وأدرك ويستهام التعادل مرتين خلال المباراة لكن توريس حسم المباراة لصالح ليفربول بهدف الفوز 3/2 قبل 15 دقيقة من نهاية اللقاء ، ليحتل ليفربول المركز الثالث برصيد 12 نقطة وبفارق الأهداف خلف مانشستر يونايتد الذي يلتقي مانشستر سيتي غدا الأحد في المرحلة نفسها.
وافتتح توريس التسجيل لليفربول في الدقيقة 20 من مجهود فردي رائع لكن ويستهام أدرك التعادل بهدف سجله أليساندرو داميانتي من ضربة جزاء احتسبها حكم اللقاء لقيام جيمي كاراجر بعرقلة زافون هاينز داخل منطقة الجزاء.
وتقدم ليفربول مجددا بهدف سجله ديرك كاوت ففي الدقيقة 41 لكن ويستهام أدرك التعادل في الثواني الأخيرة من الشوط الأول بهدف للاعب كارلتون كول.
وفي الشوط الثاني سيطر ليفربول على مجريات اللعب ومرر اللاعب البديل ريان بابل كرة رائعة إلى توريس الذي لم يتردد في إسكانها الشباك معلنا فوز ليفربول 3/2
'Robbed,' declared Steve Bruce with ample cause. If Liverpool are rising from the dead with a regularity, it was the referee who revived them here.
For 75 minutes a fine Wigan side, gloriously spearheaded by Amr Zaki, who scored twice, were set for a famous win. Then they lost Antonio Valencia to an arguable pair of yellow cards, opening the door to the hosts. Rafa Benítez threw on attackers, Alberto Riera and Dirk Kuyt found the goals and Liverpool restored morale. Where he should have been celebrating, Bruce was left bemoaning.
Why, Bruce asked, had Alan Wiley booked Valencia for encroaching at a free-kick where Liverpool players were jostling Wigan men in the wall, and which Xabi Alonso appeared to have taken? Did Valencia's subsequent tackle on the Spaniard turn illegal as soon as the midfielder lifted his feet off the ground?
'That decision, for me, has totally changed the game,' Bruce said. 'We do feel absolutely harshly treated, because to come to Liverpool and get a result you need the referee to have respect. I keep hearing about this word, but there was none shown in that performance today.'
Wherever their opportunities come from, Liverpool keep rolling on. As the come-from-behind victories pile up, the talk in the Chelsea dressing room is that Manchester United may no longer be the team to beat to the title. On Sunday, Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge level with Chelsea, ready to play on both their opponents' nerves and their manager's.
'Can we keep winning like this? I will talk with my doctor and we will see,' Benítez said. 'I would like to score goals in the first half, but the Premier League is very tough. But again if we can show the character that we showed today it will be important for future games.
'Today, we needed to change everything and I thought the team showed great character. We were pushing, and pressing, and passing, and we had our chances. Thanks to this belief, we could win the game.'
If Benítez had made much play of Fernando Torres's loss to a midweek hamstring strain, Bruce had to cope with the international-inflicted absence of Emile Heskey. His solution was to adopt a Chelsea-like formation - three central midfielders, with Olivier Kapo and Daniel de Ridder drifting off the wings to support Zaki. Organisation and confidence unaffected, Wigan dominated possession and territory as they worked on Anfield anxieties and their makeshift defence. Reina rolled a ball out to Daniel Agger. The centre-back's first touch was heavy, inviting Zaki to press. His second was foolhardy, allowing the Egyptian to take it off him then sidefoot past the goalkeeper. Agger even had the temerity to turn to José Reina with arms outstretched.
Fortunately, the Dane found rapid redemption. Carrying the ball more carefully from his own half, Agger worked a one-two with Riera, finessed his way past Lee Cattermole then squared to Kuyt. Though the striker's shot flew straight at Chris Kirkland, it proved powerful enough to break through to the net.
Wigan stuck to their passing game, Valencia patiently holding possession on the right wing until he felt the cross was on. Dropping off a sleepy Alvaro Arbeloa on the far side of the area, Zaki's timing was still better, ending with an impeccable over-the-shoulder volley across Reina.
Celebrating his seventh goal of a remarkable first season in the Premier League, the 25-year-old jogged to the Egyptian flag-brandishing Wigan fans. His reputation mushrooming, Wigan will do well to exercise the £6m option on Zaki's loan deal before a wealthier club gazump them.
Long-range shots failing to find goal, Benítez exchanged both full-backs for extra wingers, creating a five-man attack. More pertinent aid came from the yellow cards Valencia saw for encroaching at a free-kick and a reckless midfield tackle.
Almost immediately, Nabil El Zahr, one of the substitute widemen, clipped the ball back to Riera and the Spaniard found a bottom corner. A previously unlikely Liverpool win became inevitable as Kirkland could only deflect Kuyt's flying volley on to the bar and in. Unjust, but justice does not win titles.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Ian Bolland, Observer reader If we keep doing that, I'll need a triple heart bypass by the end of the season! Wigan played very well and Zaki is absolute quality – when an opposition striker gets applauded by the Kop, that says it all. We weren't good, but it wasn't our worst performance. There was a lack of the movement that Torres gives us, but thankfully Kuyt is having a purple patch at the moment. He's taken a lot of flak, but he deserves credit. The game changed late on when the crowd looked at the clock and thought 'Oh dear' and got behind the team, and when El Zahr came on, as he gave us pace and he took the game to Wigan. I didn't see the tackle for Valencia's second yellow, but Alan Wiley didn't handle the first incident well.
The fan's player ratings Reina 6; Arbeloa 5 (Benayoun 6), Agger 6, Carragher 6, Dossena 4 (El Zahr 7); Alonso 7, Pennant 5, Gerrard 5, Riera 6; Kuyt 7 Keane 5 (Hyypia n/a)
Mark Ashurst, Observer reader That was an absolute disgrace. The league's corrupt. We can't have teams like little Wigan coming to Anfield and upsetting the applecart, can we? We were outstanding in the first half, Zaki scored two fantastic goals – he's on a different level to anything Wigan have ever had – but we didn't get a single decision in the second half. If they hadn't scored the winner, we'd have played till they did. The sending-off was the turning point. We were 2-1 up and comfortably in it. Yes, the tackle was reckless but the first booking was a joke. Gerrard asked for a free‑kick, and what the England midfielder wants... Alonso touched the ball, Valencia stepped out of the wall and got booked for encroachment. The crowd seemed to consist of Irish and Scandinavian tourists with cameras.
The fan's player ratings Kirkland 6; Melchiot 7, Scharner 6, Bramble 8, Figueroa 7; Cattermole 8; De Ridder 8 (Kilbane n/a), Valencia 7, Palacios 7 (Koumas n/a); Kapo 7 (Brown n/a); Zaki 9
Liverpool a prolongé ce samedi sa série de victoires en Premier League sur le terrain de West-Ham. A Upton Park, les Reds ont dû tout de même puiser dans leurs réserves pour l’emporter. Fernando Torres a offert les trois points à son équipe en marquant à un quart d’heure de la fin.
West-Ham – Liverpool : 2-3
Buts : Diamanti (29e s.p.), Cole (44e) ; Torres (20e, 75e), Kuyt (42e)
Auteur d’un début de saison alarmant, avec deux défaites concédées lors des trois premiers matches, Liverpool est en train de refaire progressivement son retard sur les équipes de tête. Ce samedi, en fin d’après-midi, l’équipe de Rafael Benitez a confirmé son redressement en revenant avec les trois points de la victoire de son déplacement à West-Ham. Toutefois, face à la bande de Zola, les Reds ont été poussés dans leurs derniers retranchements, et ce n’est qu’à un quart d’heure de la fin, qu’ils ont pu assurer la victoire. C’est Fernando Torres, qui a inscrit le but décisif.
West-Ham a bataillé, mais en vain
Sur son terrain, West-Ham a tout fait pour ne pas s’incliner. Même s’ils restaient sur un large revers essuyé contre les Reds (0-3), le 9 mai dernier, les Hammers ont mis un point d’honneur à ne pas rester recroquevillés dans leur moitié de terrain et proposer un jeu ambitieux et varié. Une démarche qui a failli être payante dès la 3e minute de la partie, lorsque le Jamaïcain Hines profitait d’une grosse erreur de Carragher pour se présenter seul face à Reina. Il a remporté son face à face face au portier espagnol, mais sa frappe a échoué sur le poteau. Voyant son adversaire très motivé, Liverpool s’est attaché à joué très haut, jusqu’à réussir à ouvrir la marque à la 20e. Fernando Torres trompait Robert Green après s’être débarrassé de trois défenseurs adverses. Les Reds pensaient avoir fait le plus dur, mais leur joie n’a été que de courte durée, puisque neuf minutes après le but de Fernando Torres, Carragher commettait l’irréparable dans sa surface en fauchant Hines. L’Italien Damianti se chargeait de rétablir la parité en transformant le pénalty.
A défaut d’agir, les Londoniens réagissaient avec brio et c’était pas peu dire, puisqu’ils ont remis ça juste avant la pause. A la 42e, Dirk Kuyt redonnait l’avantage aux visiteurs en propulsant dans les filets une tête de Gerrard, avant que Carlton Cole ne lui rétorque d’une reprise de la tête à la 44e. Deux buts partout à la mi-temps. Au retour des vestiaires, le rythme de la partie a baissé considérablement. L’on se dirigeait alors vers ce résultat nul, plus qu’équitable, mais c’était sans compter sur l’expérience des Reds et aussi l’opportunisme de Torres. L’attaquant espagnol eut le dernier mot dans cette partie, lorsqu’il vint couper de la tête un centre fuyant de Babel. Grâce à El Nino, Liverpool sortait finalement vainqueur de cette belle empoignade. De quoi emmagasiner de la confiance pour la suite du championnat.
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