Liverpool v Chelsea Build Up & Match Thread

[Johnny]

Indeed, that's a positive move - plus we were all over Chelsea today. I know we were robbed of two points but we certainly looked the part.

Being robbed could be a blesseing in desguise,the team will rally now.

[Lee]

Being robbed could be a blesseing in desguise,the team will rally now.

I hope that's the case, hopefully we'll go out next week and bash the ****in granny out of Sunderland. The last thing we need is to get too hung-up on what happened today

(Though that's easier said than done)

[Johnny]

Poor Sunderland,Roy`s about to learn how out of his depth he is.

[blacky]

The only negative today was the referee. I thought we outfought and outplayed Chelsea for 90 mins. Reina had nothing to do the entire game. If only we could have got a 2nd goal in the 1st half when we were on top of the game. Under Rafa we imprve as the season progresses so if this is a sign of things to come I am very happy. Take 3 pts at Sunderland next week and we are on track for a perfect start to the season. YNWA

[livvy145]

Are there any links to vids of the pen?

Sorry for being a tad late.

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=220SUMB7

And the Torres goal

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=Z1VIMYUX

[slimbimjim]

Although I am unhappy about the penalty, let's look at the positive side, we totally took it to one of the best teams in the league and it took a dodgy penalty to overcome us.

Our record signing scored on his home debut, Pennant showed up and Gerrard's control was total.

I am so excited about this season. There seems to be a bit of athleticism about us this year.

[Harv]

first chance ive had to say anything about the game.

Torres was class. He is going to be a grand player for us

Pennant was looking fan-bloody-tastic, im not his biggest fan, but he was a genuine threat all game.

Stevie, i thought he was fantastic for us, fought hard for every ball, and was driving the team........this could be his best season yet for us.

Riise.......is not a LW. Sure he gives his all, but in the end he just doesnt do enough for me. The amount of times he had Essien done cold, and then ****ing stopped was unbelievable.

Kuyt- No doubt the negative brigade will be doubting what he adds to the team again......he is a workhorse, end of. His touch may let him down sometimes, but he can also produce some great skill. I guess people forget about the positives.

Babel....what a shot this lad has on him. It wont be long before he starts scaring the **** out of all defenses with his pace and power. That cross was mighty tasty too.....thats the sort of stuff defenders hate.

Rob Styles. You ****! Completely and utterly hopeless. Here is Oz we had Robbie Slater and Spencer Prior doing the pre/post match analyisis. After the game tehy asked Spencer what he thought of Styles........he couldn't even say how much he loathes this prick. He also said he shouldn't be ref'ing conference league let alone Premier league.

****!!! we had that

[Kenneth]

Sorry for being a tad late.

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=220SUMB7

And the Torres goal

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=Z1VIMYUX

[breffniboy]

That bellend Styles cost us the three points. Chelsea could have played for another hour against us and still wouldn't have scored.

Now that said, I was a little bit disappointed with our performance overall and a little worried by it. We played nice neat football in the opening 20 minutes, looked good on the ball, but seemed to retreat after we scored. It's this mentality of rafa's I really hate and believe costs us dearly on too many occasions - but I hope it was just because we were up against a really good side and not an indicator of what we'll do in every game against any opposition.

Secondly I thought we were a bit of a rabble after they "scored". Again I hope I can put this down to the ludicrous peno decision knocking the stuffing out of us but the amount of aimless longball stuff we thumped at Chelsea was utterly dispiriting. I know they'd closed up shop and were content with the point gifted them by Styles but I was still disappointed we didn't try to play more football in search of a winner.

The episode at the end where we were over the four mins injury time yet failed to cross the ball with our last attack - we passed it about aimlessly instead - kinda epitomised our caution and indicated that we weren't really too sure about how to go about Chelsea when they sat deep. I found myself wondering how many chances the scum might have engineered late on against them in the same circumstances.

There was a good deal to be positive about for sure but what I'm really on the lookout for is a change in emphasis and philosophy by Rafa and yesterday made me wonder. I hope it was because it was Chelsea and it's not setting the tone for the season.

[Shaggy]

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1
Aug 20 2007 by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo


Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1

AFTER years complaining about the ‘ghost goal’ which once cost them at Anfield, Chelsea’s cries of foul following yesterday’s phantom penalty were conspicuous by their absence.

A riveting contest was overshadowed by feeble refereeing. Rafa Benitez’s fury at seeing a rival gifted a point, not through their quality but by intimidating a putrid official, was all-too-apparent.

But while Liverpool lament a missed opportunity to inflict early punishment on their rivals, there’s far more to be gained from assessing the longer term view on one of the club’s most encouraging Premiership afternoons for years.

Anfield was awash with positive images. Fernando Torres’ skipping past a helpless Ben Haim was gracefulness personified. Steven Gerrard’s bossing of midfield offered further evidence he can be the most dominant personality in this year’s title race.

And Liverpool’s defence once more looked impregnable, its might punctured only by Rob Styles’ incompetence.

Perhaps the most significant symbol of all came just after the final whistle.

Benitez’s players departed looking forlorn because their victory was stolen, but the Chelsea team strutted triumphantly and with compulsory West London arrogance to the away end.

This was, it was necessary to remind ourselves, a draw.

Chelsea have spent most of the Abramovich era in the Premier League arriving on Merseyside to wave the contents of their wallets and expose the gulf in quality their resources granted them. If stalemates are now considered victories, they’ve begun a process of retreat without realising it.

There they were, fists clenched as they collectively hugged their get-out-of-jail card. All that was missing was the sight of Styles being held aloft as their saviour.

Liverpool’s sense of disappointment prevented the occasion representing the seismic shift in power Benitez was hoping for, but he must view Chelsea’s celebrations as reassuring.

Others are starting to worry about Liverpool’s power again. Chelsea inflicted a wound so slight at this stage of the season, it may prove irrelevant.

The key to a genuine championship challenge lies in Liverpool pressurising Chelsea for longer than the 90 minutes we saw yesterday.

Benitez’s side must stay with them at Sunderland next weekend, and at other less attractive venues for the next nine months.

If they play with this pace and passion, and get a helping hand from more capable officials, the inferiority complex when Liverpool’s league form is judged against the Londoners’ will be justified no longer.

Comparisons of the spine of each side were again shown to be favourable to Liverpool.

Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger kept Didier Drogba anonymous, Gerrard’s will to lead his side to a respectable title charge aches with each crunching tackle, and in attack there’s finally a striker who would also challenge for a place in the Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal team.

The manner in which Torres received Gerrard’s pass, glided past his marker and slotted past Petr Cech hasn’t been seen from a Liverpool striker since Michael Owen was a teenager.

The confidence the £18m gleans from the strike should be immeasurable. After embarrassing one of the most miserly defences in Europe, the rest of the season ought to be perceived as a goal feast waiting to happen.

After inheriting the number nine shirt, he was handed the ultimate accolade of the ‘Fowler’ chant.

The flaw in Liverpool’s performance, oddly, arrived following the first goal. They played their best football at 0-0 and 1-1. It was then they looked most likely to create chances and dominate, as Chelsea’s ambitions were clearly focused on avoiding defeat rather than pursuing a win.

When ahead, it was Liverpool who chose to keep what they had rather than maintain the forward rampage which typified the opening and closing stages.

Cech wasn’t exactly overworked, but that was because the opportunities which were squandered were off target.

Dirk Kuyt, John Arne Riise, Ryan Babel and Gerrard all had their moments in front of goal, although nothing could be described as clear-cut.

Pepe Reina, in contrast, was tested with just one shot on target, and that was the equalising penalty.

Finnan’s collision with Florent Malouda didn’t even provoke an appeal from the nearby Didier Drogba, but Styles saw his name in the morning headlines and he isn’t the type to miss such opportunities.

What’s infuriating for the manager is he knows his team did enough to win. To squander home points due to the opponents’ quality is acceptable. To pay a high price because of inexplicable blunders is a certain cause for insomnia in the Benitez and Liverpool players’ household for the next few days.

Those sleepless nights ought to be spent pondering what can be rather than what should have been.

As well as they have played so far, Liverpool know they have still much more to prove if their fledgling title challenge is to be taken seriously. A close look at Chelsea this early should be of assistance.

For all Chelsea’s vices, and they have many which were on display here, they have a resilience which even the most prejudiced Liverpool sympathiser must find admirable.

Considerably assisted by refereeing ineptitude though they were, despite being a goal down and outplayed for long periods, they found a way not to be beaten. In similar circumstances against tough opponents last season, this was not a recurring feature of Liverpool’s game. It must become one.

To beat Chelsea over the course of the campaign, Benitez knows as much as he loathes Jose Mourinho, his Liverpool side must absorb some of his team’s qualities.

It’s not just the games which you dominate and fail to win which are decisive, but those where you’re able to take what you don’t deserve.

Chelsea are evidently still masters of this art.

Liverpool can put this in the list of wins which got away, but they didn’t look out of place in a fixture described as a battle of the championship heavyweights.

Regardless of the final score, that’s yet another sign of massive progress.