Kevin LustigCL Semi-Final Wrap Up: Chelsea v. Liverpool
April 30th 2008 22:21
It took them three tries over four seasons, but Chelsea have finally broken Liverpool's Champions League spell and won their semi-final 4-3 on aggregate to book a trip to Moscow.
The first match of the semi-final was a game of missed chances for both Liverpool and Chelsea, with not a lot defining the space between the two teams. Both clubs were able to get men forward to create dangerous situations, while the midfield circulated around a duel between Steven Gerrard and Chelsea's Claude Makelele. Chipped shots and surprise passes created the best chances for both sides, with Alonso to Kuyt, Lampard to Cole and a pair of Gerrard to Torres passes all looking like they could have produced goals but eventually coming to nothing. Then, in the 42nd minute, a poor clearance and some bad ball handling by Frank Lampard left Dirk Kuyt with enough net to score and put Liverpool up 1-0. The second half was more of the same; if either team looked like adding a second, it was Liverpool, but the perfect opportunity never came. Instead, Chelsea came forward in greater and greater numbers as the match entered its final fifteen minutes. Liverpool began to close down around their goal, knowing that 1-0 was as good a result for them as the night was likely to produce. This defensive mindset did its job all the way until regular time ran out and an increasingly desperate Chelsea began to fire everything they had into the box in the hopes of a lucky stroke. Such a stroke came when substitute John Arne Riise dove down to clear a cross out of the box with his head. Instead of flying clear, the ball flew into the roof of the Liverpool net. Before a now-silent Kop had a chance to fully comprehend the reversal they had suffered, the final whistle blew. Riise had snatched a draw from the jaws of victory, and 1-1 was the score.
With the scoreline from the first match hugely favoring Chelsea, but with the Blues knowing that a single goal from Liverpool would leave them with a mountain to climb, both teams came to Stamford Bridge to score. Chances at one end of the pitch were followed almost immediately by counterattacks on the other from minute one. Pass after pass, interception after interception, flowing and combative football ensued. It soon became clear, though, that Liverpool had brought plenty of energy but little imagination, and Chelsea were the better team early on. They got a goal to show for it after a Pepe Reina deflection put the ball at Didier Drogba's feet. The Ivory Coast international found a football shaped hole between Reina's outstretched fingertips and the near post to put Chelsea up 1-0 in the 33rd minute. Liverpool were happy to go into the break only a single goal down. In the second half, a different Liverpool team seemed to take the field. While not overpowering, they found a way to make a constant nuisance of themselves to a Chelsea team that seemed almost surprised by the spirit of the Scousers. Finally, fancy footwork and a goal box connection from Yousi Benayoun to Fernando Torres put Liverpool back on the board, 1-1, in minute 64. From there, the game stayed locked and went into extra time. To their credit, Chelsea, who seemed to be playing like they deserved to win and didn't want to work for it in the second half, came together to put on quite a show in the extra periods. Liverpool looked dangerous on the counter-attack, but Chelsea dictated the pace of the game, and they got a morale booster in the form of a penalty kick after Michael Ballack was brought down in the box. Frank Lampard, a surprise inclusion in the Chelsea squad after missing the three previous matches due to the death of his mother, took the 98th minute kick from the spot and sent Reina the wrong way for a 2-1 advantage. An emotional Lampard raised his fingers to the heavens as he celebrated the go-ahead goal with his teammates. Chelsea weren't done celebrating, though, as Didier Drogba beat his man to put in a second classy goal seven minutes later. Ryan Babel pulled one back for Liverpool with a shot that went in through equal parts of Babel's skill and Peter Cech's distraction, with the Blues' goalkeeper looking like he was daydreaming about Moscow in the spring as Babel's rocket flew past him. However, though the goal was top notch, all it succeeded in doing was making the last few minutes of extra time a little more tense, with Chelsea hanging on to win it 3-2 and set their sights on the Champions League final in Moscow.
The defining moment of the two legs of this tie for many will be John Arne Riise's own-goal in the final minute of the first match at Anfield. The headed goal wiped out what looked like a sure Liverpool victory and gave Chelsea a needed away goal heading into their match at home. Liverpool had a stellar second half and a brave effort throughout the Stamford Bridge meeting, but in the end fell a goal short in the extra periods. Had Riise not put the ball in his own net at the end of the first leg, the 1-1 score at the end of regular time in the second would have been enough to send Liverpool through. Furthermore, though it hardly bears mentioning as the extra thirty minutes and the goals therein would have never come to be, Liverpool could still have lost 3-2 at Stamford Bridge and progressed to the Champions League final without the defender's mistake. In this sense, Riise's error cast a huge shadow over the second match. However, beneath that shadow, an open, exciting 90 minutes of football were played that should not be forgotten. Liverpool fans will be playing games of would-should-could about these two matches for years to come, but the truth is that taken by itself, the second match was a joy to watch. Both teams played some beautiful, aggressive football, and Chelsea happened to come out on top. It may not have been a great occasion for Liverpool, but it was a great night for Champions League football. The tie is set, and attention now turns to Moscow where Chelsea will meet Manchester United on 21 May.
Man of the Match honors go to Dirk Kuyt for the only earned goal of the first match and Didier Drogba for a brace in the second leg that were among the best of this year's Champions League goals. Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands for the second match of this semi-final to see Chelsea go through and Drogba exercise his goal-scoring touch. Rest assured he'll be spending quite a bit of time between now and 21 May thinking up creative ways to stop the Ivorian. With the match Drogba had today, it looks like Ferguson has his work cut out for him.
The first match of the semi-final was a game of missed chances for both Liverpool and Chelsea, with not a lot defining the space between the two teams. Both clubs were able to get men forward to create dangerous situations, while the midfield circulated around a duel between Steven Gerrard and Chelsea's Claude Makelele. Chipped shots and surprise passes created the best chances for both sides, with Alonso to Kuyt, Lampard to Cole and a pair of Gerrard to Torres passes all looking like they could have produced goals but eventually coming to nothing. Then, in the 42nd minute, a poor clearance and some bad ball handling by Frank Lampard left Dirk Kuyt with enough net to score and put Liverpool up 1-0. The second half was more of the same; if either team looked like adding a second, it was Liverpool, but the perfect opportunity never came. Instead, Chelsea came forward in greater and greater numbers as the match entered its final fifteen minutes. Liverpool began to close down around their goal, knowing that 1-0 was as good a result for them as the night was likely to produce. This defensive mindset did its job all the way until regular time ran out and an increasingly desperate Chelsea began to fire everything they had into the box in the hopes of a lucky stroke. Such a stroke came when substitute John Arne Riise dove down to clear a cross out of the box with his head. Instead of flying clear, the ball flew into the roof of the Liverpool net. Before a now-silent Kop had a chance to fully comprehend the reversal they had suffered, the final whistle blew. Riise had snatched a draw from the jaws of victory, and 1-1 was the score.
With the scoreline from the first match hugely favoring Chelsea, but with the Blues knowing that a single goal from Liverpool would leave them with a mountain to climb, both teams came to Stamford Bridge to score. Chances at one end of the pitch were followed almost immediately by counterattacks on the other from minute one. Pass after pass, interception after interception, flowing and combative football ensued. It soon became clear, though, that Liverpool had brought plenty of energy but little imagination, and Chelsea were the better team early on. They got a goal to show for it after a Pepe Reina deflection put the ball at Didier Drogba's feet. The Ivory Coast international found a football shaped hole between Reina's outstretched fingertips and the near post to put Chelsea up 1-0 in the 33rd minute. Liverpool were happy to go into the break only a single goal down. In the second half, a different Liverpool team seemed to take the field. While not overpowering, they found a way to make a constant nuisance of themselves to a Chelsea team that seemed almost surprised by the spirit of the Scousers. Finally, fancy footwork and a goal box connection from Yousi Benayoun to Fernando Torres put Liverpool back on the board, 1-1, in minute 64. From there, the game stayed locked and went into extra time. To their credit, Chelsea, who seemed to be playing like they deserved to win and didn't want to work for it in the second half, came together to put on quite a show in the extra periods. Liverpool looked dangerous on the counter-attack, but Chelsea dictated the pace of the game, and they got a morale booster in the form of a penalty kick after Michael Ballack was brought down in the box. Frank Lampard, a surprise inclusion in the Chelsea squad after missing the three previous matches due to the death of his mother, took the 98th minute kick from the spot and sent Reina the wrong way for a 2-1 advantage. An emotional Lampard raised his fingers to the heavens as he celebrated the go-ahead goal with his teammates. Chelsea weren't done celebrating, though, as Didier Drogba beat his man to put in a second classy goal seven minutes later. Ryan Babel pulled one back for Liverpool with a shot that went in through equal parts of Babel's skill and Peter Cech's distraction, with the Blues' goalkeeper looking like he was daydreaming about Moscow in the spring as Babel's rocket flew past him. However, though the goal was top notch, all it succeeded in doing was making the last few minutes of extra time a little more tense, with Chelsea hanging on to win it 3-2 and set their sights on the Champions League final in Moscow.
The defining moment of the two legs of this tie for many will be John Arne Riise's own-goal in the final minute of the first match at Anfield. The headed goal wiped out what looked like a sure Liverpool victory and gave Chelsea a needed away goal heading into their match at home. Liverpool had a stellar second half and a brave effort throughout the Stamford Bridge meeting, but in the end fell a goal short in the extra periods. Had Riise not put the ball in his own net at the end of the first leg, the 1-1 score at the end of regular time in the second would have been enough to send Liverpool through. Furthermore, though it hardly bears mentioning as the extra thirty minutes and the goals therein would have never come to be, Liverpool could still have lost 3-2 at Stamford Bridge and progressed to the Champions League final without the defender's mistake. In this sense, Riise's error cast a huge shadow over the second match. However, beneath that shadow, an open, exciting 90 minutes of football were played that should not be forgotten. Liverpool fans will be playing games of would-should-could about these two matches for years to come, but the truth is that taken by itself, the second match was a joy to watch. Both teams played some beautiful, aggressive football, and Chelsea happened to come out on top. It may not have been a great occasion for Liverpool, but it was a great night for Champions League football. The tie is set, and attention now turns to Moscow where Chelsea will meet Manchester United on 21 May.
Man of the Match honors go to Dirk Kuyt for the only earned goal of the first match and Didier Drogba for a brace in the second leg that were among the best of this year's Champions League goals. Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands for the second match of this semi-final to see Chelsea go through and Drogba exercise his goal-scoring touch. Rest assured he'll be spending quite a bit of time between now and 21 May thinking up creative ways to stop the Ivorian. With the match Drogba had today, it looks like Ferguson has his work cut out for him.
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