Wednesday, February 19, 1997/7:45 PM
       Attendance: 38,957

          Referee: Alan WILKIE (Chester-le-Street, Co Durham)

  Half-Time Score: 3-0

     Goal Scorers:
           LIVERPOOL    : Robbie FOWLER  (21)
                          Stan COLLYMORE  (36, 37)
                          Jamie REDKNAPP  (87)
     Yellow Cards:
           LEEDS UNITED : Radebe, Deane, Dorigo


     
L I V E R P O O L   F.C.
      1  David JAMES (gk) 
     21  Dominic MATTEO 
      5  Mark WRIGHT 
      3  Bjorn Tore KVARME 
     20  Stig Inge BJ�RNEBYE 
      4  Jason McATEER 
     10  John BARNES (c) 
     11  Jamie REDKNAPP 
      7  Steve McMANAMAN 
      8  Stan COLLYMORE  /  15  Patrik BERGER  (78)
      9  Robbie FOWLER  /  19  Mark KENNEDY  (78)
 
  
Substitutes Not Used
     13  Tony WARNER (gk) 
     14  Neil RUDDOCK 
     16  Michael THOMAS 

  
Team Formation
                     JAMES
        KVARME      WRIGHT      MATTEO
     McATEER                      BJ�RNEBYE
           REDKNAPP          BARNES
                   McMANAMAN
             FOWLER     COLLYMORE

LEEDS UNITED

Substitutes Not Used

W H A T T H E Y S A Y

By Ken Gaunt, PA Sport Liverpool found themselves home and dry tonight and still well on course for the Premiership title. Manager Roy Evans emphasised before the game the need for his side to re-establish their credibility at Anfield and pick up maximum points. And they did not disappoint him -- or the Kop -- with a vintage display that left Leeds reeling. Stan Collymore took his tally to 13 for the season with a double tonight after Robbie Fowler had given Liverpool the lead. Jamie Redknapp sewed up a comprehensive victory with his first League goal of the season three minutes from time. Torrential rain throughout the day had put the match in doubt but referee Alan Wilkie gave the thumbs up after a pitch inspection two hours before kick-off. Leeds must have wished for a postponement as they have started shipping goals after looking so secure over the last couple of months. Manager George Graham was looking for his team to bounce back after the FA Cup defeat by First Division Portsmouth on Saturday, but they never came to terms with Liverpool's power and pace. Graham employed Lucas Radebe to man-mark Steve McManaman but he picked up a booking after only 39 seconds for a challenge on the England winger. Leeds keeper Nigel Martyn twice came to Leeds' rescue before Fowler opened the scoring after 22 minutes. Collymore went on a surging run after being released by Fowler. He got away from three players only to see his shot tipped round the post by the keeper. Then Fowler saw his effort beaten away by Martyn before getting off the mark following a sweeping move. Stig Bjornebye picked out Collymore on the left and his cross into the six yard box was precise. And Fowler, unmarked, was able to steer the ball beyond Martyn for his 22nd goal of the season. Leeds should have levelled after 35 minutes when Gary Kelly and Tony Dorigo linked up with Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo failing to cut the ball out. Rod Wallace was left in the clear but from six yards out thudded his shot against the bar. It proved to be a costly miss as a minute later Liverpool went 2-0 ahead when John Barnes dispossessed Lee Bowyer and steered the ball through to Collymore. His finish was perfect, giving Martyn no chance. Collymore was back on target two minutes later when McManaman skipped away from Radebe and squared the ball into the penalty area. Collymore came racing in to steer the ball beyond Martyn and give Liverpool a distinct advantage going into the second-half. Leeds boss Graham brought on former Liverpool idol Ian Rush for the last 17 minutes and he was given a thunderous reception by the home fans. But the travelling Leeds fans were less than pleased at his arrival and were obviously looking for Tony Yeboah to get a run. And Graham was left in no doubt about the message in their chants 'Are You Wilko in Disguise', a clear reference to the former manager Howard Wilkinson who captured Rush in the summer. Substitute Patrick Berger should have extended Liverpool's lead when Jason McAteer put him in clear, but he hurried his shot from the edge of the area and sent it high into the crowd. Redknapp completed the scoring three minutes from time when he blasted in a fine free kick from the edge of the area as keeper Martyn was still setting up his defensive wall. THREE HORSE RACE NOW GRAHAM Leeds manager George Graham believes the title race will still be fought out between Manchester United, Liverpool and his former club Arsenal. Goals from Stan Collymore (2), Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp gave Liverpool a comprehensive 4-0 victory tonight against Graham's side at Anfield. And they remain one point behind United who defeated Arsenal 2-1 at Highbury in an explosive match. Graham said: "Liverpool are a very good side and I don't think there is much to choose between them, Manchester United and Arsenal. "They are all equal and any one of those three clubs could win it. It is that tight. "We came to Liverpool and hoped to make it difficult but some of the goals were elementary. "The second-half was a damage limitation exercise but then we got hit with a sucker punch from a free kick." But Liverpool manager Roy Evans remained cautiously optimistic despite this stirring performance on a dreadful night. "I don't think it is a two-horse race," he said. "There are 12 games to go but we will be doing everything we can. "It was a very pleasing performance against a team we knew would make it difficult for us. "Our movement in the first half was superb and Steve McManaman dragged (Lucas) Radebe all over the park." Graham incurred the wrath of the travelling Leeds army by bringing on former Liverpool idol Ian Rush, instead of Tony Yeboah, for the last 17 minutes. The Leeds boss was greeted with chants of 'Are you Wilko in disguise?', a clear reference to former manager Howard Wilkinson, who signed Rush on a free transfer in the summer. Graham said: "I am not afraid to make decisions that I feel are right for the club. "If you do well the fans will cheer you, so have got to accept the flak as well. It is part of the job. "Rush was returning to his old club and Tony is the kind of player who takes a long time to get fit." [Telegraph] Collymore double ends Leeds resistance By Christopher Davies Liverpool (3) 4 Leeds Utd (0) 0 LEEDS came to Anfield hoping to keep a clean sheet but failed miserably against a Liverpool side who won even more comfortably than the scoreline suggests. The Leeds defence had registered 11 shut-outs in their previous 16 matches and their tactics were clearly designed to make it 12 in 17. The ease with which Liverpool pulled the visiting defence apart made one wonder how Leeds had been so miserly in recent weeks. The home forwards pulled their markers all over the place, especially in the first half, to record a Premiership double against their Yorkshire rivals. If any criticism can be levelled at Liverpool it is that they did not score more goals. However, no doubt Roy Evans would have settled for 4-0 before the kick-off and when a team is in such control by half-time, as Liverpool were, maintaining that momentum can be difficult. Leeds were almost non-existent as an attacking force. A shot by Rod Wallace which struck the crossbar in the first half and a cross-shot by the same player after the interval were the visitors' only meaningful attempts on goal. Ian Rush, Liverpool's record-breaking goal-scorer, came on as a substitute in the 74th minute and was given a magnificent reception - as one would have expected - by the home supporters upon his return to Anfield following his transfer last summer. Rush could find no way past his former team-mates, though the suspicion is many Liverpool fans would not have been too upset had their former idol scored a consolation goal. The Anfield pitch survived an inspection, though the stiff wind was as much a problem as the driving rain, which occasionally came down so hard it looked like snow. Leeds must have wished the pitch had been deemed unplayable; that is how they found Liverpool. Leeds arrived in the wake of four consecutive clean sheets in the Premiership, though Portsmouth had found cracks in the Elland Road armour by scoring three goals in the FA Cup on Saturday. Liverpool managed that total during the first 45 minutes last night. Manager George Graham decided his side should man-mark Stan Collymore, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman, but the Leeds defenders never got to grips - legally, anyway - with their opponents. Lucas Radebe was cautioned after only 39 seconds for a tackle on McManaman, which was the first indication the Leeds markers were prepared to make their mark. Three outstanding saves by Nigel Martyn from Collymore and Fowler twice kept the visitors in the game before the goal Liverpool had threatened from the kick-off duly arrived in the 22nd minute. John Barnes played a pass through to Collymore down the left, and his centre was swept home from close range by Fowler after he had lost Palmer, who was man-marking the striker. It was Fowler's 22nd goal of the season and the fourth he has scored against Leeds. A minute later, a free kick by Gary Kelly just outside the Liverpool penalty area was deflected by Jamie Redknapp and if that was not bad enough for David James, the wind put more swerve on the ball. But somehow the Liverpool goalkeeper managed to palm it for a corner. Lee Bowyer then created an opening which saw Rod Wallace shoot against the crossbar when he should have scored. In the 37th minute, Bowyer was dispossessed in midfield by Barnes, whose pass put Collymore clear. Collymore outpaced Robert Molenaar before beating Martyn with a low shot from 12 yards. A minute later, the Liverpool striker was celebrating again. This time, McManaman went past Radebe on the right and curled a centre towards the far post, where Collymore guided the ball into the far corner. Their job done, Liverpool allowed themselves the luxury of bringing off Fowler and Collymore with 12 minutes to go in order to give Patrik Berger and Mark Kennedy a run out. Jamie Redknapp made it 4-0 with three minutes remaining when he curled in a free kick from just outside the penalty area. [Guardian] In The Guardian, Thursday February 20 1997 Ian Ross writes Reds lifted by Collymore double After a match Liverpool won more easily than they could have expected, the abiding memory was not of scouse precision on the pitch but of Yorkshire wit off it. On a highly unpleasant night when Liverpool consolidated their second place, the Leeds manager George Graham learned the truth: the honeymoon is over. In truth, the Leeds faithful have been suspicious from the start. For as long as they could see a hint of progress, they duly embraced Graham and his tactics. But nothing lasts forever and the patience of the bedraggled remnants of a once proud travelling support finally evaporated last night. With a quarter of a strangely muted occasion remaining, Graham's side were dead and buried, the game having been decided in 15 first-half minutes when Liverpool's most potent spell coincided with sorry disharmony in the Leeds defence. Since half-time the Leeds fans had called for the introduction of Tony Yeboah, the fabulously gifted Ghanaian forward who does not figure prominently on his manager's Christmas card list. But when Graham shuffled his pack, Yeboah was overlooked as the manager instead put Rush on. By leaving Yeboah on the bench he incensed the Leeds support. "Are you Wilko in disguise?" sang the Yorkshiremen, referring pointedly to the reluctance of Graham's predecessor, Howard Wilkinson, to toss caution to the wind when all was lost. Later Graham said: "I'm still trying to make decisions for the good of the team and the club. You take the plaudits when it goes well so you must take the flak when it doesn't. I'm not afraid to make unpopular decisions." These days Leeds defend resolutely and simply hope for the best. Liverpool's football, particular their passing on what was a difficult surface, always held more authority but, initially at least, the devil was in the detail. Redknapp and Barnes prompted well from the heart of a soggy midfield but so often their final ball was astonishingly naive. Enjoying so much possession, Liverpool created chances but they were not the first team in recent weeks to learn that Martyn is a fine goalkeeper. He saved splendidly several times before being beaten after 22 soulless minutes. It was a simple enough goal but yet one holding a certain beauty. Bjornebye released Collymore down the left and his cross into the area was so precise that Fowler could have steered the ball home blindfolded. Leeds seemed uncertain whether to risk further punishment or pursue damage limitation. The decision was taken out of their hands. Fifteen minutes later Collymore clinically converted a Barnes through-ball; 90 seconds after that Collymore swivelled deep inside the penalty area to dispatch a McManaman cross. Redknapp drove in a magnificent free-kick just before the final whistle. By that point Leeds, their fans - and probably Yeboah - had long since surrendered all hope.

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