Liverpool: Liverpool's stuttering start to the Premier League season seemed to have been put behind them as they secured a 1-0 win against West Brom, thanks to a well-taken goal from Fernando Torres.
The fear for West Brom at the start of the season was their optimistic aim of playing attractive football would expose a series of faults at the back. Thier 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea evidently showed Roberto Di Matteo’s side have much to learn if they are to survive this term, although things improved with their 1-0 win over Sunderland last week.
The need for tight organisation throughout the team in order to avoid the drop has been proved each term and the Baggies showed they are capable of such discipline by frustrating Roy Hodgson's side in the opening half.
Liverpool started Fernando Torres in attack but the Spanish striker still looked a few weeks from his best. His intentions were bright and in patches the World Cup winner did look a threat but his legs are still someway behind.
Hodgson's men applied early pressure as Glen Johnson was allowed far too much space on the right wing and the full-back was able to create opportunities to cross the ball. Unfortunately for Liverpool, a combination of an isolated Torres and an organised West Brom defence resulted in few clear-cut chances.
Christian Poulsen made his league debut for Liverpool but he had little opportunity to showcase his potential in a stifled midfield. Whether he can replace the Barcelona-bound Javier Mascherano is another argument. The Argentine would have been of little benefit against the Baggies, who only threatened to attack in rare spells.
West Brom, to their credit, did manage to create chances. The new pairing of Marc-Antoine Fortune and Peter Odemwingie looked promising, as did Chris Brunt on the wing, but Liverpool's back-line had also learned from a previous defeat to a title-challenging side on Monday and cheap goals against relegation candidates are not associated with a Hodgson team.
Steven Gerrard was another bystander in the opening half. The Liverpool captain was guilty of over-hitting passes and his familiar guile and drive was missing. The signing of Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles will undoubtedly bolster Hodgson's options but the craft and rugged determination of Gerrard is vital to the Reds Premier League whereabouts this term.
Both sides were restricted in shooting opportunities. Milan Jovanovic and Dirk Kuyt had goal-bound efforts blocked superbly by the resolute visitors and Liverpool lacked the creativity needed to create a clearer opening.
The second half started with Liverpool hoping to provide greater cutting edge than in their flat first-half performance but it was West Brom who created the first chance after the interval. James Morrison was allowed a free reign from 25 yards to hit in space but could only drag his shot wide.
Steven Gerrard followed up Morrison's effort just a minute later with an audacious 35-yard half-volleyed effort but his shot was never going to trouble Scott Carson in the Albion goal.
This prompted an increase in Liverpool pressure as the Reds attempted to up the tempo and find the vital breakthrough.
On 51 minutes, Graham Dorrans attempted an overly ambitious effort from 30 yards after an incisive passing move from Di Matteo's side but skewed his shot well wide when he had many other better options available to him.
The Scottish international came far closer after 55 minutes when his curling effort from just inside the Liverpool box looked as if it could trouble Reina's goal but sailed past his left hand post.
Liverpool's best effort of the match came after an hour. A corner was flicked on from Poulsen and helped create confusion in the West Brom box. The ball eventually dropped to Skrtel, whose half-volley was cleanly and powerfully struck, but flew just over the West Brom goal. Whilst the deadlock was not broken, the chance did help to rouse an Anfield crowd that had been up to that point quiet.
And the increasing Liverpool pressure was starting to affect Albion as Jonathan Greening was very nearly embarassed shortly after when his overhit backpass nearly found his own net.
Liverpool's breakthrough eventually came after 65 minutes after a series of end-to-end attacks saw West Brom go close at the other end through Gonzalo Jara. But Reina's quick clearance ball found Torres whose pass put Kuyt through before the Dutchman laid it back to the Spaniard. The talisman Torres met Kuyt's return with a beautifully struck half-volley which left Scott Carson with no chance.
Torres nearly doubled his tally after 71 minutes when Gerrard's perfect cross found him at the far post. Torres' run was perfect but this time Carson was able to match him to keep the score at 1-0.
Gerrard's increasing influence on the match was starting to show and his effort from 25 yards just two minutes later found the target but didn't really look like finding its way past Carson.
Despite being behind, West Brom didn't resort to direct football as the match wore on and worked the ball to Odemwingie after a series of good passes. Last week's hero against Sunderland found himself in a bit of space but his shot was tame and Reina was able to easily gather.
Liverpool pressed forward to find a second ball and had their furious appeals for a penalty waved away after 82 minutes when Torres thought his attempt had been handballed by Jara. Lee Probert, however, waved away the howls of the Kop and Liverpool side to deny the Reds the chance to double their lead from the spot.
Two minutes later, Somen Tchoyi's darting run and shot brushed the side netting of Reina's goal but the Spaniard did look to have the shot covered.
West Brom's plight was not helped when they were reduced to ten men after 84 minutes. Morrison's two-footed challenge on Torres was high and although it didn't look malicious, it was dangerous and saw him rightly dismissed.
After the red card, Albion did have a late flourish as they put pressure on a Liverpool defence that was sitting increasingly deeper but the Reds held on for the first league win of the Hodgson era.
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