Liverpool secured their place in the Europa League play-offs after a comfortable 2-0 win against FK Rabotnicki at Anfield.
Gerrard and Cole shine as Liverpool secure easy passage
Liverpool secured their place in the Europa League play-offs after easing to a 2-0 home win against FK Rabotnicki.
David Ngog scored both goals as Liverpool also won the first leg 2-0 and the French striker claimed a 21st minute opener in Roy Hodgson's maiden home match as Liverpool manager.
Steven Gerrard then converted a 40th minute penalty as the Reds' skipper shone in a deep-lying role in which he was seldom trusted by former boss Rafa Benitez.
The England midfielder was one of five changes from the first leg, with Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson also returning after World Cup duty while 19-year-old Dani Pacheco was handed his first senior start.
Joe Cole made his Liverpool debut and fellow summer signing Milan Jovanovic his Anfield bow, and both impressed in an attacking performance which offered much encouragement for the new season after a dismal campaign last term.
Hodgson deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Gerrard alongside Lucas, while Cole, Jovanovic and Pacheco played in behind lone striker Ngog, who should have had a hat-trick.
The Reds took time to settle, with Wandeir dragging a 25-yard effort wide for Rabotnicki, but the Macedonian visitors rarely threatened the home defence from there on in.
Early magic
The Anfield crowd got an early glimpse of exactly what they hoped Cole would add to the team, though, as his fine flick unlocked the visitors' defence, only for Ngog to fail to take it round keeper Martin Bogatinov.
Gerrard was beginning to spray it about before having a 20-yard drive turned wide and from the corner, Cole chipped it in from the left for Ngog to head in off the bar from eight yards.
Ngog and Cole both went close before the half-hour mark before Carragher headed a corner back in towards Ngog, who turned Fernando Lopes and was brought down in the box for Gerrard to sidefoot into the bottom-right corner from the penalty spot.
Ngog then almost laid on another for Gerrard after great work by Cole and Pacheco but his cut-back was poor.
Gerrard was even more involved after the break and shortly after the restart he laid off for Cole, whose right-wing cross drifted against the crossbar.
Gerrard then found Ngog with a fine diagonal ball, although the Frenchman fired well wide, before Jovanovic had a 25-yard effort turned round the post after bursting in from the right.
Late chances
Cole twice tested Bogatinov at his near post as Liverpool threatened to run riot and Johnson had a long-range effort deflected wide following a Gerrard back-heel.
Pacheco blazed wide and Ngog twice failed to find the net with close-range headers while Gerrard and Jovanovic made way for Alberto Aquilani and Maxi Rodriguez.
Pacheco, Maxi and Cole all had close-range efforts blocked late on although Rabotnicki almost scored on the break as Marcio headed over and Filip Petkovski sidefooted against a post from a corner.
