Europa League Football Results: Luis Suarez Inspires Liverpool; Inter, Bilbao Also Advance

Aug 10, 2012 02:37 AM EDT

With imminent signing Joe Allen amongst the crowd, Luis Suarez and Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 second-leg victory, and a 4-0 aggregate win, over FC Gomel in their Europa League qualifier. Inter Milan, Athletic Bilbao, FC Twente, Marseille and Samuel Eto'o-inspired Anzhi also progressed.

Suarez, who signed a new deal with Liverpool a couple of days back, was the star of the show, as he created Liverpool's first two goals for Fabio Borini and Steven Gerrard. Glen Johnson added a third in the second half as Liverpool progressed without any hiccups, despite struggling to a 1-0 win away to the same side.

"Luis is an incredible player," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said after the game. "He has come back to us and looked great in training.

"He is so creative in the box but he also presses very well when he doesn't have the ball.

"He is the type of player I love. He is in love with football. He has such passion for the game.

"His combination work with Steven Gerrard and Fabio Borini was excellent."

Rodgers was pleased to see new signing Borini open his account for Liverpool. "It is important for any striker to score because they are judged on their goals," Rodgers said. "But I brought him here because I know he can score.

"He is only 21 and has a lot of improvement left in him.

"But with his work-rate and his ability on the ball I think he will fit in very well to our team."

Rodgers also revealed a deal to bring Swansea midfielder Allen to Anfield was close. "I hope to conclude the deal in the next 24 hours. It is imminent."

Inter Milan and Athletic Bilbao suffered minor scares, before finding their way through into the final qualifying round draw.

Last year's runners-up, Bilbao, leading 3-1 from the first leg, edged past Slaven Belupo 4-3 on aggregate while Inter advanced 3-2, despite losing to Hajduk Split 2-0 on the night.

Marseille won 3-0 in the second leg against Eskisehirspor, to advance 4-1 on aggregate while FC Twente cruised to a 4-0 aggregate victory.

A brace from former Barcelona and Inter Milan player Eto'o helped big-spenders Anzhi Makhachkala go through 4-0 on aggregate.

Get the Most Popular Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
Array

Join the Conversation

  • Get Connected
  • Share
  • Like Us on Facebook
  • @sportswr
  • Recommend on Google
Real Time Analytics