Classy Gerrard helps Reds progress

STEVEN GERRARD would rather have reached the milestone in the glitz and glamour of the Champions League, but even cast adrift in Europe's backwaters there was something to buoy his senses.

A smart finish in the Romanian capital last night smoothed Liverpool's passage to the last 16 of the Europa League and served to provide evidence that even in a campaign in which Gerrard would admit he has not caught fire, an appetite for new landmarks remains undimmed.

His 33rd goal in Europe propelled him into the most prolific British goalscorer of all time in continental competition, sending him clear of Alan Shearer who had managed 32 for Newcastle and Blackburn.

Gerrard's have all come in the colours of his hometown heroes and his strike banished any fleeting sense that Liverpool were heading for an embarrassing fall here after slipping behind early on to Unirea Urziceni.

More importantly, it might just pep captain Gerrard's confidence for the final third of a season that will continue to be fought on two fronts.

He benefited from Yossi Benayoun's dancing feet and ability to conjure a smattering of creativity to add gloss to the scoreline, following earlier strikes from Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel. It was the first time the visitors have scored three goals in 30 matches, a run stretching all the way back to a 6-1 thrashing of Hull in September.

But a year to the day since they silenced the Bernabeu, Liverpool's endeavour in Bucharest will hardly prompt similar shockwaves across Europe. Rafa Benitez, for one, will simply be thankful for small mercies.

"It's very good for Stevie," said Liverpool manager Benitez, who had the luxury of keeping Fernando Torres on the bench throughout.

"This is a historic club with a lot of records, so to have an individual one like this is massive for him and very important for Liverpool, too. Hopefully, he will have the chance to score a lot more this year."

Liverpool displayed patience last week in eking out the slender lead they brought to the Steaua Stadium and professionalism last night to recover from the setback of seeing that lead wiped out as Bruno Fernandes briefly roused the locals after 19 minutes, when he rose higher than anyone else to head home from a corner.

Panache can wait, but Benitez will interpret signs his players are slowly warming to their task as proof they will continue to improve with Lille to come. Mascherano's piledriver from 25-yards, after Unirea failed to clear a congested penalty area, was only the third of his Liverpool career.

It soothed the nerves just as Benitez and his bench might have wondered whether on a pudding of a pitch, and a card-happy Swedish official who brandished five bookings, it was going to be one of those evenings.

Referee Stefan Johannesson somehow even missed Antonio Semedo's two-footed tackle that saw Martin Skrtel carried off on a stretcher with a suspected broken foot.

But Liverpool's grip on the tie was never going to slacken. Babel added a second from close range just before the interval, before Gerrard settled it in the 57th minute.

A banner made out of an old bed sheet had taunted Liverpool over their only previous defeat on Romanian soil - a 3-1 reverse against Petrolul Ploiesti in 1966. That it will not require updating was a cause for celebration.

Unirea Urziceni (4-1-4-1): Arlauskis; Maftei, Galamaz (Mehmedovic 27), Fernandes, Bordeanu; Paraschiv (Vilana 56); Onofras (Semedo 62), Paduretu, Apostol, Frunza; Bilasco. Booked: Onofras, Bruno Fernandes, Arlauskis. Goal: Fernandes 19.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Carragher (Kelly 61), Skrtel (Krygiakos 66), Agger, Insua; Lucas, Mascherano; Benayoun (Aurelio 78), Gerrard, Babel; Ngog. Booked: Babel, Mascherano. Goals: Mascherano 30, Babel 40, Gerrard 57.

Referee: S Johannesson (Sweden).unirea urziceni 1

LIVERPOOL 3

(Liverpool win 4-1 on agg)

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