Liverpool 2 Chelsea 1 - Charity Shield (Aug 13 2006)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 2 Chelsea 1

Report by Ian Brown at the Millennium Stadium

Scorer(s) - John Arne Riise, Peter Crouch Half Time - 1-1 Venue - The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Date - Sun 13 Aug 2006 Star Man - Momo Sissoko

 

 

 

"Who the f***ing hell are you?" roared the travelling Kop twenty five minutes into the 2006 Charity Shield (Community my a***) as Chelsea’s latest superstar recruit limped from the Millenium Stadium pitch - the latest victim of the growing red juggernaut.

Just a few minutes earlier Michael Ballack had been booked after a late lunge on Momo Sissoko, and the young midfielder from Mali obviously hadn’t forgotten about that incident as he pounded the German playboy with one strong (but fair) challenge after another. That single incident pretty much encapsulated the afternoons events as it was mirrored all over the pitch. Chelsea had the names, but Liverpool had the performances and inflicted a second successive victory over our increasingly biggest rivals (in a football sense at least).

I have to admit that I wasn’t overly confident about the outcome of this game when I’d heard the team news beforehand. Our opponents had included all of their major ‘stars’ whilst arguably our two best players were sitting on the bench. It just goes to show how much stronger the squad is this year when we can leave out such good players without it having an adverse effect on the teams performance. The addition of searing pace to the squad has already given the team an added dimension in games like this and you could physically see that Chelsea were not used to a Liverpool team able to attack them so freely.

In the past we’ve gone into these games more in hope than expectation, with tactics decided by a lack of options more than anything else. That’s not the case now though as Rafa has brought in the type of players he wants and as such we’re able to play the way he wants us to. It’s so refreshing to the see the side full of width and creativity, whilst we remain strong at the back.

That was the most impressive aspect of this game – 99% of what Chelsea threw at us was comfortably dealt with by the back four, and when we won the ball back there was more maturity and menace about our attacks. Daniel Agger slotted in alongside Carra at the back and turned in a thoroughly encouraging performance. Considering he was up against a player who tends to give Hyypia a tough game, he dealt with the physical presence of Drogba with relative comfort, leaving Carra to shackle Shevchenko. The Ukranian actually performed quite well on the day although Carragher matched him in what proved to be a fascinating battle throughout.

In midfield, Sissoko dominated his more illustrious counterparts with another display full of energy and physique. The 'rent boys' just simply couldn’t handle him, and I’m utterly convinced that Ballack left the field of play because he didn’t fancy having to battle with Momo any longer. It’s the only possible explanation for why he would go off – no-one was near him when he pulled up and I find it highly appropriate that this happened shortly after Momo had walloped him for about the third or fourth time!

Sissoko is an absolute beast of a footballer, and the scary thing is that he’s continually improving with every game. He has an aura about him where he doesn’t care who he’s up against – he knows what he can do and if he’s on his game then no-one can live with him.

Make no mistake, that’s where the game was won for us. We were clearly the dominant side throughout, although we didn’t create a plethora of chances during the game. That’s just how these games go – they are always tight affairs decided by ‘small details’. With the improvements in the squad, we now have more players who are capable of providing the difference and producing quality.

The opening goal of the game was pretty surreal – when Riise led a charge from the back, I don’t think many people were expecting what was to come. He was allowed to carry on running as the Chelsea backline backed off, and he punished them with a wicked strike. At the time I thought it was just a great goal although having seen it since on the TV, it’s clear that it should have been saved.

The only blemish in a very good first half performance was the equaliser. All afternoon Chelsea were trying to release Shevchenko with balls over the top, and for the most part we dealt with them comfortably. Just before half time proved the exception though as Carra lost his man and Finnan failed to cover the situation – it was a small mistake but proved costly. We didn’t start the second half as well as we had the first, and Benitez decided to introduce the cavalry with Alonso, Gerrard and Bellamy taking to the field.

The introduction of Bellamy was one of the more fascinating occurences of the day for me. If you look back and compare this substitution to a similar one at Old Trafford in April, the difference is startling. Back then we were holding on to a lead and brought Cisse on to use his pace on the counter-attack. Now I’m not meaning to slag Djib off here, but I don’t think I’m the only one who was dissapointed with his contribution that day.

The difference on Sunday was that Bellamy entered the fray with the game still level and his instructions were to go and create something positive, which he did with a sublime ball to the back post for Crouch to head the winner. The encouraging thing about Bellamy’s contribution was that he used his pace effectively and allowed us to remain comfortable at the back – in fact after we took the lead, we looked the most likely to score again.

Whereas in the past we would soak up pressure from Chelsea and try to take advantage of counter-attacks, we now have the personnel to dominate the game and look to win as opposed to avoiding defeat. It’s a major difference and quite possibly the single most encouraging aspect about the improvements in the squad. Can you see a team containing the likes of Gerrard, Pennant, Gonzalez, Bellamy, Aurelio etc being happy with a draw and looking to close a game out? It’s not going to happen – as long as these players are out on the pitch, we’ll retain a positive attitude and look to score goals.

Aurelio replaced the tiring Gonzalez and came close to sealing the win late on with an instinctive shot which Cudicini did well to stop, but by then the game was won and our intentions for the year ahead were already clear. It would be daft to get too far ahead of ourselves when thinking of the up-coming campaign, but you can’t help but feel excited about the potential in the team right now.

Obviously that’s the case with Chelsea too considering the players they’ve signed this summer, although if their ‘support’ on Sunday is anything to go by, then seemingly they aren’t that impressed. I have to say it was a pretty sad sight seeing all of those empty seats. I’ve heard that Chelsea fans ‘made a stand’ due to excessive ticket prices and decided to opt out of the trip. Hmmmm, and there’s me thinking it’s because they are a bunch of glory-hunting wannabe’s who have become so deluded and arrogant, that a trip to Cardiff for the traditional season curtain raiser just isn’t a big enough attraction. Well therein lies the difference between the two clubs, and it’s fans. We may have ammassed eighteen Championships and five European Cups wins, but rain or shine we’re always there to give the team our support.

I don’t personally buy into the negative outlook everyone tends to have over this game either. People are already trying to make excuses for Chelsea and highlight that the game was nothing more than a glorified friendly. I don’t buy that at all – if that was the case, then why did Chelsea name the strongest side available? Why was John Terry sent forward in the infamous ‘Huth role’ late on when they were desperate for a goal? And why is Maureen making excuses about a lack of preperation for the game, if it doesn’t matter anyway? The truth of the matter is that Chelsea desperately wanted to win the game, but they were outplayed by the better side on the day.

Any game between the two clubs is a massive challenge and a confidence booster if you can come out on top. The players KNOW they can beat Chelsea regularly now and as such it will give them more confidence to attempt to do so over the course of the season. I’m not going to suddenly declare us as Champions-Elect, because so many things can happen between now and May and we’ve all endured the false dawns over the years. What I will say though, is that we’ll improve again from last season and it just remains to be seen if Chelsea can replicate their ludicrously high points tallies of the last two seasons.


Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise; Pennant (Gerrard), Sissoko, Zenden (Alonso), Gonzalez (Aurelio); Crouch, Garcia (Bellamy):

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