The Hindu : Sport / Football : Luis Garcia hits late winner for Liverpool

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Thursday, Feb 16, 2006

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Sport - Football

Luis Garcia hits late winner for Liverpool

Liverpool: Luis Garcia scored an 87th-minute winner as Liverpool beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Premiership to close the gap on second-placed Manchester United to three points.

It was a win Liverpool fully deserved on the balance of play, but it would be a hard man who did not feel sympathy for Jens Lehmann, who saved a Steven Gerrard penalty and made a string of fine saves that seemed to have earned the Gunners an unlikely point.

The goal was the product of two substitutes. Dietmar Hamann's fierce drive was saved superbly by his fellow German, but, this time, luck was against him, and Garcia reacted sharpest to force the rebound over the line, consigning Arsenal to its ninth defeat of the season.

Lehmann had insisted before the game that even in its weakened state Arsenal had the quality to beat the European champion, but that was never apparent, and for much of the game, the German `keeper was all that stood between Liverpool and a comfortable victory.

His best save came after 21 minutes. A quickly taken free-kick from Xabi Alonso had found Gerrard wide on the right and when he slung in a cross, Philippe Senderos, under minimal pressure from Robbie Fowler, misread the bounce, allowing the ball to loop backwards off his head.

Lehmann, diving backwards, somehow clawed it away for a corner. Liverpool was utterly on top at that point, Gerrard and Alonso both caressing 50-yard balls to feet seemingly at will, and their only concern would have been how few clear chances their domination had created. Its forwards are without a Premiership goal in 2006 and it is not hard to see why. John Arne Riise had sent a 25-yard drive scooting just wide, but its only other real chance of the first half was gifted to them by referee Graham Poll.

Harry Kewell seemed to have overhit his flick for Fernando Morientes after 31 minutes, but Poll saw illegality in the way Emmanuel Eboue shepherded the Spaniard away from the ball and awarded a penalty.

Arsenal was furious, but Lehmann again came to its rescue, diving low to his right to parry Gerrard's kick. — AFP

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