A full strength Liverpool side today clearly proved that when it comes to winning rival matches, there’s none better than them.
They defeated Everton 2 – 0 at Goodison Park in the Merseyrside Derby that witnessed this year’s Euro Cup hero Fernando Torres come back to goal scoring ways.
Liverpool started with the same side that drew against Stoke City last week. Tony Hibbert, who had a knee ligament operation last season, was back for the Toffees, and so was Mikel Arteta, who had recovered from flu just in time.
Everton almost capitalized in the fourteenth minute when a Mikel Arteta corner failed to get inside after getting headed by Tim Cahill.
Just after the second half, Yakubu was booked, and it was Torres, who continuously appealed to the referee about tough defending in the Everton box.
Torres answered the tough Everton defending by scoring two goals within 3 minutes and breaking his season’s goal drought.
It could have been much worse for the home side, if two more goals from Torres would have been allowed by referee Mike Riley: One was disallowed for a foul and the other due to the ball going out of bounds before the goal was scored.
After a 2-0 win, Benitez was all praise for Torres and said that his efforts in the 10-minute period of the second half won the game for Liverpool.
Meanwhile at Riverside Stadium, West Bromwich Albion won 1-0 against Middlesbrough as Jonas Olsson scored in the 53rd minute. Again, Zola’s West Ham scored a 2-1 victory over a 10-men Fulham at Cravens Cottage.
