Paper talk, and seems our chances are slim according to most!:
Benitez baffles friends and foes alike with his left-field decisions
James Lawton
Published: 27 April 2007
Once again Rafa Benitez, the enigmatic Madrileno, is occupying that part of the European football bullring which is neither one thing nor the other; not the expensive seats in the shade or the cheap ones in the blazing sun.
Yet again he provokes the critical question: is he too busy trying to prove how clever he is, how tactically aware, that the relatively sweet simplicities imposed this week by his rivals Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have left his Liverpool looking distinctly third-placed - and maybe even third- rate - in the Premiership challenge for Champions League success? That certainly was an impression difficult to avoid this week when United overcame the brilliance of Milan's Kaka to take a one-goal advantage to San Siro next week - and Chelsea might easily have added at least two goals to the same edge they defend at Anfield.
Neither United nor Chelsea were flawless - perhaps inevitably in the case of United with their desperately weakened defence - but both had something that was plainly missing from Liverpool's essentially insipid effort.
They were armed with certainties, of both purpose and personnel. With the possible exception of the owner's folly, Andrei Shevchenko, Chelsea were at optimum strength in terms of available players - and armed with a basic and proven game plan: playing to the immense and magnificently enduring presence of Didier Drogba. By comparison, Liverpool looked rather as though they had met up in the cafeteria at Lime Street station and made some rapid reintroductions.
Even Rafa's warmest admirers must have been tempted to call Benitez and say: "Please, Rafa, talk us through the selection of Bolo Zenden..." It was, his warmest critics would say, pure Benitez; a lunge, literally, into left field. For many it had a similar befuddling impact as his decision to draft a plainly half-fit Harry Kewall into the 2005 final in Istanbul. That move was aborted, amid some embarrassment, before half-time, but, quite incomprehensibly, Zenden got the full 90 minutes this week. A player of tidy skill and great experience, no doubt, he had the concentrated impact of a jar of tomato purée.
Peter Crouch, was given a mere 38 minutes to inject a little more threat to Petr Cech's goal, which he promptly did, and Jermaine Pennant, who scored so spectacularly against Chelsea earlier this season, was injected with just eight minutes to go. Another neglected possibility was moving Craig Bellamy, the catalyst, albeit one of some malignancy, at the Nou Camp, out to the left when Crouch appeared.
Bellamy, who operates naturally on the left, certainly would have had the pace to inflict on Paulo Ferreira something more than Zenden demanded, which was routine and relatively risk-free running along the right flank of Chelsea's defence.
No one offers lightly a list of options to a coach who has worked his way into the elite of Europe, and with impeccable credentials when you consider his work at both Valencia and Anfield, but nor is it easy to ignore the accumulation of contradictions in his short reign on Merseyside.
Mourinho was withering, and typically self-serving, in his pre-match review of Benitez's track record, pointing out the huge disparity between knockout success in the Champions League and FA Cup and consistent, and sometimes shocking, underperformance in the Premiership. But however unsavoury the pitch of the Special One's diatribe, the thrust of it was not exactly discredited in the Stamford Bridge action.
Chelsea looked at least a street ahead of Liverpool in the matter of cohesion and self-confidence and who could not suspect again that part of the reason was the sharply different approach of the managers to rotation.
For Mourinho, still fighting on four fronts, it is an expediency; for Benitez, an obsession. The effect was plain enough to remind you of the classic theory of Bill Shankly, who once won a title with 14 players. He declared that a manager had two options: he picked his players, and then the tactics; or the tactics, and then his players. It all depended, of course, on the quality of his players and for the moment, before the great American investment in Anfield kicks in, Benitez may argue, at least privately, that he still has to follow the second course.
Certainly, if this week spelt out anything it was the impressive depth of Ferguson's attacking resources - and the relentless strength of Chelsea's method.
In Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and even a Cristiano Ronaldo who rarely touched any of the pyrotechnics that have carried him to the glittering prizes of near universal recognition as the player of the season, United had a heart-lifting capacity to take the game back to Milan and come out winners.
This was impressively augmented by the performances of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick that at times were nothing less than revelations of previously unseen levels of touch and confidence. The fact that Gennaro Gattuso, a big factor in Milan's smooth and commanding assertion of control in the first half, will probably be fit for the return game, adds another touch of intrigue to a match that has the potential to rival United's epic progress to the '99 final with the superb defiance inspired by Roy Keane against Juventus.
It means that a shade of odds-on now suggests a United-Chelsea final, an underpinning of Premiership strength that has taken a long time coming but one that finally has the dramatic potential to provide a classic collision of football values: the width and the élan of Ferguson and the narrower, but still ferociously applied focus of Mourinho.
At Anfield, just as much as San Siro,there will be visceral objection to the forecast and with such narrow margins in force, both places could easily become the graveyards of logic. Mourinho, not without a certain amount of circumstantial evidence, vehemently suggests this was so two years ago. No doubt his need for revenge will be expressed venomously enough in the next few days, but quite how confidently is another matter. There is one thing he knows he or his players cannot do. It is to read the mind of Rafa Benitez. But then who can?
Anfield fortress is really a castle in the sky
By John Ley
Last Updated: 2:01am BST 27/04/2007
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In pics: Champions League semi-final action
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As Liverpool left Stamford Bridge late on Wednesday night after their 1-0 first-leg defeat in the Champions League semi-final, they took collective solace from the conviction that Anfield's red wave of belief will be sufficient to blow Chelsea away in the second leg next Tuesday.
Anfield fortress is really a castle in the sky
Half-time: Captain Steven Gerrard looks forward to the second leg
Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, and manager Rafael Benitez both spoke of the atmosphere at their fortress helping to drive Liverpool to the final in Athens. Yet the statistics of recent similar situations suggest otherwise.
The fact is that, on the past five occasions that Liverpool have returned to Anfield attempting to overturn a first-leg deficit, their European aspirations have ended.
Liverpool last overcame a first-leg loss 15 years ago, in the second round of the Uefa Cup against Auxerre, when, after losing 2-0 in France, a penalty by Jan Molby was followed by goals from Mike Marsh and Mark Walters. But, later that season, they failed to reach the semi-finals after losing in the first leg at Genoa.
Gerrard, whose side were the last to beat Chelsea this season, in the Premiership in February, warned: "We have had some special nights at Anfield, and let's hope there is another one next week.
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"Chelsea have witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield before and they know we are capable of beating them too, as we have shown in the Premiership already this season.
"We are confident we can hurt them a lot more with that crowd behind us. If we raise the tempo in the first 20 minutes, it will be very interesting. I'm sure we can do it again.
"If any fans can bring the roof down, it's certainly ours. We are aware Chelsea have a slight advantage by keeping a clean sheet, but if any supporters in the world can do it, it's ours."
Such a special night was not forthcoming last season when, after losing 1-0 in the Stadium of Light in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Benfica won 2-0 at Anfield.
Similarly, in the third round of the Uefa Cup in the 1998-99 season, Liverpool lost 3-1 away to Celta Vigo and were beaten 1-0 at Anfield in the return. Strasbourg, Paris St-Germain and Spartak Moscow have all avoided coming under the red mist at Anfield after winning the first leg at home.
And the last time an English club beat Liverpool at home in the first leg, they went through; in the 1978-79 European Cup, Nottingham Forest began on their ultimately triumphant road to Munich by beating Liverpool 2-0 at the City Ground before holding them to a goalless draw at Anfield.
So, if Liverpool are to reach the final, they need to find the spirit of the Seventies. In 1977, on the way to winning in Rome, they overturned a quarter-final 1-0 defeat in St Etienne with a 3-1 home win. And, a year later, after losing 2-1 in Germany to Borussia Moenchengladbach, they reached the final by winning 3-0.
Liverpool will also call on their experience from two years ago when they drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge before winning 1-0 at Anfield, though Gerrard warned: "It's a bit different to two years ago because this time Chelsea have the advantage - there's no doubt that result suits them better.
"Of course we'd have liked a better one to take back with us but we're still not too down. It's still game-on and if we score first at Anfield, I think you're in for a great second leg. I know Chelsea are happy but they will also show us a lot of respect next week. They know this tie isn't over yet. Chelsea edged the first half on chances, and Pepe [Reina] made a couple of great saves. But in the second half we dominated the possession without creating clear openings.
"Their 'keeper also pulled off a great save from myself. I don't think any other 'keeper in Europe would have got that.The manager told us at half-time that we had to be a bit more positive. We kept the ball well enough in the first, but weren't getting it down the sides or really hurting them.
"But we are confident we can hurt them a lot more with our crowd behind us."
Chelsea have bottle to cope with Anfield wall of sound
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Tony Cascarino: Analysis
I’d just turned 16 and went to Liverpool with a couple of Tottenham Hotspur-supporting mates for a game in 1978. There was no room in the away end, so we sneaked into the Kop. They weren’t too impressed — Spurs lost 7-0. But I was awestruck. The buzz from start to finish is something I’ll never forget. So often in life things don’t live up to your expectations, but the Anfield roar was everything I’d hoped for and more.
It’s not like that for every game these days, but next week it will be at its best. The supporters have a reputation to live up to. There’s no better atmosphere in England than Anfield on a European night. It’s not just noisy, it’s uplifting. It has volume and it has soul.
Liverpool’s players are lucky they will have that twelfth man because after Wednesday’s result they probably need it. “Inspired by the crowd”. It’s a common phrase. What does it actually mean to players? As often as not, replacing doubt with belief. Players will never say so in public, but on occasion they question themselves: can we really turn it around? Are we really good enough to beat this lot?
Constant, fierce support from the crowd makes them think it’s possible. I experienced it a few times. Once, with Millwall, we got a corner. I looked into the stands. His face pressed through a fence, a fan shouted at me: “We can f**king do it!” It changed my mentality. “Bloody hell,” I thought. “If he thinks we can, why shouldn’t I?” And we proved him right.
Imagine the power of thousands of people with the same attitude as that guy. Imagine what it’s like to be standing in the middle of the pitch surrounded by four walls of sound.
Then blend in the sense of history that is so strong at Anfield — the glories of past European nights that echo through the stadium. Tales of great results that are passed down through generations, so the kids on the Kop are part of the folklore like the dads and grandads who were there against Inter Milan in 1965. And it’s a visual experience too, so add a splash of colour — the scarves, banners and flags. Players can’t help but watch and wonder.
Stamford Bridge is hardly renowned for its atmosphere but it was rocking for the first leg. There’s something special in the air at night games. Fans feel it and so do the players. Evening matches somehow have added drama that Saturday afternoon games can’t equal.
I was in the Shed End. There was a flag on every seat, so before kick off the stands were oceans of blue. Everyone was waving theirs — except me. It’s not really my style. Then one fan gave me a rollocking for not getting involved.
Brilliant: more than a dozen years after my ill-fated stint as a Chelsea player and I’m still getting stick from the Shed. So I picked up the flag and waved it a bit self-consciously, probably looking like some kind of awkward Alan Partridge character in my suit. But that’s what the big nights can do. They are raw, they sweep you up, get you involved.
However sensible you are, you can’t help but be affected by the intensity of the emotion — and the desperation, because in a cup game there could be no tomorrow.
The fans pump up the players, they respond and everything snowballs. The stadium whips itself into a frenzy, opponents panic and crazy results such as Istanbul in 2005 become achievable.
Word of warning: Chelsea are not going to crumble in front of the Kop. Though some players are intimidated by hostile atmospheres, others relish them. I thought of it as a kind of test, a way of proving to myself and everyone else that I wasn’t a bottler.
Chelsea’s squad have amazing mental strength. They know that the sole tactic to combat the crowd is to quieten them. Far easier said than done, of course — probably only going 2-0 up on the night will do it.
Chelsea cannot control the referee’s reaction, though. With fans screaming for free kicks at even the sniff of a challenge, the potential effect of the crowd on the officials will be a bigger worry for Chelsea than the effect on their players. Good job José Mourinho’s not paranoid about referees, then.
Back from brink
Liverpool have overturned nine of the 22 first-leg deficits they have faced in European competition. Their most famous recoveries, having been behind at the end of the first leg, include beating St Etienne 3-1 at Anfield after losing 1-0 away in the European Cup quarter-finals in 1976-77 and, in the semi-finals of the same competition the next season, losing 2-1 away to Borussia Mönchengladbach but defeating the German side 3-0 in the second leg
Blues can be beaten if Liverpool score first at Anfield, says Gerrard
Dominic Fifield
Friday April 27, 2007
The Guardian
Disappointment gave way to defiance among Liverpool's defeated players yesterday, with Steven Gerrard, the man who inspired the unlikeliest of comebacks in Istanbul to claim the European Cup two years ago at Milan's expense, expressing a conviction that their narrow first-leg deficit can still be overturned at Anfield next week.
Gerrard's second-half volley, pushed away splendidly by Petr Cech, was as close as Liverpool came to piercing the Premiership champions at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Yet, although there was intense frustration at the first-half deficiencies that condemned the visitors to a 1-0 defeat, there is belief that the tie can still be salvaged, with the memories both of the final against Milan and of the rousing evening in 2005 when Chelsea were overcome at the same semi-final stage driving Liverpool on.
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"It's a bit different to two years ago because this time Chelsea have the advantage and there's no doubt that result suits them better," admitted Gerrard. "Of course we'd have liked a better one to take back with us, but we're still not too down. It's still game on and if we score first at Anfield I think you're in for a great second leg.
"I know they're happy but they will also show us a lot of respect next week. They know this tie isn't over yet. Chelsea have witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield before and they know we are capable of beating them too, as we have shown in the Premiership already this season.
"The manager told us at half-time that we had to be a bit more positive. We kept it well enough in the first but weren't getting it down the sides or really hurting them. But we are confident we can hurt them a lot more with that crowd behind us. If we raise the tempo in the first 20 minutes it will be very interesting. I'm sure we can do it again."
In the end there was an acceptance - hinted at by Rafael Benítez in the aftermath - that Liverpool might have suffered a hiding in west London, given their sloppy first-half display. Instead José Reina twice denied Frank Lampard to preserve some hope for the second leg.
"It's important that we are still alive in the tie," said the Spanish goalkeeper. "We can still hope to turn this around. If Lampard had made it 2-0 in the second half the tie would probably have been over. In fact I'm sure it would have been over. But I just did my job."
Gerrard was left to curse Cech for turning his effort around a post. "In the second half we dominated possession without creating clear openings, but their keeper has still pulled off a great save from myself," said the Liverpool captain. "I don't think any other keeper in Europe would have got that. I was already away celebrating.
"Still, it's only half-time and, although we would have liked a better scoreline to take back with us, we'll just get on with it knowing we need to score first."
Lampard banking on away day Blues
By John Ley
Last Updated: 2:01am BST 27/04/2007
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Mick Cleary blog: Talking a good game
In pics: Champions League semi-final action
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When Chelsea arrive at Anfield next Tuesday they will call on the spirit that has helped to produce positive results in Sofia, Barcelona, Porto and Valencia this season. With a 1-0 advantage, the team chasing four trophies may be tired but belief is not a commodity they will be short on.
Chelsea's European success this season has been built on their fortitude away from home, beginning in Bulgaria against Levski Sofia where they won 3-1. An impressive
2-2 draw at the Nou Camp was followed by a 1-0 defeat in Bremen but qualification to the knockout stages was still confirmed.
Then came a 1-1 draw in Porto in the last 16 - they won 2-1 in the home leg - before their famous 2-1 win in the Estadio Mestalla.
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Frank Lampard, Chelsea's England midfielder, said: "People talk about atmospheres being intimidating, but if your a top player then you should relish playing in that kind of environment.
"I don't see the problem with that. Their fans will be behind them but that's normal. Every player should get themselves up for that whether you are Liverpool or Chelsea."
The difference about the situation Chelsea find themselves in compared to two years ago, when the teams met at the same stage of the Champions League, is that they have the cushion of Joe Cole's goal - their first in five European games with Liverpool. In addition, they will have Michael Essien available after suspension, possibly a key factor.
"I don't think we were intimidated two years ago," added Lampard. "I felt it was a great atmosphere to play in. It's easy to say that because they scored one goal early in the game and we didn't score that we were intimidated but that wasn't the case. We had too many strong characters then, and we have now, to be affected.
"A lead is a better result. We feel an element of frustration that there is only one goal but you can't be too picky when you get to this stage of the competition. It's a good result but there is still a balance to the tie which makes both teams believe they can win it.
"We are confident we can go to Anfield and score and I'm sure they will feel they can claw it back and beat us. That leaves it finely balanced."
The advantage could have been greater but for Pepe Reina's saves from Lampard, with the Blues' midfielder adding: "It was those kind of saves which kept the score down. The first one maybe I hit too well - if I'd mi**** it, it would have gone in the corner of the goal but instead Reina has pulled off a great reaction save.
"The second I hit as well as I could but it was maybe a better height for him, He's a top 'keeper and made the save just as [Petr] Cech did from Steve Gerrard.
"It will be a different game [in the second leg] but we went there last time with 0-0 and they scored after a couple of minutes and they were a very good team at defending a slender lead. It will be a different tactical battle this time because they have to score and we will want to score to make it more difficult for them to take the tie.
"We now have a few days to think about it and decide on how to play."
Meanwhile, on a brighter note:
Anfield youngsters spot on for Gillett
By Mark Ogden
Last Updated: 2:01am BST 27/04/2007
Manchester United (0) 0 Liverpool (0) 1
Agg 2-2; Liverpool win 4-3 on pens
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett saw the club lift their first silverware under his American regime as Steve Heighway's youngsters retained the FA Youth Cup with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford last night.
Anfield youngsters spot on for Gillett
Playing a retainer: Liverpool won a successive FA Youth Cup at Old Trafford following a penalty shoot-out
United pair Magnus Eikrem and Sam Hewson missed their spot-kicks to send the cup back to Anfield. United's 2-1 first-leg victory at Anfield had given Paul McGuinness' team a healthy advantage ahead of the second leg, but captain Craig Cathcart, who missed the first game after being drafted into Sir Alex Ferguson's senior squad, was still unavailable after suffering a knee injury in training that will rule him out until next season.
The home side were still able to control the first-half, however, and Febian Brandy missed a good chance to put the tie beyond Liverpool's reach but David Roberts blocked his shot with his legs and further chances were few and far between.
Craig Lindfield should have added to his first-leg goal for Liverpool but the forward could only head Jimmy Ryan's testing cross over the crossbar from six yards.
Having been outplayed in the first-half, Liverpool were vastly improved after the interval and Robbie Threlfall gave Heighway's team a deserved lead when he beat Robert Zieler from the edge of the penalty area after United had failed to clear Ryan's corner. Neither team could find the goal that would win the cup in the remainder of normal time and extra-time also failed to separate the two sides, so it was left to David Roberts to save Eikrem's penalty before Hewson missed his to win the cup for Liverpool.
Benitez baffles friends and foes alike with his left-field decisions
James Lawton
Published: 27 April 2007
Once again Rafa Benitez, the enigmatic Madrileno, is occupying that part of the European football bullring which is neither one thing nor the other; not the expensive seats in the shade or the cheap ones in the blazing sun.
Yet again he provokes the critical question: is he too busy trying to prove how clever he is, how tactically aware, that the relatively sweet simplicities imposed this week by his rivals Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have left his Liverpool looking distinctly third-placed - and maybe even third- rate - in the Premiership challenge for Champions League success? That certainly was an impression difficult to avoid this week when United overcame the brilliance of Milan's Kaka to take a one-goal advantage to San Siro next week - and Chelsea might easily have added at least two goals to the same edge they defend at Anfield.
Neither United nor Chelsea were flawless - perhaps inevitably in the case of United with their desperately weakened defence - but both had something that was plainly missing from Liverpool's essentially insipid effort.
They were armed with certainties, of both purpose and personnel. With the possible exception of the owner's folly, Andrei Shevchenko, Chelsea were at optimum strength in terms of available players - and armed with a basic and proven game plan: playing to the immense and magnificently enduring presence of Didier Drogba. By comparison, Liverpool looked rather as though they had met up in the cafeteria at Lime Street station and made some rapid reintroductions.
Even Rafa's warmest admirers must have been tempted to call Benitez and say: "Please, Rafa, talk us through the selection of Bolo Zenden..." It was, his warmest critics would say, pure Benitez; a lunge, literally, into left field. For many it had a similar befuddling impact as his decision to draft a plainly half-fit Harry Kewall into the 2005 final in Istanbul. That move was aborted, amid some embarrassment, before half-time, but, quite incomprehensibly, Zenden got the full 90 minutes this week. A player of tidy skill and great experience, no doubt, he had the concentrated impact of a jar of tomato purée.
Peter Crouch, was given a mere 38 minutes to inject a little more threat to Petr Cech's goal, which he promptly did, and Jermaine Pennant, who scored so spectacularly against Chelsea earlier this season, was injected with just eight minutes to go. Another neglected possibility was moving Craig Bellamy, the catalyst, albeit one of some malignancy, at the Nou Camp, out to the left when Crouch appeared.
Bellamy, who operates naturally on the left, certainly would have had the pace to inflict on Paulo Ferreira something more than Zenden demanded, which was routine and relatively risk-free running along the right flank of Chelsea's defence.
No one offers lightly a list of options to a coach who has worked his way into the elite of Europe, and with impeccable credentials when you consider his work at both Valencia and Anfield, but nor is it easy to ignore the accumulation of contradictions in his short reign on Merseyside.
Mourinho was withering, and typically self-serving, in his pre-match review of Benitez's track record, pointing out the huge disparity between knockout success in the Champions League and FA Cup and consistent, and sometimes shocking, underperformance in the Premiership. But however unsavoury the pitch of the Special One's diatribe, the thrust of it was not exactly discredited in the Stamford Bridge action.
Chelsea looked at least a street ahead of Liverpool in the matter of cohesion and self-confidence and who could not suspect again that part of the reason was the sharply different approach of the managers to rotation.
For Mourinho, still fighting on four fronts, it is an expediency; for Benitez, an obsession. The effect was plain enough to remind you of the classic theory of Bill Shankly, who once won a title with 14 players. He declared that a manager had two options: he picked his players, and then the tactics; or the tactics, and then his players. It all depended, of course, on the quality of his players and for the moment, before the great American investment in Anfield kicks in, Benitez may argue, at least privately, that he still has to follow the second course.
Certainly, if this week spelt out anything it was the impressive depth of Ferguson's attacking resources - and the relentless strength of Chelsea's method.
In Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and even a Cristiano Ronaldo who rarely touched any of the pyrotechnics that have carried him to the glittering prizes of near universal recognition as the player of the season, United had a heart-lifting capacity to take the game back to Milan and come out winners.
This was impressively augmented by the performances of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick that at times were nothing less than revelations of previously unseen levels of touch and confidence. The fact that Gennaro Gattuso, a big factor in Milan's smooth and commanding assertion of control in the first half, will probably be fit for the return game, adds another touch of intrigue to a match that has the potential to rival United's epic progress to the '99 final with the superb defiance inspired by Roy Keane against Juventus.
It means that a shade of odds-on now suggests a United-Chelsea final, an underpinning of Premiership strength that has taken a long time coming but one that finally has the dramatic potential to provide a classic collision of football values: the width and the élan of Ferguson and the narrower, but still ferociously applied focus of Mourinho.
At Anfield, just as much as San Siro,there will be visceral objection to the forecast and with such narrow margins in force, both places could easily become the graveyards of logic. Mourinho, not without a certain amount of circumstantial evidence, vehemently suggests this was so two years ago. No doubt his need for revenge will be expressed venomously enough in the next few days, but quite how confidently is another matter. There is one thing he knows he or his players cannot do. It is to read the mind of Rafa Benitez. But then who can?
Anfield fortress is really a castle in the sky
By John Ley
Last Updated: 2:01am BST 27/04/2007
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In pics: Champions League semi-final action
Football fans' forum
As Liverpool left Stamford Bridge late on Wednesday night after their 1-0 first-leg defeat in the Champions League semi-final, they took collective solace from the conviction that Anfield's red wave of belief will be sufficient to blow Chelsea away in the second leg next Tuesday.
Anfield fortress is really a castle in the sky
Half-time: Captain Steven Gerrard looks forward to the second leg
Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, and manager Rafael Benitez both spoke of the atmosphere at their fortress helping to drive Liverpool to the final in Athens. Yet the statistics of recent similar situations suggest otherwise.
The fact is that, on the past five occasions that Liverpool have returned to Anfield attempting to overturn a first-leg deficit, their European aspirations have ended.
Liverpool last overcame a first-leg loss 15 years ago, in the second round of the Uefa Cup against Auxerre, when, after losing 2-0 in France, a penalty by Jan Molby was followed by goals from Mike Marsh and Mark Walters. But, later that season, they failed to reach the semi-finals after losing in the first leg at Genoa.
Gerrard, whose side were the last to beat Chelsea this season, in the Premiership in February, warned: "We have had some special nights at Anfield, and let's hope there is another one next week.
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"Chelsea have witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield before and they know we are capable of beating them too, as we have shown in the Premiership already this season.
"We are confident we can hurt them a lot more with that crowd behind us. If we raise the tempo in the first 20 minutes, it will be very interesting. I'm sure we can do it again.
"If any fans can bring the roof down, it's certainly ours. We are aware Chelsea have a slight advantage by keeping a clean sheet, but if any supporters in the world can do it, it's ours."
Such a special night was not forthcoming last season when, after losing 1-0 in the Stadium of Light in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Benfica won 2-0 at Anfield.
Similarly, in the third round of the Uefa Cup in the 1998-99 season, Liverpool lost 3-1 away to Celta Vigo and were beaten 1-0 at Anfield in the return. Strasbourg, Paris St-Germain and Spartak Moscow have all avoided coming under the red mist at Anfield after winning the first leg at home.
And the last time an English club beat Liverpool at home in the first leg, they went through; in the 1978-79 European Cup, Nottingham Forest began on their ultimately triumphant road to Munich by beating Liverpool 2-0 at the City Ground before holding them to a goalless draw at Anfield.
So, if Liverpool are to reach the final, they need to find the spirit of the Seventies. In 1977, on the way to winning in Rome, they overturned a quarter-final 1-0 defeat in St Etienne with a 3-1 home win. And, a year later, after losing 2-1 in Germany to Borussia Moenchengladbach, they reached the final by winning 3-0.
Liverpool will also call on their experience from two years ago when they drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge before winning 1-0 at Anfield, though Gerrard warned: "It's a bit different to two years ago because this time Chelsea have the advantage - there's no doubt that result suits them better.
"Of course we'd have liked a better one to take back with us but we're still not too down. It's still game-on and if we score first at Anfield, I think you're in for a great second leg. I know Chelsea are happy but they will also show us a lot of respect next week. They know this tie isn't over yet. Chelsea edged the first half on chances, and Pepe [Reina] made a couple of great saves. But in the second half we dominated the possession without creating clear openings.
"Their 'keeper also pulled off a great save from myself. I don't think any other 'keeper in Europe would have got that.The manager told us at half-time that we had to be a bit more positive. We kept the ball well enough in the first, but weren't getting it down the sides or really hurting them.
"But we are confident we can hurt them a lot more with our crowd behind us."
Chelsea have bottle to cope with Anfield wall of sound
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Tony Cascarino: Analysis
I’d just turned 16 and went to Liverpool with a couple of Tottenham Hotspur-supporting mates for a game in 1978. There was no room in the away end, so we sneaked into the Kop. They weren’t too impressed — Spurs lost 7-0. But I was awestruck. The buzz from start to finish is something I’ll never forget. So often in life things don’t live up to your expectations, but the Anfield roar was everything I’d hoped for and more.
It’s not like that for every game these days, but next week it will be at its best. The supporters have a reputation to live up to. There’s no better atmosphere in England than Anfield on a European night. It’s not just noisy, it’s uplifting. It has volume and it has soul.
Liverpool’s players are lucky they will have that twelfth man because after Wednesday’s result they probably need it. “Inspired by the crowd”. It’s a common phrase. What does it actually mean to players? As often as not, replacing doubt with belief. Players will never say so in public, but on occasion they question themselves: can we really turn it around? Are we really good enough to beat this lot?
Constant, fierce support from the crowd makes them think it’s possible. I experienced it a few times. Once, with Millwall, we got a corner. I looked into the stands. His face pressed through a fence, a fan shouted at me: “We can f**king do it!” It changed my mentality. “Bloody hell,” I thought. “If he thinks we can, why shouldn’t I?” And we proved him right.
Imagine the power of thousands of people with the same attitude as that guy. Imagine what it’s like to be standing in the middle of the pitch surrounded by four walls of sound.
Then blend in the sense of history that is so strong at Anfield — the glories of past European nights that echo through the stadium. Tales of great results that are passed down through generations, so the kids on the Kop are part of the folklore like the dads and grandads who were there against Inter Milan in 1965. And it’s a visual experience too, so add a splash of colour — the scarves, banners and flags. Players can’t help but watch and wonder.
Stamford Bridge is hardly renowned for its atmosphere but it was rocking for the first leg. There’s something special in the air at night games. Fans feel it and so do the players. Evening matches somehow have added drama that Saturday afternoon games can’t equal.
I was in the Shed End. There was a flag on every seat, so before kick off the stands were oceans of blue. Everyone was waving theirs — except me. It’s not really my style. Then one fan gave me a rollocking for not getting involved.
Brilliant: more than a dozen years after my ill-fated stint as a Chelsea player and I’m still getting stick from the Shed. So I picked up the flag and waved it a bit self-consciously, probably looking like some kind of awkward Alan Partridge character in my suit. But that’s what the big nights can do. They are raw, they sweep you up, get you involved.
However sensible you are, you can’t help but be affected by the intensity of the emotion — and the desperation, because in a cup game there could be no tomorrow.
The fans pump up the players, they respond and everything snowballs. The stadium whips itself into a frenzy, opponents panic and crazy results such as Istanbul in 2005 become achievable.
Word of warning: Chelsea are not going to crumble in front of the Kop. Though some players are intimidated by hostile atmospheres, others relish them. I thought of it as a kind of test, a way of proving to myself and everyone else that I wasn’t a bottler.
Chelsea’s squad have amazing mental strength. They know that the sole tactic to combat the crowd is to quieten them. Far easier said than done, of course — probably only going 2-0 up on the night will do it.
Chelsea cannot control the referee’s reaction, though. With fans screaming for free kicks at even the sniff of a challenge, the potential effect of the crowd on the officials will be a bigger worry for Chelsea than the effect on their players. Good job José Mourinho’s not paranoid about referees, then.
Back from brink
Liverpool have overturned nine of the 22 first-leg deficits they have faced in European competition. Their most famous recoveries, having been behind at the end of the first leg, include beating St Etienne 3-1 at Anfield after losing 1-0 away in the European Cup quarter-finals in 1976-77 and, in the semi-finals of the same competition the next season, losing 2-1 away to Borussia Mönchengladbach but defeating the German side 3-0 in the second leg
Blues can be beaten if Liverpool score first at Anfield, says Gerrard
Dominic Fifield
Friday April 27, 2007
The Guardian
Disappointment gave way to defiance among Liverpool's defeated players yesterday, with Steven Gerrard, the man who inspired the unlikeliest of comebacks in Istanbul to claim the European Cup two years ago at Milan's expense, expressing a conviction that their narrow first-leg deficit can still be overturned at Anfield next week.
Gerrard's second-half volley, pushed away splendidly by Petr Cech, was as close as Liverpool came to piercing the Premiership champions at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Yet, although there was intense frustration at the first-half deficiencies that condemned the visitors to a 1-0 defeat, there is belief that the tie can still be salvaged, with the memories both of the final against Milan and of the rousing evening in 2005 when Chelsea were overcome at the same semi-final stage driving Liverpool on.
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"It's a bit different to two years ago because this time Chelsea have the advantage and there's no doubt that result suits them better," admitted Gerrard. "Of course we'd have liked a better one to take back with us, but we're still not too down. It's still game on and if we score first at Anfield I think you're in for a great second leg.
"I know they're happy but they will also show us a lot of respect next week. They know this tie isn't over yet. Chelsea have witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield before and they know we are capable of beating them too, as we have shown in the Premiership already this season.
"The manager told us at half-time that we had to be a bit more positive. We kept it well enough in the first but weren't getting it down the sides or really hurting them. But we are confident we can hurt them a lot more with that crowd behind us. If we raise the tempo in the first 20 minutes it will be very interesting. I'm sure we can do it again."
In the end there was an acceptance - hinted at by Rafael Benítez in the aftermath - that Liverpool might have suffered a hiding in west London, given their sloppy first-half display. Instead José Reina twice denied Frank Lampard to preserve some hope for the second leg.
"It's important that we are still alive in the tie," said the Spanish goalkeeper. "We can still hope to turn this around. If Lampard had made it 2-0 in the second half the tie would probably have been over. In fact I'm sure it would have been over. But I just did my job."
Gerrard was left to curse Cech for turning his effort around a post. "In the second half we dominated possession without creating clear openings, but their keeper has still pulled off a great save from myself," said the Liverpool captain. "I don't think any other keeper in Europe would have got that. I was already away celebrating.
"Still, it's only half-time and, although we would have liked a better scoreline to take back with us, we'll just get on with it knowing we need to score first."
Lampard banking on away day Blues
By John Ley
Last Updated: 2:01am BST 27/04/2007
Have your say Read comments
Mick Cleary blog: Talking a good game
In pics: Champions League semi-final action
Football fans' forum
When Chelsea arrive at Anfield next Tuesday they will call on the spirit that has helped to produce positive results in Sofia, Barcelona, Porto and Valencia this season. With a 1-0 advantage, the team chasing four trophies may be tired but belief is not a commodity they will be short on.
Chelsea's European success this season has been built on their fortitude away from home, beginning in Bulgaria against Levski Sofia where they won 3-1. An impressive
2-2 draw at the Nou Camp was followed by a 1-0 defeat in Bremen but qualification to the knockout stages was still confirmed.
Then came a 1-1 draw in Porto in the last 16 - they won 2-1 in the home leg - before their famous 2-1 win in the Estadio Mestalla.
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Frank Lampard, Chelsea's England midfielder, said: "People talk about atmospheres being intimidating, but if your a top player then you should relish playing in that kind of environment.
"I don't see the problem with that. Their fans will be behind them but that's normal. Every player should get themselves up for that whether you are Liverpool or Chelsea."
The difference about the situation Chelsea find themselves in compared to two years ago, when the teams met at the same stage of the Champions League, is that they have the cushion of Joe Cole's goal - their first in five European games with Liverpool. In addition, they will have Michael Essien available after suspension, possibly a key factor.
"I don't think we were intimidated two years ago," added Lampard. "I felt it was a great atmosphere to play in. It's easy to say that because they scored one goal early in the game and we didn't score that we were intimidated but that wasn't the case. We had too many strong characters then, and we have now, to be affected.
"A lead is a better result. We feel an element of frustration that there is only one goal but you can't be too picky when you get to this stage of the competition. It's a good result but there is still a balance to the tie which makes both teams believe they can win it.
"We are confident we can go to Anfield and score and I'm sure they will feel they can claw it back and beat us. That leaves it finely balanced."
The advantage could have been greater but for Pepe Reina's saves from Lampard, with the Blues' midfielder adding: "It was those kind of saves which kept the score down. The first one maybe I hit too well - if I'd mi**** it, it would have gone in the corner of the goal but instead Reina has pulled off a great reaction save.
"The second I hit as well as I could but it was maybe a better height for him, He's a top 'keeper and made the save just as [Petr] Cech did from Steve Gerrard.
"It will be a different game [in the second leg] but we went there last time with 0-0 and they scored after a couple of minutes and they were a very good team at defending a slender lead. It will be a different tactical battle this time because they have to score and we will want to score to make it more difficult for them to take the tie.
"We now have a few days to think about it and decide on how to play."
Meanwhile, on a brighter note:
Anfield youngsters spot on for Gillett
By Mark Ogden
Last Updated: 2:01am BST 27/04/2007
Manchester United (0) 0 Liverpool (0) 1
Agg 2-2; Liverpool win 4-3 on pens
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett saw the club lift their first silverware under his American regime as Steve Heighway's youngsters retained the FA Youth Cup with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford last night.
Anfield youngsters spot on for Gillett
Playing a retainer: Liverpool won a successive FA Youth Cup at Old Trafford following a penalty shoot-out
United pair Magnus Eikrem and Sam Hewson missed their spot-kicks to send the cup back to Anfield. United's 2-1 first-leg victory at Anfield had given Paul McGuinness' team a healthy advantage ahead of the second leg, but captain Craig Cathcart, who missed the first game after being drafted into Sir Alex Ferguson's senior squad, was still unavailable after suffering a knee injury in training that will rule him out until next season.
The home side were still able to control the first-half, however, and Febian Brandy missed a good chance to put the tie beyond Liverpool's reach but David Roberts blocked his shot with his legs and further chances were few and far between.
Craig Lindfield should have added to his first-leg goal for Liverpool but the forward could only head Jimmy Ryan's testing cross over the crossbar from six yards.
Having been outplayed in the first-half, Liverpool were vastly improved after the interval and Robbie Threlfall gave Heighway's team a deserved lead when he beat Robert Zieler from the edge of the penalty area after United had failed to clear Ryan's corner. Neither team could find the goal that would win the cup in the remainder of normal time and extra-time also failed to separate the two sides, so it was left to David Roberts to save Eikrem's penalty before Hewson missed his to win the cup for Liverpool.