we have to do, the game plan is there, it is business as usual.
“He is missed and hopefully he will be back with us for the Bolton game.
“He is a hands-on manager, it is hurting him more being away from the training ground really, but he will be back soon.”
The Bolton game may be too soon for Torres to return from a hamstring injury that has forced the 24-year-old to miss five matches, but Lee expects him back soon.
“Fernando’s progress has markedly improved. He is getting better. He improves with every training session and he has worked very hard on his rehabilitation,” Lee said.
“We will put him in when we see fit, that’s not evasive but I don’t want to start revealing our line-up.”
Liverpool go into the first of their Christmas fixtures on top of the Premier League and protecting an unbeaten home league record in 2008.
It is the first time Liverpool have been top at this stage since 1996, and two wins over the holiday period against Bolton first and then at Newcastle on Sunday will give them their best points tally in a calendar year for 19 years.
“The lads will be in training on Christmas Day, we have two very important games in three days coming up and they are very professional and accept that they have to have their Christmas at a different time to everyone else,” Lee added.
“They know the job in hand, they know what preparation is needed to stay at the top of the Premier League.” - AFP/de
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Football: FIFA Reveals Player Of The Year Nominees
ZURICH, Switzerland : World football’s ruling body FIFA on Friday revealed the remaining contenders for the 2008 World Player and FIFA Women’s World Player awards, to be handed out here on January 12, 2009.
The male nominees are Kaka (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Fernando Torres (Spain), and Xavi (Spain).
Nadine Angerer (Germany), Cristiane (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany) and Kelly Smith (England) will contest the women’s award.
This year heralds an increased field of contenders, moving up to five from the three of previous years.
All the nominees were confirmed after a poll in which the coaches and captains of men’s and women’s national teams from around the world cast their votes on the basis of a list of men’s and women’s candidates drawn up by FIFA.
In addition, the customary FIFA Presidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award will be presented.
AC Milan striker Kaka won the award last year, adding the accolade to his European Footballer of the Year honour.
Ronaldo recently picked up the prestigious Ballon d’Or for the European Footballer of the Year.
- AFP/vm
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