Liverpool 0 Chelsea 0 (ECL Group Match) - Sep 28 2005

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 0 Chelsea 0

Report by Peter Schulz at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Wed 28 Sep 2005 Star Man - Xabi Alonso

 

 

 

 

 

Chelsea visited Anfield for the second group game of the Champions League and came away with a point. It was their first visit since last season’s epic semi final, and reading the papers in the days before the game you would have been forgiven for thinking that it was actually Chelsea who went through on that occasion. So much focus was on Jose Mourinho before the game that it seemed to have been forgotten that Liverpool are actually the reigning European Champions.

Some of the Chelsea players had said that this was to be their great revenge mission but any hopes neutrals may have entertained that Chelsea would come to Anfield to attack were quickly dispelled. As the Echo's Chris Bascombe (I think) wrote: “Chelsea came, Chelsea saw, And Chelsea retreated. In numbers.” All this talk about Chelsea being too good for everyone else was hopefully proved to be complete rubbish. On the night, Liverpool looked the better side against the champions who were fielding their strongest possible XI.

The first half was intense and the atmosphere in the ground was highly charged. I wasn’t at the famous 1-0 game last season so can’t really compare the atmosphere, but it was the best so far this season easily. Chelsea seem to have a knack of bringing out good performances in the Liverpool fans as well as players and Wednesday night was no different.

We didn’t create many chances, but neither did Chelsea. Reina made a smart stop from an otherwise disappointing Arjen Robben, and turned away a free kick from the equally anonymous Lampard. Liverpool went the closest though, with a clear penalty shout when Didier Drogba cynically hacked down Sami Hyypiä in the box after Peter Crouch had flicked on a free kick from Gerrard.

Why Drogba didn’t just step up to put the Finn in a clear off side position we shall never know, maybe he is just thick. As it happened, Sami got a touch on the ball before Drogba sythed him down. There was really no doubt in my mind, sitting in the Centenary in the other end, that it was a penalty, but Jose Mourinho’s tactics with the press worked a treat as the Italian referee didn’t have the balls to give Liverpool anything all night. The two teams went in for half time at 0-0. Neither team could really claim to be on top.

That was soon to change, because as the second half kicked off Liverpool attacked the Kop with increased determination, only lacking in the final third of the pitch like so often this season. It can be forgiven this time; however, as the reds were up against a wall of blue defenders who by this time looked more than happy with the point they had when they arrived. Only Villa have scored against them this season, but only a series of controversial decisions by Mr De Santis kept Liverpool off the scoresheet this time round. If the first penalty incident was blatant, then this one was, well, ‘blatanter’. Just as in the league game between the sides in January, a Chelsea defender clearly handled the ball after a Liverpool corner. Carragher was livid, and needless to say the Chelsea defenders looked at eachother sheepishly, knowing that they’d just been let off the hook again.

Other chances fell to Garcia, who somehow managed to get the ball past the snidy Carvalho and Ferreira only for Cech react quickly (although the tug on Luis' shirt by Ferreira certainly helped the keeper reach the ball first), and Sinama-Pongolle who’d come on for Cisse earlier in the half managed to get to the byline but his low cross eluded everyone. Chelsea’s best chance of the half came when Hyypiä and Carragher suffered a complete lack of concentration to nearly let in Robben, but to his credit Reina reacted superbly.

The thing I’ll remember most vividly from this game, however, was the constant petulance shown by everyone associated with Chelsea. All decisions that went against them - even the most obvious ones - were contested by one or more of the Chelsea players, with Terry and Drogba the main culprits. Considering that Drogba is a diving cheat and that Terry fouled his man every time he got the chance, you’d think that they’d keep their gobs shut, but like with everything else about Chelsea, you’ve just got to hate it.

They really are the most despicable bunch of people you’re going to see anywhere in any walk of life, and that includes their special manager, whose supposed revenge mission petered out into an example primarily of how to waste time.

At the end, Lampard and Terry were seen with their arms round each other celebrating with the travelling Chelsea supporters, whose main contributions on the night were chants of “Champions”. Yeah, I know.

Picking a star man was easy this time I felt. For me, Xabi Alonso, was back to his best in a defensive role alongside Dietmar Hamann in front of the defence. The bollocking he gave Jamie Carragher when played into trouble showed that he’s got the character and self belief required for this kind of club. Not many others could have done that, but Xabi wasn’t afraid to express his unhappiness. I’m sure no grudges will be held by Carra. Alonso passed the ball around the park with great precision and intelligence making a vital contribution in stopping Chelsea creating anything at all while at the same time setting up Gerrard for his forward runs. Truly class.

Other good performers on the night I thought were Djimi Traore who kept both Duff and Robben very quiet, and Hamann who aided Alonso in the midfield sweeper role. Hamann always without fail plays well in the big games and that is a massive quality to have in that kind of position on the pitch. I’m very glad we extended his contract because while he may not be suited to every game, he has a big part to play this season. The defence was its usual solid self apart from the one occasion mentioned earlier, but you’ve come to expect that these days, thankfully.

We entertain Chelsea again on Sunday in a game in which I’m sure we’ll see a more attacking version of the Chelsea team. This time they can actually afford to lose and I think that will see them going more for a win. Also, I'm sure Lampard, Terry and Mourinho would love to put us out of the title race completely. Instead of giving them that satisfaction, let’s make sure we stuff them next time.


Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Alonso, Hamman, Gerrard; Cisse (Sinama-Pongolle), Crouch, Garcia: