Liverpool outplay Bayer to progress

Bayer Leverkusen 1 Liverpool 3 (Liverpool win 6-2 on aggregate)

Liverpool revived all the memories of the club’s great European paste tonight as they claimed a place in the last eight of the Champions League in emphatic fashion.

It left their army of fans chanting that they were going to win the trophy for the fifth time in their history – and when they play like this Liverpool believe they do have a genuine chance against their supposed European betters.

Steven Gerrard, who says he wants this level of football all the time, was the outstanding player on the pitch, running Leverkusen ragged.

But it was Luis Garcia – so far the nearly man of Rafael Benitez’s new-look Liverpool – who grabbed two priceless first half goals which ended the contest before it had even got warmed up, before Milan Baros finished off the Germans.

Liverpool turned their disastrous away form this season on it’s head to reach their 10th European Cup quarter-final in 15th appearances in the competition.

Liverpool were missing 10 players – either injured or cup tied – with Harry Kewell and Djimi Traore the latest additions to the list of absentees.

Youngster Stephen Warnock came in at left-back with Gerrard returning from suspension in his now familiar attacking midfield role.

Baros could have got Liverpool off to a great start after just four minutes when he took a Luis Garcia pass and found himself clear of his marker, but chose to get the ball onto his right foot and shot weakly at Jorg Butt.

The Czech wasted another half-chance when John Arne Riise found him on the edge of the box, and then could have had a penalty when he outpaced Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker and was clearly brought down in the box – but French referee Alain Sars waved away all appeals.

Baros’ pace constantly unsettled the Germans and he almost set up Gerrard for a clear chance before presenting his skipper with another opening – a 25-yard effort which Butt touched wide.

The corner was wasted, but Leverkusen did not clear it properly and the ball arrived back at Gerrard’s feet.

He instantly fed the ball into the box and Luis Garcia was on hand to clip the ball past Butt with the outside of his foot to give Liverpool the away goal they so desperately wanted.

Bayer then had to send of Andrej Voronin for the limping Dimitar Berbatov, but seconds later minutes they found themselves 2-0 down on the night.

Gerrard was again the supplier, sending in a corner which Igor Biscan headed down and Luis Garcia swept past Butt from close range.

Luis Garcia almost got his hat-trick when he was set-up by Baros – but his 12-yard drive was tipped over by Butt.

Gerrard started the second half in increasingly dominant form.

Bayer failed to get to grips with his roving role and he kept popping up in critical positions to break up play and feed Baros, Riise and Luis Garcia.

The England midfielder was everywhere, prompting, surging forward and finding space to drag the Germans out of position with clever, telling passes.

Leverkusen and sent on Clemens Fritz for ineffective USA international, Landon Donovan, eight minutes after the restart.

Two minutes later the hosts wasted their best chance to date when Daniel Bierofka crossed from the right and the unmarked Franca hooked the ball down and up over the bar.

Dietmar Hamann, playing despite not being fully recovered from an ankle problem which kept him out at Newcastle, was replaced in the 62nd minute by Vladimir Smicer.

And almost immediately Gerrard saw a blistering drive blocked by Butt and was alert enough to regain control and set up Baros for a close range chance the striker sliced badly across goal.

But in the 66th minute Baros finally found the net and finished the contest beyond question.

Warnock and Riise created the chance, and Baros jinked inside a defender to drill home the third goal.

Leverkusen sent on Gonzalo Castro for Carsten Ramelow, and Liverpool replaced Jamie Carragher with John Welsh, Biscan dropping into the back four.

Then Antonio Nunez took over from Steve Finnan, with the winger taking up the right-back slot as boss Rafael Benitez was able to test out a few ideas with the game more than won.

Jacek Krzynowek scored a late consolation goal – but Liverpool’s fans were by now reminding the world how they were going to win the cup for the fifth time.