LIVERPOOL 4 - 1 ARSENAL

Saturday 31 March 2007 12:45 , Barclays Premiership

LIVERPOOL V ARSENAL: THE FINAL WORD
Peter Crouch scored a fabulous hat-trick as Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 4-1 at Anfield on Saturday. Here's the best of the post-match reaction.

The Liverpool manager "It was a really good team performance and we wanted to give our supporters something special today. Crouch hadn't played for 20 days because of his nose operation and he was desperate to play and score goals. All of his goals were fantastic and I really liked the move between Pennant and Arbeloa for his first goal. To score four goals against a top side is really good and we are fighting hard for that third place. I still think we have played better games this season but I am really pleased with the team today. Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano controlled the midfield and it has set us up nicely for the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday." Rafael Benitez

The opposition manager "Crouch was superb. We couldn't handle him. He was intelligent, worked hard and showed clinical finishing. What he did for the first goal was outstanding. Fortunately it's not every day we meet someone of a basketball player's size. We did look short of height. I don't mean that to be disrespectful, because he has the size of a basketball player but the skill of a real footballer. If it had merely been a basketball player Kolo and Gallas would have had no problem handling him." Arsene Wenger

The Liverpool player "It was a special moment, obviously. But getting the win was the most important thing because this was a massive game for us. I don't care how they come really but, yes, it was a nice hat-trick and I'm delighted with it. To get the match ball and the three points is very pleasing. The service I received from the wide positions was fantastic. It can be hard sometimes when you're on your own up front, you can be a bit isolated, that wasn't the case at all and my job was made easier by my team-mates. After drawing nil-nil with Villa people were saying we're not scoring enough so it was good for us to get four and beat a class side in the process. The manager let us know beforehand that we'd had some disappointing results against Arsenal this season. We all wanted to make amends for that and hopefully we have." Peter Crouch

The local newspaper "The surgery certainly hasn't affected Crouch's nose for goal as he showed England what they'd been missing by netting the first hat-trick of his club career. Remarkably, that's 16 goals in 24 starts this season for Liverpool, and a timely treble against a renowned defence given Benitez will shake up his striking resources in the summer. It was a perfect hat-trick, too. The first, with his right foot, set Liverpool on their way in the fourth minute. A clever back-heeled one-two between Alvaro Arbeloa and Jermaine Pennant bypassed both Gael Clichy and Abou Diaby and allowed Arbeloa time to whip in a low cross from the right that Crouch, arriving at the near post ahead of Kolo Toure, slipped home. Ten minutes before the break came the kind of goal that would make Crouch a world beater if he could them score more often. Having won a free-kick quickly taken by Xabi Alonso to Fabio Aurelio, the striker made his way into the box before extending his 6ft 7ins frame to head home the Brazilian's superb cross from the left. Crouch's third, nine minutes from time, was another gem. Pennant was found in space on the right from Javier Mascherano's chipped pass and, after the winger's cross missed out substitute Kuyt, Crouch transferred the ball from right foot to left, losing the attentions of Toure in the process before finishing clinically beyond Jens Lehmann. Crouch, though, admits his goals will be no guarantee of a starting place in Eindhoven. Unplayable, says Wenger, but undroppable?" Ian Doyle, Daily Post

The tabloid newspaper "Crouch must wonder what he has to do to convince his manager. As Wenger said, his display was near perfect. His movement in the penalty area destroyed the Arsenal defence, and helped his side to three crucial points. His first, five minutes in, was a real striker's finish, Crouch sneaking in front of Kolo Toure to steer home a cross created by the accomplished Alvaro Arbeloa and Jermaine Pennant. The second was even more impressive, given that the towering striker displayed a prowess with his head that he isn't normally associated with as he rose above Abou Diaby to steer his effort from Fabio Aurelio's wicked cross past Jens Lehmann. As Wenger said, Crouch's unique talents proved too destructive for his side. "He has the size of a basketball player, but I don't mean that critically because he has the skills of a real footballer. His movement is very good, he has real intelligence, and it was too much for us," the Arsenal manager admitted. What Arsenal lack is a physical presence in midfield. Diaby looks to have the necessary attributes, but he was terribly ineffective, pushed out on the left, and neither Denilson nor Cesc Fabregs could compete with the excellence of Xabi Alonso and Javier Masherano in midifeld. But while the debate over Gerrard's favoured position lumbers on, it is the form of Mascherano that occupied Benitez. The Spanish coach explained that it was his control in the middle that allowed Crouch the service that saw him complete a hat-trick 10 minutes from time with a fine left-foot finish from Pennant's cross. What Javier gave us was a platform to get our wingers forward and get the crosses in for Crouch. He is getting better and better, and he has shown today that he has real quality," the manager purred."