Int'l Football: Liverpool beats Kaunas 3 - 1

July 26, 2005

Liverpool earned the upper edge in the Champions League, Second Leg, by beating Lithuania's Kaunas in dramaitic style.

The Reds were a goal down through Giedrius Barevicius who scored a close range shot aganist José Reina. Within minutes, Liverpool were back in the game with a Steven Gerrard effort, headed by Crouch and finished off by Cisse. Liverpool soon found their scoring touch through a corner converted into a goal by Jamie Carragher. It was his first in around 6 years.

The start of the second half saw captain Steven Gerrard fouled in the box and awarded a penalty. He took full advantage of the opportunity and converted it into a goal which saw Liverpool, with three goals up, looking likely for the win.

The game also marked the competitive debut of Peter Crouch who signed with Liverpool for around £7 million. Mohamed Sissoko, a former Valencia star, marked his competitive debut for Liverpool with much impact.

The game ended 3 - 1. With 3 straight away goals, it looks like Liverpool have a great chance of winning this leg.

The second leg is at Anfield on Tuesday, 2 August 2005.

Match Facts
FBK Kaunas: Kurskis, Zelmikas, Pacevicius, Kancelskis, Manchkhava, Barevicius, Rimkevicius, Klimek, Baguzis, Poderis, Tamosauskas. Subs: Kilijonas, Beniusis, Maciulis, Papeckys, Kunevicius, Kijanskas, Vadim Petrenko.

Liverpool: Reina, Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Potter, Gerrard, Alonso, Zenden, Cisse, Crouch. Subs: Dudek, Luis Garcia, Hamann, Morientes, Sissoko, Warnock, Medjani.

Referee: Knud Fisker (Denmark).