2009–10 Liverpool F.C. season
March
#### March

Liverpool opened March with a 1–0 loss to [Wigan Athletic](/wiki/Wigan_Athletic_F.C. "Wigan Athletic F.C.") at the [DW Stadium](/wiki/DW_Stadium "DW Stadium"). Dirk Kuyt gifted the goal to Wigan, attempting to pass it back to Pepe Reina, but [Hugo Rodallega](/wiki/Hugo_Rodallega "Hugo Rodallega") skipped past [Javier Mascherano](/wiki/Javier_Mascherano "Javier Mascherano") and chipped the ball over the oncoming Reina to ultimately win the game for the Latics ten minutes before half\-time. Glen Johnson came on as a substitute for Liverpool on his return from injury. Liverpool's second game of March was at home to near relegated Portsmouth. Portsmouth were in the hunt to do the 'double' over Liverpool after their morale\-boosting 2–0 victory back in December. Fernando Torres opened the scoring for Liverpool with his 14th goal of the season after 28 minutes. Ryan Babel doubled Liverpool's advantage on the half\-hour mark. Italian Alberto Aquilani scored his first goal in English football to make it 3–0 on 32 minutes. Fernando Torres scored his second of the night and Liverpool's fourth on 77 minutes. Portsmouth grabbed a sole consolation in the last minute thanks to [Nadir Belhadj](/wiki/Nadir_Belhadj "Nadir Belhadj"), but Liverpool ran out comfortable winners.

Liverpool's third game of March saw them renew rivalries with old foes [Manchester United](/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C. "Manchester United F.C.") at [Old Trafford](/wiki/Old_Trafford "Old Trafford"). Liverpool took the lead after just five minutes after Dirk Kuyt released captain Steven Gerrard, who fed in Fernando Torres. Torres shot with excellent power which left United goalkeeper [Edwin van der Sar](/wiki/Edwin_van_der_Sar "Edwin van der Sar") with no chance. Controversy flared when Liverpool's Argentinian midfielder Javier Mascherano appeared to have fouled [Antonio Valencia](/wiki/Antonio_Valencia "Antonio Valencia") in the penalty box. TV replays clearly showed that the foul was outside of the box. [Wayne Rooney](/wiki/Wayne_Rooney "Wayne Rooney") took the penalty and scored the rebound after Pepe Reina's save. United continued to pour forward in numbers, and finally got the goal their play deserved, when veteran winger [Ryan Giggs](/wiki/Ryan_Giggs "Ryan Giggs") crossed. The ball missed everyone apart from Ji Sung Park, who scored despite the close attention from the Liverpool [right back](/wiki/Right_back "Right back") [Glen Johnson](/wiki/Glen_Johnson_%28English_footballer%29 "Glen Johnson (English footballer)"). The 2–1 win for United was Sir [Alex Ferguson](/wiki/Alex_Ferguson "Alex Ferguson")'s 100th home Barclays Premier League win.

Liverpool wrapped up March with an impressive 3–0 win over Sunderland at Anfield. Liverpool took the lead with only 6 minutes on the clock. Great work from in\-form Spaniard Fernando Torres on the left resulted in him cutting inside two defenders before a high, curling shot flew into the top right\-hand corner. Liverpool cruised into a 2–0 lead when a corner broke loose to right back Glen Johnson, who skipped past a Sunderland defender before unleashing a left\-foot strike that took a deflection. Sunderland rarely exerted any pressure to force Liverpool into defensive play in the second half, which meant Liverpool could counter\-attack without worrying about numbers at the back. During one of these counterattacks, Liverpool scored their third and final goal, with Johnson fooling everyone by releasing the ball through to Fernando Torres. Torres scored into an empty net to give Liverpool three goals and three points.


Which player opened the scoring for Liverpool against Portsmouth?