Lallana, Henderson help Liverpool end frustrating week

Published October 5, 2014
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s Adam Lallana (R) shoots to score the opening goal during the English Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday.
—Reuters
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s Adam Lallana (R) shoots to score the opening goal during the English Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday. —Reuters

LONDON: Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson scored as Liverpool registered their first Premier League win since August with a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday.

Lallana’s first Liverpool goal was cancelled out by a controversial Saido Berahino penalty before Henderson’s driven winner helped last season’s runners-up climb to seventh.

Papiss Cisse struck twice to ease the growing pressure on under-fire Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew with 2-2 draw against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.

Steven Fletcher scored a brace as Sunderland beat Stoke City 3-1 to claim their first win of the season following five draws from their opening six games.

Leicester City were held to a 2-2 draw by fellow promoted side Burnley, who grabbed their second equaliser through Ross Wallace deep into stoppage time.

Elsewhere, Neil Warnock suffered his first league defeat since returning to Crystal Palace in a 2-0 loss to Hull City, who won for the first time since August.

Lallana scored his first Liverpool goal since signing from Southampton on the stroke of half-time at Anfield after a darting run and a neat exchange with Jordan Henderson.

Berahino equalised from the penalty spot in the 56th minute, but Raheem Sterling teed up Henderson for what proved to be the decisive goal five minutes later as it enabled Liverpool to bounce back from their mid-week defeat by Basel in the Champions League.

Rodgers brought Rickie Lambert into his starting XI in place of Mario Balotelli and saw his side make an enterprising start, with West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster obliged to save from Lallana and Lambert.

Inspired by Berahino, who saw a rasping shot parried by Simon Mignolet before heading over, West Brom came back into the game, only for Lallana to put Liverpool ahead in the 45th minute.

After wriggling away from three defenders, the England midfielder poked the ball to Henderson, whose clever back-heel freed Lallana to arrow a left-foot drive into the bottom-right corner.

Berahino sent Mignolet the wrong way from the penalty spot 11 minutes into the second half after Dejan Lovren was penalised for a foul on the West Brom striker that appeared to take place just outside the area.

SWANSEA (Wales): Newcastle United’s Papiss Cisse (C) scores his side’s first goal during their English Premier League match against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.—AP
SWANSEA (Wales): Newcastle United’s Papiss Cisse (C) scores his side’s first goal during their English Premier League match against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.—AP

But minutes later, Sterling shuffled into the visitors’ box and steered the ball back for Henderson, who swept a low, first-time shot past England colleague Foster.

Senegalese striker Cisse prevented Newcastle from slipping to a third consecutive away defeat by scoring a brace as his side twice hit back to draw at Swansea.

Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson set up goals for Wilfried Bony and Wayne Routledge early in each half, but Cisse replied on each occasion to buy beleaguered Pardew some breathing space.

Recalled striker Fletcher scored his first goals of 2014 as Sunderland belatedly registered their first win of the campaign at home to Stoke.

Connor Wickham’s fourth-minute header for Sunderland was cancelled out by Charlie Adam’s low strike in the 15th minute, but Fletcher struck either side of half-time to send Gus Poyet’s side up to 11th place.

Substitute Wallace scored a dramatic 96th-minute equaliser to earn Burnley a draw at fellow promoted side Leicester. Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez teed up Jeffrey Schlupp to put Leicester ahead and then restored the hosts’ lead after Michael Kightly had equalised in the 39th minute, but Wallace curled home deep into stoppage time.

Meanwhile, second-half goals by Mohamed Diame and Nikica Jelavic gave Hull success at home to Palace.

Published in Dawn, October 5th , 2014

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