Same atmosphere, same victor, same disgruntled manager
Chris O'Keefeat Anfield
No talk of “ghost goals” this time, although Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho did try to persuade the public his side were again the best in a losing cause against Liverpool.
However, the only sense of Déjà vu compared to that much vaunted night in 2005, when Anfield apparently scored the only goal of the semi-final en route to a fifth European Cup, was the atmosphere of the ground. Not an identikit night to that one, but there were more than enough hints of the roar which reduced well hyped, well paid trophy hunters to a role of mere mortals.
Daniel Agger’s goal electrified Liverpool and probably exercised more confidence from a crowd all too aware of the dangers of an away goal at that stage. Unlike the much derided decider of 2005, no arguments to the merit of this finish! A well worked set piece, which Liverpool have fell victim to in the past of the ball played deeper to oncoming players to have a clear shot. Remember Maldini’s effort in Istanbul? It seemed Benitez’s men paid attention and executed the same plan, Petr Cech helpless, a rare sight in his Chelsea career as the ground erupted.
Jose Mourinho, rather bizarrely dusted down the 2005 post-match thoughts of ‘we were the better side’. It may have had merit then but looked an anomaly in this event.
He said: “Chelsea showed the appetite to win the game and in a difficult place to play with a great atmosphere, Chelsea played to win.
“The players are very, very sad, especially because they feel they did absolutely everything.”
Those sentiments were odd because, on the Liverpool seem to edge the game in normal time, having more possession and five decent chances to finish the tie, including a Dirk Kuyt header which beat Cech but not the woodwork. Cech had earlier stopped Peter Crouch from scoring with a fine low save, when a goal looked ominous.
Chelsea’s game plan was odd at times. Didier Drogba, a constant thorn in Liverpool’s side at Stamford Bridge, was seemingly pre-occupied with trying to entice fouls out of the centre back pairing of Carragher and Agger, rather than focus on how to beat Reina who only had one meaningful save to make in the whole game.
Lampard was anonymous for large parts of the game and work at free-kicks, when they blaze high and handsome, were of little consequence to Chelsea’s quest. The best players on either side were probably Claude Makelele and Javier Mascherano, both defensive midfielders both produced endless running and cool heads in a tense situation. As the game wore on, penalties looked inevitable!
When Chelsea players stepped up, the crowd were suddenly a cacophony of intimidation, and it didn’t help that the opposing goalkeeper has a habit of repelling spot kicks. Only Lampard could make an impression on the scoreboard, as Arjen Robben and Geremi, a penalty taker of fair reputation in the past, missed.
Liverpool, on the other hand, were inch perfect. Zenden, Alonso, Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt, who ran himself silly with little reward, finally put the seal on another great in Liverpool’s history and a place in the final.
Although both AC Milan and Manchester United are sides to be reckoned with, Liverpool great tradition and following will be a huge task to overcome as they look to maintain an imperious record in the European Cup.
posted by C O'K @ 2:51 pm
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