Robbie Keane grabbed his first Premier League goals for Liverpool in a 3-0 home win over West Brom.
Irish striker scores twice as Baggies well beaten
Robbie Keane grabbed his first Premier League goals for Liverpool as the title hopefuls eased to a 3-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion.
Irish ace Keane has endured a frustrating time of things in front of goal since his summer move from Tottenham Hospur, but displayed his killer instinct to see off the Baggies at Anfield.
Former Liverpool keeper Scott Carson had made a couple of good saves early on before the hosts made the breakthrough on 34 minutes.
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard's pass picked out Keane's angled run into the box and he deftly lifted his shot over the onrushing Carson.
And, just like buses, another one soon followed as Liverpool hit West Brom on the break, with Fabio Aurelio releasing Keane to round Carson and slide into an empty net.
Fernando Torres was brought on to replace Keane for his comeback and Alvaro Arbeloa curled home a sumptuous third in injury-time to finish off an outclassed Baggies side.
Positive approach
West Brom, who have not won at Anfield in 41 years, set out with a positive approach by opting for two strikers, Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller, when most sides arriving here barely leave one man up front.
They initially moved forward with confidence, but Liverpool had space down both flanks to exploit and slowly started to pull West Brom's defence apart.
Carson saved well from Gerrard and Keane, but although Albion were still abrasive up front, a home breakthrough was only a matter of time.
Daniel Agger's tackle halted Borja Valero in the act of shooting, before Jonas Olsson was booked for a foul on Dirk Kuyt after 18 minutes.
At this point West Brom were standing up well to Liverpool's quick passing moves, which frequently broke down around Keane, whose anticipation of balls into space was at times poor.
But Liverpool came close when Gerrard sent in Yossi Benayoun on the right. Carson did well to save the winger's shot, but the ball bounced up and onto the arm of Olsson before bouncing away for a corner. Referee Peter Walton ignored pleas for a penalty.
Four minutes later Liverpool did take the lead. This time Keane read Gerrard's run and pass into space to perfection and motored onto it to lift his shot over the diving Carson.
And it was Keane who grabbed another to silence the West Brom fans who had been abusing him because of his association with Wolves many years back.
His second came two minutes from the break when he latched onto a fine through ball from Aurelio after Liverpool had broken with devastating speed as they cleared an Albion corner.
Keane was in yards of space to round the on-rushing Carson before firing an angled drive into an empty net.
Purpose
Such a situation would have deflated many sides, but Albion came forward with purpose and spirit in the second period.
Robert Koren saw a long-range shot held by Jose Reina and another drive go wide before Albion opted for two substitutions after 56 minutes.
Luke Moore and Filipe Teixeira came on for Bednar and Do-heon Kim.
Keane got away from Ryan Donk in the box after 60 minutes, but Carson was out quickly to take the ball off the Irishman's toes.
Liverpool sent on Ryan Babel for Albert Riera after 66 minutes, the home side having been too quick to start coasting to victory and West Brom still showing spirit.
Torres' arrival finally came after 71 minutes, in place of the disappointed Keane, who had been striving for a hat-trick.
Torres was soon into the action, taking a Benayoun pass. A quick change of pace and a fierce low shot, saved by Carson, followed and the Spaniard was back in his stride.
Liverpool had to wait until the final minute for their third, when full-back Arbeloa cut in from the right to fire into the top corner.
| Liverpool |
Team Statistics |
West Bromwich Albion |
| 3 |
Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 9 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 3 |
Corners |
7 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
8 |
| 7 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 77.9 |
Passing Success |
79.8 |
| 33 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 72.7 |
Tackles Success |
77.3 |
| 51.5 |
Possession |
48.5 |
| 52.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
47.9 |
|
