Benitez delighted by Torres return
Rafael Benitez hailed Fernando Torres’ stunning goal against Fulham and admitted he was looking forward to more selection posers.
Following Liverpool’s 8-0 win over Besiktas, manager Benitez named an unchanged side for the first time this season as the Cottagers visited Anfield on Saturday.
However, the Londoners proved a stubborn outfit and it was not until the introduction of injury-hit Torres that the Reds finally made the breakthrough after 81 minutes. Steven Gerrard then clinched a 2-0 win with a late penalty after Peter Crouch was tripped.
Benitez said: “It is good he is back fit, now I have the sort of problems I like with several fit strikers to choose from.
“It was important for Torres to be back and important that he can score goals like that. At the end I said well done to them all, not just Torres, his job is to score goals.”
Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez thought the result was harsh on his battling side.
“I felt we were heading for a point, and so I think did 43,000 other people,” said the former Northern Ireland boss. But Liverpool brought a bit of talent off the bench and it changed the game.
“I actually felt that Torres mis-hit his final shot, and that is what confused [Aaron] Hughes and [Antti] Niemi. It was a soft goal in the end to concede.
“As for the penalty, I don’t believe it was in the box, it wasn’t a penalty.”
West Ham piled on the agony for bottom side Derby, who crashed 5-0 to Alan Curbishley’s side at Pride Park.
Lee Bowyer struck twice while Matthew Etherington, Jonathan Spector and Nolberto Solano also contributed to the rout.
“A crazy 10-15 minutes cost us dearly and at the end it was men against boys,” Rams boss Billy Davies said. They let their heads go down too easily, they stopped competing.
“The confidence drained out of us, the belief drained out of us. That’s a disappointment.”
Curbishley was delighted with the result but his side’s injury problems are not easing with Bowyer and George McCartney having trouble during the game.
“Fantastic result for us,” said Curbishley, before adding: ”Lee Bowyer’s got to have something done. He was playing with a groin strain. He’s got to have an operation on Tuesday.
“We’re hopeful Georgie isn’t as bad as we think. It’s the way it’s been for the last month or two. Everyone’s been going on about the injuries, it’s there, everyone can see it. But it’s a little disrespectful to the players who have been playing. They have been picking points up.”
Sunderland boss Roy Keane was left to rue missed chances after his side allowed Newcastle to claim a 1-1 draw in the derby at the Stadium of Light.
Danny Higginbotham’s first goal for the club gave the Black Cats a deserved lead but the Wearsiders paid for missing a number of opportunities as James Milner equalised.
Keane said: “If you look at the chances and the performance, I think Sam (Allardyce) will probably be slightly happier than me.
“But I am pleased with the performance and the attitude of the players and the spirit with which they played. The priority for any derby match is certainly don’t lose it, and we did not do that, so we will take the pluses.”
