By PHIL THOMAS
BRENDAN RODGERS played Russian roulette to get the Euro bandwagon back on the rails — and saw Stewart Downing fire the bullet which did just that.
The Kop boss rolled out all his big guns to face Guus Hiddink’s glamour boys, just three days before the derby trip to Everton.
And he was rewarded with a Downing thunderbolt to clinch a priceless win.
Rodgers admitted: “It’s three clean sheets in a row now, which is important for us.
“We’re adding that bit of steel and concentration to some of the footballing elements that we’re working on.”
Ironically, Downing had been anonymous in a first half spent roaming the flanks. Yet when he was switched to left-back to replace Glen Johnson after the break, he took just eight minutes to find a way through.
It was easy to see why the Reds chief stuck his eggs in one basket, with trips to Italy and Russia ahead, and the earlier 3-2 Anfield defeat by Udinese in this competition.
Yet for all Anzhi’s megabucks the one thing they cannot buy is spirit. There was more heart and fight from those in red shirts than the Anzhi ranks.
Luis Suarez was lively as ever and would have celebrated with a well-earned goal if one rocket had been a foot to the right.
Skipper Steven Gerrard drove his team forward relentlessly, while at the back Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel were rocks.
In fact, Agger thought he had bagged the cheekiest of goals, heading out of keeper Vladimir Gabulov’s hand as he waited to clear and firing home — only to earn a booking for his troubles.
On the wing, new boy Oussama Assaidi is also growing into his role and could have won a penalty for Mehdi Carcela- Gonzalez’s hefty challenge.
By and large it was a job well done by the men in red. The fact they ended the night with breathing space at the head of the group was the icing on the cake.
