"Liverpool down Cardiff city Suarez Enjoys new Contract"
Liverpool Dominated the whole set of the match.
Their were hardly any chances for Cardiff City...
Luis Suarez celebrated his new contract in style as he inspired Liverpool to a 3-1 win over Cardiff City at Anfield.
All the pre-match focus surrounded Malky Mackay's future at Cardiff,
but all the talk after the game was on the goalscoring exploits of
Suarez.
Suarez had a hand in all three goals as he scored two to take his tally
to 19 goals for the season before setting up Raheem Sterling for his
effort.
Cardiff showed great character with an impressive second half
performance with Jordon Mutch reducing the arrears, but Liverpool held
on to take all three points and move to the top of the table for 48
hours at least.
Liverpool started brightly, but Cardiff were defending in numbers and
it was the visitors who went close to opening the scoring after 14
minutes when boyhood Liverpool fan Craig Noone forced Simon Mignolet
into a flying save with a shot from the edge of the box.
The home side made the breakthrough on 25 minutes with Suarez finding
the net for his 18th Premier League goal of the campaign. Jordan
Henderson was the creator of the goal as picked out Suarez inside the
box with a chipped pass and Suarez drilled his volley expertly into the
bottom corner past David Marshall.
Cardiff had claims for a penalty turned down on 29 minutes when Steven
Caulker went down in the box under a challenge from Martin Skrtel.
Liverpool were inches away from adding a second goal on 33 minutes when
Suarez fed Philippe Coutinho with a short corner and the Brazilian
skipped past Gary Medel on the byline before firing his shot off the
base of the post.
Brendan Rodgers' side continued to probe for openings and after Skrtel
headed over from Jon Flanaga's cross Flanagan saw his effort from an
acute angle clip the post before being cleared off the line by the legs
of Marshall.
The impressive Sterling then saw a shot pushed away by Marshall after
breaking clear on goal, before Liverpool grabbed a second goal their
dominance deserved on 42 minutes when Henderson sent Suarez racing clear
on goal with a superb pass and the Uruguayan unselfishly passed for
Sterling to stroke the ball home from close-range.
Things got even better for Liverpool on the stroke of half-time when
Henderson found Suarez on the edge of the box with a clever backheel
pass and the in-form striker curled his shot into the far corner leaving
Marshall stranded.
Liverpool picked up where they left off at the start of the second half
and Sterling and Coutinho both fired in efforts from the edge of the
box which flew wide of the target.
Cardiff pulled a goal back just before the hour mark when Jordon Mutch
found himself unmarked from Peter Whittingham's cross to head home past
Mignolet.
The goal lifted Cardiff and they looked dangerous every time they got a
ball in the box from set-pieces with Whittingham's deliveries causing
all sorts of problems.
Liverpool should have added a fourth goal 15 minutes from time when
Sterling broke clear on goal only to be denied by Marshall before Suarez
hit the post with the follow-up effort.
Cardiff refused to give in and Caulker was unlucky not to score five
minutes from time when he flicked Noone's cross wide of the far post.
Suarez was denied his hat-trick in the final minute when he latched
onto Sterling's pass, but Marshall did well to keep out his left-footed
effort.
Luis Suarez has signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool.
The Uruguayan has been in stunning form for the Reds recently, after a
turbulent summer in which he suggested the club had reneged on an
agreement to sell him if they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
It had been expected that talks would continue throughout the season
and the received wisdom was that the player would want to wait and see
whether the Reds secured a Champions League place for next season, but
the club on Friday confirmed he had signed a new deal.
Suarez told the club's official website: "Without doubt the backing I
have received from the Liverpool fans has influenced my decision. I am
so proud to represent them and go out to do my best for them every time I
pull on the shirt."
Liverpool did not specify the length of Suarez's new deal but it is
expected to make the 26-year-old striker the best-paid player in the
club's history.
Suarez's spell at Anfield has often been a controversial one after
being handed two long-term bans, one for racially abusing Manchester
United's Patrice Evra and last season for biting Chelsea's Branislav
Ivanovic.
Suarez added: "I am delighted to have agreed a new deal with Liverpool and have my future secured for the long term.
"We have some great players and the team is growing and improving all
the time. I believe I can achieve the ambitions of winning trophies and
playing at the very highest level with Liverpool. My aim is to help get
us there as quickly as possible."
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said Suarez had yet to reach his peak.
He added: "This is fantastic news for everyone associated with the
club; the team, the owners and most importantly the supporters.
"Luis is a world-class talent and securing his services is crucial for what we are trying to achieve here.
"What's most important and most exciting is that, at just 26 years old,
his best years are still ahead of him and we now know we'll be seeing
him reach that potential in a Liverpool shirt."
Liverpool had to fend off interest from Arsenal in the summer, who had a
bid of £40,000,001 rejected, but their determination to keep Suarez has
paid off with the Reds now second in the Premier League with the
Uruguayan the leading scorer in the top flight with 17 goals, four ahead
of his nearest rival.
The club's principal owner John W Henry said: "We are committed to
working hard to keep our best players and this is an indication that we
are moving in the right direction and moving at a pace that impresses
one of the best players in world soccer.
"The club has made major strides forward in recent years and we are all
committed to delivering the success our supporters want and deserve."
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner added: "This demonstrates our commitment,
as an ownership group, to building a team that competes at the highest
level both in the Barclays Premier League and in Europe.
"Our primary motive is to do what is best for Liverpool Football Club
and today's news is another significant step forward on this journey."
