LIVERPOOL 4-0 BLACKBURN: THE VERDICT

LIVERPOOL 4 - 0 BLACKBURN ROVERS Saturday 11 April 2009 12:45 , Barclays Premier League

LIVERPOOL 4-0 BLACKBURN: THE VERDICT Fernando Torres scored two fantastic goals as Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers on the day the Kop paid tribute to the 96. Here's the best of the post-match reaction. The local paper First came the solemn remembrance, then the celebration - it is difficult to imagine a more fitting way of commemorating the impending anniversary of British football's worst ever sporting disaster. As ever at this time of year, Hillsborough dominated everyone's thoughts at Anfield on Saturday. So much so that when Fernando Torres scored the game's opening goal he raised his fingers to the heavens in tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives following the tragic events of April 15, 1989. Blackburn's Stephen Warnock - a former Liverpool player and lifelong Red - embodied the enduring class and dignity of one of the Premier League's most traditional and respected clubs by laying a floral tribute in front of the Kop before kick-off. But perhaps the greatest tribute of all came on the pitch where Liverpool's players delivered the kind of performance for which this truly special football club is so revered and which encourages so many thousands of people to follow them wherever they play. Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo The national newspaper The stunning finishes which despatched a ramshackle Blackburn team merely posed the question where Rafa Benitez's side might be if Torres' campaign had not been so severely disrupted by a succession of hamstring injuries. The breathtaking shot Torres battered past Paul Robinson - a strike which carried shades of Marco van Basten's effort for Holland against Russia at Euro 88, even if the angle was not as acute - and the deft header which followed, took his Premier League tally to 11 in just 19 games. Paul Joyce, Daily Express The tabloid Fernando Torres took a ball from Jamie Carragher on his chest, swivelled magnificently and volleyed from an acute angle over Paul Robinson into the far top corner. It was goal not a million miles away from Marco van Basten's memorable strike in the 1988 European Championship final, and one which destroyed any pretensions Rovers may have held that they could take anything from Anfield. David Maddock, The Mirror The player These goals are for the 96 and their families because I know that Saturday was a special day for them with it being the home game closest to the anniversary. Fernando Torres The player He is the best striker in the world. The goals that he scores are just unbelievable. Look at the first one today. It was incredible. He makes it look so simple too. Yossi Benayoun The boss To play a good game, score goals and not concede - it was the perfect response by the players. Rafael Benitez