Liverpool supporters, particularly during the low points of this season, have yearned for the return of the dynamic partnership between Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
The pair have struggled to rekindle their understanding which, at its peak, resembles the almost telepathic understanding John Toshack and Kevin Keegan had during their Anfield heyday.
Torres, who was heavily shackled by the Ligue 1 side’s defenders in the opening leg, continued to display the flashes of brilliance that helped his side to secure maximum points on Monday by constantly bursting past several of Les Dogues’ back line.
Very few within Europe’s elite, let alone the Premier League, can control the threat the Spaniard possesses when at peak fitness and tonight was clearly one of those nights. The dissent that had been a blemish on his appearance in France was all but a distant memory.
Three days earlier, the 4-1 hammering of Portsmouth had heralded Torres’ return to form but his partner in crime was misfiring, prompting some quarters of the media to question his commitment to the cause with Liverpool currently battling just to secure fourth place.
With just eight minutes on the clock against Lille, however, the Reds skipper proved that he could still hit the target with a powerful and deft finish from the penalty spot to pull his side level in the Europa League last 16 tie after Adil Rami had felled Lucas Leiva.
The Brazilian returned to the side in the absence of a virus-stricken Alberto Aquilani and illustrated his worth with dominating performance that, although it will not grab as many headlines as his rival, proves that he is a valuable asset to the heart of Liverpool’s midfield.
Due to the ineligibility of Maxi Rodriguez, who had to settle for a place alongside Argentina coach Diego Maradona in the directors’ box, Dirk Kuyt was given free rein on the right-hand side of midfield but only forced Mickael Landreau into action once, late in the second half.
Lille were aiming to become the second French side in three years to walk away from Anfield with a famous victory but did not count on their hosts’ famous twelfth man’s wall of noise re-emerging that their fans failed to silence, though not for the want of trying.
Following news of Albert Riera’s broadsides on Spanish radio, which have seen the winger suspended by the club, it was somehow befitting if not ironic that Ryan Babel contributed once again when he provided an able assist for Torres on 50 minutes.
The current campaign has been littered with a series of media misdemeanours which have tested Benitez’s patience in the 23-year-old winger, but his long ball was timed to perfection for the striker, who executed a trademark finish.
Nothing or no one could bring Torres down as Lille resorted to the heavy-handed tactics that had stifled El Nino in the first leg as they aimed to secure the decisive away goal that they hoped would be enough to see them through to the last eight of the competition.
Eden Hazard, whose late winner in that game made him the scourge of Anfield, remained relatively quiet with a cross-cum-shot that struggled to test Pepe Reina constituting as his only real threat on the Kop goal before being replaced by the aptly-named Jerry Vandam.
However there was no Hollywood ending for Rudi Garcia’s side who were condemned by another Torres trademark at the end of normal time to ensure that European football will be returning to Anfield at least once again before the season’s end.
LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Reina, Johnson, Agger (Kyrgiakos 90), Carragher, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Gerrard, Babel (Benayoun 80), Torres (Ngog 90+2).
LILLE (4-1-2-3): Landreau, Beria, Chedjou, Rami, Emerson, Mavuba, Balmont (Aubemeyang 70), Cabaye, Hazard (Vandam 86), Frau (Toure 58), Obrainiak.
REFEREE: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
ATTENDANCE: 38,139
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