Liverpool 4 Arsenal 2 - CL QF 2nd Leg (Apr 8 2008)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 4 Arsenal 2

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) – Sami Hyypia, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard (pen), Ryan Babel Half Time - 1-1 Venue - Anfield Date - Tue 8 April 2008 Star Man – Dirk Kuyt

 

 

 

How do you do justice to a game like that? I don’t even know where to start. I guess it would have been more surprising if it had been a dull, routine one sided clash that saw either ourselves or the Gunners go through. Anfield on a European night never does dull or routine though. Without fail it throws up tense, dramtic, heart stopping occasions, and invariably it’s the redmen who are left standing at the end of it.

This was no different, although for a long spell in the first half, and a very brief time in the second, it didn’t look like it would end up that way. Arsenal had qualification in their sights twice, but they couldn’t get the job done and we picked ourselves up off the floor to deliver deliver two late knockout blows.

Just where this game ranks in the Anfield Euro Night Hall of Hame I couldn’t begin to say, certainly not so soon after the event. If we were to go on to reach the final or even win it, then this game will possibly take on St Ettienne type status. If we don’t, it’ll be more of an Auxerre I guess. All I know is that this game aged me ten years. I really struggled to deal with the nerves this time.

I should be used to it, we’ve had so many massive games that have frayed every last nerve and ensured fingernails were chewed down to stumps. But I found this one to be the worst yet. I don’t know why that was, maybe I was tired (too many late nights working on the new issue - out this Sunday by the way!), maybe I’m getting old and can’t handle the tension anymore, or perhaps it’s because the fear of losing is greater than it’s ever been. At the moment, the only thing distracting people from the shocking mess our club is in off the field, is the possibility of reaching another European Cup Final.

If that is taken away, suddenly there isn’t anything to deflect away from the seriousness of the continuing ownership debacle, and the realisation of jst how bad things are will set in . Whatever the reason, this game drained the fuck out of me and I was a mess afterwards. And that was despite the fact we won!

The strange thing is, I was confident beforehand, especially when I saw the team. Me and Rafa have really been on the same page lately. I put up on the forum the team I’d have started with at the Emirates last weekend, and Rafa went with the same line up. I put on the forum this week that I’d play Crouch instead of Babel, and he did it. Shame I gave up on that Fantasy Rafa thing months ago, as I’d have had maximum points these last two games.

So when I saw the line up, I was well pleased and convinced we’d blitz Arsenal from the off and get the job done early. What I hadn’t expected though was the way the players lined up. I thought we’d see Torres and Kuyt either side of Crouch with Gerrard in behind. I didn’t expect Gerrard left wing in a 442. Maybe that’s why we got off to such a bad start, and maybe that’s why Stevie was way below par.

Personally I’m not so sure. It’s an obvious explanation, and probably the correct one. But who’s to say our bad start wasn’t due to nerves? And who’s to say Gerrard wouldn’t have had a poor game even if he’d been used in his regular position? We’ll never know, but my own opinion is that it wasn’t so much the formation that was our problem, it was more individual errors that led to a bad start and made us nervous.

Then there’s the opposition. Arsenal were fantastic for the opening 25 minutes or so. They obviously decided they were coming to attack, and not to sit back and counter attack. That, coupled with our hesitant start, saw them build up a head of steam and begin to pass us off the park. In truth, we couldn’t get near them, and when they took the lead I don’t think it was that much of a shock. I wouldn’t say it had been coming, as they hadn’t threatened that much, but there was a menace about them and they were on top.

Fabregas, Hleb and the hugely under-rated Diaby were passing their way through our midfield with an ease that almost defied belief. No-one does that to Mascherano without him being able to get a foot in somewhere, but they did it. Alonso and Mascherano were trying to get close to them to put them under pressure, but by the time they attempted a tackle, the ball wasn’t there anymore and the man had already set off looking for a return pass. It was brilliant football and we were struggling to deal with it.

We didn’t help ourselves by regularly giving the ball back to them, and the tone for that was set in the opening minute when Alonso carelessly gave the ball away. He struggled in the first half an hour, but he wasn’t alone. Mascherano, Gerrard and Reina all gave the ball away very cheaply in the opening few minutes, and we looked very nervous.

The goal was poor from our perspective. We had chances to clear but didn’t get it away far enough. There looked like a handball from Flamini but it wasn’t given, and no-one picked up Diaby as he ran onto Fabregas’ pass and then drilled a shot past Reina and in at the near post. Should Pepe have done better? Probably. I don’t think he could have reacted to the shot any quicker, as it flew past and he couldn’t be expected to save it. But maybe his positioning was off a little and he left too big a gap?

We werein trouble at that point. A goal down and being outplayed, plus we no longer had the advnatage of the away goal from last week. I’m not sure exactly what changed, and how we managed to stem the tide and get back into the game. The goal helped, obviously, but for a few minutes before that I thought it looked like we’d started to get a bit of a foothold in the game. Two things I felt were important in this were Kuyt’s harrying and Aurelio’s composure.

We’d been chasing shadows for a while, but eventually Kuyt began to catch those shadows, and tackle them. He was phenomenal I thought. He didn’t give them a second’s peace, and when he started getting amongst them and getting some tackles in, others began to follow suit. Once we began doing that, we took over the game. The first half an hour was Arsenal’s, the rest of the game was ours.

Aurelio’s composure on the ball helped us settle. He was a good outlet as he doesn’t panic when he has the ball, and he always looks to pick out a pass rather than just get the ball upfield. He produced our first shot of the game when he chested the ball down on the right corner of the box and blasted over with his right foot. Had it been on his left foot it might have been a different story.

We were beginning to settle at that point, and it was more incisive play from the full back that led to the equaliser. The Brazilian played a superb one-two with Gerrard, and his deflected cros saw Almunia claw the ball away at full stretch to concede a corner. Even though our corners are invariably shit, I still always get my hopes up whenever we get one, although it’s nothing compared to the level of dread I feel when we concede one!

Generally we let in goals from set-pieces, but don’t score many. So seeing Sami lose his marker and plant a glorious header into the top corner was especially sweet. Arsenal had scored from a corner last week, and we once again were subjected to the ‘zonal marking’ debate. I await a full and frank media investigation into the pitfalls of man to man marking after the way Senderos lost Hyypia. Or maybe not, as you can be sure it won’t be mentioned. Had that been us conceding a free header like that though...

I say free header, but that’s doing Sami a bit of an injustice. Free header it may have been, but he had a gap of about two square foot in which to put that ball, and he wasn’t exactly close in either. It was a brilliant header, and from my seat in the Main Stand I had a glorious view of it. It looked like it was going wide initially, as I was right behind it and it started out past the far post and curled inwards. It seemed like everything suddenly went into slow motion as the ball traveled goalwards. Had Fabregas been a few inches taller he’d have cleared it. But then if he’d been a few inches taller he wouldn’t have been guarding the post.

The goal was a huge relief, and remarkably it was the third time Big Sami has scored in a CL quarter final. That man is a 100% bonafied Liverpool Legend. Arguably as good a defender as we’ve ever had, he’s also a great pro and a great ambassador for the club. They broke the mould when they made Sami Hyypia. A word hasn’t yet been invented for how great Sami Hyypia has been for us.

The goal settled us down, and knocked the stuffing out of them a bit. We took control of the game and they weren’t finding the time and space they were before. Mascherano and Alonso got a grip of the midfield, and Hyypia and Skrtel began to boss Adebayor. I was still really worried at this point, because the a second away goal would put us in real trouble as we’d need to score at least two more.

At 1-1 Arsenal were favourites, as they only needed one goal to ensure we had to score two. Still, at half time I still had confidence we’d do it, but we’d need to play better and we’d need a lot more from Steven Gerrard. He struggled in the first half, and seemed to be caught in two minds about where he should be playing. A few times I looked at him when there was a stoppage in play or something, and his head was down. He knew he wasn’t playing well (and fair play to him for saying so afterwards), but he never hid and was always looking for the ball. Nothing was going right for him though.

Torres was quiet too, but there was still a menace about him. The partnership with Crouch wasn’t as effective as we’d have liked, but I’d say that was more down to us not ‘controlling the game’ enough, and Gerrard not being on his game. Crouch played well, he did nothing wrong, he just didn’t get the kind of service he needs to be a goal threat.

His presence though gives us an option that we can’t have unless he’s on the pitch, and it proved decisive in Torres’ wonderful goal that put us in front. He got the merest of touches to flick the ball into the path of El Nino in the penalty area. Calling it an ‘assist’ is stretching it a bit, as when Torres got the ball there wasn’t even half a chance at that point. One quick swivel of the hips later and suddenly there was space for a shot, and the outcome was never in doubt.

Phenomenal goal from a phenomenal player. Cue most of Anfield ‘bouncing’. The goal put us in the driving seat, but even so it could all change around completely with just one goal from them. Whatever happened now, there would be no extra time and penalties. That was one thing to be thankful for I guess.

We were on top, and they looked tired to me. They didn’t look like they could put us under any sustained pressure, as we were closing them down and not giving them time on the ball. But it would only take one swift exchange of passes and they’d be in. Its what they do, and they are always a danger because of it.

One such example of it should have brought the equaliser from Adebayor. I don’t even remember how it came about, just that there were a few passes exchanged on the left and a ball was played behind our defence to the big forward. He’s had a great season and scored plenty of goals, so naturally I assumed he would finish it. It was a heart stopping moment as he shaped to shoot, but immediately when he struck the ball it was obvious he’d fluffed it. Major let off.

They’d brought Walcott on to give them fresh legs and extra pace, and Rafa followed suit by sending on Babel for Crouch. The big man was clearly disappointed to see his number go up, but it was the sensible decision at the time, and it was proved even more so by what followed. But Crouch can be pleased with his contribution, and the decision to bring him off was purely to do with us needing pace on the counter attack.

Arsenal had to throw men forward, and Babel is a better bet to exploit the gaps than Crouch. It was the right decision to start Crouch, and it was the right decision to bringhim off at that time.

Defending a one goal advnatage at that stage of the game, the last thing you want to do is concede a goal on the counter attack. It’s the cardinal sin in fact, and Rafa will have been furious about it. We were looking for the killer third goal, and had plenty of players forward when Gerrard completely missed his kick on the edge of the box and the ball broke to Walcott.

Aurelio was on hand to deal with it, but Walcott got away from him. My first reaction then was to call for Aurelio to foul him. In fairness, he tried, but Walcott was too fast and too elusive and he wriggled away. Mascherano chased him the length of the pitch and tried to bring him down, but ended up running into Hyypia as Walcott went past both of them.

After a run like that, I think we all knew how it was going to end. The ball was cut back into the middle, behind Skrtel, and right into the path of Adebayor who slotted past Pepe. Heartbreaking, and I doubt I was alone in thinking that we were going out. Adebayor’s celebration pissed me off big time. There’s celebrating a goal, and there’s rubbing people’s noses in it. It’s a fine line, and I think he crossed it.

Still, his joy didn’t last long. Babel picked up the ball, and turned into John Barnes. He burst past Fabregas, who pulled him back, knocking him off balance as he continued into the box. Then Toure had a little tug at him as he ran across his path, and Babel went tumbling. The contact from Toure alone probably wouldn’t have been enough to fell Babel, but when combined with the foul from Fabregas there was no way Babel could stay on his feet.

The referee instantly pointed to the spot, and I began to feel sick. I saw Gerrard collect the ball, and I just thought about how the game had gone for him. He was going to miss wasn’t he? I almost didn’t watch, I think I was having some sort of panic attack as I was shaking and felt ill. I was freezing, which may have contributed to the shaking, but I wasn’t handling it well at all.

“Do I just look at the floor and wait to hear the crowd’s reaction, or do I watch?” In the end, I did a combination of both. I had my head down a little, but I was sneaking a peak at the goalmouth too. I saw the penalty fly in the top corner, and didn’t really celebrate - I just closed my eyes, clenched my fists and felt relief flow through my entire body.

Of course, another goal for them and we were in the shit again, but the only way they were going to score was from a corner or free-kick, as they had nothing left in the tank. As long as we didn’t let Walcott have a run at us again, and we didn’t concede any corners, we’d be fine.

We were doing a pretty good job of keeping the ball down their end, largely thanks to the endless energy of Kuyt. Arsenal looked beaten, and the last throw of the dice came when they were awarded a free-kick in their own half. Fabregas stole around 15 yards, which ironically ended up costing him, as when Kuyt hooked the ball forward towards Babel, the Spanish midfielder couldn’t get there in time. If he’d taken it from the right place he’d have been deeper and might have been able to defend it better.

As it was, he still had a few yards on Babel and I thought he’d get there first. But Ryan was fresh, Fabregas wasn’t, and an impressive burst of pace and power saw him beat Fabregas to the ball and head off towards goal. He reached the edge of the box, and Fabregas once again grabbed his shirt, but Babel wasn’t to be denied and he rolled the ball into the corner of th net that Almunia had bizarrely left completely unguarded.

That was the first time since Arsenal’s first goal that I was actually able to truly enjoy anything that had happened in the game. Our other goals were tempered with the fear that Arsenal could still come back with another goal that would knock us out. Now though, it was game well and truly over, and I fucking love saying that.

There were heroes all over the park. Few people will single out Aurelio, but the one incident with Walcott aside I thought he was excellent. Hyypia and Skrtel were superb, and Carragher had a brilliant game at right back, both in defence and also getting forward. Hell of a performance from him I thought.

The midfield duo recovered from a bad start to have good games, and although Gerrard was out of sorts, he deserves all the credit in the world for shrugging that off and burying the penalty. There was an enormous amount of pressure on that, but then he’s been in that situation before in the CL and FA Cup finals, as well as in the semi with Chelsea last season. Still, I don’t think that is a feeling you can ever ‘get used to’ and it takes balls of stel to be able to do what he did.

Torres was a handful, and scored a fantastic goal, whilst Crouch did the job required of him. The match winner was undoubtedly Babel though. He was terrible in the 1st leg, but more than made up for it with tis 15 minute cameo. I don’t know how he’s going to end up, because he’s either going to stay as he is, a talented, but often erratic and frustrating player, or he’s going to become a superstar. The raw ingredients are there, and hopefully he’ll kick on and become the player we all hope he will.

My star man though, just as it was in the first leg, was Dirk Kuyt. Yes, he’s got limitations, and by and large he’s had a poor season. But the change in formation seems to have re-invigorated him. Against shit teams, we need someone with more pace, guile and creativity than Dirk. In games like this though, when you need flat out, lung busting commitment and work rate, there’s no-one to match him.

He was an inspiration all night, and his stamina levels are unrivalled. He never stops, and that’s what you need when it’s backs to the wall. He’s come in for a lot of stick this year, a lot of it justified to be fair, but how can you not love this guy? Probably the hardest working player ever to pull on the shirt. Sometimes hard work isn’t enough, but on nights like this it’s the most important thing.

We’ll need more of the same in the semi finals too, but right now I’m still getting over this epic, I’ll worry about Chelsea when the time comes.


Team: Reina; Carragher, Skrtel, Hyypia, Aurelio; Kuyt (Arbeloa), Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard; Crouch (Babel), Torres (Riise):