| David Ngog blasted Liverpool into the fourth round of the Carling Cup with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United on Tuesday night. Call LFC TV now on 0845 234 4567 to discuss the game.
The French U21 ensured Rafa Benitez and co escaped Elland Road reputation in tact after a hard-fought contest.
It took more than an hour for the deadlock to be broken, but no one will remember how Liverpool had to toil should they go on to reach their first League Cup final since 2005.
Jamie Carragher and Javier Mascherano were the only survivors from Saturday's 3-2 victory over West Ham, though Benitez had the insurance of Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard on his bench.
For much of the match it looked like they might be required as Leeds set about dominating the first Premier League club to visit Elland Road since their top flight relegation in 2004.
Simon Grayson's side should have opened the scoring on 11 minutes when winger Robert Snodgrass maneuvered into space down the right and planted a cross onto the head of captain Jonathan Howson, who somehow powered into the stands.
The home fans had barely caught their breath when Jermaine Beckford nodded towards the bottom corner only to have his glory snatched by Luciano Becchio, who stuck out a superfluous leg to guide the ball home. The Elland Road faithful were in raptures until they spotted the linesman's flag raised high along the West Stand touchline. Becchio was offside and red faced; Beckford wanted answers.
Becchio, who scored 19 goals last term, almost made amends when he turned skipper-for-the-night Carragher before sending a 20-yard effort into the hoardings.
Liverpool had yet to settle, with only a single break to their name when Philipp Degen showed terrific pace to beat a man before finding lone striker Ngog. The Frenchman tried to return the pass and give Degen an unmissable opportunity but his cross was intercepted.
Finally Ryan Babel seized some initiative on 29 minutes with a probing run down field, outpacing two home defenders before having a low shot from a tight angle saved.
Leeds responded instantly through Snodgrass, who was causing Andrea Dossena problems down the right. His cross went beyond Diego Cavalieri towards Becchio, who was only denied after a superb last-ditch intervention from Carragher.
The closest Liverpool came during the first period followed an in-swinging free-kick from Fabio Aurelio on 44 minutes. Riera leaped high to meet the ball but his header was palmed away by Shane Higgs. The Spaniard flung his forehead at the rebound but was again denied.
The second period began with another great run by Snodgrass to beat Dossena, and a superb piece of defending was required from Mascherano to stop Beckford blasting beyond Cavalieri.
It was turning out to be a testing night for the visitors. Next Beckford broke free of Carragher and Kyrgiakos before forcing a fabulous close-range stop from Cavalieri.
"We're not famous anymore" sang the Elland Road patrons with glee, but tonight their side was rolling back the years.
All they needed now was a goal. Star striker Beckford came close with an acrobatic effort from Bradley Johnson's left-wing cross. Just over.
Seconds later their hearts sank as Liverpool took the lead. It was Mascherano, who'd been in the wars for much of the second period, who breached the Leeds backline on 65 minutes with a low ball into the box to Ngog. The young striker turned and sidefooted beyond Higgs with minimum fuss to claim his second goal of the campaign.
Leeds, who had given everything for an hour, struggled to lift themselves despite the best efforts of their fans. First Johnson and then Gerrard were duly sent on by Benitez to make their task even tougher.
Gerrard almost added a second in stoppage time with a shot that stung the hands of Higgs, while Babel also came close late on.
Teams
Liverpool: Cavalieri, Dossena, Carragher (captain), Kyrgiakos, Degen, Aurelio, Spearing, Mascherano, Riera, Babel, Ngog. Subs - Gerrard, Torres, Plessis, Voronin, Johnson, Skrtel, Reina
Leeds United: Higgs, Hughes, Kisnorbo, Michalik, Crowe, Johnson, Doyle, Howson (captain), Snodgrass, Beckford, Becchio. Subs - Ankergen, Naylor, Prutton, Showunmi, Robinson, Grella, Kilkenny
Referee: Alan Wiley
Conditions: Mild
Attendance: 36,168
Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Javier Mascherano
Breakdown
18:45 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Leeds get this Carling Cup tie underway
1 min : Liverpool playing a 4-3-3 formation with Riera and Babel supporting Ngog in attack
2 mins : Beckford goes down in the area but ref Alan Wiley isn't interested in the penalty claim
4 mins : Ngog speeds down the right and creates space for Degen, but Leeds clear the danger
6 mins : Babel shows neat skill down the right to win a corner, which comes to nothing
9 mins : Good play by Dossena on the left but Crowe is across quickly to cover
11 mins : Best chance of the night so far as Snodgrass crosses from the right and Doyle heads wide when unmarked in the area
12 mins : Beckford has the ball in the net but the goal is ruled out for offside. TV replays suggest Leeds are unlucky
15 mins : Leeds win a couple of quick corners, the second of which falls to Doyle who blazes over
17 mins : Spearing tries his luck from distance and wins a corner. From the kick Kyrgiakos almost makes contact in front of goal
21 mins : Good run by Snodgrass as he wins a corner off Dossena
23 mins : Degen takes a bang on the ankle from Johnson and is left limping away
24 mins : Becchio has space outside the box but drags his shot wide of the far post
30 mins : Babel embarks on an excellent run and after making space for himself he fires tamely at the goalkeeper
32 mins : Carragher is there in the nick of time to clear the danger after good play between Beckford and Snodgrass
36 mins : Crowe has space on the right but his cross is behind the goal and into the thousands of travelling Liverpool fans
39 mins : Spearing charges into space but his long range effort is blocked
40 mins : First Booking: Sotirios Kyrgiakos:
43 mins : First Booking: Jason Crowe:
44 mins : Riera brings a fine save from the Leeds goalkeeper with a heade from Aurelio's free kick. A mad scramble follows which Liverpool can't turn into a goal
19:32 GMT : Half Time Reached
19:48 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : We're back underway with the scores goalless at Elland Road
47 mins : Really good play from Snodgrass in the centre of the area, but eventually the Reds get the ball away
48 mins : Crowe finds space on the right but his cross towards Beckford is blocked
51 mins : Neat play from Degen down the right and he wins a corner - can we make it count?
52 mins : Aurelio's delivery is well headed clear by Johnson
54 mins : Golden chance for Beckford as he races clear onto a long ball but he can't beat Cavalieri from close range
60 mins : Mascherano strikes for goal from 25 yards but the effort flies low and wide
63 mins : Another chance falls for Beckford but his shot on the turn in the area just clears the Liverpool goal
62 mins : Spearing releases Babel into the area and we have another corner on the right hand side
65 mins : GOAL! David Ngog: Ngog controls the ball well in the area before turning and firing into the far corner to open the scoring
68 mins : Degen bursts into the box and delivers a low cross into the area which Ngog is inches away from converting
70 mins : Substitution: Glen Johnson for Philipp Degen:
78 mins : Substitution: Steven Gerrard for David Ngog:
79 mins : Substitution: Neil Kilkenny for Andy Hughes:
81 mins : Substitution: Mike Grella for Luciano Becchio:
84 mins : Good defending by Johnson as Leeds look threatening late in the game
85 mins : Babel wins a free kick on the edge of the area - good chance to finish the game from here
86 mins : Aurelio takes the kick which is deflected over for a corner
88 mins : Babel isn't too far away with a long range effort
88 mins : Substitution: Enoch Showunmi for Michael Doyle:
90 mins : Substitution: Martin Skrtel for Ryan Babel:
90 mins : Four extra minutes to be played
20:37 GMT : Match Over
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