Preston 0 Liverpool 2

Victory in the FA Cup! A goal each from Riera and Torres saw off Preston to set up Liverpool a date with local rival, Everton. Preston gave a fight in the second half but thankfully Liverpool triumphed.

"Riera scored a beauty!"

Rafa Benitez started a strong squad against Preston. In the first half, Liverpool had the upper hand of Preston thanks to the difference in quality. Gerrard despite the problem he faced before the game showed no negative impact of it as he pulled off another great performance. He was threatening the Preston goal time after time but just couldn't get the goal. However, the first goal was scored by Riera. It was another beauty by him. He got the ball inside the penalty area on the right and then found himself space to blast it into the net.

The game stayed that way till the very final minute when Gerrard was in a one-on-one situation with the 'keeper. Unselfishly, he looked up to find Torres on his left and pass the ball to him after pulling the 'keeper to his side. Torres was substituted in for Keane and all he had to do was tap in for his first goal after coming back from injury. Fingers crossed, hopefully he can stay injury-free now on. Keane fumbled a few great chances in the first half to put Liverpool further ahead but he miss kicked all of it. I bet he was thinking, "Why such luck doesn't happen to me?" when Torres tapped in his goal.

"A sweet sight much missed by Liverpudlians!"

Despite the final score showed a rather comfortable victory for Liverpool, credit must be given to Preston as well for their attempt to fight back in the second half. They had a good period but were just not good enough. Their midfield was no fight to Liverpool's and as such there were few balls supplied to the strikers. On the night, the only disappointment was the injury to Alonso. He has been playing extremely well and to see him limping off at the end of first half was worrisome. He received seven stitches on his instep. Hopefully, he will not be out for anything longer than a month. His service should be badly needed in February when there are lots of difficult matches for Liverpool. It was nice to find out that Liverpool will now face Everton in the next stage. It promises another fiery Merseyside derby.


"You'll Never Walk Alone"