Rafa's pre-match criticism of Drogba

[ntto]

Think it had any effect? Was it a tactical error?

[Pacman]

Think it had any effect? Was it a tactical error?

Nope.

If Drogba wasn't already up for a CL semi final then there is something wrong with the cunt.

He played well in the first half but was dog awful in the 2nd anyway.

[Kenneth]

Think it had any effect? Was it a tactical error?

No I don't. Well, he was fouled after about 2 mins and jumped straight back up on his feet, so it might have had some effect. DOn't think it had a negative one.

[Kenneth]

And it didn't really affect Reina's positioning.

[BFG]

Think it had any effect? Was it a tactical error?

If you believed Phil McNumpty (BBC) that was the only thing that affected the result:


Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has taken the credit as the mastermind behind their Champions League successes – now he must take the blame for their failure.

Benitez’s side already faced a tough task in their semi-final second leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after John Arne Riise’s last-ditch own goal at Anfield eight days earlier.

Liverpool's manager chose to make that job even harder by a transparent, ham-fisted piece of psychology that backfired spectacularly and was at the very heart of their exit.

Didier Drogba can be a sleeping giant or a rampaging monster – so it was a fraught with danger when Benitez chose to goad the striker into fury by publicly branding him a diver in his pre-match media briefings.

When Drogba is lying low he is best left alone. Benitez chose to deliver a verbal version of a poke with a sharp stick and Liverpool paid the price.

Drogba, so often listless this season, led the Chelsea attack magnificently, scored two goals and was a constant physical menace throughout an absorbing rain-soaked encounter that ended with Avram Grant’s side deservedly going through to meet Manchester United in Moscow.

In a moment of pure theatre, Drogba slammed home Chelsea’s opener after 33 minutes, then checked his whereabouts before embarking on a run along the touchline and a spectacular skid on his knees that finished right in front of a red-faced Benitez.

If it was an attempt at mind games, Benitez lost. Ingloriously. Drogba may have been indulging in some very public crowing, but you were left with the sense that Benitez had it coming for his very obvious attempts to unsettle the striker and influence referee Robert Rosetti.

It was a mixed night all round for Benitez, so often hailed as the tactical genius able to navigate his way through almost any European obstacle.

He made a subtle switch that put Liverpool back in the game just after the hour, ordering Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun to switch flanks shortly before the Israeli cleverly set up Fernando Torres’ leveller.

Benitez then mysteriously removed the increasingly influential Benayoun for Jermaine Pennant, who demonstrated exactly why he has not been a regular at Liverpool since his arrival from Birmingham City two seasons ago.

Torres looked equally non-plussed when he was hauled off after Frank Lampard put Chelsea 2-1 up from the spot in extra-time – although Benitez later insisted the superb striker had been suffering from hamstring trouble.

Benitez later tried to deflect criticism that he had only succeeded in firing up Chelsea’s most potent weapon with his ill-judged personal attack prior to the game – but the truth was told by Drogba’s irresistible display and the two goals that sent his team to Moscow at Liverpool’s expense.

Someone else who got a clear message from Benitez at Stamford Bridge was Peter Crouch, a reliable goalscorer but pointedly ignored in Liverpool’s hour of need.

Liverpool and Benitez looked broken at the final whistle, and while the game was lost in the mud and storms of Stamford Bridge, the pivotal moment of the tie came at Anfield with Riise’s blunder.

When the score changed from 1-0 to Liverpool to 1-1 with four seconds left, the dynamic of the tie changed fatally for Benitez and his team – to then give Drogba and Chelsea an extra incentive with his words was a moment of folly he must regret.

Benitez, when next tempted to indulge in the sort of flawed verbals he attempted on Drogba, will do well to remember that silence can be golden.

[Shaggy]

McNulty...****ing Bluenose.

[Imy]

I felt like punching Dogbreath with his diving celebration in front of Rafa, i feckin hate the *******

[Maxiedge]

It was a thick as pig **** thing to say. FFS when he celebrated in front of our bench

[Neil Young]

Yeah right, Drogba was so fired up he was ineffective for half the match.

[ntto]

I thought Drogba was one of the best players on the park last night

[Neil Young]

I thought Drogba was one of the best players on the park last night

I didn't see him in either second half except when he clumsily fouled Sami. He did well in both first halves but then so he should - he's a good player.

[Craig_H]

With hindsight, i dont think Rafa would make those comments if he had his time again.

[Kenneth]

With hindsight, i dont think Rafa would make those comments if he had his time again.

One less goal for Chelsea and we'd be saying that we escaped without a booking for Carra, and some would argue it was because Rafa had drawn the attention of the ref etc. In reality, I think rafa would repeat it as he felt we could win and thought diving drogba was a real risk.

[Maxiedge]

Yeah right, Drogba was so fired up he was ineffective for half the match.

What are you on about? He scored 2 goals

[Pacman]

With hindsight, i dont think Rafa would make those comments if he had his time again.

So Drogba needs the opposition manager to fire him up for a CL semi?