Sparta Prague 0 Liverpool 0 ( Europa League last-32, 1st leg ) , 17 February 2011

Liverpool's Glen Johnson 9 (in white) trying to clip in a cross







Kenny Dalglish waited 9,394 days to get the chance to manage Liverpool in Europe but after a turgid Europa League goalless draw against Sparta Prague he must have wondered why he looked forward to it so much.

The 59-year-old missed out on continental competition in his first spell as Reds boss because of the ban on English clubs after the Heysel disaster.

Despite the significance of his debut, this last-32 first-leg match in the Czech Republic is unlikely to live long in Dalglish's or anyone else's memory.

Goalkeeper Jose Reina was Liverpool's best - and busiest - player with a few good saves, but even then he was not severely tested.

The visitors' play was disjointed and lacked a cutting edge but crucially they kept a clean sheet and Dalglish will be hopeful next week's home leg, when captain Steven Gerrard should be available after a groin problem, will provide greater satisfaction.

In the biting cold of the Generali Arena the game never really got going and although Liverpool tried to gain control by holding on to possession they never managed to make any ground by doing so.

In fact, it was Sparta who created the few chances, most of which were created from wide positions as full-backs Ondrej Kusnir, on the right, and the particularly effective Manuel Pamic advanced at regular intervals.

That was in contrast to Liverpool's two wide defenders, with Glen Johnson, back in his more familiar right-sided role, and Danny Wilson, a centre-back playing on the left, rarely getting the opportunity to go forward.

Pamic gave Johnson problems in the first half and almost capitalised to great effect in the 17th minute.

Martin Abena slid a pass inside the England defender and Pamic raced into the penalty area to drill a low shot from a narrow angle which Reina parried to safety.

Even the normally unflappable Spain international was not immune to the general untidiness which littered Liverpool's play and when he could only parry Kusnir's deep cross into the path of Pamic he was relived to see the defender blaze over with his weaker right foot.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos was next to the Reds' rescue, putting in a diving block to halt former Reading midfielder Marek Matejovsky's shot as it travelled goalwards.

With a lack of central midfielders, having left Gerrard and expectant father Christian Poulsen at home, the last thing Dalglish needed was to see Fabio Aurelio forced off with an injury in the first half.

It prompted a reshuffle with Raul Meireles withdrawn from his advanced role, from where he had scored five goals in six previous matches, to allow Joe Cole to come on.

The second half was little different from what had gone before except for Liverpool enjoying slightly more possession.

But the successful passing game which had been so evident in their six-match unbeaten Barclays Premier League run never really got going.

Sparta continued to pose the greater threat, however, and Leony Kweuke headed just wide from range on the hour.

Liverpool's best chance came with 20 minutes to go when Lucas Leiva's lofted pass picked out Johnson on the right of the penalty area.

He weaved inside but instead of shooting with his left foot - with which he has scored some screamers from range - he opted for the outside of his right and poked the ball past the far post.

The match was held up for a couple of minutes after a flare let off by Sparta fans behind Reina's goal clouded the pitch in thick smoke and there would have been few complaints had it blanked out the rest of the game.

When play did resume Reina had to be alert to stop Kweuke's shot on the turn from a corner, while Matejovsky's 25-yard effort curled just wide of the goalkeeper's right-hand post.

Dalglish switched to a back three for the last six minutes, with Slovakian Martin Skrtel receiving a predictably hostile welcome from the Czech crowd when he replaced Ngog.

Kamil Vacek almost snatched a winner with a long-range strike which whistled past the upright but Liverpool held on for a clean sheet which makes life slightly easier for them in a week's time.

Teams:

Sparta Prague Blazek, Kusnir, Repka, Brabec, Pamic, Keric (Sionko 73), Vacek, Kadlec (Zeman 89),Matejovsky (Pekhart 90), Abena, Kweuke.

Subs Not Used: Zitka, Podany, Bondoa, Husek.

Booked: Repka.

Liverpool Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Wilson, Kuyt, Lucas, Maxi, Aurelio (Cole 38), Ngog (Skrtel 84), Meireles.

Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Pacheco, Jovanovic, Kelly, Coady.

Booked: Ngog, Cole.

Att: 17,564

Liverpool 1 Wigan Athletic 1 ( English Premier League, 12 February 2011 )

Liverpool's Raul Meireles ( in red ) firing home the first goal


Liverpool's ambitions of staging a late charge for Champions League qualification suffered an untimely blow as bogey side Wigan ended their four-match winning run in a draw at Anfield.

A fifth successive victory would have put the Reds within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea but despite dominating two-thirds of the game they failed to press home their advantage.

Raul Meireles impressed once again, extending his remarkable goalscoring spree to five in his last six matches, but at the other end Jose Reina's goal was breached for the first time in 463 minutes when Steve Gohouri prodded home from close range.

However, another positive note for Reds boss Kenny Dalglish was January signing Luis Suarez, on his first start since joining from Ajax.

He showed why the Merseysiders parted with £22.8million with a display full of energy, invention and determination.

Had the Uruguay international enjoyed more fortune his side would have won the game, having had a shot to make it 2-0 rebound off a post before the interval and a second-half free-kick cannon back off the crossbar.

Wigan, to give them credit, enjoyed a good spell after the interval which culminated in their goal and ensured Liverpool's record against them now stands at just two victories in their last seven meetings.

Suarez was into the action early, having a fourth-minute shout for a penalty turned down after a quick counter-attack from a corner and combining well down the right with Dirk Kuyt, who himself had a shot from the edge of the penalty area which had Ali Al Habsi grasping to hang on at the second attempt.

But the Wigan goalkeeper could do nothing about Liverpool's opener in the 24th minute as Meireles continued his scoring run.

Fabio Aurelio's cross from the left byline was partially deflected by the head of Gohouri but only as far as the Portugal international 16 yards out and he smashed home a right-foot volley .

Three minutes later Suarez almost doubled the lead with a manoeuvre reminiscent of the now-departed Fernando Torres.

He wriggled his way into the left edge of the penalty area before opening his body to shoot right-footed past Al Habsi only to see the ball rebound off the far post.

The Uruguayan was a willing outlet for Liverpool and Gohouri was booked on the half-hour for clattering into the back of him.

Wigan were in danger of being overwhelmed as Meireles continued to find space in and around their penalty area, blazing over from range on one occasion.

The closest the Latics came to producing a response was when winger Charles N'Zogbia fired in a low free-kick which Reina claimed easily late in the first half.

Meireles was replaced by David Ngog four minutes into the second half, with the Portugal midfielder heading straight down the tunnel to receive treatment.

But Suarez showed no signs of fading in only his second match since December 8 and Antolin Alcaraz had to resort to a foul to prevent him racing into the penalty area, for which he was booked.

But Liverpool's inability to seize complete control of the game and score a second gave the visitors hope and the threat of an equaliser turned into a reality in the 65th minute.

N'Zogbia curled an inswinging left-footed cross from the right which found its way to Gohouri who stabbed home from two yards out at the far post.

There was a suspicion of offside but it was only relevant if Alcaraz had got the slightest of touches on the way through and it was impossible to tell.

That was the first goal Reina had conceded in five matches and it threatened to undermine all Liverpool's previous hard work in putting together a run of four successive victories.

Suarez continued to impress and when Caldwell fouled him on the edge of the area in the 77th minute he picked himself up to curl a shot over the wall but onto the crossbar.

The Uruguayan, seemingly almost single-handedly at times, tried desperately to find the winner but found Latics captain Caldwell in particularly resolute form.

Aurelio fired a shot just over, which was followed by Martin Skrtel's header in added time as the hosts failed to find a way through.

The result put a check, for now, on lofty ambitions to break back into the top four but despite dropping points Dalglish will still harbour hopes they can still pose a challenge later in the season.

Unfortunately for Wigan, they remain in the bottom three.

Teams:

Liverpool Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Johnson, Maxi, Lucas, Meireles (Ngog 54), Aurelio, Suarez, Kuyt (Jovanovic 73).

Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Pacheco, Kyrgiakos, Wilson, Poulsen.

Booked: Carragher.

Goals: Meireles 24.

Wigan Al Habsi, Gohouri, Gary Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, N'Zogbia, Watson (McArthur 72), McCarthy, Diame, Moses (Cleverley 67), Rodallega.

Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Di Santo, Steven Caldwell, Gomez, Stam.

Booked: Gohouri, Alcaraz, Gary Caldwell.

Goals: Gohouri 65.

Att: 44,609

Chelsea 0 Liverpool 1 ( English Premier League, 6 February 2011 )

Liverpool's Martin Skrtel ( in red ) kicks the ball away from Chelsea striker Fernando Torres



Fernando Torres' much-anticipated Chelsea debut ended in disappointment for player and club as Raul Meireles sealed a memorable win for the Spaniard's former Liverpool team-mates.

Meireles hooked home from close range after 68 minutes to take the game - and potentially any lingering title aspirations - from the big-spending Blues.

It was a different story for £50million Torres though, with the most expensive player in British football history hauled off after 65 unremarkable minutes.

Torres received a noisy reception when his name was called, with his new fans cheering and his old ones booing the announcement.

The game was little more than a minute old when he had his first sight of Liverpool's goal, courtesy of a mislaid pass from Maxi Rodriguez.

The Spaniard took a couple of touches towards the edge of the area before aiming for the top corner, but there was too much elevation on the shot.

Liverpool continued to show nerves, Dirk Kuyt giving away possession in the middle of the park after under-hitting his pass to the lively Martin Kelly.

Torres followed suit when he next saw the ball, taking a heavy touch and surrendering possession under pressure from Steven Gerrard.

With Torres partnering Didier Drogba in attack, Nicolas Anelka's role was a more withdrawn one but the Frenchman struggled to create much in the opening 15 minutes.

Jamie Carragher and Kuyt combined well down the right to fashion a rare Liverpool attack but the Dutchman's cross could not find the waiting Meireles.

There was a heart-stopping moment for Martin Skrtel when Anelka nearly robbed him on the edge of the penalty box but the centre-half did well to hook away Ashley Cole's cross from the left.

Daniel Agger floored Torres, to the amusement of the away contingent, when he tried to pass him on the left flank but the free-kick was harmless from Drogba.

Torres gave a glimpse of his sure touch when he flicked the ball to Frank Lampard to set up a quick break and moments later he had the chance to show his predatory instincts from eight yards.

He got on the end of Drogba's pass but saw the diving Carragher smother his shot.

With 33 minutes gone Liverpool should have had the lead.

Following good work by Glen Johnson, Gerrard drilled the ball across the face of the Chelsea goal and to Maxi at the far post.

The Argentina winger fluffed his connection from point-blank range and saw the ball canon back off the crossbar.

If the first-half's lack of quality could be explained away as nervous tension following the Torres transfer, the drab start to the second was a disappointment.

It took seven minutes for the first move of note, Kuyt handing Johnson a shooting chance from 20 yards, and even then no save was needed.

The hosts started to come to life after that, Drogba and Anelka each forcing corners as they looked to test Reina.

Torres continued to be a subdued presence and it did not help his cause that each time the ball came his way, at least two former team-mates were on hand to relieve him of it.

Kuyt, meanwhile, was working hard in the Spaniard's former lone striker role but with Luis Suarez waiting on the bench Liverpool had more explosive options in reserve.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti clearly felt he did too and with 65 minutes gone he called time on an unremarkable Torres debut by sending on Salomon Kalou.

The Reds took the lead soon after, Gerrard breaking down the right and whipping a ball into the centre that neither Petr Cech nor Branislav Ivanovic came to meet.

The ball evaded Kuyt but Meireles was rewarded for his supporting run and hooked the ball home with aplomb.

Drogba tested Reina at the near post as Ancelotti's men attempted to rescue both the game and their title challenge and also made a hopeful appeal for handball in the Liverpool area with 10 minutes remaining.

Liverpool had chances on the counter, substitute Fabio Aurelio hammering one at Cech's near post and drawing a smart save.

The Blues became increasingly frenzied in their attempts to draw level and the first appearance of new £20million signing David Luiz, as a replacement, passed by almost unnoticed.

Ivanovic appealed for a penalty as injury-time began, but the officials were rightly uninterested.


Teams


Chelsea Cech, Bosingwa (David Luiz 73), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Mikel (Malouda 71), Essien, Lampard, Anelka, Torres (Kalou 66), Drogba.


Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Ferreira, McEachran, Sala.


Booked: Mikel.


Liverpool Reina, Skrtel, Carragher, Agger, Kelly, Lucas, Meireles (Poulsen 83), Johnson, Gerrard, Maxi (Aurelio 75), Kuyt.


Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Suarez, Jovanovic, Kyrgiakos, Ngog.


Booked: Lucas.


Goals: Meireles 69.


Att: 41,829

Liverpool 2 Stoke City 0 ( English Premier League, 2 February 2011 )

Liverpool's Martin Skrtel ( in red ) pressuring Stoke's Salif Diao

Luis Suarez scored on his debut as Liverpool concluded a turbulent few days with a valuable victory over Stoke.

The Uruguayan slotted home the Reds' second goal of the game in front of the Kop to ensure Fernando Torres' £50million move to Chelsea was no longer the major talking point.

And if questions were being asked about how the Reds would cope in their former striker's absence then efforts by Suarez and Portugal midfielder Raul Meireles - with his third goal in four matches - provided a swift answer.

Record £35million signing Andy Carroll's introduction to the crowd before kick-off was the closest he is likely to get to the pitch for a month as he recovers from a thigh injury.

Unfortunately for Liverpool this was exactly the sort of game from which they would have benefited from the 6ft 3in powerhouse striker.

Conversely, it did not seem that suited his fellow new arrival, although arriving as a second-half substitute with his side already ahead made the task much easier.

The ball spent much of the first half in the air, which benefited Stoke far more than it did their hosts, and as a result Dirk Kuyt found his role as lone frontman a frustrating one at times.

Saying that, he had at least three chances of which at least one would probably have been converted by Torres.

Manager Kenny Dalglish had tailored Liverpool's formation specifically for the Potters, lining up 3-4-2-1 with Lucas Leiva and Fabio Aurelio holding in midfield and Steven Gerrard and Meireles supporting the Holland international up front.

The first chance fell to Sotirios Kyrgiakos, returning to the team in that back three to combat the aerial threat of John Carew, as he headed Gerrard's corner goalwards only for former Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao to clear two yards out.

Jon Walters fired over an angled shot from 10 yards and Carew headed over another ex-Red Jermaine Pennant's right-wing cross, with the hosts having penalty claims turned down when the ball appeared to hit Robert Huth's hand.

Stoke's tactics of keeping everything compact squeezed the life out of Liverpool and disrupted their passing game.

Suarez's appearance off the bench to jog down the touchline brought a standing ovation from the Kop, who as a result almost missed Asmir Begovic's brilliant reaction save to keep out Glen Johnson's close-range header.

Kuyt nodded wide Gerrard's cross and volleyed over from close range before shooting straight at the Stoke goalkeeper when a rare passing move involving Brazilians Lucas and Aurelio cut open the defence.

Within two minutes of the second half resuming Diao was booked for bringing down the advancing Daniel Agger and from the resulting free-kick Liverpool, somewhat fortuitously, took the lead.

Gerrard's low, driven free-kick deflected off Marc Wilson on the end of the wall to Kyrgiakos 12 yards out and although Huth nicked the ball off the defender Meireles was on hand to smash home left-footed.

Carew almost snatched an equaliser on the counter-attack with a shot which flashed across goalkeeper Jose Reina and wide of the far post before, just after the hour Suarez got his chance to start repaying his £22.8million transfer fee - a club record for a few hours on Monday.

His first contribution was to engage Abdoulaye Faye in a sprint which resulted in the Stoke centre-back pulling a hamstring.

One clever backheel to set up Martin Skrtel showed the Uruguayan was not short of confidence, despite not playing a game since December 8 because of a seven-match suspension for biting an opponent while playing for Ajax.

His next involvement was more decisive and was what the Kop had been waiting for.

Kuyt's through-ball sent the forward racing through and having gone round Begovic he rolled the ball goalwards.

For a few seconds it appeared Wilkinson would cut out the shot but his desperate clearance came back off the post and bounced over the line.

While the crowd were still celebrating Reina ensured there was no frantic final few minutes by punching away Walters' shot.

Teams:


Liverpool Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Johnson, Gerrard, Lucas, Aurelio (Suarez 63), Meireles (Shelvey 75), Kuyt.


Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Maxi, Wilson, Carragher, Ngog.


Booked: Johnson.


Goals: Meireles 47, Suarez 79.


Stoke Begovic, Wilkinson, Faye (Collins 65), Huth, Higginbotham, Pennant, Wilson (Fuller 66), Diao (Delap 61), Whitehead, Carew, Walters.


Subs Not Used: Sorensen, Whelan, Jones, Etherington.


Booked: Huth, Diao, Carew, Collins.


Att: 40,254

Liverpool 1 Fulham 0 ( English Premier League, 26 January 2011 )

Liverpool's Martin Kelly ( in red ) slides for the ball with Fulham striker Clint Dempsey



Liverpool's renaissance under Kenny Dalglish continued as victory over Fulham lifted them into their highest Barclays Premier League position of the season.

It was not the most notable of performances, although there were plenty of spells of good football from the hosts, as John Pantsil's second-half own goal divided the teams.

But the Reds registered back-to-back wins for the first time since early November to move up to seventh, within six points of fifth-placed Tottenham, and maintain the feeling of optimism which arrived when Dalglish replaced Roy Hodgson earlier this month.

The last time the legendary Scot faced a Fulham team at Anfield he was player-manager on the occasion of a 10-0 League Cup victory in September 1986 against the then third-division side - and he did not even score.

There was to be no repeat of those fireworks, understandably considering Liverpool's still fragile form and the Cottagers' precarious position.

Until Pantsil put through his own net the main talking point was the goal Fernando Torres had disallowed after just six minutes.

Liverpool's last match, the 3-0 win at Wolves, had prompted much debate - and subsequent sexism controversy - about female referee's assistant Sian Massey.

On that occasion she made the correct call in not flagging Raul Meireles offside for the Reds' opening goal at Molineux.

Male counterpart Mick McDonough was not so accurate as he wrongly ruled the Spain international was offside before he slotted Meireles' through-ball past David Stockdale.

Fortunately for the assistant referee, Pantsil prevented him making the headlines.

Portugal international Meireles was man of the match at the weekend and he started brightly again as he kept the advanced midfield role even on captain Steven Gerrard's return after suspension.

It was he who got on the end of Martin Kelly's right-wing cross to direct a low header goalwards which the goalkeeper turned around his post.

Stockdale was called into action again in the 25th minute when Glen Johnson, playing at left-back, cut inside to unleash a right-footed shot which the keeper tipped over.

Clint Dempsey forced Jose Reina into a low save just before the half-hour but the Spain international should not have been given a chance seconds later when Andrew Johnson cut the ball back to the penalty spot but Moussa Dembele hit his shot straight at the goalkeeper.

Daniel Agger fired a low 30-yard drive wide and Torres headed over from Kelly's cross in added time at the end of the first half as the hosts failed to make their dominance pay.

Maxi Rodriguez had a shot blocked by Aaron Hughes but when a cross was swung back into the area the Argentinian wasted his free header with an aimless looping effort.

But that was forgotten when Liverpool took the lead in the 52nd minute.

Dirk Kuyt's interception of Dempsey's pass touched the ball into the path of Torres on the edge of the penalty area and he unleashed a shot which deflected off Brede Hangeland and rebounded back off the post.

Pantsil and Stockdale got in the way of each other in the resulting melee with the defender, under pressure from Meireles, slicing an attempted clearance over his own goalline.

The Fulham right-back tried to make amends when his cross picked out Dempsey but the American volleyed straight at Reina.

Meireles' quick counter-attack from Reina's throw almost brought the second goal as his attempted pass to Rodriguez deflected off Hughes and had Stockdale scrambling at the foot of his left-hand post to recover.

The Fulham centre-back proved equally effective at the other end as his header forced Reina into a full-length dive to prevent the ball creeping inside the post.

Seconds later Meireles displayed his rarely-seen defensive duties by hacking Hangeland's header off the line with the goalkeeper beaten.

Liverpool hung on, something they have struggled to do in the past, as Dalglish's influence continued to be felt.

At the final whistle the PA system played Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Optimism is definitely growing at Anfield.


Teams:


Liverpool Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson, Meireles,Poulsen (Aurelio 80), Kuyt (Shelvey 66), Gerrard, Maxi, Torres.


Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Cole, Pacheco, Wilson, Ngog.


Goals: Pantsil 52 og.


Fulham Stockdale, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Baird,Duff (Gera 63), Sidwell, Murphy, Dempsey, Dembele,Andrew Johnson.


Subs Not Used: Etheridge, Kelly, Salcido, Kamara, Greening,

Davies.


Booked: Pantsil.


Att: 40,466