óscar cardozo struck twice from the spot as sl benfica came from behind to triumph 2-1 in their uefa europa league quarter-final opener against ten-man liverpool fc.
daniel agger gave rafael benítez's men an excellent start in lisbon but the merseyside outfit were soon on the back foot and were rocked when ryan babel was dismissed following an altercation with luisão on the half-hour. liverpool's resistance was admirably stout at times, but óscar cardozo's second-half double leaves them needing victory at anfield next thursday.
what had looked set to be a cagey contest was given an explosive jolt after just nine minutes as steven gerrard won a free-kick to the left of benfica's area. completely wrong-footing the home side's defence, the england midfielder slipped in a low ball for agger to flick in deliciously.
shocked by that early blow, benfica quickly roused themselves, with angel di maría the orchestrator and both óscar cardozo and ramires unable to make the most of his promptings. taking matters into his own hands, di maría then rifled narrowly over and screwed another shot wide, either side of babel's red card.
fernando torres had an effort ruled out for offside as liverpool enjoyed a rare chance, but javi garcía promptly went close at the other end before reds defender emiliano ınsúa collected a yellow card that rules him out of the second leg. benfica maintained their pressure in the second period and after óscar cardozo failed to convert two more pinpoint di maría balls, the powerful striker took his competition tally to eight goals with a pair of penalties.
the first came after his own free-kick had rebounded off a post to aimar, who was felled by ınsúa, and just as liverpool's spirit seemed set to earn them a draw – with torres even missing a great opening on the break – jamie carragher was penalised for handball. the paraguay striker finished in fine style on both occasions.
liverpool bugüne kadar avrupa kupalarında 3 kere penaltılara kaldı ve üçünde de bir üst tura çıktı.
* 4-2 v as roma 1983/84 şampiyon kulüpler kupası finali, * 3-2 v ac milan 2004/05 uefa şampiyonlar ligi finali, * 4-1 v chelsea fc 2006/07 uefa şampiyonlar ligi yarı finali.
benfica ise, 2 kere penaltılara kaldı ve birinde eledi diğerinde elendi.
* 6-5 v psv eindhoven 1987/88 şampiyon kulüpler kupası finali, * 4-1 v paok fc 1999/2000 uefa kupası 2. tur maçı.
fernando torres struck twice in the second half, adding to dirk kuyt and lucas efforts before the break, as liverpool surged into the semi-finals.
liverpool fc moved within a step of reaching the first uefa europa league final, and perhaps redeeming a difficult season, with a 4-1 quarter-final second-leg victory over portuguese liga leaders sl benfica.
rafael benítez's team overturned benfica's 2-1 first-leg lead with two goals in seven minutes midway through the first half from dirk kuyt and lucas. fernando torres added a third in the 59th minute and although óscar cardozo's free-kick gave the visitors hope, torres struck again to send liverpool into a semi-final against his old side, club atlético de madrid.
benítez had said in his programme notes that liverpool, chasing a ninth straight home win in all competitions, might need to be patient and so it proved in the opening stages against a benfica side composed in possession. yet once they found their stride, liverpool took control. kuyt struck first when he got in front of júlio césar to head in steven gerrard's inswinging corner.
lucas made it two after 34 minutes, racing on to gerrard's defence-splitting pass and rounding júlio césar before slotting in. benfica's only notable threat before the break came when carlos martins' free-kick fell to sidnei beyond the far post and the defender fired the ball low across goal where it passed through lucas's legs before deflecting behind off yossi benayoun.
liverpool got their third with an impressive breakaway. javier mascherano found benayoun in the inside-left channel, he fed kuyt on the opposite flank and the dutchman's first-time cross was turned in by torres. cardozo, scorer of two penalties in the first leg, got home nerves jangling when he drilled a free-kick through the liverpool wall and past pepe reina. his next dead-ball effort deflected just wide and instead torres made sure of liverpool's 15th uefa competition semi-final appearance after being sent clear by mascherano eight minutes from time.
benfica bu maçta siyah deplasman formasını giydi. benim gibi gençlerbirlikli olup kırmızı-siyah forma koleksiyonu yapanlar için gayet ilgi çekici bir forma idi.
siyah formanın omuzlarından 3 er kırmızı şerit iniyor ve göğüsün biraz üstünden başayıp diğer tarafa doğru hafif kıvrılarak giden kalın bir kırmızı şerit vardı. ucuz bulsak da alsak dedim ama bu forma bu sezon liverpool, atletico madrid ve sevilla'dan sonra gördüğüm dördüncü kırmızı - siyah forma oldu. ispanyol ve portekiz takımlarının sezon formasının 70 euro ve ingiliz takımlarının 70 pound olduğu düşünülürse ancak 3-5 yıl sonra ucuzunu görürsek alırım artık...
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