Liverpool FC Forum

by **desperado0831** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:56 am

The morning after. A chance for cold reflection. The facts still remain, last night Liverpool had fourteen heros on the pitch, expertly martialled by a conductor every bit as special as the self-proclaimed one from Chelsea. It's been remarked on before that Rafael Benitez the Liverpool coach is obsessed with the idea of team. Yet there is no shame in mentioning it again, as Benitez did immediately after the game, and as he probably will do in every interview he conducts.

Last night Chelsea floundered against a solid wall of Red. Rarely were there any gaps for Chelsea to exploit as the Liverpool players pulled together, with the Anfield crowd helping compact the field even further. Whilst Benitez will reluctantly celebrate individuals, we should make no apologies for it. Liverpool progressed to the final of the Champions League last night on the shoulders of it's giants.

Jerzy Dudek has had a troubled Anfield career. So capable a shot stopper, he retains the ability to gift goals to the opposition at the most unhelpful moments for his side. For a moment he nearly stole the headlines as he failed to convincingly deal with the ball in his six yard area, but this time, the opposition failed to capitalise. Thankfully so. Other than that, Dudek was as assured as you could hope for, claiming crosses and making a fantastic save on the one occassion Chelsea managed to get a goalward shot on target as Lampard's free kick squirmed through the wall. It was as good a save as Cech's in the first leg given that the ball would have been seen late through the mass of bodies.

In defence, Liverpool's defenders stood tall. Without Robben and Duff, the job for the defenders was to remain compact and to stand strong amidst an aerialy bombardment. When Gerard Houllier signed Steve Finnan, he believed he had captured the best right back in England. It has not all been plain sailing for the Irish international at Anfield, injuries and loss of form nearly saw him sold off to Tottenham in the summer. Yet he remained and has established himself as the club's first choice full back. Outstanding defensively last night he also remains cool in possession, using the ball intelligently and rarely giving it away. He has possibly benefitted most from Jamie Carragher's outstanding form.

The boy from Bootle has slowly emerged from the shadows this season to the point where he is now the brightest light at Anfield. After last nights show there will be many professional footballers ringing the PFA to ask whether they can recast their vote for player of the year. Benitez has done two things to transform Jamie Carragher, firstly restoring him to his natural position of centre half and secondly giving him the confidence to play his football. The sight of Carragher shrugging aside Kezman and another Chelsea forward inside his own penalty area and then striding forward with the ball to relieve pressure demonstrates that Carragher is a far more complete player than many have given him credit for. Steven Gerrard struggled to do anything but talk about how impressive Carragher had been - it was a fitting tribute.

Alongside him Sami Hyypia thrived on the Chelsea approach. There have been times when Hyypia has lacked the commanding presence that made him such a highly respected defender in the Premiership. Not last night though as he won everything that came towards him. Like Carragher, he too wasn't afraid to carry the ball into midfield when required. With no space in behind him, Chelsea found him a mountain too difficult to pass.

The final member of the back four was probably the player who in some respects deserves the most praise. Djimi Traore in the eyes of many fans is a defender not good enough to play at this level. Last night he rarely put a foot wrong instead, preferring to go beyond the call of duty on numerous occassions. There was one moment where Traore lost track of his position, getting dragged into a central area which nearly allowed Drogba in, but it was a rare error that was quickly rectified. Late in the second half, Traore delivered a wonderful cross into the area that Cisse rose to head goalwards but couldn't gain enough purchase on the ball. That Joe Cole was withdrawn from the match reflected on a job well done by Traore. A flying block to deny Lampard summed up the evening.

That the defence managed to survive the Chelsea pressure owed as much to their efforts as it did that of the midfield. Against Juventus with Gerrard unavailable Benitez talked of the need for big solutions when faced with big problems. The same mantra could have applied with Alonso, so influential for Liverpool missing. Didi Hamann, injured since the brutal Merseyside derby was declared fit, though surely rusty after a lengthy lay off. It rarely showed. Hamann, much like Alonso, plays a steady game which relies on speed of though rather than pace across the ground. As it helped Alonso, it helped Hamann here, often playing the game on memory alone, breaking up Chelsea attacks just when Liverpool needed it the most. He can be forgiven for wayward passing, a sure sign of tired legs because his heart ensured Chelsea never benefitted from them.

Alongside him Igor Biscan powered through all around him. It has been an amazing second half to the season for the cult figure of the Kop. Expected to make a quiet departure, he has been integral to Liverpool's charge through the knock out stages. Strong in the tackle, determined across the field and prepared to carry the ball forward. At times he looked to over play, carrying the ball too far but crucially he was losing the ball in Chelsea's half, not his own. Without those extra yards gained Chelsea would have made the pressure count.

On the left of midfield Riise worked up and down the flank like a man possessed. Always giving Liverpool width, always prepared to help out Traore. Riise has improved significantly this season, a fact shown by his driving run that embarrased Carvalho and another of the Chelsea players and resulted in him being hauled down. As Liverpool dropped deeper, Riise showed his versatility as he dropped into a deeper wing back role. As the game wore on, he was also able to switch play, adding to Liverpool's width as Chelsea became increasingly narrow.

It might have been one of Steven Gerrard's less dynamic evenings, but in many respects it might have been one of his best performances. Gone was the headless chicken impression, here was a mature performance worthy of a European semi-final. Benitez wanted to instill more tactical awareness in the player he has retained as captain when he arrived, it appears to have worked. Gerrard was never caught out of position, never allowed space to develop between himself and the midfield minders. He also showed the defining moment of magic in the game, his instinctive flicked pass playing in Baros to the build up to the goal, it was also his strong tackle that started the attack in the first place.

Baros was clearly given one task at the start, to run the Chelsea defence ragged. That Ricardo Carvalho was forced to stretch on so many occassions in the first half was down to the powerful running of the Czech striker. Even Terry was clearly rattled at times as he lacked the composure that has so impressed this term. It was also the timing of the run from Baros that turned Gerrard's pass from good to great. Flicking the ball past Cech, Baros was denied the chance to score a much needed goal as he was hauled down by his national team mate. It wasn't going to matter though.

It was Luis Garcia once more who proved the match winner. There is an ever decreasing number of people who believe Garcia is not a Liverpool player. Yet his ability to score vital match winning goals should surely convince all but a few of those in doubt. Garcia has grown beyond his diminutive frame during the course of this season. No longer does he appear the fragile figure that few believed could handle the rigours of English football. He is still constrained by his frame at times, he will never shrug aside a 6ft tall defender, but he is not afraid now at least of trying. Reacting to the break down from the Baros v Cech clash he decided not to wait for the official, instead opting to control Liverpool's destiny. It was typical Garcia. He gave the ball away last night, he always will given his desire to play football wherever he is, but he fought as if his life was on the line and ultimately booked the club's ticket in the final.

Djibril Cisse was called upon, as he has been in most of Liverpool's recent games, to add a bit of momentums into the piece. With Baros visibly shattered from his sparring with the Chelsea back four, it was up to Cisse to take on the baton. He did just that, coming close to sealing the tie on more than one occassion. A deflected drive went inches wide, a header lacked power, whilst reactig quickly to a misguided Gallas header he just failed to loft the ball over Cech. It was all action stuff from a player who strangely seems to have benefitted from a lengthy injury lay off. Having showed great determination to recover from a terrible injury, Liverpool's fans seem to be warming to him far more now than they were earlier in the season.

Benitez's substitutions were all well timed. Cisse's pace stretched the game wide. Kewell was then brought on to hold up the ball. Killing time has never been so enjoyable as it was for Liverpool fans last night. Makelele, Carvalho, Gallas all tried to muscle Kewell off the ball, but the Aussie stood strong. Many have questioned Kewell's desire to play for Liverpool, last night he was forgiven by many for taking the sting out of the game just when it was needed most.

As Chelsea looked to narrow the game as they moved to an even more direct approach, Benitez again won the tactical battle. His answer to Chelsea's introduction of Huth as an auxillary forward was not to bring on a defender but instead to replace Garcia with Nunez. With the game bogged down in midfield, Nunez was instructed to give Liverpool even greater width, a master stroke. Suddenly Liverpool were dominating possession as Chelsea were unable to stem the flow down their flanks. That Chelsea created just one chance in the six minutes of stoppage time was down to Benitez's players following his plan perfectly.

Finally, praise to Benitez himself. Just one goal has been scored against Liverpool's defence in the past four European games. Few chances have been missed by Juventus and Chelsea so organised has the rearguard been. It might not have been pretty throughout but it has always been correct. With limited resources, Benitez has continually shuffled his pack applying players to positions where they can contribute most to the team. His tactical changes have been inspired leaving great coaches like Capello and Mourinho floundering. Of course, Benitez will take no credit, claiming the team got Liverpool to the final - but each one of them deserves individual praise. Celebrate them all.

Resource from www.talklfc.com

A touching moment for me and maybe you.....04/05/2005

by **Roger Red Hat** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:00 pm

Condensed format: We played well and won.

by **desperado0831** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:05 pm

Anyway,can somebody tell me how to get avatar with some cool banners just like you all...

by **jonnymac1979** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:55 pm

Check my signature.

by **Starbridge42** » Wed May 04, 2005 1:17 pm

Good article, Every Liverpool player on the field last night was a hero and I for one will not forget this game (or the first leg... or the games against Juventus... or Leverkuson... or the Olympiakos game) for a very, very, very long time

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