Rampant Reds cruise through

Torres: Outstanding

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• Olympique Marseille

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• Steven Gerrard
• Fernando Torres

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  • Dirk Kuyt
  • Ryan Babel

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An inspired Liverpool performance against Marseille saw Rafa Benitez's men book their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

The 4-0 triumph sees The Reds finish second in Group A after Porto defeated Besiktas 2-0 in the evening's other fixture.

The Marseille faithful were left stunned as goals from Steven Gerrard (4), Fernando Torres (11), Dirk Kuyt (48) and Ryan Babel (90) sealed a glorious Reds victory.

Gerrard opened the scoring after hitting home his missed spot-kick, while Torres' sensational solo effort handed Liverpool a dream start.

Marseille pushed for a way back into the game, but a well drilled Reds defence gave them not a sniff at goal.

Erik Gerets made a trio of changes in a bid to turn things around, but Kuyt's powerful second-half strike and a late finish from Babel put the game beyond the home side.

Foolish

The deadlock was broken when Gerrard was foolishly chopped down in the box by Gael Givet, who - to Benitez's bemusement - was not handed a red card.

Gerrard dusted himself down and even though his initial attempt was expertly saved by Steve Mandanda, he belted home the rebound from six yards.

Torres was running amok up front, pulling defenders out of position and he soon made it 2-0.

Receiving a short pass from Harry Kewell just outside the area, the Spain international jinked around two defenders before opening his body up and sliding a cool finish inside the far post.

Vibrant

The crowd, so vibrant prior to kick-off, were stunned but their side could have been further behind by the break.

Liverpool were having little trouble at the back, Marseille relying on long-range pot-shots as their only means of testing Jose Reina.

Only once did they breach the Reds' rearguard, but Mathieu Valbuena - slipped in by Lorik Cana - chose to go round Jose Reina rather than shoot and the chance was gone.

Kuyt was then presented with a decent opportunity after heading a high Harry Kewell cross straight at Mandanda midway into the half.

Liverpool had a clutch of chances before the half was up, including a vicious Gerrard free-kick and Torres poking over.

By that time, Samir Nasri, the young France playmaker who was adjudged not fit enough to start after recent ankle trouble, had been thrown on by coach Erik Gerets, replacing Benoit Cheyrou.

Embarrassing

And at half-time, former Liverpool player Djibril Cisse was introduced off the bench in place of another ex-Red, Boudewijn Zenden.

It mattered little and Liverpool were soon 3-0 up. More embarrassing defending allowed Kuyt to run free towards goal after Kewell's pass from the left in the 48th minute the Holland striker smashed home his finish from 10 yards and that was game, set and match.

Marseille's best chance of the game came just after the hour mark when Cisse got on the end of a Valbuena cross, but the striker's header dropped wide.

Benitez used his full allocation of substitutes in the final quarter, and one of them - Ryan Babel - added gloss to the scoreline in injury time when he ran onto a long ball, rounded Mandanda and slotted home into an empty net.