Match Thread: Liverpool vs Marseilles - CL Group Stage Round 1 (16/09)

Karmafaerie

It was a risky road, but we made it.
Now the competition starts proper.
We got the toughest group, and will have to play a lot better against Marseilles tonight, compared to the calamity that was last year.

The squad is from...

Liverpool: Reina, Dossena, Arbeloa, Agger, Skrtel, Carragher, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun, Babel, Kuyt, Torres, Riera, Keane, Cavalieri, Degen.

I can see Pool pushing on from the weekend and dominating this.

2-0

Dont be at yourself

I don't expect Torres or Gerrard to be risked unless they're fully fit. That's partly because I'm sure Rafa will be happy with an away draw, and also partly because of our weekend performance without them in the team.

It's funny, but perhaps the most difficult choice will be between Babel and Riera. It's great to see real competition out on the left. I literally can't remember the last time we had two decent left-sided players!

My fantasy rafa:

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Reina
Arbeloa-Carra-Skrtl-Dossena

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Alonso-Masch
Benayoun

---

Riera

---

Keane-Kuyt

Anyone know what the story is with N'Gog? He looked handy enough from what I've seen of him, and I'm a little surprised he isnt in the squad. Is it over this stupid homegrown players rule?

kaimera

Play Babel off Keane up front as a LWF type and drop Kuyt.

PiE

Title should be other way round </pedant>.

I reckon Gerrard will play. Rafa seemed to be feeling the pressure from the media a few weeks back and after his triumph on Saturday, I'd say he won't want to risk losing this game and have the media back onto him about "rotation" and other such nonsense.

Dont be at yourself

Play Babel off Keane up front as a LWF type and drop Kuyt.

Kuyt's CL record is bulletproof. He's close to the first name on the team-sheet in games like these, as far as I'm concerned. His workrate, movement and tactical nous are key to these games, and he has a habit of scoring vital goals - didn't he score in every single round for us least season?

I'm unsure about Keane up top by himself either. He tends to drop deep to receive the ball, and he doesn't have the build to be a target man able to hold up the ball.

herbieflowers

he tends to naturally drift off the front man. Yeah, Kuyt's gotta be there

kaimera

Given keane doesn't seem to be the proper 'target' man and kuyt sure as hell isn't, why not even trying babel as the target man with keane off him?

I know kuyt in europe etc etc but even to try it out.

leninbenjamin

it's been scientifically proven that Keane cannot lead the line.

herbieflowers

who needs a lead striker? Go Roma, with numerous midfielders!

Karmafaerie

PiE wrote: »

Title should be other way round </pedant>.

Yeah, realised it myself afterwards!
D'oh!:p

Karmafaerie

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Pepe

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Arbeloa

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Skrtel

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Agger

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Dosenna

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Alonso

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Lucas

---

---

Kuyt

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Keane

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Riera

---

---

Babel

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That'd be my starting line.
Masch suffered a knock at the weekend, so if it's serious I'd rest him.
And I'd rest Gerrard and torres if at all possible, just to be safe.
I think that Babel has to start playing furthur forward, as all his best performances are more advanced.

fullstop

Do you mean Marseille (without the extra 's') v Liverpool?

internelligent

After going through last year's nightmare of barely getting through the group stages, I'd perfer we didn't try anything new until we were safe at the top. Wait till we're 4 pts clear with one game left and try something different then. Especially since we're in a s**t hard group. Better for the heart that way.:)

herbieflowers

ah, I reckon Liverpool will be okay. They always seems to come through, even when they make it hard for themselves. Semi-finals again, I'd say.

bUILDERtHEbOB

Is it counted as rotation if Gerrard and Torres start?

zAbbo

fullstop wrote: »

Do you mean Marseille (without the extra 's') v Liverpool?

Yeah that's annoying me too, any chance of a thread title change?

internelligent

zAbbo wrote: »

Yeah that's annoying me too, any chance of a thread title change?

+1

There'll be at least 100 more posts on the title. Change it now and be done with it.

Nalz

Zenden winner anyone!

I'd say 0-0 or 0-1 to Pool

monkey9

Trilla wrote: »

Zenden winner anyone!

I'd say 0-0 or 0-1 to Pool

Zenden? Winner? No!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karmafaerie

The really sad thing is I've been to Marseille a half dozen times, and even lived there for over a month!

Oh the shame!:o

herbieflowers

isn't the place actually called Marseilles?

Karmafaerie

herbieflowers wrote: »

isn't the place actually called Marseilles?

Nope.

I was wrong.

Marseilles would be "from Marseille".

herbieflowers

really? I've seen it written as Marseilles before. anyway...

PiE

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

Is it counted as rotation if Gerrard and Torres start?

Only if Andy Gray says so.

MementoMori

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

It's funny, but perhaps the most difficult choice will be between Babel and Riera. It's great to see real competition out on the left. I literally can't remember the last time we had two decent left-sided players!

Anyone know what the story is with N'Gog? He looked handy enough from what I've seen of him, and I'm a little surprised he isnt in the squad. Is it over this stupid homegrown players rule?

Given the match next week is against Stoke, I think Gerrard could well start this (I would expect him to come off around the 61st min mark for Benayoun) - I could see Rafa starting Benayoun in the Stoke game with the hope that the team would be stong enough to overcome Stoke without using Gerrard but have Gerrard on the bench as an option. Expect the rotation thing to raise its head, if something like this occurs:(

I think Keane will start up front and Torres may come on for a last 20-15 mins run, if Rafa feels there is a chance for goals depending on how the match is going.

Agree with the quote on the left-hand side of things. I think Riera will start ahead of Babel, but a good chance Babel will appear as a sub on the left. Totally agree with how much of an improvement it is to have Babel and Riera on the left especially when compared to the first game in the league when it was Benayoun and Aurelio on the left of midfield. Is it any wonder the team structure looked better at the weekend?

Also a slight chance Agger may also come in for Skrtel or that Degen might come in for Arbeloa as a rotation sub choices due to the game being on Saturday.

I pretty sure the Ngog thing is due to the homegrown players junk.

Most likely team

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Pepe

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Arbeloa

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Skrtel

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Carra

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Dosenna

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Alonso

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Lucas

---

---

Kuyt

---

Gerrard

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Riera

---

---

Keane

---

Karmafaerie

herbieflowers wrote: »

really? I've seen it written as Marseilles before. anyway...

I know, it's confusing.

Kinda like how Bangkok hasn't been called that be people in Thailand for over a thousand years, but westerers still think it's the name!

But no, I't's Marseille.
But as you said, you always find it with the s at the end.

herbieflowers

what do they call Bangkok, then? Probably stood the test of time cos of its humorous name!

Karmafaerie

herbieflowers wrote: »

what do they call Bangkok, then? Probably stood the test of time cos of its humorous name!

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Krung Thep for short).

Han't been called Bangkok since around 600ad.

Mr Alan

for real?!

thats ****ing mental.

I love the soccer forum

ibh

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Krung Thep for short).

Han't been called Bangkok since around 600ad.

Yea but the ol ask someone the capital of Thailand and hit them in the nuts gag doesn't work with that name...

That's probably the only reason the name remains Bangkok to us.

Karmafaerie

I don't know what I did in work before I started posting here!

The Rooster

Ngog didnt travel because he wasn't going to make the bench. I guess they decided he'd gain more from playing with the reserves tomorrow. Nothing to do with homegrown players rules etc.

Good to see Degen finally available for selection. Though probably more likely to get a run versus Stoke than Marseille. I hope Agger starts one of the next two matches, I'd love to see him alongside Skrtel and to give Carra a rest.

monkey9

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Krung Thep for short).

Han't been called Bangkok since around 600ad.

That's not true, i called it Bangkok there a few months back!!

monkey9

The Rooster wrote: »

Ngog didnt travel because he wasn't going to make the bench. I guess they decided he'd gain more from playing with the reserves tomorrow. Nothing to do with homegrown players rules etc.

Good to see Degen finally available for selection. Though probably more likely to get a run versus Stoke than Marseille. I hope Agger starts one of the next two matches, I'd love to see him alongside Skrtel and to give Carra a rest.

Are you sure about Ngog. I just think he's not in the Champions League squad at all l and that's the squad that has been chosen until the knockout stages

mike65

Ngog is in the squad.

Don't forget fantasy rafa.

Mike.

Karmafaerie

monkey9 wrote: »

That's not true, i called it Bangkok there a few months back!!

If you're gonna make me get really technical, the full name is....(deep breath)

Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit

(phew!)

It translates as...

The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam


But locals do call it Krung Thep.

Edit:Sorry, my history was slightly off (by a millennium!), it was 16-1700 not 600ad.:P

Karmafaerie

Good lowdown on Marseilles from the official site.

They were the first team to lift the Champions League trophy back in the 1992-93 season, and Liverpool play them for the third time in the competition on Tuesday evening. Here, we take a look at Olympic Marseille.



The manager

In Eric Gerets, Marseille have one of Europe's most experienced coaches. The former Belgium international cut his teeth in his homeland with RFC Liege between 1992 and 1994 and steered Bruges to a Belgian league Championship and a Belgian Supercup between 1997 and 1999.

He then left Belgium to take over at PSV, where he won the two Erdivisie championships and two Dutch Supercups in the same number of seasons at the club. In recent years, Gerets has completed stints at Kaiserslautern, Wolfsburg and Galatasaray (where he won a league/cup double in 2005) before filling the Marseille hot-seat last season.

Masterminding victory at Anfield last season gave him kudos, now Gerets will be looking to go one further and take his team to the next stage of the Champions League.


The fans

Marseille regularly attract over 60,000 fans to the Stade Velodrome. Their fans are known to be among the most passionate in France - so much so that they once even tried to have a whip-round to buy back Didier Drogba from Chelsea.

Any supporters who travelled to the South of France for the Reds' meetings with Marseille last season will know that the ground has a great atmosphere. Two Kop-like grandstands at either end house over 14,000 fervent fans, with the The Virage Nord-Patrice de Peretti being the noisier of the two, while The Virage Sud is steeped in tradition and is home to Marseille's various supporters associations. Look out for the impressive banner displays at this end of the ground.

The goalscorers

At 5ft 4ins, 26-year-old Bakari Kone is a slight striker who can get in behind defences and cause problems with his breathtaking pace and sharp shooting skills. Kone's low centre of gravity and ability to glide past the opposition have earned him comparisons with Diego Maradona and Ferenc Puskas – and he is also the perfect foil for athletic 5ft 10ins marksman Mamadou Niang. With his keen eye for goal and impressive strength in the air, Niang will be a threat from set pieces throughout the group stage clash and the little and large pairing could prove to be a real handful for the Liverpool defence tonight.


The tough-tackling midfielder

Providing the bite in the centre of the park is Albanian international Lorik Cana. Known as a tough-tackling defensive midfielder with the ability to put in a telling pass, expect Marseille's marauding captain to be all over the pitch at the Stade Velodrome tonight.


The jinky winger

Hatem Ben Arfa recently completed a high-profile move from French champions Olympic Lyob, and a lot is expected of the talented winger in his first season at the Stade Velodrome. He has already found the net for Marseille this season and is the type of player who could produce something special at any moment. As one of the Ligue One's hottest prospects, 21-year-old Ben Arfa has the potential to become the latest in a very long line of legendary French players.


Current form

Second in the table with 11 points from a possible 15, Marseille are in pursuit of a first Ligue One title since 1992. With seven consecutive league titles to their name, Lyon are the team to beat at the moment in France and are currently top of the table.


Past meetings

While last season's thrilling Champions League group stage matches against Marseille might be fresh in the memory for most Reds fans, some may have forgotten that they were also the team that knocked us out of the UEFA Cup just over five years ago.

Known as I'OM in France, Marseille became the first French outfit to win at Anfield last season following a Mathieu Valbuena strike in the 57th minute. It was an all-round poor display from Rafael Benitez's charges, but a 4-0 victory in the following leg - with goals coming from Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel - saw the Reds make up for that defeat and seal qualification from what was a very tough group. It marked an incredible comeback after going down 2-1 to Besiktas in Turkey and drawing 1-1 with Porto in Portugal.

Before that, Marseille were the team who broke Liverpool hearts in the 2003/04 season. It was to be a certain Ivorian powerhouse we would get to know all too well in the following years who inflicted most of the damage over the two legs.
The French outfit came into the competition after being knocked out of the Champions League group stages and after scraping past Ukranian side FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0 in the previous round, they were seen as the underdogs for their fourth round tie with Liverpool.

Milan Baros broke the deadlock in the 55th minute of the first leg at Anfield. Michael Owen won the ball in midfield and found Steven Gerrard, who stood firm against the Marseille stopper, Fabien Barthez, to set up the Czech striker who finished with ease. But Marseille soon gained control of the midfield and started to create more and more chances, with Didier Drogba eventually equalising from a hopeful Camel Meriem cross. The all-important away goal was secured for the French side and they shut up shop for the remaining 11 minutes.

The second leg saw the Reds take the lead early on in the second half through a well-worked Emile Heskey strike, but Marseille fought their way back to win 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate, with Drogba finding the net again - this time from the penalty spot on 38 minutes - and Abdoulyae Meite netting the winner in the 58th minute.

Defeating Gerard Houllier's Liverpool gave Marseille a fresh impetus. They notched up a well-deserved 2-0 aggregate victory over Inter Milan in the quarter finals before reaching their first European final in ten years with a repeat of the same scoreline over Newcastle United.

In the final, Marseille came up against Rafael Benitez's Valencia team, who had wrapped up the Spanish league title one week earlier. But the Spanish club made up for losing in the 2000 and 2001 UEFA Champions League finals and beat Marseille 2-0 on a dramatic evening in Gothenburg. Fabien Barthez was shown the red card for felling the free-scoring Spanish forward Mista in the penalty box. Vicente Rodriguez scored from the resulting penalty on the stroke of half-time and Mista added a second to bring the Spanish club their first European title in over 20 years. That match turned out to be Benitez's last game in charge of the club before taking over the managerial reigns at Anfield.


Champions League success

The appointment of maverick president Bernard Tapie in 1986 led to Marseille challenging for major honours at home and abroad. They soon had what many pundits believe is the best ever team to be assembled on French shores. A young Fabien Barthez was just starting to show his quality between the sticks, while Marcel Desailly, Rudi Voller and Alan Boksic gave the squad an excellent mix of experience and raw talent.

Didier Deschamps captained Marseille to victory in the UEFA Champions League's inaugural season in 1992/93. They started their campaign of the newly named competition with an 8-0 defeat of Glentoran followed by a 2-0 win over Dinamo Bucarest. In a format that saw the winners of two groups of four teams play each other in the final, I'OM maintained their unbeaten record in the group stage and recore group stage and recorded victories over Bruges and CSKA Moskow, qualifying for the final with one more point than Glasgow Rangers, who had played out two dramatic matches - which ended 2-2 and 1-1 with - with the French side.

AC Milan sailed through the other group with a 100 per cent record and awaited Marseille in the final. With a star-studded team that included the likes of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Paolo Maldini, the Italian champions had a set of players who could have beaten anyone, but a Basile Boli header just before half-time saw the trophy go to France for the first - and only - time in its history, proving just how strong Marseille were at the time.

But after the dust had settled on Marseille's momentous victory, it emerged that they had fixed their title-clinching Division 1 game against ASOA Valence-Clime a week earlier so they could concentrate on the final. As a result, the club were stripped of their French Championship and relegated from Ligue One. They were also barred from defending the Champions League the following season, prompting a downturn in the team's fortunes and they did not return to the top flight until 1996.

The trophy cabinet

One UEFA Champions League
Two Intertoto Cups
Eight French Ligue One titles
Ten French Cup titles
One Trophy Des Champions

MementoMori

TORRES AND GERRARD RETURN FOR REDS
Paul Eaton in Marseille 16 September 2008
Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard return to the starting line-up for this evening's Champions League opener in Marseille - a game you can follow with live commentary online from 7.45pm BST.
Rafael Benitez makes five changes from the team which defeated Manchester United at the weekend, with Lucas, Ryan Babel and Andrea Dossena also earning recalls.

The Liverpool team for tonight's match is as follows:

Reina
Dossena
Carragher
Skrtel
Arbeloa
Lucas
Mascherano
Gerrard
Babel
Kuyt
Torres

Subs:

Cavalieri
Agger
Keane
Riera
Alonso
Benayoun
Degen

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N161332080916-1839.htm

Presuambly 4-2-3-1

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Reina

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--Arbeloa--Carragher--Skrtel--Dossena--

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Lucas

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Mascherano

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----Kuyt

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Gerrard

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Babel----

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Torres

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Subs: Cavalieri, Agger, Keane, Riera, Alonso, Benayoun, Degen

Does Robbie need to start getting used to being on the bench?

Strong line-up - obviously Rafa wants to win this one

mike65

But what a bench!

Jebus that my Fantasy Rafa average decimated.

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Reina
Arbeloa-Carragher-Skrtel-Dossena

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Lucas-Mascherano
Kuyt

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Gerrard

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Babel

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Torres

Yay! 4-2-3-1

Mike.

Tusky

Good line up and a very strong bench.

Karmafaerie

This is the strongest Liverpool squad I can remember since I was knee high to a grasshopper!

Sherifu

Solid team.

Tusky

Sky Sports just put this line up, up -

Mascherano Gerrard Babel Lucas

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Kuyt----Torres


hah. Do they not proof read what they are broadcasting ?

herbieflowers

when the stations get the teams, do they actually get a formation?

Dave!

I will be following this thread intently in case there is any follow-up information regarding Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit

Tusky

herbieflowers wrote: »

when the stations get the teams, do they actually get a formation?

Nope, just the line up. RTE are terrible for getting the line ups wrong as well.

eZe^

You better do a job for me lads, I have both Aurelio and Babel in my fantasy team.

Tusky

eZe^ wrote: »

You better do a job for me lads, I have both Aurelio and Babel in my fantasy team.

Aurelio is injured!

Unearthly

feck sake, trust Benitez not to play Alonso even after Saturday

RIP Fantasy Football

Mayo Exile

Teams out now. Pool playing in that sponsor free jersey again because of the alco advertising laws in France. Looks way better!

zAbbo

Alonso played in both internationals, and the ManU game, he was never going to start this.

Good to see Trevor Steven harp on about rotating half the team, Aurelio is injured, and Gerrard and Torres return, while Babel earns a start, and Alonso gets rotated.

The core of the team hasn't really changed, and when you've got a quality squad - you need to keep players on their toes