El Nino Wins Us Derby

30 March 2008 Liverpool 1-0 Everton - EPL

BBC - Liverpool strengthened their grip on fourth place after Fernando Torres' 28th goal of the season gave them victory in the Merseyside derby - The Spaniard expertly slotted the ball beyond Tim Howard for the only goal of the game after just seven minutes. With Yakubu deployed as a lone striker Everton created very little, while Liverpool spurned several chances. A rasping Steven Gerrard volley hit the post, while Everton's best chance fell to Leon Osman who headed wide.

Torres: "I always feel confident that I can score at Anfield. I've got 19 Premier League goals here now which is fantastic for me, and I seem to score most of those in front of the Kop! I don't know why that is, but I'm always scoring at that end. It must be something about the stand, it is just different. I think 15 of those 19 goals have come in front of the Kop, and I always feel confident when I'm facing that end of the pitch."

Rafa: "I think Torres has more or less surprised everyone. We knew that he was a fantastic player and that he could score goals, but to score 28 in your first season isn't easy, especially for a foreign player. He is one of the best strikers in Europe and the understanding he has with Steven Gerrard is key for us. Also with Kuyt and Babel going forward the team has more balance and is creating chances."

Hyypia: "It's not over until May 11. We need to make sure we get enough points to be in that fourth spot until May 11. Of course it's sweet. Derby games are always different. I know what it means to all the fans, so now all the Liverpool fans, players and staff can be happy. I think it was a fair result. We had the game under control. It's a pity we didn't score more than one goal but one goal is enough. We didn't give them many chances and it was comfortable. The Man Utd loss brought us down a little bit but we still had the confidence to go into this game. We had the opportunity to go five points clear of Everton, so from that point of view the win is very important."

Masch Sent Off As Reds Lost At OT

23 March 2008 Man Utd 3-0 Liverpool - EPL

BBC - Wes Brown put United ahead from Wayne Rooney's cross before Liverpool's hopes were hit when Javier Mascherano was sent off for dissent before the break. Pepe Reina made some great saves but he was at fault when Cristiano Ronaldo headed home United's second and Nani's fine finish completed an emphatic win.

Rafa: "It's clear Mascherano made a mistake but he was only asking the referee a question. Ryan Babel was there and saw that he was just asking. I do not think that to ask is a big problem in the end. Maybe Javier does not know the referees. If you want to win you must have passion in a big game, and sometimes you make mistakes, but he was only asking the referee about a bad tackle. I have talked to him and he knows it was a mistake."

"The referee decided to give a second yellow and he couldn't understand. He was as surprised as me. I could speak to him in Spanish, so I said, 'Listen, it's finished.' He is a very good professional who has played a lot of international games all around the world, and he couldn't understand why he was sent off for just asking. It's difficult to explain some things that happen on the pitch and I think it is perhaps better to not say too much this time."

"We haven't had too many problems with referees in the last three or four years. I can see other teams but not ours. Tell me in which game over the last four years you've seen our players go at referees? We have a lot of respect for referees."

Masch Scores First As El Nino Reaches 20

BBC - Marek Matejovsky rounded off a free-kick move from 20 yards out to give Reading an early lead. Liverpool equalised in equally spectacular fashion when Javier Mascherano rifled his first goal for the club from 23 yards. Fernando Torres completed the turnaround by planting home an unmarked header from eight yards.

Rafa: "We know that Mascherano has a good shot on him and we've been encouraging him to shoot more when he sees the target. Fernando Torres scored another crucial goal, but he's scoring lots of goals thanks to his team-mates."

Italian Champions Who?

11 Mar 2008 Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool (0-3) - CL Last 16

BBC - Liverpool became the fourth English side to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with victory against Inter Milan at the San Siro - Fernando Torres scored brilliantly on the turn after 64 minutes to give Liverpool a comfortable aggregate win. Inter, who had Nicolas Burdisso sent off for a foul on Lucas Leiva after 50 minutes, wasted several chances. Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina twice saved from Julio Cruz, who also shot wide when clean through in the first half.

Two Men Show

8 Mar 2008 Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle - EPL

BBC - The Reds went ahead with a bizarre goal, Jose Enrique's clearance hitting Jermaine Pennant and looping in. Fernando Torres struck his 25th goal of the season by slotting home from a Gerrard pass, before he sent Gerrard through for the captain to wrap it up. Newcastle's best effort saw Obafemi Martins hit the bar from 40 yards.

Rafa: "Both Torres and Gerrard are playing well and that is important for us. If they have the space, with the quality and pace they have, they can kill defenders. Torres' goal was really good, Gerrard and Torres have a really good understanding and the goal came at a crucial time because it almost killed the game off. That helped us play with more confidence in the second half.

Boss on Owen and Torres

Rafa: "In the summer, Michael was one of the names on the list of strikers we were pursuing, but Fernando was always top of that list, and the one we wanted above all others. When you talk to Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher they say what a great player Michael is, and they wanted him, because he is a great finisher and a good striker. But Torres was our top choice because he was young, because he is very quick and he has such potential. He had all the conditions we wanted, and we are very, very happy with our decision.

"When Michael is fit he is one of the best forwards in the world. But we thought that maybe Nando was younger, quicker and could do what we wanted, which was to run behind defenders from deeper, and play for the team. It was not just my decision to buy Fernando, the scouting department were looking at a lot of strikers. They saw the pace and ability and hunger of Torres. Michael is great but we are happy that Torres is here.

"He has so much potential, and he is still learning. He knows he can improve, he knows he must get better, but the good thing is he is such a nice lad, so down to earth and he wants to improve and get better. He was the main player at Atletico, but he doesn't want to be the superstar. He is humble and he has a lot of good people around him, his family, his girlfriend who all have good ideas about his future."

Great Goals, Great Result, Great Game

5 Mar 2008 Liverpool 4-0 West Ham - EPL

BBC - Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick as Liverpool won their game in hand to move above Everton and into fourth place in the Premier League - Torres superbly finished Dirk Kuyt's low cross from 12 yards and struck after the break with a header following another cross from the Dutchman. The Spain striker hit the post with a diving header before netting his third with a low finish from a tight angle. Steven Gerrard scored the fourth with a spectacular long-range effort.

Gerrard: "Fernando is frightening. From the opening home game of the season to Chelsea when he scored a cracker, he has been consistent all the way. He got off to a good start then and now he has hit 18 Premier League goals, the first person to do that here since Michael Owen. So far so good and hopefully he can continue like this right to the end of the season. He has pace, power and is very direct but the most important thing for us is his work rate. He hasn't come here as a star, he is chipping in with his work as well and when you get that from a player as well you cannot ask for much more."

Oh So Sorry, Jaaskelainen

2 Mar 2008 Liverpool 3-1 Bolton - EPL

BBC - The Reds took the lead when Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen dived to save a Steven Gerrard shot but bizarrely diverted the ball into his own net. Ryan Babel drove in a shot after Dirk Kuyt hit the bar and Fabio Aurelio volleyed in to extend Liverpool's lead. Tamir Cohen headed in for Bolton but it was too late to have an impact.

Torres' 2nd Hat-Trick

23 Feb 2008 Liverpool 3-2 Middlesbrough - EPL

BBC - The Reds went behind when Tuncay Sanli headed in from six yards before Julio Arca's mistake let Torres around keeper Mark Schwarzer to slot in and level. Torres rifled in from 22 yards and side-footed in a third after Schwarzer rushed out of his goal without success. Stewart Downing poked in a shot for Boro but the Reds held on with the help of Jeremie Aliadiere being red-carded.

Carra: Stevie Stole The Show Again

19 Feb 2008 Liverpool 2-0 Inter Milan - CL last 16

BBC - Marco Materazzi harshly saw red on the half hour for two clumsy challenges on Fernando Torres, but Inter held firm. Torres forced a superb save from Julio Cesar, while Patrick Vieira was lucky not to concede a penalty for handball. But Dirk Kuyt eased home nerves with a deflected shot on 85 minutes and Steven Gerrard's firm drive sealed a fine win.Carra: "We would have been delighted at 1-0 but to get the second with a great goal by Stevie was the icing on the cake. He's one of the best players in the world and I think he is made for the Champions League, when all the top teams come up against us. You see some of the names Inter have got and he is the one that does the decisive thing at the end of the game. There were a lot of world class players out there on both teams and he stole the show again."

Shockinig FA Cup Exit

16 Feb 2008 Liverpool 1-2 Barnsley - FA Cup

BBC - Barnsley sent Liverpool crashing out of the FA Cup thanks to Brian Howard's dramatic injury-time winner at Anfield - Ryan Babel set up Dirk Kuyt to put the Reds ahead and only some super saves by Luke Steele kept Barnsley in the game. The Tykes levelled when Stephen Foster headed home Martin Devaney's cross and, although Liverpool poured forward, they could not beat Steele on his debut. Harry Kewell hit the bar for the home side before Howard's low shot into the bottom corner won it for Barnsley.