Two for Torres in thriller

FERNANDO Torres struck twice as Liverpool produced a devastating attacking performance to power past Benfica into the Europa League semifinals.

Dirk Kuyt and Lucas were also on target as the Reds overturned a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

Their first-leg nemesis Oscar Cardozo threatened to make life difficult with a goal that made it 3-1 on the night but Torres’ second delightful finish ended the contest.

It was a performance that came in marked contrast to Liverpool’s struggles in the Premier League and their increasingly forlorn attempts to finish fourth.

Liverpool took time to find their stride and it was not until the 15th minute that they worried Benfica as Steven Gerrard’s whipped free-kick was headed behind by Amorim.

They levelled the tie in the 27th minute from a corner on the left. Gerrard delivered a perfect cross for Dirk Kuyt from the resulting set-piece and the Dutchman firmly headed home from six yards.

A moment of confusion followed as the goal initially appeared to have been disallowed as the assistant referee on the far side flagged for offside.

Liverpool protested and the referee and additional assistant behind the goal agreed the goal should stand.

With an away goal in the bank, that gave the Reds the edge overall but they had the momentum and wanted more.

They followed up with a second goal six minutes later as Gerrard slipped the Lucas in on goal with a superb ball.

The Brazilian showed great composure to swerve around Cesar and tap in his first goal in 11 months.

Liverpool’s deserved third arrived just before the hour from a swift counter-attack.

Lucas was struck between the legs as the Reds defended a free-kick inside their own half and left their colleague in pain as they charged downfield.

Benayoun raced into the Benfica half and spread the ball wide for Kuyt, whose first-time cross was swept in by the onrushing Torres.

The atmosphere at this point was raucous, but anxiety soon set in as Benfica pulled one back on 70 minutes after Kuyt fouled Ramires on the edge of the area.

Cardozo, who scored two penalties in the first leg, blasted in a low shot through a gap in the wall.

Benayoun conceded another free-kick in a similar position for tripping the same player four minutes later but this time Cardozo’s curling effort flew narrowly wide.

The Reds battled on and showed the resolve to kill off the tie eight minutes from time. Lucas won the ball in midfield with a powerful challenge and Mascherano sent Torres clear with a brilliant pass.

Torres made no mistake as he raced into the area and clipped the ball over substitute goalkeeper Moreira – a replacement for the injured Cesar just moments earlier – with delicate poise.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was delighted to make history after leading Fulham to the first European semi-final in the club’s history.

Bobby Zamora scored after just 21 seconds to give the Cottagers a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg and a 3-1 aggregate success.

Fulham will now face Hamburg for a place in the final and will be confident of progressing after an impressive display in Germany.

‘‘I’m delighted with the performance, it’s very strong to come here and win 1-0 in a game we had control over for long periods,’’ Hodgson said.

‘‘With a bit more energy we could have increased the score because we had so many chances towards the end, but 1-0 is always a good score.’’ Asked about Zamora’s early goal, Hodgson added on ITV4: ‘‘You get your goals when you get them and Bob did ever so well, his combination with (Zoltan) Gera was magnificent and meant they had to get three to win the tie.

‘‘We’re strong defensively and I was quite confident we would stop them scoring three.

‘‘It’s nice to make history and I’m so delighted for the players. They were gutted by the goal we conceded in the last minute of the first leg at Craven Cottage and it’s fantastic they’ve come here and kept a clean sheet today.’’ Captain Danny Murphy added: ‘‘I thought we were quite comfortable.

‘‘The early goal was nice and settled us a bit. I thought they had the odd spell but over the 90 minutes we had the better chances and should have killed them off.’’ Asked to rate the standard of the performance, Murphy added: ‘‘We’ve played some good teams along the way and performed consistently well throughout, and the Juventus game will live long in the memory, but that was a very good, mature performance.’’