Reading 2-4 Liverpool

The match ended with a scoreline of 2-4 in Liverpool's favour. While the starting lineup seems to send out the signal that Rafa prioritizes the Carling Cup over the Premier League, he did say not playing Torres was tactical as he was unlikely to get space against Birmingham, but he showed why he should be played every match. He was a notch over the other strikers in the twenty minutes against Birmingham, and today he was excellent as well. Well, roll on Wigan, and I hope this match buoyed the team's confidence somewhat.

The match started with Reading dominating the half, while Liverpool managed to score after a bit of skill by Benayoun. He touched the ball past one Reading player before making his way towards the goal, evading another defender before shooting past the outstretched arm of Federici. Convey equalized with a great shot that left Itandje with no chance, shooting first time after a clearance from a corner. The half ended 1-1 after Reading had been the better side, and Liverpool emerged in the second half with a performance much better than before.

Five minutes after the restart, Torres was put through by Sebastian Leto, who had a decent performance on the left wing as well. He held off his marker and rolled the ball into the bottom corner, keeper nowhere near the ball. He sent Liverpool back into the lead, but Reading equalized once more after poor defending from a corner allowed Halls a few stabs at the ball, and he netted with his second attempt after the initial effort was blocked by Aurelio. Riise and Gerrard then came on for Aurelio and Crouch respectively, and Riise ran down the left before cutting the ball back to Torres, who finished superbly, drilling past Federici into the top corner. He capped his performance with a hat trick when he was sent clear once more, and rounded the keeper to score. That would be his first hat trick for Liverpool, the first of many to come, hopefully.

Apart from that, Leto and Leiva had lively games, while Hobbs did get on for about five minutes at the end, the 19-year-old reserve captain getting a short taste of a real match, and Aurelio looks close to match fitness once more. A good win, although defending was shaky at times, but apart from that, on to the fourth round of the Carling Cup, and Wigan in the league this weekend!