Liverpool FC Forum

[JC_81]

Jeez John, pass the hankies !  Quite right in what you say, I havent posted an after thought summary because I cant find the right words, unlike our mate Igor Zidane !

No words really can express how we are all feeling after that mate.  Absolutely delighted.  It's very easy to get carried away, but if we don't take maximum points from our next game then it's pointless.  We simply must stamp our title credentials by keeping this run going.  If we're still top by Christmas then people will start believing.  But we can't look further than the next game.

[Scottbot]

Been up to Wembley for the NFL today but managed to watch the 2nd half in a pub near the ground. Top Drawer performance and a masterplan from Benitez as (John says above) we simply squeezed the life out of them, pressed the ball in all the right places, we forced them to hit crosses from deep areas and MOST importantly, didn't give away free-kicks around the box. What surprised me most was the ease of the win. I don't think it's going too far to say we coasted to victory? And how calm was the team in possession today? Even when we had men back and the temptation is to simply punt the ball away, in fact, you're shouting get rid at the TV  but the lads got their heads up played triangles, pushed on and were unlucky not to score another.

I remember a game under Houllier when we went to Arsenal, got an early Titi Camara goal and won the game comfortably 1-0. It was a real watershed game coz I watched it and thought, these lads could be going somewhere here you know? You just knew it. I felt the same watching this game today. There was a composure and belief about the side that i've only seen us show in Europe.

Still, the pressure is gonna crank up now. The media are already all over it and it will be interesting to see how the players deal with a situation they've never experienced before. BEING IN THE TITLE RACE. How good does that sound!?

[europian-kings]

My ratings:

Reina - I think he will be very surprised at how little he had to do, largely down to our solid defence but even the Chelsea long ranged efforts were enough to make him need to dive. Infact, i only really recall him diving for that deco shot that went wide. Good punch out from a dangerous chelsea corner and for what he had to do he did nothing wrong so i give him a.....7

Arbeloa - Sometimes tends to get lured towards the ball and into the cenrte of the defence, leaving the opposition left winger free but i think today he kept his width well and got up the flanks alot in both halfs. Loved his looping throws ......7

Carra - Solid. He had Anelka in his back pocket for the entire game and whenever anelka was played the ball, carra got in the weigh and tackled him. Saw danger when deco manged to wrong foot arbeloa and quickly came across to deflect it for a corner. Kept the back line well organised.......9

Agger - Shows he still has was he had before his injury. When skrtel got injured i was a bit worried about how Agger will cope but bar his slip against Wigan i think he has done a great job so far. Likes to get forward and was even trying to take a throw today by the Chelsea box...before carra moaned and called him back got sum important headers and tackles in.......8

Aurelio - Couple of passes went astray but i still rate him more then dossena imo. Needs to practise on his free kicks a little more because i recall him taking quite a few for us now with none yet to go in. Didn't do anything stupid and worked sum good passes to Reira down the left wing......7

Alonso - Looks like the old Xabi we all use to know and love. So glad we didn't sell him in the summer. His awarness and ability to pick out passes is unreal. A little bit of luck on his goal but had a free kick hit the upright and played some lovely one twos with gerrard.......9

Mascherano - Worked really hard chasing balls, especially when Deco was on it He picked up the ball from defense and did a few bursting runs into the Chelsea half but maybe should have done better with his opportunity with babel in the box. Not his best game at the club but certainly not one of his worst......8

Kuyt - Didn't really see him get involved as much as i thought he would but when he did he didn't waiste possession. Had a decent his from outside the box and did enough to put off an opposition player in our box when thigns were looking dangerous at one point......7

Riera - Alot of people on this forum are starting to love him and you can see why. Fantastic performance once again by Albert, kept our width and beat his players sometimes with ease. lovely control on the ball and worked well with alonso and gerrard coming off him.......9

Gerrard - Did well, got back on a few occasions and made some important tackles and when he got the ball he looked to counter attack with pace. was prevented from scoring a lovely volley through a fantastic cech save but played really well. 9

Keane - Worked hard up top considering he was feeling unwell. Linked up with Gerrard well on a couple of occasions but didn't really get much in the way of opportunities. Did nothing amazing but did nothing wrong by any means. 7

subs:

Babel - Brought a bit more pace upfont. i could have sworn his long range effort was arrowing into the top corner but it wasn't to be. Think it was a good switch by benitez because Chelsea knew they would have to leave players back deep to deal with his pace and this is not what they would of wanted to be doing chasing for a goal.....7/8

Lucas and Hyypia didnt really see enough of to judge but both did nothing wrong so ill give them both a 7


Just got back from my local chelsea pub....walked in there in my liverpool shirt and got loads of abuse....."Youll never get a job" " off you dirty scouse" and then...there owen version of our torres song about Salamon Kalou :S


Anyways, they soon shut up when i looked at one hand with a 0 on it and the other with 1 finger up sugesting the scorline

[JC_81]

Been up to Wembley for the NFL today but managed to watch the 2nd half in a pub near the ground. Top Drawer performance and a masterplan from Benitez as (John says above) we simply squeezed the life out of them, pressed the ball in all the right places, we forced them to hit crosses from deep areas and MOST importantly, didn't give away free-kicks around the box. What surprised me most was the ease of the win. I don't think it's going too far to say we coasted to victory? And how calm was the team in possession today? Even when we had men back and the temptation is to simply punt the ball away, in fact, you're shouting get rid at the TV  but the lads got their heads up played triangles, pushed on and were unlucky not to score another.

I remember a game under Houllier when we went to Arsenal, got an early Titi Camara goal and won the game comfortably 1-0. It was a real watershed game coz I watched it and thought, these lads could be going somewhere here you know? You just knew it. I felt the same watching this game today. There was a composure and belief about the side that i've only seen us show in Europe.

Still, the pressure is gonna crank up now. The media are already all over it and it will be interesting to see how the players deal with a situation they've never experienced before. BEING IN THE TITLE RACE. How good does that sound!?

Agree with your point about the 'watershed game' mate.  This was it for me, and again you're right, in that it was the manner of the victory rather than simply the result that confirmed it.

23 points from 27, and beaten United and Chelsea without Torres... deservedly so in both cases.  It's a long long way to go but we've given ourselves a chance.

For me the momentum of our current run is crucial, it can carry us a long way and ideally put a bit of daylight between us and the rest for when we inevitably do have a blip.

We still need to have luck with injuries to go all the way though, I still don't think we have the depth in our squads that United and especially Chelsea do.  We could do with an extra body or two in January to help us as well, but as I keep saying, lets' just win the next game.

[Bam]

What a great result and performance to boot. Alonso, Carra and Gerrard were immense today, Riera and Agger played very well too. Chelsea had no ideas against a very organised side, we were compact in defence while at times looked devastating on the counter attack. We went there to with a gameplan, a gameplan that has served us pretty well I might add in the past, apart from at grounds such as Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge. Today it worked, well stiffled and squeezed Chelsea and they looked void of ideas, while at times n the counter we played some sublime football that even Arsenal pundits would of been happy with.

Carra was a rock at the heart of the defence (as usual) and our fullbacks did very well to imo. Unlike A.Cole and Boswinga they held their positions a lot more and didnt look to raid the flanks. After getting the early goal both Aurelio and Arbeloa didnt need to surge foward as the onus was on Chelsea, and defensively they were sound. I honestly thought Alonso was immense today, not only in his defensive duties but he really did help out more in our counter attacks and got forward when th eopportunity arose. Of course his goal being the prime example ... Also in the second half he was either willing or instructed to play with less caution and he and the team looked better for it. He was very unlucky not to see his freekick go in also. Mascha played the destroyer in  the middle alongside the Spainard and while he didnt seem as prodominent as Xabi, he was the reason Alonso was able to make the breaks and play higher up the field.
Gerrard, as the game went on also became a key figure during the match, marauding and hassliing further up the field. Stu reckons he's wasted in that position, but I dont agree and today showed that he still can track back and make those crunching tackles as well as being the link man between him and Keane/Babel. Kuyt worked his sock off and should be credited with being part of a gameplan that stiffled and squee\zed Chelsea.
Riera played really well to and much has been made of his "dive" against A.Madrid in which I thought it was a penalty but at the same time did go down to easily. Today he won us many free kicks by going to ground whcih at certain points in the game was needed to give our mnidfield and back \four a breather. He is a very clever player, and quite a strong lad on the ball, he tested Boswinga and showed again his technical abilities when in possession.

Keane did okay, but the role he played was suited more to Nando imo but for obvious reasons the Spainard was sidelined. He did what was asked of him and worked for the cause but nothing special.

A good allround team performance that will only boost our confidence and prolong our run.

Well in lads you deserved that victory. YNWA !

[Santa]

Not feeling so invincible now are you Phil?

Fantastic game all round by our boys (with the exception of Aurelio who I thought was our only one weaklink). Carra was massive and so was Agger, Gerrard, Mascherano, Xabi and Reira. Kuyt didn't get much change from Terry but worked his socks off as usual and Keane was a bit subdued but probably was not fully match fit. All these without Torres as well...

Was surprised how little Reina was asked to do the entire match and that's mostly down to Carra, Agger and Mascherano (who had Deco and Lampard in his pocket). Massive win but please don't do a Stoke in the next game

[Santa]

JUST GOT BAVK .IM OBVERB THEBFOOKIN MOON , HERIMDALL YOE FECCKER I FECKIN LOVE YOU LAD , GET THESEEE FECKIN YANK OUTER BOF OUE CLUB LASH.

Igor lad...you're obviously speed typing under the influence   

[shanks72]

This was  S W E E T  victory!!

Went round my mate's to watch it (who is a chelsea supporter btw)


Cara was excellent as usual, he's sheer brilliance.

Riera had a good game, was impressed with him, he worked hard and appeared at crutial moments in the match.

I thought Keane did play well. He did a lot of running, was a good workhorse.

Alonso was quality....would have been a great goal if the post hadnt got in the way.

Also, Kuyt, I think he always works hard. It's great to see him on form. Shame he didn't score.....but he's still an asset to the team imo.

Our defence was brilliant...well organised....invincible!

John Terry's foul on Reina was nasty.....an elbow in the neck/shoulder....but luckilly he was ok.

The ref was yellow card happy and I didn't think ours were particularly deserved. Chelsea got their fair share too for some particularly dirty fouls.

Well done boys, I'm one very happy Red!!

[LiverpoolMadman]

Great result , Great Game but still it's a a long way to go .... Keep it up.

[Bad Bob]

The best piece of play was the great sequence of passes midway through the second half where we broke at them down the left side, with Alonso playing a one-two off Gerrard and the move culminating in us slicing them apart only for Gerrard to slightly overhit the final through ball to Babel who was in on Cech.

That was a fantastic bit of play and it really deserved a goal.  In fact, I thought we were good value for a second and 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection of our quality on the day.  Very positive signs but it's time to consolidate our lead at the top of the table! 

[account deleted by request]

Just got back from my daughters 21st so I havent had time to read any thoughts on the game yet. I thought Riera was superb in the first half, relieved hell of a lot of pressure for us time and again in the early stages. Although he faded as the game went on I think he is really starting to show his worth to the team.

Gerrard, who everything good we did seemed to go through, finally showed up for a game against Chelsea and showed just why he is one of the best players in the world. Fantastic performance that on any other day would have been m.o.t.m. Great shot with his left foot that would have almost equalled his goal against Marseille if it had gone in.

Carra was immense, and the tackle on Deco was world class defending. M.O.T.M. for me on a day of outstanding performances all round.

What a win though, Alonso took a leaf out of Lampards book and got perhaps the only slice of luck we needed to win the game. Chelsea for all their pressure and possession hardly created a chance, while with a little more luck we could have won by more. Not that I am complaining!

I thought Chelsea probably edged the first half but we created both the better chances and got the all important goal. Second half I thought Gerrard took the game by the scruff of the neck and for 20mins or so we totally dominated the game, before a natural reluctance to commit players forward allowed Chelsea plenty of possession but little in the way of chances.

Good sub by Rafa to bring on Babel who did well I thought. I thought it helped restore the attacking side of our game that had gradually declined as the half wore on. Riera had faded again and Keane who toiled manfully for no reward was offering no threat. Clever sub at a time when I was thinking more of a defensive move.

I was also relieved when Hyypia came on, always nice to know he's in there when the crosses are flying in.

All in all I thought Rafa got the tactics spot on both before and during the game, and won the battle of wits by a mile.

I thought the ref was a little too lenient with a couple of their "england" players, notably Terry and Cole, but apart from that had a good game..... although how the fk he could book Gerrard...... ?

Great performance great result with Carra more than making up for his midweek error with a top class defensive display. 

I should also mention Agger, who has taken quite a bit of stick since his return. Top class performance today, made some important tackles and looked more like his "old self" again.

[Bam]

but apart from that had a good game..... although how the fk he could book Gerrard...... ?

I thought that was a legitimate tackle myself, I couldnt see too much wrong with it, yellow card ? never !

[account deleted by request]

but apart from that had a good game..... although how the fk he could book Gerrard...... ?

I thought that was a legitimate tackle myself, I couldnt see too much wrong with it, yellow card ? never !

It also cost us a decent breakaway chance too mate.

[maypaxvobiscum]

but apart from that had a good game..... although how the fk he could book Gerrard...... ?

I thought that was a legitimate tackle myself, I couldnt see too much wrong with it, yellow card ? never !

It also cost us a decent breakaway chance too mate.

good thing was that we won otherwise we would all be cursing the ref now 

[maguskwt]

but apart from that had a good game..... although how the fk he could book Gerrard...... ?

I thought that was a legitimate tackle myself, I couldnt see too much wrong with it, yellow card ? never !

It also cost us a decent breakaway chance too mate.

i usually respect this ref... but that was just a baffling decision which hurt us more than the yellow card... he went for the ball, got the ball and it was never dangerous as he moved his feet sideways upon impact...

other decisions were more or less spot on though... even masch's yellow for dissent... not much of a complaint there... much much better than rob stiles...