Liverpool 2, FBK Kaunas 0 (D,Post)
Aug 3 2005
By Ian Doyle at Anfield
RAFAEL BENITEZ should have a word with Steven Gerrard. Because every time the Spaniard insists Liverpool are not a one-man team, his skipper immediately proves him wrong.
A Champions League qualifier bordering on the instantly forgettable was roused from its slumbers last night with the introduction of Gerrard 15 minutes from time to finally break the resistance of a tenacious FBK Kaunas outfit.
His goal was his seventh in just four games this season as Liverpool took a further step forward in the defence of their European crown to set up a likely third qualifying round buttignment in Sofia next week.
Put into context, Gerrard has now scored more this campaign than the soon-to-depart Milan Baros managed in the final six months of last season. And while the standard of opposition must be taken into account - Welsh minnows TNS Llansantffraid were dismissed in the previous round - it is impossible to ignore the enormous influence Gerrard has on this Liverpool team.
Even his mere presence warming up on the touchline managed to lift an Anfield crowd that had witnessed a fitful display from a largely second-string side, that reaction surely making redundant any lingering fears Gerrard may harbour of being in the bad books of some supporters over his near-exit to Chelsea last month.
Admittedly, there was never any real chance of Liverpool surrendering the 3-1 lead they had taken in last week's first leg in Lithuania.
But they certainly made hard work of the victory, as a much-changed line-up struggled to impose their clear superiority on a Kaunas side that had demonstrated in the first leg their hardworking but limited qualities.
Until Gerrard's late intervention, there had been few highlights. Peter Crouch was under-standably muted on his Anfield debut before limping off with a suspected hamstring injury, Momo Sissoko showed flashes to justify Benitez's wisdom in hijacking his move to Everton while Djibril Cisse's late goal was just reward for an effervesent second-half display.
However, last night was more a case of getting the job done without too many mishaps as Benitez continues to juggle the inconvenience of summer Champions League football with his preparations ahead of an buttault on the Premiership.
It also gave the manager a chance to experiment, with varying results.
In placing Fernando Morientes alongside Crouch, Benitez put his faith in yet another untested strike partnership. With both in essence target men, it was an uneasy union with the players finding themselves often challenging for the same high ball and taking up similar positions inside the box.
Morientes has largely under-whelmed since his January arrival from Real Madrid, but now free of injury and ineligibility, expectations are greater for the forthcoming campaign.
Even allowing for the impending departure of Baros, Benitez has decent striking options at his disposal, but Morientes's style of play would suggest a preference to play alongside a smaller, pacier operator - someone like Michael Owen, perhaps?
The brief 10 minutes of Crouch and Cisse in tandem before the former's injury-enforced exit was far more encouraging, with the pair continuing to build on the embryonic partnership that gave cause for cautious optimism following the first leg.
Elsewhere, Sissoko's rangy, nononsense demeanour has already started to endear him to the Anfield faithful while also suggesting he will pick up his fair share of cautions in the coming Premiership season. That said, last night's pairing with Dietmar Hamann, a similarly destructive midfielder, meant Liverpool lacked drive from the middle of the park until Gerrard's arrival.
Benitez had hinted at squad rotation beforehand, and only three players who began the first leg - Crouch,, Boudewijn Zenden and Sami Hyypia - were named in the starting line-up. Zak Whitbread was rewarded for his fine pre-season form by taking the place of the rested Jamie Carragher while Sissoko made his first competitive start since his £5million move from Valencia.
In a low-key opening, Zenden spurned the first genuine chance on 13 minutes when he dragged a free-kick well wide after Steve Finnan had been felled.
Morientes then drew a save from Kaunas goalkeeper Sarunas Kilijonas with a header after Zenden's long throw had been allowed to bounce in the area, while at the other end Scott Carson held Nukri Manchkhava's 20-yard free-kick.
Any rhythm to the game was quickly halted by the infuriatingly over-officious referee Gianluca Paparesta, whose continual whistling for the most trivial of offences was even more tedious than the match itself.
Zenden saw a shot accidentally diverted away from goal by Hyypia after a poor punch by Kilijonas had fallen to the Dutchman, and Sissoko then had the Kaunas goalkeeper scrambling across his line to usher the ball wide from a speculative long-range strike.
If the Liverpool supporters that packed Anfield were becoming disgruntled by proceedings, spare a thought for the plucky 70 Kaunas fans who made the footballing trip of a lifetime from Eastern Europe.
The second half had to be better, and with an out-of-sorts Morientes replaced by Cisse, matters marginally improved. Luis Garcia had a good shout for a penalty turned down after a clear handball by Dainius Kunevicius, but the Spaniard should have pulled the trigger instead of dithering when a wayward Kaunas clearance fell kindly for him.
A swift counter-attack on 51 minutes between Cisse and Crouch ended with the Frenchman flashing a shot across the face of goal from an outrageous angle, but no sooner had the duo promised at least a flicker of worthwhile goalmouth action, Crouch was withdrawn as a precaution after complaining of a hamstring problem.
Kaunas had exposed Hyypia's lack of pace last week, and with Liverpool actively seeking a new centre-back, the Finn could have done without the slack pbutt that gave Manchkhava a clear shooting chance on 53 minutes, although, thankfully for the home side, the midfielder blazed well over.
By contrast, Benitez will have been pleased with the performance of Whitbread. The American, his confidence buoyed by the decent playing time he has been afforded this pre-season, showed few signs of nerves on his first European start and was solid throughout.
By now, Liverpool had found urgency in their attack. Another goalbound Zenden effort was hacked clear by Zelmikas on 69 minutes and Hyypia came even closer moments later with a soaring header from Hamann's left-wing corner that crashed against the underside of the bar and bounced clear.
Cisse was then denied on 76 minutes by Kilijonas following a neat pbutt from Gerrard. That was the midfielder's first contribution after coming on from the bench - his second a minute later proved decisive.
Gerrard gained possession on the right flank and curled in a low cross which, with Garcia loitering, keeper Kilijonas made a complete hash of and succeeded only in helping the ball into the net off his leg.
The luckless Zenden then saw a late effort unwittingly deflected wide before Cisse netted the goal he deserved, volleying in a deep Garcia cross at the far post four minutes from time.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Carson; Finnan, Hyypia, Whitbread, Warnock; Garcia, Sissoko, Hamann (Gerrard 75), Zenden; Crouch (Potter 55), Morientes (Cisse 46). Subs: Reina, Riise, Carragher, Alonso.
FBK KAUNAS (4-4-2): Kilijonas; Kancelskis, Zelmikas, Baguzis, Kunevicius; Pehlic (Barevicius 66), Petrenko (Klimek 46), Kvaratskhelia, Manchkhava; Rimkevicius, Poderis (Maciulis 87). Subs: Kurskis, Beniusis, Kijanskas, Papeckys.
REFEREE: Gianluca Paparesta (Italy)
ATT: 43,717
