Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Liverpool 1-3 Chelsea
Torres, 6 Ivanovich, 39, 62
Drogba, 67
That wasn't in the script. Unbeaten all season at Anfield, Liverpool chose the worst possible moment to lose their focus, lose the match and, unless something truly extraordinary happens at Stamford Bridge next week, lose their place in this season's Champions League. An intruiging battle, finely balanced at half-time, swung dramatically into Chelsea's favour as they played their hosts off the park after the break.
Guus Hiddink's plan to shackle Steven Gerrard with Michael Essien worked like a dream. The Liverpool captain, shadowed throughout and deprived of the space he relishes, found it impossible to make an impact on the game. Behind him, Xabi Alonso and Lucas in particular, struggled to make their passes count. Scorer of a fine goal in the opening exchanges, Fernando Torres was slowly but surely starved of the ball. Chelsea, by contrast, were superb. Their passing was as exciting and inventive as it was in the embryonic days of the ill-fated Scolari-era and it allowed their frontmen to swarm all over the Liverpool backline. Saloman Kalou and Florent Malouda rampaged down the flanks, while Frank Lampard was able to support Didier Drogba up front.
"It was perfect," said Hiddink afterwards. "I have to compliment my team for reacting to the early goal, but they always react now. Our plan was not to lean on the defence to neutralise Torres and Gerrard, but to get their defence sweating. Our plan was to score, it's always a blow for the home team. When you can score three, that's a luxury."
Two of those goals came from the Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic, who capitalised on an alarmingly lax zonal marking system. The equaliser, in particular, was horrible to watch. The Liverpool defence were so static and so still that it seemed as though Ivanovic had frozen time itself and was darting through their lines, making mischief with impunity. A zonal system is unbeatable only when everyone involved does their job. This was not the case, as Rafa Benitez was at pains to point out afterwards.
"I say again, when you are man-to-man you will see a lot of goals," he claimed. "We made mistakes. We paid for those mistakes."
The Liverpool fans tried their best to roar their players back into contention but, when Drogba slid in to score Chelsea's third goal, the Kop fell silent.
"Where's your famous atmosphere?" mocked the delirious Chelsea supporters at the other end.
'Where was the passing?' they might have asked. Where was the pressure? Where was the Liverpool side that had beaten Real Madrid and Manchester United? With Gerrard effectively bound, gagged and chained to a radiator by Essien, there was no sign of them at all.
Even if the real Liverpool are discovered by next week, it's difficult to see how they can overturn this deficit at Stamford Bridge. They will need a bigger boost than just the consolation of knowing that John Terry will miss out through suspension. They will need three goals just to have a chance to progress and it has been a long, long time since anyone has done that to Chelsea on their own patch. Hiddink has one foot in the semi-finals already.
BRAINS OF THE OPERATION - It wasn't simply the decision to mark Steven Gerrard out of the game, it was the attitude of the Chelsea players that led to this astonishing victory and that has to be down to Guus Hiddink. He didn't want to risk allowing Liverpool to dictate the game and how his bravery paid off.
CLUELESS No.1 - I don't want to try and second guess a manager as experienced as Rafa Benitez, but can someone tell me what he sees in Lucas? The hapless Brazilian seemed to give the ball away with almost every touch. He's not particularly quick, he's not strong in the tackle and he put one shot so far over it almost left the stadium. What is it, precisely, that he does?
CLUELESS No.2 - To my knowledge, Andrea Dossena had four touches after replacing Fabio Aurelio. One of these was an appallingly weak cross. Two were ill-timed scuffs that gave away throw-ins. The fourth was an unnecessary header that would have been goal number four for Chelsea had it not hit Pepe Reina in the face. I'll leave you to your own conclusions.
PUNTER'S RANT - It might not have been a good night for the Liverpool fans, but the bookies must be delighted. Who would have seen this coming? Who would actually have staked real money, in these troubled times, on Chelsea scoring three goals at Anfield. Not me, that's for sure. Liverpool were favourites before tonight, now they're 40-1 to lift the trophy. Avoid.
MAN OF THE MATCH - You just have to give the award to Michael Essien. Not since Alan Curbishley lashed Hayden Mullins to Steve Gerrard have I seen the Liverpool captain so utterly nullified. Who'd have thought that Curbs would be lighting the pathway for the likes of Hiddink to follow?
MATCH STATS
Crowd - 42,543
Yellow Cards - Aurelio (Liverpool) Kalou, Terry (Chelsea)
Red Cards - None
Liverpool -
Pepe Reina (rating 7), Alvaro Arbeloa 6, Fabio Aurelio 4 (Andrea Dossena 4, 75th), Martin Skrtel 6, Jamie Carragher 7, Lucas 4 (Ryan Babel 5, 79th) , Xabi Alonso 6, Dirk Kuyt 7, Steven Gerrard 6, Albert Reira 6 (Yossi Benayoun 6, 67th), Fernando Torres 6
Chelsea -
Petr Cech 7, Branislav Ivanovic 8, Ashley Cole 6, John Terry 7, Alex 7, Michael Essien 8, Frank Lampard 7, Michael Ballack 7, Saloman Kalou 7, Florent Malouda 7, Didier Drogba 7 (Nicolas Anelka 6, 80th)
Torres, 6 Ivanovich, 39, 62
Drogba, 67
That wasn't in the script. Unbeaten all season at Anfield, Liverpool chose the worst possible moment to lose their focus, lose the match and, unless something truly extraordinary happens at Stamford Bridge next week, lose their place in this season's Champions League. An intruiging battle, finely balanced at half-time, swung dramatically into Chelsea's favour as they played their hosts off the park after the break.
Guus Hiddink's plan to shackle Steven Gerrard with Michael Essien worked like a dream. The Liverpool captain, shadowed throughout and deprived of the space he relishes, found it impossible to make an impact on the game. Behind him, Xabi Alonso and Lucas in particular, struggled to make their passes count. Scorer of a fine goal in the opening exchanges, Fernando Torres was slowly but surely starved of the ball. Chelsea, by contrast, were superb. Their passing was as exciting and inventive as it was in the embryonic days of the ill-fated Scolari-era and it allowed their frontmen to swarm all over the Liverpool backline. Saloman Kalou and Florent Malouda rampaged down the flanks, while Frank Lampard was able to support Didier Drogba up front.
"It was perfect," said Hiddink afterwards. "I have to compliment my team for reacting to the early goal, but they always react now. Our plan was not to lean on the defence to neutralise Torres and Gerrard, but to get their defence sweating. Our plan was to score, it's always a blow for the home team. When you can score three, that's a luxury."
Two of those goals came from the Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic, who capitalised on an alarmingly lax zonal marking system. The equaliser, in particular, was horrible to watch. The Liverpool defence were so static and so still that it seemed as though Ivanovic had frozen time itself and was darting through their lines, making mischief with impunity. A zonal system is unbeatable only when everyone involved does their job. This was not the case, as Rafa Benitez was at pains to point out afterwards.
"I say again, when you are man-to-man you will see a lot of goals," he claimed. "We made mistakes. We paid for those mistakes."
The Liverpool fans tried their best to roar their players back into contention but, when Drogba slid in to score Chelsea's third goal, the Kop fell silent.
"Where's your famous atmosphere?" mocked the delirious Chelsea supporters at the other end.
'Where was the passing?' they might have asked. Where was the pressure? Where was the Liverpool side that had beaten Real Madrid and Manchester United? With Gerrard effectively bound, gagged and chained to a radiator by Essien, there was no sign of them at all.
Even if the real Liverpool are discovered by next week, it's difficult to see how they can overturn this deficit at Stamford Bridge. They will need a bigger boost than just the consolation of knowing that John Terry will miss out through suspension. They will need three goals just to have a chance to progress and it has been a long, long time since anyone has done that to Chelsea on their own patch. Hiddink has one foot in the semi-finals already.
BRAINS OF THE OPERATION - It wasn't simply the decision to mark Steven Gerrard out of the game, it was the attitude of the Chelsea players that led to this astonishing victory and that has to be down to Guus Hiddink. He didn't want to risk allowing Liverpool to dictate the game and how his bravery paid off.
CLUELESS No.1 - I don't want to try and second guess a manager as experienced as Rafa Benitez, but can someone tell me what he sees in Lucas? The hapless Brazilian seemed to give the ball away with almost every touch. He's not particularly quick, he's not strong in the tackle and he put one shot so far over it almost left the stadium. What is it, precisely, that he does?
CLUELESS No.2 - To my knowledge, Andrea Dossena had four touches after replacing Fabio Aurelio. One of these was an appallingly weak cross. Two were ill-timed scuffs that gave away throw-ins. The fourth was an unnecessary header that would have been goal number four for Chelsea had it not hit Pepe Reina in the face. I'll leave you to your own conclusions.
PUNTER'S RANT - It might not have been a good night for the Liverpool fans, but the bookies must be delighted. Who would have seen this coming? Who would actually have staked real money, in these troubled times, on Chelsea scoring three goals at Anfield. Not me, that's for sure. Liverpool were favourites before tonight, now they're 40-1 to lift the trophy. Avoid.
MAN OF THE MATCH - You just have to give the award to Michael Essien. Not since Alan Curbishley lashed Hayden Mullins to Steve Gerrard have I seen the Liverpool captain so utterly nullified. Who'd have thought that Curbs would be lighting the pathway for the likes of Hiddink to follow?
MATCH STATS
Crowd - 42,543
Yellow Cards - Aurelio (Liverpool) Kalou, Terry (Chelsea)
Red Cards - None
Liverpool -
Pepe Reina (rating 7), Alvaro Arbeloa 6, Fabio Aurelio 4 (Andrea Dossena 4, 75th), Martin Skrtel 6, Jamie Carragher 7, Lucas 4 (Ryan Babel 5, 79th) , Xabi Alonso 6, Dirk Kuyt 7, Steven Gerrard 6, Albert Reira 6 (Yossi Benayoun 6, 67th), Fernando Torres 6
Chelsea -
Petr Cech 7, Branislav Ivanovic 8, Ashley Cole 6, John Terry 7, Alex 7, Michael Essien 8, Frank Lampard 7, Michael Ballack 7, Saloman Kalou 7, Florent Malouda 7, Didier Drogba 7 (Nicolas Anelka 6, 80th)
