Liverpool 1 PSV 0 - CL (Apr 11 2007)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 1 PSV 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Peter Crouch Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Wed 11 Apr 2007 Star Man - Jermaine Pennant

 

 

 

 

 

PSV must have felt like they were the nibbles before the main banquet. With the tie all but dead following the reds’ impressive 3-0 victory in Holland last week, most people’s minds were already looking forward the mouth watering prospect of another semi final with Chelsea. The fans were, the players probably were, and Rafa certainly was as he took the opportunity to give Gerrard, Finnan and Carragher a well earned rest.

Even PSV’s minds were probably elsewhere, as they never believed they had any hope of turning this tie around. It was never going to be a classic, but it was a good professional display from the reds and although it wasn’t the most enthralling of games, I thought we played pretty well all things considered.

Tickets for this game were so easy to come by, there were loads of spares flying around and some fella actually gave my dad a ticket free of charge in the hope that he could find it a good home. So it's fair to say interest in this game wasn’t exactly huge, certainly not compared to what the scramble for semi final tickets will be like. Still, it was a full house and those who were there were determined to enjoy themselves, including the noisy contingent from Holland who turned out in force.


Whether they gave their team any hope of mounting a comeback I have no idea, but their support was superb. Had Aruna Kone’s header not been straight at Pepe Reina after just a couple of minutes, maybe they would have made it interesting. As it was, Reina made a routine tip over, and the visitors never threatened again.

Not that we were exactly bombarding their goal either, although we did look the more dangerous side throughout. That was largely due to the excellence of Jermaine Pennant, who tormented PSV all evening. They couldn’t get the ball off him, and this was possibly his finest display yet as a Liverpool player. I seem to be saying that quite a bit recently, and he is surely giving the manager something to think about now.

Virtually everything we created had the former Birmingham winger involved. He beat the full back with ease every time, and when they doubled up on him he usually went past the other guy too. He produced a string of good crosses, and looked like he was really enjoying himself. The service he received from Alonso helped, as Xabi was just pinging the ball out to him so early that Pennant was usually in ten yards of space whenever he received the ball.

The early loss of Bellamy through injury robbed us of any pace up front, and as a result of that Pennant became even more central to how we wanted to play. Neither Crouch or Fowler were going to be able to get in behind them, but Pennant and, perhaps more surprisingly, Zenden managed to get down the sides almost at will.

Crouch saw a trademark volley well kept out by the keeper after some terrific wingplay from Pennant, and Zenden curled a free-kick just wide, but aside from that there wasn’t much to worry the visitors other than trying to stop Pennant from taking the piss out of their left back.

With not much happening on the pitch, the fans decided to entertain themselves. The La Bamba song got a really good, lengthy airing, and at its peak was really loud. The atmosphere was really good considering how little was at stake due to the 1st leg result. But the atmosphere wasn’t for the PSV game, it was more of a rallying call for our next Champions League home game.

The ‘You aint got no history’ song is usually only aired when we are actually playing Chelsea, but it was belted out with gusto midway through the 1st half. Some will disapprove, I thought it was highly appropriate. After what had happened the previous night, I was on a real downer. I didn’t want to play Chelsea, and I sure as hell didn’t want to meet the mancs in the final. It’s impossible to enjoy those kind of games, they’re much too stressful.

I was also concerned that the law of averages will favour Chelsea this time, and I really wasn’t looking forward to the semi final. Then I heard the noise generated from the Kop (and elsewhere) in a game that was essentially a dead rubber. As the anti Chelsea song, La Bamba and Ring of Fire rang out around Anfield, my attitude changed completely. “Bring them bastards on, let them come here and experience the full force of Anfield again!” I thought. I’m now looking forward to that game, big time.

The start of the 2nd half saw the PSV fans singing Ring of Fire and swinging their scarves around like they’d seen the Kop doing. Had that been an English team doing that, I’d have been well pissed off at the cheek of them, but this was clearly a gesture of respect. Every foreign team that comes to Anfield shows respect, and gets respect. It’s in total opposite to what they experience at the likes of Old Trafford and the Bridge.

When the Italian referee decided to liven up what was threatening to become a seriously dull game by ludicrously red carding PSV’s young right back, the Kop actually booed the decision. An opposing player getting a red card, and the crowd booing the referee and applauding the lad off the field. Again, would that have happened at Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford?


The sending off made things very easy for us, and Riise, Zenden, and then Gonzalez, got plenty of joy down that side. When the breakthrough finally came, it was no great shock that it was a cross from the left that created it. Riise drilled the ball across the box, Crouch met it with a deft touch that was superbly saved by Gomez, but the keeper could do nothing when Fowler collected the loose ball and crossed for Crouch to score from close range.

The big man is now second only to Kaka in this seasons CL goalscorers chart, and the form he is in at the moment he could possibly even end the season as the top marksman in the competition. Foreign defences don’t enjoy facing him, so it’s a shame that we face English opposition next.

Crouch should have added a second but he headed over after a defensive mix up, and Pennant wasted two great chances to get the goal his performance deserved as Liverpool made the most of the extra man.

It was a comfortable win, and you could tell that we still had another couple of gears we could have slipped into if necessary. The rested players were not missed, as their replacements all performed admirably. Pennant, Arbeloa and Hyypia were three of our best players on the night, although Kuyt won’t be too worried about getting his place back from Robbie, who was hardly in the game.

It’s difficult for Fowler at the moment, as he’s a player who needs game to be able to show his sharpness. He looked rusty at times, but he still set up the only goal so he made a good contribution. I’d like to see him involved more in the Premiership now, as we’re fairly comfortably in 3rd and the likes of Crouch and Kuyt need to be fresh for the CL games.

The next couple of weeks will be horrible, as there’ll be all kinds of bollocks spouted by Mourinho, and you just know he’ll be constantly bringing up Luis Garcia’s goal two years ago. I just hope whoever referees that game isn’t influenced by it all. We’ll need a strong ref for that game, hopefully it won’t be the joker who sent off the PSV player for virtually nothing in this game.

Roll on the semis then.


Team: Reina; Arbeloa, Hyypia, Agger (Paletta), Riise; Pennant, Sissoko, Alonso (Gonzalez), Zenden; Bellamy (Fowler), Crouch: