Liverpool were like an octopus yesterday night, knocking a blow after a blow over Beisktas by its every arm. But while an octopus is considered as having a soft body, Liverpool were silky rather than soft as they achieved the biggest score in Champions League history. They skimmed past every Turk with certain ease and panache. For a team that started the game rather snookered and behind the eight ball, this was a pretty emphatic win and display. While Besiktas might not be one of the aristocrats of European football, it was only a fortnight ago that they have inflicted a defeat on the reds and had cast talk of crisis and doom over Anfield. This morning, the lads must have woken up to a much brighter sky and feel in one step above seventh heaven. The drought of goals felt so far at Anfield since the Derby rout, as long ago as the very beginning of September has been finally flooded off.

The misfiring at Blackburn Dirk Kuyt was left on the bench and made way for the effective substitute Peter Crouch. Fernando Torres was put on the bench rather prematurely when after the Arsenal match there was talk of him being out for three weeks. Benitez seemed to leave one very last card up his sleeve should the drought at Anfield continue, in a game where victory was the only option. He needn’t have worried as Crouch confirmed that his effective late cameos were no fluke, as on the nineteenth minute he opened the score. Yossi Benayoun then took over, adding the second shortly after courtesy to a perfect pass by Andriy Voronin. Liverpool then made their way to the dressing-room with a seemingly comfortable two goal lead. But the Jew made sure that the comfortable lead turns into an unassailable one by two other goals in the first eleven minutes of the second half, thus registering his first hat-trick in Liverpool colours. Voronin then sliced open again the Besiktas defence by back-heeling his captain’s pass in the path of the former’s advanced run which the captain duly finished by a powerful shot. A scintillating finish by the substitute Babel made it six nil as the Dutch seemed to look sideways, let the ball manoeuver between his legs and through his back heel flicked it past the keeper. Minutes later, luck favoured the brave as Babbel ran towards their last man to pressure him. The clearance only went as far as Babel’s back and ricocheted into the net. After opening the night procession of goals, Crouch concluded the night by a header after a Benayoun’s cross.

Liverpool’s destiny in the Champions League is in their hands now. Porto and Marseille will surely offer a tougher opposition but yesterday the reds just massacred what they had before them, and even stronger teams would have found it harder to live with them. Last September, Liverpool had the wind knocked off their sails after the Derby rout by the international break. This time, Liverpool will be facing Fulham at Anfield in just four days. Liverpool have now the wind blowing in their sails, clearing on the way the foggy atmosphere that was dazing the route of any Liverpool goal.