The great red redeemer

SUNDERLAND might have brought the beach balls but Liverpool kicked sand in their face at Anfield yesterday.

As they bathed in the sunshine at the Anfield Road end before the game, the crammed visitors threw on inflatable after inflatable and laughed heartily at their own antics.

It was a smirking homage to the assistance they received when they beat Liverpool at the Stadium of Light back in October when Darren Bent’s weak shot was diverted past Pepe Reina courtesy of a beachball inside the area.

Laughter has been thin on the ground at Anfield this season and that Bent goal seemed to encapsulate the kind of poor luck and general dismaying results that have heaped pressure on Rafa Benitez.

Liverpool took just three minutes to silence the guffawing Sunderland followers courtesy of a stunning finish from Fernando Torres that was as beautifully executed as it was breathtakingly ambitious.

The Liverpool number nine picked the ball up on the left wing, cut just inside the box and then superbly curled the ball into the far top corner to send the Kop end into raptures.

With Liverpool seven points off fourth place and the Champions League qualification that comes with it, Rafa Benitez’s men seemed to have finally realised that being bold is their best policy at present and that was reflected in the ultra-aggressive early play as they peppered the goalmouth.

In fact, this encounter should have been over before the 20 minute mark.

Torres missed one golden opportunity from less than six yards after great build-up play by Steven Gerrard and Maxi Rodriguez before first Gerrard and then Agger failed to hit the target when well positioned as Sunderland simply failed to cope with the home side’s class.

“We could have scored three or four in the first half,” Benitez said afterwards. We had less tempo after the break but we still played well and had chances. Fernando is the kind of player who can score goals from anywhere and he has quality and not just with his first but his second was as good because he knew what to do and he did the right thing at the right moment.

“We know that we have to keep going and that it will be difficult but we have to try. The players have confidence and if we can play at this level I’m sure we will win more games.

“I think all the players we have are important and Fernando is a key player. We want to try and win the rest of the games this season and finish in the top four.”

Gerrard moved more into the middle of the park after the interval and linked up superbly with Maxi Rodriguez who had his best game for the club since his January move from Atletico Madrid.

Their class, and Liverpool’s tireless running, simply swamped Sunderland who had neither the ability or physical strength to quell the likes of Kuyt, Ryan Babel and Gerrard when they launched attack after attack. It was brutally clear that it was a case of when Liverpool would score again rather than if and an Anfield crowd that had become thirsty for more celebration was finally sated after an hour when Torres showed the other side of his game to make it 3-0.

It was a far more basic finish as he latched onto a short pass by Johnson to clip the ball past Gordon but aesthetics do not matter when 40,000 people are chanting your name and Torres was clearly delighted to grab seventh in just four matches.

Liverpool still refused to sit back after their third as Ryan Babel and Kuyt both shot over the crossbar when they should have done better and although Sunderland substitute Boudewijn Zenden forced Pepe Reina into his first real save of the afternoon during injury time, the day clearly belonged to the home side.

He who laughs last laughs loudest.

“Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say you were beaten by a far better team,” Steve Bruce said.

“Sometimes you take a beating and say ‘we were beaten by a good team today’.”

MATCH RATING: **** – It was a stunning encounter from a Liverpool perspective and a raucous and passionate Anfield atmosphere only added to an entertaining occasion.

REFEREE: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) 6 – Dowd did not have a bad game and let it flow when he could. He got through the game relatively unnoticed which is as it should be.