Brendan Rodgers' first game at the help of Liverpool FC couldn't have possibly been any more of a disaster. His side played an unspectacular, but rather even game for most of the first half until Zoltan Gera scored a stunning goal to put the Baggies ahead. The second half was much worse for Liverpool, who had Daniel Agger sent off, signaling the start of West Brom's domination in a 3-0 rout.
The score should have been a lot worse than it was, and doesn't do justice to how completely useless the Reds were in the second half. Gera's stunning 20-yard volley in the 43nd minute set the stage for a meltdown of a second half, and things truly got ugly in the 59th minute. That's when Daniel Agger pushed down Shane Long in the box, giving away a penalty and picking up a red card.
Lucky for Agger and Liverpool, Long took a terrible penalty and kicked the ball right into the arms of Pepe Reina. They stayed in the match for another four minutes until the Baggies drew another penalty, this time conceded by Martin Skrtel. Peter Odemwingie stepped up to take the second spot kick of the game and buried it, putting West Brom up 2-0.
Romelu Lukaku came on as a substitute for his debut and was brilliant, setting up one great chance and buring another. James Morrison missed an absolute sitter set up by Lukaku, but the Belgian international would make up for the missed opportunity four minutes later, heading in a Liam Ridgewell cross to seal a 3-0 victory for his side.
You can find updates on the other games across England in our Premier League Week 1 StoryStream. You can read more about the Reds at Liverpool blogs The Liverpool Offside and Anfield Asylum.
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