<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>July 26, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Liverpool crush S'pore 5-0 <!--10 min-->
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English Premier League club Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres (center) dribbles past an opponent during a friendly football match against Singapore's national team in Singapore on July 26, 2009, as part of Liverpool's Asian tour. --PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS, MY
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<DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=border_dbl2_bn></DIV><DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=marginb5></DIV><!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><DIV class=story_text>SINGAPORE - LIVERPOOL crushed Singapore 5-0 on Sunday for their first win in four pre-season games with Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin among the scorers.
Albert Riera and promising young Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth also found the back of the net in the morale-boosting win.
The Reds needed a victory to ramp up their preparations for the new season where they will start as one of the favourites to clinch their first title in 20 years after a credible second behind Manchester United in the last campaign.
To the disappointment of fans here, Steven Gerrard missed the match after remaining in England following his acquittal over an alleged assault but Torres played 30 minutes in a return from his summer break. And in a potentially significant move, Real Madrid target Xabi Alonso came on with 13 minutes remaining.
The unsettled 27-year-old didn't play any part in their 1-1 draw with Thailand last week but held talks with Rafael Benitez on Friday to discuss his future and his appearance was an encouraging sign for Liverpool fans.
The Reds arrived here after a sluggish performance against Thailand which followed a 0-0 draw with St Gallen of Switzerland and a 1-0 loss to Rapid Vienna. Despite this Benitez had insisted their pre-season plans were progressing well but he will be relieved to finally get a victory.
Ryan Babel had an early chance when he rose to meet a cross from Daniel Agger only to direct his header straight at goalkeeper Hassan Sunny. Agger was in the thick of the action and fired a 30 yard drive just over the bar soon after as Liverpool pressed their advantage.
They had most of the possession but badly missed Gerrard's penetrating runs and were fortunate to take the lead on the stroke of half-time when Voronin unleashed a 20-yard strike that beat the diving Hassan. They doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half when Riera chested down a Javier Mascherano cross and tucked the ball into the net from six yards.
Nemeth, one of the most talked about players in the Liverpool reserves, got his first goal for the senior side when he cooly planted his shot beyond the goalkeeper after Dirk Kuyt put him clear. Singapore were flagging and crowd favourite Alonso was instrumental in the next, starting a move that Torres finished with an easy tap in before Nemeth completed the demolition with seven minutes left.
Liverpool fly back to England later Sunday with a friendly against Espanyol on August 2 their next action, a game that is expected to see the return of Gerrard. -- AFP
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</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Liverpool crush S'pore 5-0 <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
English Premier League club Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres (center) dribbles past an opponent during a friendly football match against Singapore's national team in Singapore on July 26, 2009, as part of Liverpool's Asian tour. --PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS, MY
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<DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=border_dbl2_bn></DIV><DIV class=clear></DIV><DIV class=marginb5></DIV><!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><DIV class=story_text>SINGAPORE - LIVERPOOL crushed Singapore 5-0 on Sunday for their first win in four pre-season games with Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin among the scorers.
Albert Riera and promising young Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth also found the back of the net in the morale-boosting win.
The Reds needed a victory to ramp up their preparations for the new season where they will start as one of the favourites to clinch their first title in 20 years after a credible second behind Manchester United in the last campaign.
To the disappointment of fans here, Steven Gerrard missed the match after remaining in England following his acquittal over an alleged assault but Torres played 30 minutes in a return from his summer break. And in a potentially significant move, Real Madrid target Xabi Alonso came on with 13 minutes remaining.
The unsettled 27-year-old didn't play any part in their 1-1 draw with Thailand last week but held talks with Rafael Benitez on Friday to discuss his future and his appearance was an encouraging sign for Liverpool fans.
The Reds arrived here after a sluggish performance against Thailand which followed a 0-0 draw with St Gallen of Switzerland and a 1-0 loss to Rapid Vienna. Despite this Benitez had insisted their pre-season plans were progressing well but he will be relieved to finally get a victory.
Ryan Babel had an early chance when he rose to meet a cross from Daniel Agger only to direct his header straight at goalkeeper Hassan Sunny. Agger was in the thick of the action and fired a 30 yard drive just over the bar soon after as Liverpool pressed their advantage.
They had most of the possession but badly missed Gerrard's penetrating runs and were fortunate to take the lead on the stroke of half-time when Voronin unleashed a 20-yard strike that beat the diving Hassan. They doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half when Riera chested down a Javier Mascherano cross and tucked the ball into the net from six yards.
Nemeth, one of the most talked about players in the Liverpool reserves, got his first goal for the senior side when he cooly planted his shot beyond the goalkeeper after Dirk Kuyt put him clear. Singapore were flagging and crowd favourite Alonso was instrumental in the next, starting a move that Torres finished with an easy tap in before Nemeth completed the demolition with seven minutes left.
Liverpool fly back to England later Sunday with a friendly against Espanyol on August 2 their next action, a game that is expected to see the return of Gerrard. -- AFP
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