Chelsea v Liverpool CL semi 1st Leg

redspider

Chelsea v Liverpool CL semi 1st Leg

It will be a close one.

Rafa Benitez has spoken of his ultimate confidence that skipper Steven Gerrard will perform every time he walks out on to the big stage.
The Spaniard knows he can rely on the Huyton-born midfielder when it matters most having witnessed countless inspirational performance over the last few years.

Benitez said: "He has the mentality, especially in the key moments, like the final in Istanbul, and in Cardiff. It's his whole character. At this moment, he is a good player. He is ready for the challenge."

A lot willbe expected of both sets of players tonight. Chelsea who have been battling on all fronts seem to be as 'weak' as you are going to get them, albeit that they have the likes of Terry, Cech, etc in the team. But for me, there is probably no better time to play Chelsea.

Redspider

redspider

An interesting article by Paul Tomkins. Its true that the Liverpool starting-11 doesnt pick itself, so Rafa's selections play a key role in results, etc. He will have to be seeking an away goal tonight imo. A 100% sharp Bellamy would have been ideal, but if that isnt available, Kuyt + Crouch, maybe. choices, choices ....

Here's the article:

Even now, almost three years into Rafa Benítez's reign, the notion of Liverpool's strongest starting eleven gets frequently mentioned.

t's as if every club has to have a set, definable strongest team, or it can't succeed.

But such notions depend on the circumstances. It's all very well a manager having a strongest possible team in his mind, but they don't get to play against imaginary opposition. There's always a problem for them to face. And then there's the question of form and fitness. Who is better to select? A great player in poor form or a very good player in the form of his life?

In the old days Bob Paisley made a point of never worrying too much about the opposition. He was right as without question he had the best collection of players in the land. These days with larger squads it's less clear, as well as being virtually impossible, due to the pace and intensity of the game, to consistently field your strongest team - so gearing everything around a perfect XI would be remiss.

Should you be able to define them I think you'd find there's not a great deal of difference in the strength of the top four's 'first choice' starting XIs. Maybe it's the case that having just one or two better players - or players in better form - that can make all the difference. (Or, indeed, fewer injuries.)

You could pick a core of six or seven players from any of the top four who you'd happily expect to see in any convincing title-winning team, as well as those you'd be less sure about.

It's unusual for any successful team to have truly great players in every position. After all, Phil Neville has umpteen Premiership medals. Jamie Carragher, by contrast, has none. Yet no sane person would say the former is anywhere close to the latter in terms of quality.

When I look at Manchester United's current squad it's not with a hint of envy, as well as some great players they are not without their also-rans who could be taken or left, but whose presence bolsters their numbers.

I simply think their players have had a lot longer together to bond as a unit, with some key experienced players like Giggs and Scholes enjoying an Indian summer. And in Christiano Ronaldo they have a player who's given them the edge. But to my mind there is certainly no greater depth to that squad in terms of individuals, just in terms of time spent together.

Unfortunately for the Reds, some of the key players struggled for form, fitness and sharpness at the start of the season, at a time when the new boys were struggling to adapt. As I've said before, the unusually tough opening fixtures compounded this situation.

But look at the team in recent months and you can see a unit that compares with any in the land, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona outclassed and ultimately beaten with comfort, and Manchester United totally outplayed (and lucky to win).

You can see what a difference time to bed-in has made with someone like Jermaine Pennant, who has overcome an indifferent start to become a really exciting winger who is looking better every week. I've always felt he possessed real ability, but very good players can get overawed at clubs with big expectations, as Shaun Wright-Phillips has shown at Chelsea. It's easy to lose heart and disappear. But Pennant is currently proving to himself he has what it takes, and that's the biggest battle.

The problem is that the only way to have got Pennant playing like this at the start of the season (which would have been a massive bonus) was to have bought him last season, as seen with Daniel Agger. Given time travel is impossible, it's a case of looking to Pennant to take his new-found belief into 2007/08. And the best way to do that is to continue beating men, making very clever passes and delivering crosses that carry real menace for the remainder of this season.

A failure to get enough men forward seems to be a bone of contention for some fans, but I find it a little misleading. The central midfield pairing seems key to this criticism, and it's the area of the park where it's hardest to pick only two players given the quality and varying styles of Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko and Mascherano.

Sissoko, who was one of the Reds' best players last season, and who has had some superb displays this season, is a young player going through a sticky period after a season marred by injury, so he seems the obvious '4th choice' at present. However, I keep thinking back to the FA Cup Final, and the win at the Nou Camp, where he ran the show both times. Big games in which he was immense. Or at Newcastle in February when his all-round game was excellent.

It's crazy to write him off. But Sissoko's dip has allowed Mascherano to muscle his way into the team, and competition for places can only help.
The arrival of the little Argentine has been a massive boost. After his tribulations at West Ham I had fears that his confidence and fitness could be low, and that it might take until next season to adapt to life in the Premiership. But he's been a revelation. His tackling is fearsome and his passing, while not quite up there with Alonso's on the evidence so far, is also mightily impressive.

So with three central options most clubs would die for you instantly think of shifting Gerrard out to the right. But Pennant has been tearing past full-backs of late, so maybe the left is the best option for the captain?

It's certainly the best position for a right-footed player to score goals from, given the way you can open up your body; you only have to look at how often Thierry Henry starts on the left before running infield to score with his right foot. (Even Arbeloa demonstrated this skill at Reading.) At Stamford Bridge earlier in the season Gerrard had two great chances to score, having started the game on the left.

But the heart of the team remains the controversial area. Despite what people think, it is possible to play positive, attacking football with two holding midfielders who don't chip in with many goals. It's a bit like the debate which labels 4-5-1 as negative; it depends on the players concerned as to how attacking it becomes.

And if Alonso and Mascherano are chosen in tandem it has to be pointed out that few deep-lying midfielders can be as devastating at starting attacks; so they're not 'negative' players. Both move the ball so quickly and intelligently over short distances, to help moves build momentum, and each can effortlessly find teammates at longer range.

Some fans find two holding midfielders too inhibited, but it's also the Brazilian way, and they're hardly negative, are they? It enables full-backs to get forward with more freedom, and crucially, allows the winger to stay forward as well, as there is midfield cover to drop in behind.

I'll give you an example. In the fourth minute against Arsenal, Pennant and Arbeloa exchanged clever passes right down by the corner flag. Arbeloa squared to Crouch to open the scoring.

This was possible - in a game eventually won 4-1 - because with two holding midfielders (Mascherano and Alonso) Pennant didn't have to worry about covering for his right-back, and Arbeloa didn't have to worry about holding back. Both could hare forward and get at the Arsenal left-back, knowing that if the move broke down, either Mascherano or Alonso - both canny readers of the game - would shuffle across in time, while the other could stay central to protect the centre-backs.

Meanwhile, on the left that day, Aurelio was getting forward to great effect, with Gonzalez also having one of his best games. So while it was two holding midfielders, there was no lack of forward intent. Far from it, as Arsenal were soundly thrashed.

You can get as many players forward in attacks, and keep enough players back - it's simply a more fluid way of doing things; just not as immediately obvious as having a central attacking midfielder sprinting beyond the strikers.

Against Wigan at the weekend you had Pennant and Arbeloa again combining down by the opposition corner flag, with the Spanish right-back also having a header at goal from open play. Daniel Agger produced a superb solo run that took him through on goal; so while Benitez has made this team a superb defensive unit, it is not by keeping his defenders back for 90 minutes.

The second of successive comfortable 2-0 home wins secured a top four finish, with three games to spare.

However, it was ultimately the away form that let the Reds down in the league. Having said that, since the autumn there's been a definite improvement (even the occasional 0-0 hasn't been disastrous)and I'd be surprised if next season saw similar problems.

While it's not the be-all-and-end-all, pace is clearly a big factor in away games. And it's something Rafa has clearly tried to add to the equation this season, with new boys Pennant, Bellamy and Gonzalez all very sprightly. But the latter two, who are arguably the quickest players at the club, have been in-and-out with injuries, and struggled to find their best form as they settle in new surroundings.

It was noticeable that when Bellamy was on top form Liverpool won a succession of away games with comfortable margins.

In contrast to the domestic situation, the away form has been excellent in Europe all season. And the two Champions League games at Stamford Bridge in the last two campaigns have also given cause for optimism tonight.

There's no doubt the Reds have what it takes to beat Chelsea over two legs. But it's equally true that the Blues have players who can win a game out of nothing.

While in the league the gap is larger than it should be, in a head-to-head there's almost nothing to separate the two sides. But victory in the tie for Liverpool by the most narrow of margins - like Luis Garcia's goal inching over the line in 2005 - would feel like winning 10-0.

Just over 3 hours to kick-off now .....

redspider

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What's wrong with the existing CL Semi Finals thread?

mike65

Its already 759 pages long.

Mike.

Chardee MacDennis

its full of people blabbing on about united, and its too hard to find anyposts about tonights game and when you do they make little to no sense.

millersangel wrote:

going for a score draw i think...... or maybe a 1 nil win to the pool..... or maybe a 1 nil loss! ah i dont have a clue!

all i know is its going to be close

redspider

Shaun Wright-Philips take on things:

Chelsea FC winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is hoping fatigue and suspensions do not combine to undermine his side's bid to secure an unprecedented quadruple of trophies as the English champions prepare for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final with Liverpool FC.

Four-way assault
The London club already have the English League Cup under lock and key, and will meet Manchester United FC in next month's FA Cup final. Unusually they missed a trick in the Premiership at the weekend, passing up the opportunity to close to within a point of leaders United as they were held to a goalless draw at Newcastle United FC on Sunday - and Wright-Phillips trusts that the stalemate is not a sign that the exertions of their four-pronged campaign are starting to tell.

Punishing schedule
"I can still get better but it's hard right now because the games are catching up with us," said the 25-year-old English international, who has featured in eleven of Chelsea's last 13 matches in a punishing schedule. Wright-Phillips's team have played six more games in 2007 than their semi-final opponents, and the right-sided raider acknowledges that such demands on the squad have taken a heavy toll, saying: "Everyone is feeling it, mentally as well as physically. We have had a game every three days which has been hard."

'Tread lightly'
Already without Arjen Robben and Michael Ballack through injury, Chelsea are also deprived of Ghanaian international Michael Essien through suspension, and with three other players who should figure at Stamford Bridge – Joe Cole, Lassana Diarra and Didier Drogba – within a caution of missing next week's trip to Anfield, Wright-Phillips recognises that his team-mates must keep their discipline. "We have to be very careful - we don't want any players missing the next leg so we have to tread lightly," he said. "That won't be easy but we will have to learn to adapt. We look after each other anyway so that should naturally follow."

'Hard work'
Having met in the 2004/05 semi-finals as well as last season's group stage, Chelsea and Liverpool are certainly well acquainted, although with their last four league encounters yielding ten goals compared to one in four UEFA Champions League fixtures, Wright-Phillips anticipates a more cautious affair than the usual Premiership tussle. "We don't know what type of game it will be, it depends on how Liverpool play. All we know is that it is going to be hard in a number of ways. We know this game will be difficult, it's going to be hard work and we will be trying to do our best."

any teams news from the Liverpool camp yet?
Does the team-sheet go out at 7:00?

Redspider

mike65

Should be 7pm sometimes it creeps out at 6.45 ish.

I'm going to guess a 4-1-3-1-1 formation with Gerrard pushing out of midfield and Crouch ahead of him.

Mike.

Mr Alan

the existing thread took a turn for the worse (partially my fault), not sure if its the best idea to have liverpool and utd sharing a thread, only asking for trouble!

anyway i'm a kinda confident about tonight, not sure if thats a good or bad thing!

Hope Rafa plays to get a goal. not sure who i'd prefer up front (Kuyt,Bellamy,Crouch), all offer totally different things but i think we might need Bellamys pace tonight..... just thinking about it now, so nervous!

redspider

millersangel wrote:

Hope Rafa plays to get a goal. not sure who i'd prefer up front (Kuyt,Bellamy,Crouch), all offer totally different things but i think we might need Bellamys pace tonight..... just thinking about it now, so nervous!

I'm sure he will set them up to get an away goal. There will be chances at both ends, a handful at least. Whoever takes them will be in a good position. And you can never discount a wonder-goal from the likes of Stevie G and Riise. I'd say they will be popping off a few long shots this evening. Cech is not as good as he was pre- the Hunt knee incident.

And calm down, no need for nerves, take a deep breath. Its gonna be a long night, and a long week and 2nd leg too! 180 mins of football.

> 4-1-3-1-1

I dont think Rafa will go for one holding midfielder Mike, more likely two with Mascherano and Alonso. The big question for me is does he play Gerrard out wide or stick him in the centre of the park behind a striker? And then what type of striker. Kuyt would more than likely work better with Gerrard, and save the crossing game (with Crouch) until Anfield.

I dont envy Rafa in making these selections. They are hard, it has to be said.

I also didnt know this:

Family ties
The 26-year-old Peter Crouch hails from a Chelsea-supporting family and was once a ball boy at Stamford Bridge. From there to playing in a UEFA Champions League semi-final at the same ground is a mighty long stretch –even for one who stands tall at 1.98m."I never dreamed that this could happen,"he admitted."My affiliation is now with Liverpool. I'll have a lot of friends there watching,some blue,some red,but the majority will be red."

Redspider

mike65

Anyone fancy a virtual bet on if Harry Kewell gets a place on the bench?

Mike.

Mr Alan

redspider wrote:

I'm sure he will set them up to get an away goal. There will be chances at both ends, a handful at least. Whoever takes them will be in a good position. And you can never discount a wonder-goal from the likes of Stevie G and Riise. I'd say they will be popping off a few long shots this evening. Cech is not as good as he was pre- the Hunt knee incident.

And calm down, no need for nerves, take a deep breath. Its gonna be a long night, and a long week and 2nd leg too! 180 mins of football.

> 4-1-3-1-1

I dont think Rafa will go for one holding midfielder Mike, more likely two with Mascherano and Alonso. The big question for me is does he play Gerrard out wide or stick him in the centre of the park behind a striker? And then what type of striker. Kuyt would more than likely work better with Gerrard, and save the crossing game (with Crouch) until Anfield.

I dont envy Rafa in making these selections. They are hard, it has to be said.

I also didnt know this:


Redspider

didnt know that either, hopefully by the end of the 180 minutes none of his chelsea supporting family will be talking to him because of the hat-trick he bagged against em! (its ok to dream)

agree with ya about the two holding midfielders, with Kuyt playing as the main striker and gerrard playing just behind him (kuyt was good in stamford bridge if i remember correctly, hitting the post etc). Hope we get a big performance from stevie tonight (justify his place in the PL team of the year! ). Maybe bring Bellamy on halfway through the 2nd half if chelsea are pushing at us and use his pace to create something on the break.

Long ranger from riise would be the business, hopefully tonight he continues his fine goal scoring form against chelsea!

Pennant on the right has been a revelation over the last 5 or so games, need to see more of that tonight. To be honest i thought he had no future at Liverpool from the summer on but i think he might have played his way into getting another year!

Only reason for the nerves is the memories of 2005, nails are only starting to grow back now! poxy linesman with his 7 minutes injury time and gudjohnsons last minute shot! Still waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares where they grab a goal in the last minute goal to knock us out!

the beauty of football, wouldnt have it any other way

redspider

mike65 wrote:

Anyone fancy a virtual bet on if Harry Kewell gets a place on the bench?

Have you been having some of that 'Spaced Out' stuff again?

Podge & Rodge are 200-1 to be the next Taoiseach in some novelty betting, but it aint gonna happen. 200-1 I'd say for Kewell .....

herbieflowers

What was with Liverpool's training, shown on reports today? Players were put into twos, holding hands and made play against each other while not allowing to break the hold...can anyone shed any light on it? There was also the weird walking football they were playing...hilarious, Gerrard walking as fast as he could to retrieve the ball...

PCros

herbieflowers wrote:

What was with Liverpool's training, shown on reports today? Players were put into twos, holding hands and made play against each other while not allowing to break the hold...can anyone shed any light on it? There was also the weird walking football they were playing...hilarious, Gerrard walking as fast as he could to retrieve the ball...

Isnt it for practicing getting the ball and getting away from opposition beacuse when its one on one the opposition player will hold on to ur sleeve, jersey etc. To build up strength in that position.

Vokes

I'm hoping for this lineup

Reina

   Finnan   Carra   Agger   Riise

         Sissoko    Alonso
Gerrard                    Gonzales
                Kuyt

               Crouch

PCros

herbieflowers wrote:

What was with Liverpool's training, shown on reports today? Players were put into twos, holding hands and made play against each other while not allowing to break the hold...can anyone shed any light on it? There was also the weird walking football they were playing...hilarious, Gerrard walking as fast as he could to retrieve the ball...

Isnt it for practicing getting the ball and getting away from opposition beacuse when its one on one the opposition player will hold on to ur sleeve, jersey etc. To build up strength in that position.

Pepe LeFrits

Chelsea to win.

griffdaddy

Reina

   Finnan   Carra   Agger   Riise/Arbeola

         Mascherano    Alonso
Pennant                   Gonzales/Riise
                Gerrard

               Bellamy/Kuyt

Would be my plan, moving Gerrard out right and bringing on Crouch for Pennant if we need a shake up

DaBreno

mike65 wrote:

Anyone fancy a virtual bet on if Harry Kewell gets a place on the bench?

Mike.

I wager 200 quatloos on the newcomer!

Dont be at yourself

                Reina
Finnan  Carra  Agger  Arbeloa
       Macherano Alonso
Pennant                  Riise
           Gerrard
                Crouch

Macherano over Sissoko because Chelsea will punish careless passes.

Pennant's on form recently, and had a great game against Chelsea at Anfield.

Riise on left of midfield to give us defence cover compared to Gonzales, and he's also a danger with his pot shots.

Gerrard in the hole, dropping deep as needed. On the right, he's too keen to wander into the middle anyway, and Finnan & Pennant offer enough from that side of the pitch.

Crouch up front. Kuyt staked a claim with 2 goals at the weekend, and I wouldn't be adverse to him starting either. Crouch may handle the Chelsea defence better, and we can whack it up to him to relieve pressure if Chelsea really start pushing for a goal.

mike65

I posted this on the Liverpool thread a few days back

---

Reina
Finnan--Carra--Agger--Arbola

---

Masha
Pennant----Alonso

---

Riise

---

Gerrrard

---

Crouch

Mike.

Raskolnikov

mike65 wrote:

Anyone fancy a virtual bet on if Harry Kewell gets a place on the bench?

Mike.

Harry Who?

Seriously though, has he returned to fitness?

mike65

He's been in full training for a couple of weeks now, it had been mooted he'd be back for the Wigan game.

Mike.

~Rebel~

Starting lineup

Reina

Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Riise

Gerrard
Mascherano
Alonso
Zenden

Bellamy
Kuyt

Subs: Dudek, Hyypia, Gonzalez, Crouch, Pennant, Sissoko, Paletta

Cant believe Zenden is playing! Id have preferred Kewell! Christ...what is it that Rafa sees in Zenden? He always gets to play a bit against his former clubs, he just happens to have played for everyone!

And whats the deal with no Finnan? Didnt know he was that badly injured to not even make the bench..

PiE

Zenden?? Sweet Jesus.

mada999

not impressed with Zenden in the line-up...

redspider

>Cant believe Zenden is playing

Me neither! That is a mistake in my eyes, as he is not on form these days and we have better players. Surely Gonzalez would have been better.

Finnan is injured, as he's not even a sub and will be missed. Gerrard looks like he will be right, but no doubt will roam inside. Both Kuyt and Bellamy up front so looking for speed in the attack.

Redspider

zAbbo

Zenden the legend

mike65

No pace down the wings, Riise will have to bomb forwards.

Feck that, its too cagey.

Mike.

GrumPy

any links to this game?

Chucky the tree

gonna throw a few bob on zenden to score first.

GrumPy

only one tv in the house and tis' been hijacked by the 'rents, anyone got a link it would be super sweet!!

cousin_borat

ok, leaving work early here to catch this. C'mon the pool!!!!!!

_blank_

Irish GrumPy wrote:

only one tv in the house and tis' been hijacked by the 'rents, anyone got a link it would be super sweet!!

The match is streaming live on RTE.ie.

Mr Alan

presume Zenden will probably offer more defensively than Gonzalez, wouldnt be overly concerned about him starting, hope i have't jinxed him!

here goes nothing!

COME ON THE POOL!!!!!!!!!!

_blank_

Crackin' save by Reina!

joe316

even though it pains me to usher the words "5 times", did you spot the liverpool mascot doing the whole "we won it 5 times" to the camera in the tunnel. fair play to the little fella

Bacchus

crap, I'm in France. RTE only stream within Ireland. Anyone know anywhere streaming the game?

joe.

Bacchus wrote:

crap, I'm in France. RTE only stream within Ireland. Anyone know anywhere streaming the game?

www.rojadirecta.com

mike65

Christ, two times Liverpool needed someone on the right side to pick up a loose crossed ball but Gerrard was elsewhere. Pennant must be got on at some point.

Mike.

joe316

goal chelski, well done drogs. the power of him is unreal

Bacchus

joe. wrote:

www.rojadirecta.com

Thank you so much.

Balls! Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 :mad:

GuanYin

What a goal. Carvalho and Drogba made that.

Mossy Monk

Great play by Chelsea for that goal.

mike65

Rafa completly screwed-up his formation/selection, he must get Crouch on get Pennant on.

Mike.

Zapp Brannigan

Feck, good goal by Chelsea. Arbeloa turned off for a second and let Cole in

Still there's another half, we need Crouch on I think.

Kingp35

Chelsea in total control at the moment. Liverpool offering nothing going forward and lack creativity. They need to change it now.

The Muppet

Kingp35 wrote:

Chelsea in total control at the moment. Liverpool offering nothing going forward and lack creativity. They need to change it now.

Very poor defensively as well they could easily be down another couple of goals.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

el rabitos

riise has been muck so far. his lack of intelligence with the ball has been shocking. just hoofing it around.

none of the liverpool midfielders seem to want the ball, apart from gerrard who's running around like a headless chicken trying to get involved.

theres zero penetration down the right, where finnan would be darting up and down. all of liverpools efforts are being sent down the left where zenden is busy giving feirrera a nice red rash on his leg from pelting the ball at it continuously.

chelsea are up for it, pool are not at the races

Aquos76

Chelsea denied a blatant pen there. A hand ball from Arbola