Liverpool FC Last Match - In association with Chevrolet
Barclays Premier League
0 - 4

Wigan v Liverpool

DW Stadium
2 Mar 2013, KO: 17:30

Minute by minute

Post That's all from today's match service on Liverpoolfc.com. Wonderful display by Liverpool. Thanks for following and see you next Sunday for Tottenham at Anfield.
Post @LucasLeiva87: Well done everyone for the good performance. Congratulations to @luis16suarez for his hat-trick.
Post @luis16suarez: Very happy for the win and to have helped the team.
Post Rodgers on today's performance: "There was a real focus and concentration in our game. We've got performance goals that we want to finish the season with and it will give us a real good base going forward."
Post Rodgers on Suarez future: "Of course, we know all players want to play at the top level, but hopefully he can see that for us over the next couple of years. I am very confident we can keep making the strides forward and keep adding quality to our group and eventually we can get there. I don't have any issues with Luis at all on this matter. I sit here with great confidence that he'll stay."
Post Rodgers on Suarez: "For me there is not [a better striker in England]. He is clearly the Player of the Year for myself. He is absolutely incredible. His hunger and desire."
Post @TheKopMagazine: Gotta be honest. Can't get enough #suarez
Post Reaction from Brendan Rodgers coming up.
Post @LuchoGarcia14: Just checked reds score and received many twits of how the travelling the Kop were singing my song again. Cant be more grateful. #ynwa
Post Lucas played more passes than any other Liverpool player today – 66. He was also our most accurate on 92.4 per cent.
Post Wigan had more possession (52.1 per cent) and more shots (14 to 8) but this was comprehensive.
Post It's not ALL about Suarez. Reina today climbed to joint second in the clean sheets table on nine (alongside Begovic, Cech, Mignolet). Joe Hart is on 12.
90 FULL-TIME: A Luis Suarez hat-trick has taken him to the top of the Premier League scoring charts and Liverpool back up to seventh following a vintage performance in Lancashire. Stewart Downing was the other scorer on a day when Coutinho grabbed two assists and Pepe Reina made a string of brilliant saves.
88 Liverpool corner. Downing floats it in towards Agger, the ball then comes to Henderson, who has a header cleared off the line by McCarthy.
83 Wigan have actually had more possession here with 52.6 per cent.
82 Allen could make it five here...stopped in his tracks by a terrific bit of last-ditch defending from substitute Alcarez.
80 Downing centres for Gerrard, who elects to volley first time. Over the bar.
77 Hyypia, Benitez, Dalglish, Rodgers, Gerrard, Enrique, Coutinho and Luis Garcia all having their names sung by a jubilant travelling party.
73 Luis Suarez has executed four shots today - all have hit the target.
72 On any other day, Coutinho would have claimed the man of the match plaudits. Difficult to look past Suarez with a hat-trick, but Reina has also been outstanding.
71 Substitution: Jordan Henderson for Philippe Coutinho:
70 Agger attempts a sliding pass to Suarez but the ball just goes away from the No.7 inside the box.
68 3 - Luis Suarez has now scored more PL hat-tricks away from home than Alan Shearer (2). Only Owen (5) & Rooney (4) have more. Slick. (Via OptaJoe)
67 Another good save from Reina to stop a close-range header - he's having one of his best games for the Reds.
66 This win will lift Liverpool to seventh, nine points behind Tottenham in fourth. Spurs play Arsenal tomorrow.
64 @Simon_Hughes__ Coutinho is more Pablo Aimar than Vitor Flora. For Liverpool, that's a good thing.
62 Coutinho has his own chant from the LFC fans already. To the tune of 'Feeling hot, hot, hot'.
62 Substitution: Callum McManaman for Jean Beausejour:
61 @carlmarkham: Smell of cordite wafts around DW. It's either from another smoke canister going off or Roberto Martinez quietly self-combusting.
60 The visiting fans are now serenading the vice-captain...they're all dreaming of a team of Carraghers.
57 Suarez looks to collect his fourth of the game as he dribbles through a hapless Wigan defence, but the ball just runs away from him.
52 Substitution: Antolin Alcaraz for Gary Caldwell:
52 Substitution: Roger Espinoza for Franco Di Santo:
52 @Linda_Pizzuti: Hat trick!!
51 @JamesPearceEcho: Another brilliant team goal puts LFC out of sight. Driving run from Johnson and Suarez nut-megs Al Habsi to complete his hat-trick.
50 Luis Suarez has scored three PL hat-tricks since the start of last season, a total only Robin van Persie can match. Trebles. (Via OptaJoe)
49 GOAL! Luis Suarez: Johnson plays Suarez one on one and the Uruguayan tucks it past Al Habsi to complete his hat-trick.
46 SECOND HALF: Gerrard and Suarez restart the game.
45 Liverpool out early for the second period. Or are Wigan late?
45 Lucas Leiva has had the most touches for LFC so far – 31. His accuracy of 90.3 per cent is second only to Carragher.
45 Jamie Carragher has consistently been one of LFC's most accurate passers of late. In that first half he made 15 passes with 100 per cent accuracy.
45 @Petermcdowall10: I'd love to find that Wigan fan singing that to Pepe Reina pre-match now, you won't see a better first half GK performance anywhere.
45 @MatthewLumby: Next LFC home game against Spurs will feature two Player of the Season contenders on pitch. Luis Suarez and Stewart Downing.
45 HALF-TIME: Two from Suarez and a header from Downing have been the rewards for a brilliant Liverpool performance. Coutinho has two assists and Reina has made a couple of excellent saves.
45 Reina tips Beausejour's free-kick over the crossbar and that's it for the opening period.
45 First Booking: Lucas Leiva: Fould just outside the box.
44 Two minutes of added time.
39 @LFCZA: Pepe in form tonight. His shot stopping improving to his previous good levels, let's hope he gets back to his greatness.
38 Suarez smacks one from 15 yards, Al Habsi spills but Caldwell just beats Allen to the rebound. It was a lovely ball from Johnson to initiate that attack.
36 Another brilliant save from Reina to thwart Di Santo.
35 And Luis Suarez is now the Premier League's top scorer outright on 20 goals. 27 in all competitions.
34 Suarez had never scored a free-kick for LFC before this season. Now he has five.
33 GOAL! Luis Suarez: And Suarez does it again...via a deflection off the left shoulder of Shaun Maloney and in off the post.
32 Caldwell clatters into Suarez outside the area and Liverpool have a free-kick. Suarez has been practising these at Melwood this week...
31 Wigan players and supporters protest as Reina appears to catch the ball just outside his area. Replays inconclusive but it would have been very harsh.
30 @JamesPearceEcho: Wigan asking for trouble, sitting so deep, backing off and letting Liverpool play. This could be a rout.
27 James McCarthy pings one wide from 25 yards. Wigan look flat after those two Liverpool goals.
24 Chants of 'There's only one Brendan Rodgers' now echoing around the away end.
23 @JBcommentator: Brilliant from Coutinho again...Oliver Twist picking pockets out there at the moment.
22 Suarez has now matched Michael Owen's highest ever total of Premier League goals in a single season.
21 What a save from Pepe Reina, diving acrobatically to stop an Emmerson Boyce volley flying into the roof of his net.
20 Meanwhile, Coutinho has two assists today. He looks so dangerous in the final third.
19 That's 19 league goals for Suarez now this season - the same as Robin van Persie.
18 GOAL! Luis Suarez: Coutinho slides a throughball into the run of Suarez, who takes a touch and passes beyond Ali Al Habsi.
15 Awry backpass from Lucas and Agger is forced to intervene with a sliding tackle to stop Kone going one on one.
13 The Reds surge forward through Coutinho, who finds Allen striding towards the box. The Welshman tries to play it into the stride of the overlapping Gerrard but it's too heavy for the captain.
10 Liverpool's possession in the first 10 minutes: 59.8 per cent.
9 LFC's official statto @ged0407: Stewart Downing's first league goal away from home for LFC.
8 Liverpool just knocking the ball around and keeping possession as the travelling Kop serenade Gerrard and then Suarez.
3 Coutinho floated past Boyce there...looked so easy for him.
2 GOAL! Stewart Downing: Liverpool break after Reina's long ball to Coutinho. The winger shows the kind of footwork you'd expect from a Brazilian to beat Emmerson Boyce and cross for Downing to nod home.
1 Chance within 30 seconds for the hosts as a cross comes in from the right...Arouna Kone is totally unmarked but it's almost as if he is taken by surprise as he fails to make a telling connection.
1 KICK-OFF: Wigan get the game underway after Martin Atkinson blows his whistle.
Pre And here is Liverpool Echo journalist @neiljonesecho's pre-match view: The award for worst pre-match playlist has to go to Wigan. There's a rave kicking off in the DW.
Pre Wigan have lost only one of their last six PL games against Liverpool after losing seven of the opening nine against them. Upturn. (Via OptaJoe)
Pre Press Association reporter @carlmarkham: Andre Wisdom has just fired a wayward shot into the away fans - who are refusing to give the ball back. Jumper-smuggling...
Pre Jay Spearing on the scoresheet for Bolton today. The out-on-loan midfielder was joined on the scoresheet by David Ngog.
Pre Game of keep-ball now underway – it's Gerrard, Allen, Downing, Coutinho and Suarez versus Lucas, Agger, Enrique, Carragher and Johnson.
Pre Achterberg now pumping balls at Reina from the halfway line. Reina is practicing punching them away.
Pre The scores among teams around Liverpool in the table: Chelsea have beaten West Brom 1-0; Everton saw off Reading 3-1; Swansea beat Newcastle 1-0.
Pre Here come the Liverpool players to warm up, led by skipper Steven Gerrard.
Pre Every time Reina goes anywhere near him the man bursts into song.
Pre Pepe Reina is getting some banter off a single Wigan fan as he warms up. The Spaniard is laughing as he completes his stretches.
Pre John Achterberg is out drilling crosses to substitute goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. We learned this week that our goalkeeping coach has been ribbing colleague Mike Marsh for looking like the meerkat from the insurance advert.
Pre Doesn't look like the best playing surface – the pitch is peppered with bare patches of dirt. Could have an impact in a game between two sides who like to keep the ball on the deck.
Pre A mild afternoon here at the DW, where Colin Pascoe has just distributed his cones ahead of the warm up.
Pre Second best pies in the Premier League on offer here at the DW. The best? We reckon it's West Brom.
Pre Daniel Sturridge not passed fit to play any part at Wigan.
Pre And the subs: Gulacsi, Wisdom, Shelvey, Assaidi, Henderson, Coates, Suso.
Pre Here is the Liverpool team that starts against Wigan: Reina, Johnson, Enrique, Agger, Carragher, Lucas, Allen, Gerrard, Downing, Coutinho, Suarez.
Pre Wigan fan Paul Farrington on how to beat Wigan: "We have a soft defence that is prone to errors, particularly when away teams attack us on the break. We commit too many men forward and then the quickest counter-attacking teams just rip us to shreds on the break."
Pre @ThinkingLFC: Those in favour of a winter break in the UK imagine waiting another week and a half for the next Liverpool game.
Pre Wigan have conceded 27 goals at home this season - the most in the top flight along with Reading.
Pre In the seven fixtures at Wigan the Latics have scored only three times against Liverpool, and have never scored more than once against the Merseysiders in front of their home fans.
Pre The Latics' only home win over Liverpool came in March 2010 when Hugo Rodallega scored the only goal.
Pre Wigan are playing in the Premier League for the eighth successive season - a longer run than 10 of the current top-flight teams.
Pre Here are a few stats on today's opponents...
Pre Meanwhile, the Reds have already scored two more league goals than they did in the whole of last season, with 11 games of this campaign remaining.
Pre Steven Gerrard's next goal will see him equal Michael Owen's tally of 158 goals for the club.
Pre @Skippy_Doo_Daa: Finally a bit of #lfc football this weekend. Seems like ages since they've last been on!
Pre ...In a League Cup tie in 1989, Steve Staunton became the first substitute in Liverpool's history to score three goals in a game, a feat only equalled by Steven Gerrard in November 2010 against Napoli.
Pre Only one player has scored a hat-trick for Liverpool against Wigan...
Pre Liverpool's last victory at Wigan came in September 2007 when substitute Yossi Benayoun scored the only goal.
Pre The Uruguayan told Liverpoolfc.com: "I think we've turned in some great performances in the league which have shown the real Liverpool that everyone wants to see, which will serve as the basis for what happens next year. I think the team is developing nicely, the new signings have settled in well, the manager is happy and I think if we carry on in the same vein we could have a very good season next time around."
Pre Whatever happens in Liverpool's remaining 11 games, Suarez is confident that foundations have been laid for a successful 2013-14...
Pre Luis Suarez is two goals away from becoming the first LFC player to score 20 league goals in a campaign since Fernando Torres five seasons ago.
Pre @Petermcdowall10: Double-thermals today - just a creative spin on Jimmy Corkhill's double-denim. Wigan is always cold, even in pre-season.
Pre Welcome to today's match centre, providing you with live text updates and in-play Opta stats from Wigan versus Liverpool. This page also features scores from around the Barclays Premier League and an embedded version of LFC TV's matchday show and audio commentary for online subscribers.




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