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Fernando Torres hit a second-half hat-trick to earn Liverpool a 4-2 win and a place in the fourth round of the Carling Cup and send a timely reminder to coach Rafael Benitez.
Fernando Torres slides home his first
Benitez had left the Spanish striker, signed for £24million from Atletico Madrid in the summer, out of the starting line-up for their last two Barclays Premier League matches. But he returned with a vengeance to kill off battling Reading in a six-goal thriller at the Madejski Stadium. Liverpool, unbeaten in nine games this season, made nine changes to the side which drew with Birmingham 0-0 at the weekend. Only captain Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa survived from that team.
Reading made eight changes to the side which defeated Wigan 2-1 with Nicky Shorey, James Harper and Michael Duberry the only ones to retain their places.There was no hint of the drama to come after a disappointing opening to the tie. Reading should have gone ahead in the 20th minute when a cross from John Halls fell perfectly for Leroy Lita on the edge of the six-yard box.But the Reading striker failed to beat Liverpool’s debutant goalkeeper Charles Itandje who collected his downward header with ease.
Liverpool went ahead in the 23rd minute thanks to a magnificent piece of individual skill from Yossi Benayoun. He went on a solo run and beat Andre Bikey on the edge of the penalty area before firing a right-footed shot into the roof of the net.However, the lead was shortlived as Reading were level in the 27th minute through Bobby Convey. A corner from Nicky Shorey appeared to have been cleared by Momo Sissoko’s header but the ball fell invitingly for Convey and his angled volley found its way into the corner of the net. Torres, who had required lengthy treatment in the opening minute after a tackle by Bikey, went down again under a challenge from Duberry in the 34th minute.But he managed to run off the knock to his left ankle once more as Liverpool attempted to restore their advantage.
However, it was Reading who almost stole the lead before the break and again it was Convey who provided the threat.He looked certain to score his second of the game when the ball fell to him on the edge of the six-yard box but this time the Reading winger’s volley was superbly saved by Itandje. Liverpool spurned a real chance to restore their lead in the 48th minute when Torres set up Sebastian Leto but the Reds defender sent his shot wide of the far post. But the Merseysiders were back in front a minute later when Leto sent Torres through the middle with a slide-rule pass. The Spaniard made no mistake as he slipped the ball beyond Federici and into the corner of the net for the first of his terrific treble.
Moments later Bikey was booked for a foul on Torres as the Spaniard attempted to show him a clean pair of heels. Torres probably did not think he would be taking part in the Carling Cup when he signed for the Reds in the summer but after being rested for Liverpool’s last two Barclays Premier league games, he was clearly in the mood to send the right message to Benitez. The Spanish superstar may have found his omission hard to reconcile but the goal took his tally for the season to four in six starts.But while Torres was displaying all the reasons why Liverpool paid out £24million for him, Reading were far from finished.
In the 64th minute Liverpool failed to deal with another Reading corner adequately enough and when the ball fell to Halls, his quick footwork allowed him to send a low shot into the corner of the net for their second equaliser of the night.But Torres struck for a second time in the 70th minute when he converted a low cross from substitute John Arne Riise to restore Liverpool’s lead.The Spaniard was now in his element and four minutes from the end he capped a superb performance with his hat-trick.England midfielder Steven Gerrard, on as a late substitute, put Torres in the clear and he kept his cool to round Federici and slot the ball into the waiting net.
Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez watched Fernando Torres smash a second-half hat-trick in the 4-2 win at Reading and then refused to guarantee the £24million record buy a place in the starting line-up against Wigan this weekend. When asked why he was left out of their last two league games, Benitez replied: ‘This was a very different game to last Saturday, it is about space. ‘Will he start the next game? We will see. I cannot guarantee anything because I like to see my strikers during the week. We have four strikers and if I say now that he will play, it will be easy for Wigan.
‘I am only thinking about my team. Our supporters are very clever, they know that I am trying to do the best for the team. Fernando knows why he was left out. It was because of space. I didn’t need to explain it too much. All the players want to play in every game. ‘If you say to me that Dirk Kuyt is a worse striker or Peter Crouch is a worse striker or Andriy Voronin is a worse striker then I would play Torres every game. ‘But because we have very good strikers, I like to choose the strikers for every game and if it is necessary to change I will change. I am thinking about the best for my team. I think it was a terrific game for Fernando. But the team worked really hard and it was a very difficult game.
‘We knew it could be like that but with the space, Fernando is really dangerous. ‘But the rest of the team showed real character as well as Fernando. That is the key for me because you can play with one or two strikers working hard but other players not doing their jobs. But every player did a fantastic job.’ Reading boss Steve Coppell saw his side twice get back on level terms only for Torres to undo all their good work. ‘I thought we had some good opportunities but the difference was obviously £20million,’ said Coppell. ‘We are disappointed. You want to play against the best players and that’s where you make your reputation by stopping these people playing. ‘For us to come off and he’s scored three, then we are disappointed. With each goal he grew in confidence and became more expressive.
For the first 45 minutes he was fairly anonymous. ‘He didn’t contribute much in the first half but that is the quality of £20-odd million. He gives them what they don’t have with other players and that is just raw pace. ‘A couple of times it wasn’t a question of intricate play, it was just a question of kick it and run and he can run quicker than most. ‘Realistically he is yet to set the world on fire in this division but as he got his goals he grew in stature. We had to take more gambles and that only opened up more avenues for him.’
great red north (LiverpoolFC.ca) 
May 31, 2018 at 5:08 am
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