Another Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick helped Liverpool climb back into a European spot with a 5-2 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Argentine bagged his second treble in two weeks after opening the scoring in the first minute, with Dirk Kuyt and the irrepressible Luis Suarez also getting in on the act during a superlative exhibition of football.
Mousa Dembele snatched a consolation in the second period to deny Jamie Carragher a clean sheet on a day when he climbed to outright second in the club's appearance table having worn Liverpool colours an incredible 666 times.
The result means he and his teammates are now two points clear of rivals-for-fifth Tottenham having played a game more. The sides meet at Anfield on Sunday.
With Andy Carroll not fit enough to participate, Kenny Dalglish opted to photocopy his teamsheet from the 3-0 victory over Newcastle.
And Fulham were to suffer a similar fate to the Magpies by conceding an early goal to Maxi- this time after just 32 seconds. It was Lucas who drove the ball through Fulham's rearguard for Luis Suarez to run onto. His cross then ricocheted off Carlos Salcido before Maxi hammered into the net.
But we hadn't seen anything yet. On seven minutes it was 2-0 as another Lucas pass split the home defence. On this occasion Glen Johnson received possession before floating a cross to the back post where Maxi was waiting to execute a first-time volley into the bottom corner.
There was no let-up from the visitors, who were working together like ants who'd stumbled across a stray Wotsit.
On 16 minutes the game threatened to become a sporting massacre when a simple ball from Johnson evaded the defence before Kuyt smashed through the arms of the hapless Mark Schwarzer.
Suarez attempted a spectacular fourth after turning Brede Hangeland but failed to display any of the precision previously witnessed.
Next a brilliant throw from Reina set Suarez on his way. The centre came to Maxi, whose volley winged into the stands.
Fulham were as organised as a chessboard after an earthquake but you could not take anything away from a Liverpool side rolling back the years to Dalglish's first reign in charge.
Jay Spearing was attempting fantasy passes, Lucas shooting from 30 yards; Mark Hughes lent sullenly against his dugout. "We've come to the circus," shouted one Fulham fan.
But what was this? A shot from the Cottagers, Clint Dempsey angling his foot to meet a Simon Davies corner only for Johnson to divert the ball to safety from the goal line.
There was some bad news for Liverpool three minutes into the second period as Raul Meireles left the field clutching the back of his thigh, with Jonjo Shelvey stripping down.
Dempsey tried to capitalise on the reshuffle with a shot from 20 yards but Reina watched it fly over the woodwork.
Fulham were at last starting to play like a side unbeaten at home in the league this year.
And they got their reward on 57 minutes when substitute Bobby Zamora slid the ball to Dembele, who curled beyond Pepe Reina from just inside the box.
Zamora then had a header cleared off the line and suddenly there was a buzz on this stretch of the Thames.
But the fight-back was curtailed on 70 minutes when that man Maxi stole possession midway inside the Fulham half before lashing into the top corner from 25 yards. It was now seven goals in three games for the 30-year-old.
Shelvey then set Suarez up for a fifth on 75 minutes, threading the ball between two defenders before the January signing rounded Schwarzer and tapped into an empty net.
Sidwell whacked another consolation on 86 minutes from a similar distance to Maxi's third, while both Shelvey and Spearing were denied late goals by Schwarzer and Salcido respectively.
Liverpool hit Fulham for five at Craven Cottage on Monday night thanks to a treble from Maxi and strikes from Kuyt and Suarez. Here's the best of the action in pictures.
Liverpool
Jose Reina - 7
Picked up a silly yellow card for kicking the ball out of the stadium after Fulham scored to make it 1-3. From a Liverpool point of view it can be viewed as a positive - the Spaniard still obviously cares.
Glen Johnson - 7
Put him some good crosses into the box for Liverpool. One of them was turned into the back of the net by Rodriguez.
Jamie Carragher - 7
The centre-back captained the side in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard - his 666th match for the club and he won't have had too many easier games in that time.
Martin Skrtel - 6.5
Skrtel struggled a bit against Zamora and gave away some cheap free-kicks.
John Flanagan - 6.5
Another good performance from young Flanagan in his fledgling Liverpool career. He didn't do an awful lot wrong.
Rodriguez Maxi (Off 82') - 8.5
Seven goals in his last three games. Man of the moment for Liverpool. It is amazing what a bit of confidence can do for a player. The strike for his hat-trick was sublime - a right footed strike from 25 yards out.
Jay Spearing - 6.5
Definitely one for the future. His versatility will provide a boost to Kenny Dalglish's side next season.
Leiva Lucas - 6.5
Professional display from the Brazilian - he did what was needed with minimal fuss and never lost his head when, for a brief spell, Fulham looked like making a game of it.
Raul Meireles (Off 48') - 6
It was a rough game for Meireles. The Portuguese suffered more than a few blows to the head and he was taken off as a precaution with the game won.
Luis Suarez - 8
Suarez was killer in this Monday night game. He tore Fulham to shreds from the word go. Fulham backed off him and after some unselfish play Rodriguez made it 1-0 inside a minute. He was a constant threat from then on and fully deserved his goal to give Liverpool a 5-1 lead. Rounded the keeper with some style to score as well.
Dirk Kuyt - 7
Excellent work rate and got a goal as a reward. Very fortunate to score though, as Schwarzer really should have kept the Dutchman's shot out.
Subs
Jonjo Shelvey (On 48') - 6.5
Showed a bit of inexperience at times with his decision making on the break. Although when he did get it right it resulted in a perfect pass for Suarez to score Liverpool's fifth.
Cikarito 36 saat? Maxi 30 saat steady je tmbh lg sebijik min ke 7
ryosakazaki Post at 10-5-2011 03:31
sebenarnya boleh lebih dari 3 biji pagi tadi...
salah satu sebab ialah sebab carroll tak main...
kalau carroll main maxi nie mesti duk kat tepi padang je...
nk abes baru mengganas ... kalo dr awal sah2 terkujat MU n fans berlagak nk mampos diorg tu
hish maxi tu nk kena jual ke? ... jgn la jual ...jgn laa...
coz aku anti ABUberbatop tu 30 juta top score lagi tu n chicarito 6 juta tu beb dah 20 bij ...
apis^08 Post at 9-5-2011 06:42 PM
sedih beno ko nih.. betul punya tin kosong.. compare pun fail..
berbatov dah brapa musim ngan mengyu? brape kali top scorer?
chicarito ko nak compare ngan AC? cermin le sket wei.. this is england.. not mexico.. rege player england mana bleh murah macam chicarito.. patutnya ko compare chicarito ngan bebe.. baru sama level...
kalo xtau jangan kompang lebeh wei..bikin malu diri sendiri jek..tersentuh plak nanti
Post time 10-5-2011 05:09 AM
Author
this is england.. not mexico.. rege player england mana bleh murah macam chicarito.. patutnya ko compare chicarito ngan bebe.. baru sama level...
ni kene counter ngan fact..tu pun kalo dia tau fact la.. ni tau nak f*k orang jah...
