Thursday 7 January 2016 22:10, UK
Ian Rush turned back the clock with a poacher's finish for Liverpool Legends as they ran out 4-0 winners over Australia Legends at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Thursday.
Led by Steven Gerrard, playing in a Reds shirt for the first time since his departure last summer, Liverpool strolled to victory in the friendly thanks to a brace from Luis Garcia and close-range finishes from Rush and John Aldridge.
Gerrard partnered Dietmar Hamann in central midfield while Jamie Carragher resumed his defensive partnership with Stephane Henchoz in a Liverpool Legends side that brought back memories of the early-2000s.
Managed by Gerard Houllier, they started the brighter but Champions League winner Vladimir Smicer squandered two excellent opportunities to put them ahead inside the opening 10 minutes.
John Arne Riise forced former Leicester 'keeper Zeljko Kalac into a smart stop after a through ball from Robbie Fowler, and Garcia went close with a looping header before the Spaniard opened the scoring on 27 minutes. Patrik Berger fed Garcia, who held off two challenges before firing a left-footed shot past Kalac.
Playing in front of 40,000 fans, Gerrard should have doubled the lead two minutes before half-time, but the Reds legend fluffed his lines, striking straight at Kalac after breaking through one-on-one.
The LA Galaxy midfielder played a crucial role in Liverpool's second, though, chipping into the path of Garcia shortly after the break, and the midfielder headed low past Kalac from close range.
Bruce Grobbelaar, Gary McAllister, Aldridge and Rush all featured in the second half, with the latter pairing wrapping up the win with two goals late on.
Gerrard was again involved for Liverpool's third, finding Riise down the left and the Norwegian swept in a low cross for Rush. In a sight familiar to Liverpool fans of a certain age, the club's all-time record goalscorer made no mistake, tucking the ball home from inside the six-yard box.
The crowd was willing Gerrard to find the score-sheet, and the skipper tried his best in the final 10 minutes, attempting to score from the halfway line before going close with a 25-yard free-kick.
But it was Aldridge who bagged the fourth as Riise provided another assist from the left to cap a memorable occasion down under.
