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The midfielder had the honour of firing home the club's fastest ever goal in European competition on 27 seconds before Ngog (penalty) and substitute Lucas Leiva put them back in the driving seat after Cristian Tanase had levelled with a sublime first-half finish. Ngog then put the icing on the cake with a well taken fourth in injury-time to take his tally to six for the season so far. It means Liverpool have opened their Group K account with an important victory and also sees Hodgson become the first Reds manager in history to win his first five European games. Going into the clash the boss had opted to make eight changes to his line-up with both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard amongst a host of players rested for Sunday's league contest at Manchester United. It provided Ngog with the chance to once again lead the line after a vibrant start to the new season, while it also offered the Kop its first competitive glimpse of former Porto star Raul Meireles and left-back Paul Konchesky. A winning start is always important when it comes to group competitions on the European stage and the Reds got off to a flyer when they struck after just 27 seconds. A careless mistake by Octavian Abrudan presented Cole with a clear run on goal and the former Chelsea man opened his account in his fifth outing for the club with a delightful right foot finish past Ciprian Tatarusanu. The strike sparked a chorus of famous anthems that helped inspire an added crispness to Liverpool's early passing game and Jay Spearing went close soon after when he collected the ball 30 yards from goal and lashed an effort just over the top. However, the early buzz soon faded and on 13 minutes the visitors put together a slick move that saw Bogdan Stancu release Tanase, who beat the offside trap before clipping a majestic finish beyond Pepe Reina and into the Kop end net. It was the first time Liverpool had ever conceded a goal to Romanian opposition in L4 and there were concerns that tally would double just four minutes later when Stancu's teasing cross from the right found Pantelis Kapetanos, but the forward was flagged offside, despite being denied by a stunning point-blank stop from Reina. Suddenly it was Ilie Dumitrescu's side who were posing the more probing questions and Daniel Agger had to be alert to clear at the near post after Mihai Radut and substitute Banel Nicolita had combined well down the right flank. The best the hosts could offer as the half came to a close were low efforts from distance courtesy of Ryan Babel and Cole, though neither attempt ever looked like beating Tatarusanu. Aside from the first few moments, it had been a frustrating opening for Liverpool and they took to the field for the second 45 knowing they would need to step it up a gear if they were to take the three points. A flowing move on 48 minutes almost saw them make a similar start the first period, but Maxi shot straight at the 'keeper when a cross might have been the better option. Next, Meireles gave a glimpse of his range of passing with a clever ball up to Ngog, who chested down to Babel, but the Dutchman saw his rasping volley well blocked. Liverpool were beginning to build a head of steam and on 55 minutes they were presented with the opportunity to restore their lead when Sotirios Kyrgiakos was pulled back in the penalty area by Kapetanos. Up stepped Ngog who coolly sent Tatarusanu the wrong way with a well struck kick into the left-hand corner of the net. With normal service resumed the home side set about putting the result beyond doubt but Meireles was denied a dream start in front of the Kop when Tatarusanu produced a superb save to keep out his low 25 yard shot. For all Liverpool's dominance the visitors remained a threat on the counter and almost punished Hodgson's side for some slack marking on 76 minutes when Kapetanos fired wide when well placed on the edge of the area. However, a third wasn't far away and just four minutes later Lucas smashed in a stunning 25 yarder after he was allowed to race towards goal unchallenged. Ngog then rubbed salt in Steaua wounds when he rifled home a fourth in stoppage time. |
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