Originally posted by ShaggyAlonso
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NEVER mind the fight for fourth, any more nights like this and UEFA will have to give Liverpool an automatic place in the Champions League every year.
No other club has given Europe’s most glamorous competition such logic-defying drama on such a regular basis and no other club can boast such an outrageous back catalogue of glory nights.
The latest instalment of Liverpool’s ongoing love affair with the European Cup was perhaps the sweetest of the lot.
Not satisfied with coming back from a losing position once, they somehow managed to do it again as the clock ticked down to secure yet another semi-final meeting with Chelsea.
Whereas that clash will be a game of chess, this meeting with Arsenal was a toe-to-toe slugfest with both sides coming off the ropes at regular intervals.
Ultimately, it was Liverpool who delivered the knockout blow, but not before they had taken their fair share of punishment from an Arsenal side which can cut through even the most robust of defences.
This truly was an epic contest, the like of which should be stored in the memory banks and treasured for ever by all those who were lucky enough to witness it.
The action was unrelenting from the very first minute to the very last. It was as if both managers had decided to take the gloves off after a couple of warm-up bouts and let their teams batter the hell out of each other until only one of them was left standing.
Incredibly – possibly even miraculously – that team was Liverpool, and Arsenal’s only consolation was that their name will now be added to the ever lengthening list of clubs who have played a role in a wondrous European night at Anfield.
They join Inter Milan, Barcelona, Olympiakos, Juventus, Chelsea, St Etienne and Auxerre in the litany of the vanquished, while Liverpool can now look forward to adding yet more chapters to their glorious continental history.
Having derided Liverpool’s most recent European Cup success in Istanbul as “lucky”, Arsene Wenger will today be faced with the harsh reality that fortune favours the brave.
The Arsenal boss will also be regretting his description of the Anfield crowd earlier this season as “genteel”. Last night they were anything but as the stadium was rocked to its very foundations by an atmosphere the equal of pretty much anything that has gone before.
It didn’t look set to be a night to live long in the memory during the opening half hour, when Arsenal’s quicksilver passing left Liverpool looking laboured in comparison.
Chasing shadows was the order of the day for Rafa Benitez’s men at that stage as the visitors worked the ball between themselves at a speed which possibly no other side in Europe can match.
They took the lead when Abou Diaby took advantage of some slack marking to hammer home a strike which Pepe Reina should, perhaps, have done better with.
At that stage it looked like the Londoners could go on and win the game at a canter as Liverpool simply were not in the contest.
But there is something innate in this Liverpool team which does not allow them to accept their fate when things go against them in European combat, and they somehow manage to turn the form book and logic on its head.
The irony of their equalising goal – a magnificent towering header by Sami Hyypia from a Steven Gerrard corner – will not have been lost on anyone who has seen Liverpool’s own problems at set pieces in recent weeks.
From that point on, Liverpool seized the initiative thanks to lung-busting commitment from pretty much every single player and Arsenal visibly wilted.
Not every Reds star was at his best and some were far from it. Steven Gerrard was honest enough to admit that this performance was not his finest, but what the captain for once lacked in inspiration he more than made up for with perspiration, and his lead was followed by every single one of his team mates.
None more so than Fernando Torres, who followed a quiet opening period by his own standards with a goal so magnificent in its power and accuracy that it caused the kind of celebrations in the stands that can only ever be produced when fans have witnessed something truly magical.
It could also have been decisive as it gave Liverpool a crucial lead which was left in tact when Emmanuel Adebayor took the Eidur Gudjohnsen award for services to Liverpool European Cup runs with a horror miss when everyone expected him to score.
Despite holding such a precious but fragile lead, Liverpool continued to pour forward and their over ambition was punished when substitute Theo Walcott produced one of the most wonderfully penetrating runs you will ever see to set up the previously profligate Adebayor for the equaliser.
Suddenly, it was like 1989 all over again as Anfield looked set to play host to a dramatic smash and grab raid by the Gunners.
But unlike that May day 19 years ago, on this occasion Liverpool still had time to come back. It may only have been five minutes, but having scored three goals in Istanbul in just 60 seconds more no-one should have been giving up on them this time around.
Ryan Babel had only been on the pitch for less than ten minutes when he tormented Kolo Toure so much that the auxiliary right back pulled him down as he entered the area.
Referee Peter Frojdfeldt – who was born in Sweden, not Babel’s native Holland in case anyone from Sky is interested – had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and as Anfield held its collective breath, Gerrard somehow managed to hold his nerve before smashing the penalty into the top corner of the Kop goal, becoming the first Liverpool player to score in four consecutive home games in Europe in the process.
Still Liverpool were not done as Babel applied the coup de grace with a wonderful run and finish which would only have been improved had a TV commentator accompanied it with the immortal words “It’s up for grabs now”.
That goal settled an old score stretching right back to 1989 and it also settled a few more recent ones, none more so than the one stemming from Wenger’s mealy mouthed assessment of their heroics of three years ago.
Liverpool have delivered yet another truly magical performance in Europe. They will need another couple if they are to make a date with destiny in Moscow.
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Hyypia, Aurelio, Kuyt (Arbeloa, 92), Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, Crouch (Babel, 77), Torres (Riise, 87).
ARSENAL: Almunia, Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Clichy, Eboue (Walcott, 72), Flamini (Gilberto, 41), Fabregas, Diaby (Van Persie, 72), Hleb, Adebayor.
ATTENDANCE: 41,985.
REFEREE: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden).
No other club has given Europe’s most glamorous competition such logic-defying drama on such a regular basis and no other club can boast such an outrageous back catalogue of glory nights.
The latest instalment of Liverpool’s ongoing love affair with the European Cup was perhaps the sweetest of the lot.
Not satisfied with coming back from a losing position once, they somehow managed to do it again as the clock ticked down to secure yet another semi-final meeting with Chelsea.
Whereas that clash will be a game of chess, this meeting with Arsenal was a toe-to-toe slugfest with both sides coming off the ropes at regular intervals.
Ultimately, it was Liverpool who delivered the knockout blow, but not before they had taken their fair share of punishment from an Arsenal side which can cut through even the most robust of defences.
This truly was an epic contest, the like of which should be stored in the memory banks and treasured for ever by all those who were lucky enough to witness it.
The action was unrelenting from the very first minute to the very last. It was as if both managers had decided to take the gloves off after a couple of warm-up bouts and let their teams batter the hell out of each other until only one of them was left standing.
Incredibly – possibly even miraculously – that team was Liverpool, and Arsenal’s only consolation was that their name will now be added to the ever lengthening list of clubs who have played a role in a wondrous European night at Anfield.
They join Inter Milan, Barcelona, Olympiakos, Juventus, Chelsea, St Etienne and Auxerre in the litany of the vanquished, while Liverpool can now look forward to adding yet more chapters to their glorious continental history.
Having derided Liverpool’s most recent European Cup success in Istanbul as “lucky”, Arsene Wenger will today be faced with the harsh reality that fortune favours the brave.
The Arsenal boss will also be regretting his description of the Anfield crowd earlier this season as “genteel”. Last night they were anything but as the stadium was rocked to its very foundations by an atmosphere the equal of pretty much anything that has gone before.
It didn’t look set to be a night to live long in the memory during the opening half hour, when Arsenal’s quicksilver passing left Liverpool looking laboured in comparison.
Chasing shadows was the order of the day for Rafa Benitez’s men at that stage as the visitors worked the ball between themselves at a speed which possibly no other side in Europe can match.
They took the lead when Abou Diaby took advantage of some slack marking to hammer home a strike which Pepe Reina should, perhaps, have done better with.
At that stage it looked like the Londoners could go on and win the game at a canter as Liverpool simply were not in the contest.
But there is something innate in this Liverpool team which does not allow them to accept their fate when things go against them in European combat, and they somehow manage to turn the form book and logic on its head.
The irony of their equalising goal – a magnificent towering header by Sami Hyypia from a Steven Gerrard corner – will not have been lost on anyone who has seen Liverpool’s own problems at set pieces in recent weeks.
From that point on, Liverpool seized the initiative thanks to lung-busting commitment from pretty much every single player and Arsenal visibly wilted.
Not every Reds star was at his best and some were far from it. Steven Gerrard was honest enough to admit that this performance was not his finest, but what the captain for once lacked in inspiration he more than made up for with perspiration, and his lead was followed by every single one of his team mates.
None more so than Fernando Torres, who followed a quiet opening period by his own standards with a goal so magnificent in its power and accuracy that it caused the kind of celebrations in the stands that can only ever be produced when fans have witnessed something truly magical.
It could also have been decisive as it gave Liverpool a crucial lead which was left in tact when Emmanuel Adebayor took the Eidur Gudjohnsen award for services to Liverpool European Cup runs with a horror miss when everyone expected him to score.
Despite holding such a precious but fragile lead, Liverpool continued to pour forward and their over ambition was punished when substitute Theo Walcott produced one of the most wonderfully penetrating runs you will ever see to set up the previously profligate Adebayor for the equaliser.
Suddenly, it was like 1989 all over again as Anfield looked set to play host to a dramatic smash and grab raid by the Gunners.
But unlike that May day 19 years ago, on this occasion Liverpool still had time to come back. It may only have been five minutes, but having scored three goals in Istanbul in just 60 seconds more no-one should have been giving up on them this time around.
Ryan Babel had only been on the pitch for less than ten minutes when he tormented Kolo Toure so much that the auxiliary right back pulled him down as he entered the area.
Referee Peter Frojdfeldt – who was born in Sweden, not Babel’s native Holland in case anyone from Sky is interested – had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and as Anfield held its collective breath, Gerrard somehow managed to hold his nerve before smashing the penalty into the top corner of the Kop goal, becoming the first Liverpool player to score in four consecutive home games in Europe in the process.
Still Liverpool were not done as Babel applied the coup de grace with a wonderful run and finish which would only have been improved had a TV commentator accompanied it with the immortal words “It’s up for grabs now”.
That goal settled an old score stretching right back to 1989 and it also settled a few more recent ones, none more so than the one stemming from Wenger’s mealy mouthed assessment of their heroics of three years ago.
Liverpool have delivered yet another truly magical performance in Europe. They will need another couple if they are to make a date with destiny in Moscow.
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Hyypia, Aurelio, Kuyt (Arbeloa, 92), Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, Crouch (Babel, 77), Torres (Riise, 87).
ARSENAL: Almunia, Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Clichy, Eboue (Walcott, 72), Flamini (Gilberto, 41), Fabregas, Diaby (Van Persie, 72), Hleb, Adebayor.
ATTENDANCE: 41,985.
REFEREE: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden).
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