The only minor cloud on an otherwise sunny day, both metaphorically and meteorologically speaking, was the withdrawal of Gerrard with what appeared to be a foot injury. The bench didn't seem too concerned and hopefully he will be fit for Sunday. Again Gerrard was good and it is really pleasing to seem him bomb forward looking to get shots away all the time and the goal came from a Gerrard forward run which drew the defenders attention away from Voronin who produced an unstoppable rising shot in to the goalkeepers top left hand corner.
Voronin has a good pre-season scoring quite a few and generally impressing with his all round play and he appears to have settled in very quickly to the team and looks a very good acquisition (if that is what you call a Bosman). I am not sure if he has got the absolute pace and quality to worry the top teams at home and abroad but if he can get 15 goals coming off the bench or starting against lesser teams such as Fulham then Rafa will have pulled off a great deal.
If the speed with which Voronin has settled in has surprised then what we saw from Benayoun against Toulouse wasn't a surprise. Against what has to be classed as weak opposition he struggled to make any impact and my fear is that Benayoun is a poor man's Luis Garcia which means he may be brilliant one minute and frustrating the next. I have always thought that those type of players are better suited to playing in the home games only where we inevitably get a lot of the ball and teams defend deep so we need a bit of creativity or individual brilliance to open them up.
So one-nil at half-time and really there had been little or no threat from the French which probably says a lot about the quality and standard of Le Championnat. In fact I was on holiday in France over the summer and watched a bit of the game between Strasbourg and Marseille and to be honest I turned off after half an hour as it was pretty dire stuff. Incidentally during that game Bolo looked decent and Cissé looked poor, doing his usual throwing of arms in the air and blaming his team mates for everything!
In the 2nd half Toulouse had a bit more of a go and once or twice whipped in a couple of decent crosses but it was quite obvious they didn't have the inclination or ability to trouble the Reds who looked solid at the back. Reina exuded confidence but so far this season I have been really impressed with Arbeloa who looks a bit leaner and bit less rash than he was last season, a Spanish Steve Finnan which is really quite a compliment.
Throughout the 2nd half the Reds strolled around much of the time and once or twice tried a few fancy flicks which didn't really come off but as Dean Saunders said on Setanta the Reds had another gear. I thought Deano was good value with his analysis and has obviously still got a soft spot for the Reds. In truth the Reds had another couple of gears and never needed them and Rafa took the opportunity to introduce Torres to give him a few more minutes under his belt. Unlike Villa on Saturday there wasn't really much time for Torres to impress although the earlier substitute Sissoko looked decent as he attempted to play his way in to some form following a dip in from at the end of last season and to be fair Momo did well.
Although it is only half time in the tie you would have to say it is job done as I cannot see anyway Toulouse can overcome the Reds by two goals at Anfield.
Man of the Match
Voronin - For the only real moment of sheer quality
Reds Rating:
Reina - 7
Looked very assured.
Finnan - 6
Solid as ever
Hyppia - 6
Did well in the air as expected. Got exposed out wide once in the 2nd half.
Carra - 6
Never troubled.
Arbeloa - 7
Played well in both games so far the season.
Benayoun - 6
Slightly disappointing but probably needs a little to settle in to Liverpool way
Gerrard - 7
Good again. Hope he is fit for Sunday!
Mascherano -7
Picked up where he left off last season by bossing the midfield.
Babel - 6
Not the same impact as Villa on Saturday but I am sure we will be raving about him by the end of the season
Voronin - 7
Could be the best finisher we have had since Owen departed and Robbie was in his pomp.
Crouch - 6
Little service for him really.
Travelling Reds - 6
They were there although they must have been doing more sunbathing rather than singing!