Last update - 00:00 07/11/2007
Yossi Benayoun nets hat trick for Liverpool in Champions League match
By Rami Hipsh, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Staff and Agencies
Yossi Benayoun hit a historic hat trick Tuesday night, as Liverpool demolished Besiktas of Turkey 8-0 in a Champions League match at Anfield.
After creating a little slice of history with his first goal - Liverpool's 500th in the Champions League and, before that, the European Cup - Benayoun went on to become the first player to score a hat trick in this year's competition and the first Israeli to score three times in a game in the Champions League.
As if three goals were not enough, Benayoun also recorded two assists. He played the ball through to Ryan Babel in the 69th minute, who backheeled the ball past Hakan with his back to the goal to take a 6-0 lead.
Benayoun then set up Peter Crouch for a header in the 89th minute, and Liverpool's eight goal of the match.
The win was also the biggest winning margin in Champions League history, and - after collecting just one point from its opening three matches - last season's defeated finalist had to capture three points to avoid a humiliating premature exit.
In the second game in Group A last night, FC Porto downed Marseille, 2-1.
In Group B, Avram Grant failed to make it a perfect night for Israel's representatives in the competition, as his Chelsea side was held to a 0-0 draw by Schalke in Germany. Also in Group B, Steffen Iversen scored in the 31st and 58th minutes to bring Rosenborg a 2-0 win over Valencia. The result leaves Valencia unlikely to reach the second round and spoiled Ronald Koeman's first match as its coach. Valencia has 3 points from four games, while Rosenborg, playing its first Champions League game under coach Trond Henriksen, has seven and is well placed to advance. Chelsea tops the group with 8 points.
In a Group C game in Athens, Olympiakos held Real Madrid to a 0-0 draw, with the Spaniards squandering a string of chances. Madrid dominated most the game, twice hitting the post in the first half with shots from Gabriel Heinze and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Robinho also came close, but his early effort was blocked by Olympiakos goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis.
Also in Group C, Lazio edged Werder Bremen, 2-1.
In Group D, there were wins for Celtic, which downed Benfica 1-0 in Glasgow, and Milan, which trounced Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine, 3-0.