SER MVP of the Week: Yossi Benayoun

By Ben on September 15, 2009

Player Performance:

Possibly playing the match of his life, and at the very least the best in his career at the Merseyside, Yossi Benayoun had his first Premier League Liverpool hat-trick on the weekend, which earns him SER’s MVP of the Week. The Israeli captain started the game playing in Gerrard’s typical shadow striker position, while the Liverpool skipper was playing deeper in the center of midfield. Yossi’s performance started in the 27th minute with a purposeful, driving run down the center straight at the Burnley center-backs. He cheekily nutmegged Burnley’s sweeper and calmly slotted into the far post past a stranded Jensen. He set up the Reds’ second when his long range effort was parried by Jensen into Dirk Kuyt’s path. Benayoun’s 2nd came in the 61st minute of play, when Gerrard played it straight to his feet directly in front of goal for a tap-in. The goal that secured his hat-trick was 9 minutes from time, when Voronin’s pin point pass found the Israel one-on-one with the keeper. He kept his head and coolly finished his hat-trick by sliding it past Burnley keeper Jensen. These three goals (and 1/2 an assist) secured Yossi Benayoun’s title as SER MVP of the Week.

Match Summary:

Liverpool’s season is firmly back on track after a Yossi Benayoun hat-trick left promoted Burnley overwhelmed. They could not live with a vibrant Liverpool, who kept up an impressive high tempo throughout and are slowly wiping away the memory of those two early league defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. Benayoun scored his first from the edge of the box, and saw his shot parried by the overworked Brian Jensen for Dirk Kuyt to add the second before the break. Steven Gerrard’s pass set up Benayoun for his second, a close-range tap-in, before the Israeli was sent clear by substitute Andriy Voronin for his third and Liverpool’s fourth. (Summary Courtesy of premierleague.com)