[lfc-news] Fulham report - PA

PA Sport, 16 Oct 2004
Fulham 2 Liverpool 4

Ten-man Liverpool contrived a thrilling fightback as they recovered from two goals down at half-time to snatch their first Barclays Premiership away win under new manager Rafael Benitez.

The manager's Spanish compatriot Xabi Alonso, a £10million signing from Real Sociedad, did the trick with a stunning free-kick from 25 yards which took a slight deflection after the Reds had trailed sheepishly to a Luis Boa Morte double before the break.

Alonso started the match on the bench, possibly to save him for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Deportivo La Coruna.

However, it eventually dawned on Benitez that Alonso was needed sooner than that.

He also set up Liverpool's equaliser with a superb cross which enabled Milan Baros to claim a double of his own even though his first, just after half-time, would never have gone in but for Zat Knight's reluctant and probably unknowing intervention.

Fulham's misery was complete when Igor Biscan made it 4-2 with virtually the last kick of the match after arriving as another substitute. His smashing strike sailed beyond the hapless Edwin van der Sar.

Benitez's new-look team had looked good for their first away success in the league with an enterprising start in which Luis Garcia and Baros probed away at the Fulham defence and Djibril Cisse prowled with intent around the penalty area.

Boa Morte's opening goal, a simple tap-in after Salif Diao carelessly gave the ball away, might have been just a blip in the 24th minute.

Liverpool, beaten by the odd goal on their previous four trips to Chelsea, Olympiacos, Manchester United and Bolton, almost repaired the damage immediately when John Arne Riise's header from a lovely cross by Josemi just about cleared the Fulham crossbar.

But the Reds were stunned by a second Boa Morte goal in the 29th minute and left facing a considerable uphill task.

Brian McBride, who had crossed a beautiful ball for the first goal, was again involved with a clever flick.

Steed Malbranque spotted Boa Morte's run, supplying a perfect ball for the Portuguese winger to outpace Sami Hyypia and shoot low beyond the desperately advancing Chris Kirkland into the far corner.

The ubiquitous Boa Morte was lucky to escape a booking for a bad tackle but team-mate Adam Green was not so lucky a few minutes later although the free kick it produced for Luis Garcia was a tame affair and an easy collect for the towering Edwin van der Sar.

It was definitely luck, however, which sparked the Liverpool comeback in the second half.

Just three minutes after the break, with full-back Josemi having collected the first of his two cards for a foul on McBride, an attempted cross-cum-shot by Baros took a mighty deflection off Knight's backside and looped over van der Sar.

Still, Fulham looked as though they could keep the points until Baros struck again, shooting into an empty net after the goalkeeper palmed away Luis Garcia's diving header in the 71st minute.

The Londoners looked favourites again when Josemi was given his marching orders with 14 minutes to go - only for Alonso to work his magic three minutes later and Biscan to apply the gloss.

Fulham: Van der Sar, Volz, Knight, Bocanegra, Green, Malbranque, Pembridge, Diop, Boa Morte, McBride, Radzinski (John 75).
Subs Not Used: Crossley, Jensen, Rehman, McKinlay.
Booked: Green.
Goals: Boa Morte 24, 30.

Liverpool: Kirkland, Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Luis Garcia (Warnock 88), Diao (Alonso 45), Hamann, Riise, Baros (Biscan 90), Cisse.
Subs Not Used: Dudek, Sinama Pongolle.
Sent Off: Josemi (77).
Booked: Josemi, Luis Garcia, Traore.
Goals: Knight 50 og, Baros 71, Alonso 79, Biscan 90.

Att: 21,884
Ref: S Bennett (Kent).

REDS COMEBACK DOWN TO ALONSO

Rafael Benitez walked off the Craven Cottage pitch in animated discussion with Liverpool comeback hero Xabi Alonso - but he was serenity itself, explaining his team's stunning revival from 2-0 down to a 4-2 victory at Fulham.

"We had a stronger mentality and much more confidence - that was all," said the Spaniard following Liverpool's first Barclays Premiership win away from home this season.

But it was £10million signing Alonso, relegated to substitute for the first half, who was the catalyst for the dynamic recovery after the break.

He steadied a rocky ship in midfield, set up the equaliser with a superb cross and then made it 3-2 with a stunning 25-yard free-kick, just three minutes after Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men by full-back Josemi's second yellow card.

It saved Benitez more blushes after consecutive defeats on the road at Bolton, Manchester United, Olympiakos and Chelsea.

But he said: "All I told them at half-time was that if we got an early goal we still had a chance to win the game. We just had to be a bit more aggressive.

"I thought we controlled the first 20 minutes but then we lost two balls and conceded two goals. I cannot think exactly when but I've been involved in games like this a few times before.

"Xabi is a good player and made a big difference, but we have other players who can win games. I had to pick a team remembering that many of our players had travelled a lot during the week and were tired after international matches.

"We also had to consider a very important match against Deportivo in the Champions League on Tuesday.

"But winning away now is going to be very important to our season. When you play well at home - as this team does - and then you win away it tells you you can win in any stadium."

Milan Baros and a Zat Knight own goal put Liverpool back in the game after Luis Boa Morte's two brilliant first-half strikes.

Substitute Igor Biscan's stoppage-time strike made it an appropriate 4-2 scoreline, bearing in mind Fulham have not beaten Liverpool at Craven Cottage since 1966 - England's World Cup year.

Cottagers boss Chris Coleman said: "We need to wake up and smell the coffee and we have to learn to be at the races.

"Sure, Liverpool got two lucky goals to put them back in the match - but you can't make that an excuse. We never seem to get lucky goals, only difficult ones.

"I'm very disappointed. You shouldn't lose any match if you are 2-0 up at half-time. But signs of panic set in after they got their first off Zat's backside.

"We were still in it at 2-2 when Josemi was sent off. It is not good enough to say we were unlucky. Our heads went down, and that's a shame because largely they are all good honest pros.

"I'm still convinced our system is right and I am going to stick with it. I won't make excuses about suspensions or injuries."