A good job, too, given that a night of revelry and a morning nursing hangovers was ensured by Liverpool’s ruthless disposal of Bayer Leverkusen, the club founded by a pharmaceutical company. By piloting his team through to the last eight of the European Cup, Rafael Benítez can now rely on a lifetime of free drinks in the red portion of Merseyside.
As might have been expected, Steven Gerrard was a decisive presence, the captain playing a fundamental role in the two first-half goals scored by Luis García, the 26-year-old midfield player who Benítez signed from Barcelona last summer. Milan Baros also made a timely return to the scoresheet and if there was any hint of disappointment it was only that Jacek Krzynowek prevented Jerzy Dudek from registering a clean sheet.
Still, the airing of You’ll Never Walk Alone on the tannoy after the final whistle was fitting recognition for Liverpool’s win, achieved by a squad riven with injury. The draw for the next phase of the tournament, which will be held a week tomorrow, will be awaited with eager expectation. “The other teams, if they see our game, will be thinking, ‘Be careful, they are not so easy,’ ” Benítez said.
Sour memories of earlier experiences in Germany were swept aside. Liverpool’s previous visit to the BayArena, in 2002, had brought a 4-2 defeat, but the extent of their revenge was remarkable. Leverkusen, it must be remembered, were nursing a formidable home record that featured demolitions of Real Madrid, AS Roma and Dynamo Kiev.
Benítez took delight in soothing frazzled nerves. On Tuesday evening, the Spaniard had made an unscheduled visit to Jameson’s Irish Bar in nearby Cologne accompanied by Alex Miller, his first-team coach, and several hundred fans. His entrance coincided with Hernán Crespo’s winning goal for AC Milan against United. On such episodes legends are built and Liverpool played with the freedom of intoxication.
Gerrard returned from suspension, but Stephen Warnock was required to deputise at left back — he did so admirably — and Liverpool’s attacking options remained thin. Baros was again the lone forward, but this was not a team constructed with obduracy in mind.
By half-time, the tie had been settled. Liverpool defended stoutly, Leverkusen’s careful use of possession had brought only miskicks from Franca and Landon Donovan and García, who should have been celebrating a hat-trick, had twice beaten Hans-Jorg Butt. “Liverpool deserved to go through,” Klaus Augenthaler, the Leverkusen head coach, said.
If García was the plunderer, Gerrard filled the role of tormentor. It was his gentle cross from the right in the 27th minute that García met so adroitly, flicking a shot beyond the goalkeeper. Five minutes later, Gerrard steered the corner that Igor Biscan headed down and towards the far post, where Liverpool’s No 10 guided the ball across the line.
The mayhem could have been spread farther, but a long-range effort by Gerrard was parried by Butt and a curling shot from García suffered a similar fate. It dissipated any grievance that Liverpool might have felt after Baros had been felled in the penalty area by Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker, but they impressed without the intervention of the referee.
While Augenthaler made changes, the pattern of the match did not alter. Gerrard reached the byline and speared the ball across the face of goal but García could not finish. At the other end, Franca spurned a glittering opportunity when he struck the turf with a shot that bounced over the bar.
Dudek, whose mistake at Anfield had lifted Leverkusen’s spirits, was underemployed, but he excelled in tipping away a fierce shot from Franca and Leverkusen were not only guilty of profligacy but also of ignoring Gerrard’s capacity for menace. His fluid position behind Baros, strong tackling and sound movement troubled them constantly and his influence was unwavering.
As the game stretched out, Butt saved from Gerrard, but the result was put beyond doubt in the 66th minute, when Warnock and John Arne Riise combined and Baros collected only his third goal since November. The celebrations began in earnest and the party continued, even when Krzynowek beat Dudek shortly before the end. “After a game like this, we must be happy,” Benítez said.