Champions League, Matches - Written by BlueChampion on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 20:44 | 1,922 Views | 125 Comments | Add Comment
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea | Own Goal To Our Rescue Again!
Let me admit it. It’s all getting very embarrassing now. We seem to survive on an own goal even in a champions league semi final. But to be fair, this settles the score for the goal that did not cross the line. Now the scoreline says that we are the favourites to reach Moscow! Wow!
The starting line-up was quite a strong one. I was a bit skeptical about Malouda but he did quite well tonight. Yet again a 4-3-3 bordering on 4-5-1. Chelsea started pretty nicely in the first few minutes. I for a moment thought this could be the time where Liverpool will be beaten at Anfield on a champions league night. That feeling and hope was shortlived as Liverpool turned up with some force after the 10th minute.
And then the familiar story. Opposition attacking us with purpose and intent while we go forward without loads of indecisiveness and lose possession. Late in the first half, Liverpool took the lead from a superb finish from Dirk Kuyt. The build up to the goal was a pain to watch. First up, a quick free kick was taken close to half line and none of the Chelsea players were expecting it or ready for it. Liverpool are always known for their smartness with set pieces. But still we were just reactive and not very good even at that. We had many chances to put that ball out of play but were guilty of ball watching. When Lampard finally got the ball, he had this huge confusion of whether to feed to a colleague or to clear it. As he was looking for options, he was robbed of the ball and in few seconds they were leading.
Liverpool came at us much stronger in the second half. Petr Cech was very busy as they were more and more threatening. Rafa surely wanted the second goal. Liverpool got quite a few one-on-one opportunities but could convert none. By his standards, Torres did have a bad day. For the number of chances he got, on another day, he might have got a couple of goals easily. The domination of the Reds continued in the second half too. Surprisingly, Liverpool looked hungrier to win this match than Chelsea. They attacked with purpose, fought for every ball, won every header, kept Drogba under control and also nullified Joe Cole completely.
Around the 75th minute or so, Liverpool were lowering their tempo a bit which allowed us to make a few quick attacks. Aurelio, who was ver good until then, had to go off due to an injury. When I saw Riise coming in, I knew that we have a big opportunity of exploiting Riise. But we were so wasteful tonight that I was so sure that there won’t be a goal tonight from a Chelsea player. I was wondering how were we going to get that crucial away goal, while I did not see any Chelsea player finding the net. Then came the customised solution in the form of an own goal. Riise for some reason, decided to powerfully head the low cross from Kalou, instead of clearing with his foot. He was certainly not under pressure from Anelka who was about 3 feet away. For the first time in the semi final matches between these two teams, an away goal was scored.
Thank you John Arne Riise, you’re a legend!
This match had quite a few important moments. Torres had about three one on one situations but wasted all of them. Dirk Kuyt had a one-on-one and he too fluffed it. Gerrard made a brilliant shoot to the top right corner but Cech pulled off a blinder. Joe Cole could have had a better first touch to blast a volley from a superb pass from Lampard. We made a series of defensive errors to give away the deserved lead to Liverpool. And then there was this penalty appeal. Ballack clearly handled the ball but referee did not give it. I thought we were very very lucky.
Let’s look at how our players performed tonight. Here is Mikhail Adam with his report on the player performances:
______________________________________________________________________
The performances tonight were absolutely to die for. Literally. How good can the players honestly be playing if every attack is a long ball from our own half? No matter, Liverpool weren’t lucky for the second time this season against Chelsea (Anfield penalty). What we did see at the end of the match was inspired players; inspiration will help in the home leg at the Bridge. I heard an announcer say, “If Chelsea can’t get there this time, they don’t deserve to ever get there.” I wouldn’t entirely agree but we’re definitely poised to please our Russian billionaire and get to Moscow, let’s not mess it up.
Petr Cech: Our fabulous Czech keeper doing what he’s been doing for years, saving us. Great save on Torres on a 1v1, he was completely stuffed. I had a great smile on my face when Petr pawed away a perfectly placed shot by Gerrard. The completion of his great night was another block on Torres’ clear shot from a corner. 8/10
Ashley Cole: Not an awful defensive performance but I could hardly find him on the offensive. I spare him his attacking duties on account of there being nobody with such duties tonight. 6.5/10
John Arne Riise: Wait, how’d he get here? 10/10
John Terry: A captain’s performance for me. He was there to mop up any loose change around and inside the box. I was complimenting him for the diving header clearance about 10 seconds before Kyut scored, not so significant anymore. The Chelsea defense is going to get some slack from me today because of the constant pressure they were under. Chelsea couldn’t hold onto the ball to get some breaks for the defense. 7.5/10
Ricardo Carvalho: Similar performance as Terry, not quite as dominating as the captain but a rather solid performance. He slipped up a couple times, perhaps early signs of his age. Torres seemed entirely too fast for him at some points and he let him through for the first 1v1 of the game. 6.5/10
Paulo Ferreira: When I saw Ferreira’s name on the team sheet I praised Grant for the decision to start him over Juliano Belletti. The reason being Ferreira is primarily a better defender and has some more pace on him then Belletti. I still believe that Ferreira was the better choice of two average right-backs. He had pretty good success when he could mark Babel closely but when Babel got him 1v1 with a couple yards of space, he revealed his lack of pace and had no chance against the quick Babel. We have some serious problems at right-back, we need Michael Essien there for the big games. 5.5/10
Claude Makelele: Gerrard was nowhere to be seen for almost the entire match primarily because of Makelele’s close marking. That’s a great task and I’ll give him his recognition for it but I was disappointed by his overall performance. He was sloppy on the ball and he was partially to blame for the goal, completely misjudging the ball. Also, the one time he messes up on marking Gerrard, Liverpool gain one of the best chances of the game only to be saved by Mr. Cech. I’ve come to expect more from our old veteran. 6/10
Michael Ballack: The German was hot and cold for the entire game. We were treated by moments of great control and seconds later sluggish passing. His two shots on target I would guess were nearly half of our total on the night. 6.5/10
Frank Lampard: Where in the world is Frankie Lampard? You might start seeing his face on milk cartons, aside from the delicate chip perfectly to Joe Cole in the first half he was the invisible man. Perhaps he couldn’t concentrate in his current personal circumstances and that’s understandable. Didn’t show up for me, thought he should have been replaced rather than Ballack. 5/10
Joe Cole: Wow. Something about his performance tonight made me cringe. It was the first time in a while that I was awaiting his substitution and happy when #10 flashed on the board. I think Grant felt the same way I did: he’s obviously always going to be a threat but at the moment his woes outdid his potential. Every pass that came off his foot seemed to magnetize to red and he was caught in possession several times. The worst player on the pitch for me. 3.5/10
Florent Malouda: I’ll be the first to say I didn’t agree with the decision to start him by any stretch of the imagination. I was, as I assume you all were too, very surprised by his performance. He was also hot and cold but he seemed to be a threat and he could actually hold the ball, a luxury in this game. The only question I have to ask myself is: Is Florent Malouda’s best better than Joe Cole’s or Kalou’s best? I think not. I still don’t understand why he’s constantly in the middle of the field. I saw Lampard out wide more than Malouda. 7/10
Didier Drogba: Disgraceful and disinterested, there’s DD for you. Where’s the Drogba of last season? The Drogba that would control those long balls with such grace and finesse that you had to stop and comment? What about our workhouse Drogba that is always chasing balls? The answer is simple, he’s on his way out and his passion just isn’t there. I’ll give him leeway for not having a striker at his side but this isn’t the Drogba that used to be my favorite player, no sir. Didier had trouble with every ball that came his way and was playing for free kicks that he got more than he usually would. Here’s a nice stat for you, 35% passing completion for our centre forward. Have fun at Inter-Milan. 4.5/10
Substitutes:
Salomon Kalou: He certainly had-a-Kalou today. Provided the same spark that Joe Cole did against Wigan. Took outside balls to the middle and seemed to be the most likely create a goal. What appeared on the surface was correct, his quick cross against the face of the goal scared Riise into scoring a great diving header into his own net. Kalou was our Babel but more consistent when he came on in the 63rd. 7.5/10
Nicolas Anelka: Not sure if he touched the ball. N/A
Overall Team Performance
As has been the theme for some time, Chelsea Football Club performs badly on the pitch but is rewarded with a good result. This performance for me shined out above the rest. We played in my opinion one of our worst ever games, playing long balls like there was 2 minutes left in the game. The only thing that saves this entire post and gives it a glimmer of hope is the dumb luck we had from Riise’s redhead. I’ll accept this performance in the Champions League if it gets us to Moscow. We’ve had a similar pattern away from home, and frankly, the luck we’ve gotten has allowed it to work. We have one match left before the Champions League Final. We do have the advantage against Liverpool for the first Semi-Final. It is absolutely crucial that we finish this Champions League campaign like champions at our beloved home, Stamford Bridge.
Man of the Match
*I’m getting word that John Arne Riise is cup-tied and is not eligible for this award.
Petr Cech: Time and time again, this routine never gets old.
______________________________________________________________________
Thanks Adam. Good report indeed. Yes, I confirm Anelka did not touch the ball in the 8 minutes he was floating around on the pitch. You’re a bit too generous to Terry. I wouldn’t give a 7.5. No way. 6 at best. Anyway good job with the report.
I thought this was a very poor attacking performance by Chelsea. Pepe Reina was not tested at all. He did not have to anything. May be he was even having a bite and a drink while watching us collapse outside the box everytime. We could not even string a few passes together. Players did not have alignment of thought, each thinking in different direction. There were times when Chelsea had he possession but a serious of lack of ideas of what to do with the ball meant we were going to waste it anyway. I’ve always said that if Joe Cole is not playing well, we become really toothless. Our defence was uncharacteristic some times. We don’t normally leave onside space behind the defenders but tonight we allowed this to happen many times. It was Petr Cech who prevented a dire humiliation at Anfield. Hats off to the big man.
There was no passion or spirit which could have made them give that extra bit. May be that’s where Terry should have done his bit. I never thought Avram can be a source of inspiration for the players but Terry should have been. Even after going a goal down in an away match, Chelsea somehow did not show the urgency to score the away goal. The one obvious thing I noticed was that numerous long balls supplied to Drogba. All our semi decent attacks were either out of a long ball or from a Liverpool blunder. There were not any consciously and deliberately built up attacks. Avram was once again late to make changes and made incorrect ones too. When we conceded in the first half what is point of making an 87th minute substitution. Ballack should have stayed and Kalou should have come in for Lampard. This was another match that Avram could have influenced and changed.
With the away goal taken back to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are now the firm favourites to reach the Champions league final. I haven’t started celebrating yet. Despite their recent record at the Bridge, they have the quality to score on goal in the second leg which would give them a life line. I’m cautious but I’m quietly confident as I’m very sure that this season’s champions league belongs to us. Here are the reasons why:
1. We had Schalke, Rosenborg and Valencia in the group stage
2. We drew Olypiakos with second leg at Stamford Bridge
3. We drew Fenerbahce with second leg at Stamford Bridge
4. Fenerbahce scored an own goal, which finally made the difference.
5. Chelsea drew Liverpool (as against Barca/Man Utd) with second leg at Stamford Bridge
6. Liverpool scores an own goal in the last few seconds and gifts us the away goal.
I know I’ve said this many times but I’m still amazed at the amount of luck that we’ve had this season. It is too much of a coincidence to get so many favours from the football Gods.If we can’t capitalise on these slices of fortunes, it would be even more embarrassing. I’m sure about one thing. If Chelsea is going to win the champions league in this manner, it won’t please Roman Abramovich. What have we become? We don’t play well, we don’t dominate, we don’t play efficiently, we lack discipline and organisation. Are we playing like European Champions? Looking at the way we’ve been playing would you call us ‘Champions of Europe’? Would it be a fitting tag?
125 Comments
1. Jumbo
2. owonatty
Avram is a lucky guy. Lets see how it will turn out at Stamford bridge. I dont know why he delayed Anelka’s substitution till 85minutes. He should be on ealiar to put more pressure on their defense. Malouda should’ve been the one to be replaced instead of Joe Cole. Joe cole had a poor game till he was substituted but he is far better than Malouda in creating chances.
3. AGfriend
Well Toad’s big arse is back with a vengeance.
What can I say? another own goal, chelsea under the toad is becoming an specialist in own goals.
Now yes i can not see liver going through in the last 8 visits thay never scored in SB.
4. Adam
Pay back for the goal that never was and the handball from Arbeloa last season. Here here!
5. denver
anelka didnt even get to touch the ball!!
Why cant Lampard show up at BIG matchs when we need him!!!!, and he gave away the ball which lead to the goals!! Mikel should play for the return leg, Maka was a bit off today…….
6. AGtallk
For all you double talkers
A week ago you couldn’t understand how we can’t keep our lead in extra time
Today you’re embarrassed for scoring one??
If it’s not for extra time goals we conceded we where leading the epl by 4 points today!!!
I guess Pool should sack rafa for an extra time goal
I think it was AG saying after the wigen game that that’s football
That’s exactly what he meant , you win some you lose some
7. moyo
I didn’t watch the match but from what i gathered, it was not a good performance for chelsea. I see no reason why Malouda should have started ahead of kalou and why sheva could not have partnered with Drogba upfront.
I don’t want to see Maka in the second leg… mikel -to me- is far better defensively (except for the cards) and can pass the ball more effectively plus he easily causes cards for opponents…in case anyone here hasn’t noticed, most players who foul mikel get a yellow card because he has his way of feigning injury…. like messi. Kenyon and co should plan a retirement party of Maka in July when the season is all over….
my final verdict is that Liverpool has put this game in our hands, if this was Mourinho, i would have said that we were through to the finals as the special one will plan a boring second 0-0 match at stamford bridge but under this magnificent toad, i’m really scared what can happen…
8. Sumesh
Well, AG is very lucky indeed. There’s some sweet revenge for Garcia’s goal, though.
And I wonder how long the luck would last. Until the end of the final, perhaps? I hope not, because then, we’d perhaps be stuck with the Israeli arse for next season. Bring on Riijkard, Schuster, Ancelotti or whatever - they’re all proper managers atleast.
9. TrueBlueInd
Hi Guys..
What a lucky break for us..I guess we finally get something back for that goal that never was in the 2004-05 season semi.
Our defence except carvalho was all over the place today..Our defence has ceratainly gone down a notch this season..Carvalho was SENSATIONAL today..rest of the bunch..AVERAGE AT BEST
What was Drogba tryin to do today?.Was he trying to get on the scoresheet at all or was he only interested in winning freekicks??
Where was our midfield???..what were they doing or trying???..Apart from a couple of decent moves, the midfield was invisible today.
Petr Cech was SENSATIONAL and he saved us from humiliation today with his great saves.
United N Liverpool to come in the next 1 week.Our season depends on these 2 games.AG better work some magic or something n get the boys fired up for these crucial matches.
If we play like we did today, United will rape us n liverpool will go through to the final again.
Cmon Chelsea
10. bluebayou
I felt sick all through this match. Hurrah for Riise, but seriously, I think if he hadn’t OG’d surely Anelka was going to toepoke it. Glad the Scousers got their faces slapped, but hope it doesn’t give The Toad a lifeline.
11. Steed
Hi all (Liverpool fan here)
I agree that it’s all swings and roundabouts, we got lucky with some penalty decisions against the Arsenal and we lose an OG tonight. Thats the way it goes. If Chelsea go through which they are favourites to do now, fair play to you and I’d like to see you win it. I think you’d have a better chance than Liverpool of beating United if they get past Barca.
Liverpool can’t kill a game off, same old story, cost us tonight.
12. somone
watched the game with my family. I also wondered why the substitutions came so late. I actually liked the tempo of the match, would have liked more people kicking towards the goal.
no. 8- if you want your team to lose so you can sack the manager then you’re dumb. if chelsea beats man u, would you also be upset?
13. Adam
I’ve thought of the same thing. If we succeed, will Avram Grant have to remain our coach? It troubles me to think of another season with Grant as our manager. However, as a true Chelsea fan, I don’t understand how you can wish bad results on your club in any circumstance. Even if we win the Champions League, I will accept Avram Grant as the manager of our club, but I will not give him my unwavering support.
14. Vovkka
I definitely hope that even in the case we win Champions League, Avram will not be our manager next season. Let him become the Director of Football again, Steve and Henk stay as assistant managers and let bring some world-class manager to Chelsea at last!
15. SH.IBRAHIMI
great result .. it was not the best ever perfomance but we should be happy with the result and for me we’re in Moscow already .. looking forward to next 2 crucial matches .. come on you Blues
16. blue_victoryAUS
Utter Crap. We got the desired results but boy am I sick of wakeing at 4.30am to watch that dribble.
GRANT MUST GO!
17. Krishna
Chelsea played poorly but was lucky to get the goal. Why doesn’t AG start with 2 strikers . He seems to only know 4-3-3 formation.
If we play this way against Man U, the Stanford Bridge record would be broken.
“Are we playing like European Champions? Looking at the way we’ve been playing would you call us ‘Champions of Europe’? Would it be a fitting tag?”
– Did Liverpool play like Champions when they won in 05 ?
18. BlueChampion
@ Krishna. Does that mean we can win in an undeserving fashion? Believe me, if Chelsea wins the champions league, it would be marketed by Grant and Kenyon that we are the next best thing after Brazil of ‘70. That’s what I don’t want. Let’s put things in perspective. I don’t want to see which of the previous winners deserved or who didn’t? Did we play well is my question. If we had got a different draw or if we had got the results that we truly deserved we would not have made this far.
Liverpool in 04-05 started poorly in the group stages, just like this season. When they reached the knockout stages they played really well. They beat Bayer Leverkusen 6-2 on aggregate, they beat Juventus, Chelsea and AC Milan. Against Milan to come back from 0-3 and win the match is really champions stuff. I just cannot think of a better come back. champions league final, against tournament favourites, Milan are 3-0 up, just 40 mins remaining, top class defence - but they came back and beat them. Truly champions stuff. But Milan were more deserving to be the European champions.
Also bear in mind, in 04-05, Liverpool were not poor. They played rather decently. They did not have the best of squads but with what they had in their disposal, they played well indeed. It happens in champions league. Not every champions league winner is a deserving one. If Arsenal had beaten Barca, they would have been an undeserving champions. Like for us now, you get the easist draw, you get an own goal at the away legs in quarterfinal and semifinal - how deserving is this?
I’d love to win this trophy. Call ourselves European champions. But I won’t be able to really cherish this win. I’m not talking about a goal fest like Man Utd provides to their fans. I’m just asking for better control, domination and dictation of the game. I simply cannot be proud about our performance tonight. Are you proud of Chelsea’s performance this match? I was proud of Chelsea when we drew 1-1 with Arsenal at Bridge. I was proud when conceded a goal and had a man sent off and came back to win 5-1. I was proud when we nearly knocked Barca out of the champions league group stage. I was proud of our players last season when they were chasing multiple trophies despite injuries, playing out of position, not having enough back up players, boardroom politics, no sanction for new players in january etc. this time around there are no excuses for not playing well.
Finally, I don’t mind even if Chelsea wins the champions league with more own goals than our goals. But Grant should stop talking about ‘playing in the right way’, ‘commitment to style’, ‘we want to change things’ etc.
19. Adam
I agree almost completely with BC. Chelsea have played extremely cautious football from the beginning of the group stage to where we are now. We’ve been fairly poor during the knockout stages and our tactic has been as follows: Guard your goal away from home and step out of the shell at home. The one exception to this was the Valencia game at the Mestalla, which in my opinion was our best Champions League performance. In a cup competition it is possible to get through on luck and never truly be tested. Besides Riise’s own-goal, our biggest fortune throughout the knockout stages is having home leg second, three times in a row. It pains me to sound like Avram Grant, but I must admit our Champions League tactics have worked up to this point. 1-0 today would have been acceptable and the 1-1 was just a little icing on the cake. We’ve gutted out results and have done things our way. Maybe we haven’t been the most convincing, flashy, or dominating and maybe we shouldn’t be where we are. But what about our prior runs in the Champions League where we have been dominating and the best team. Did our team that beat Barcelona 4-2 deserve to be knocked out to Liverpool? I think not. So maybe our good fortune is a culmination of good performances in the CL and it’s finally paying off. It’s a possibility that 3 out 4 years in the semi-final grants some leeway.
20. Krishna
@BlueChampion
As I started my comment - “Chelsea played poorly”, you know that even I am not satisfied with the way we played. But not necessary that always the best team wins the match.
In the 2005, Chelsea played one of the best Champions league match at the Bridge against Barca . And what happened in the semis ? Liverpool did a great job to come back from 0-3 down, but on that day, Milan were un-lucky and was indeed much better than 2007 winning team. Sheva had two chances to kill in game in extra time itself but just like Cech they had Dudek had a great game.
21. Johnarejr
“AND IT’S LUCKY CHELSEA
LUCKY CHELSEA FC
BY FAR WE ARE A FOURTUNATE TEAM”
Dang! I want to be ashamed at this type of draw. But heck, after two CL heartbreakers at Anfield, Chelsea was due for a point no matter how it came. A two goal win for our men at the Bridge and we can hold our heads high. A one goal victory or 0-0 draw and this will be a strange turn of events.
#17 Krisna, I agree. Grant should play a 4-4-2. I’m sick of him not making the best use of our strikers. I pray next year he will be as far from Stamford Bridge as possible.
22. Mindframe
I think we should STOP hoping for AG to play 4-4-2 with Anelka and Drogba patnering because it WONT happen. How many times do we already hope that this would happen? Whatever we say here, those people wont hear us. We are just MINORITY in Cyberspace. About the game just now, I believe, Good Luck will always be in our side and that Luck will bring us to CL FInal this year. Our luck will also help us to beat MU this weekend. Sometimes Good Luck is so important in football especially when Chelsea dont play very well, while opponents have a lot of opportunity, but Luck deny them goals and Allow us to win the match by hook or by crook. Good Luck do hapened in MU, Liverpool as well as Arsenal. We can also see Good Luck in Barcelona’s side where they do not have key players and winning againts Schalke really requires a lot of Good Lucks. So, don’t complain now because all that we hope for now is CHelsea going to the final of CL and also beating MU this weekend. If CHelsea can show more efforts towards getting goals while at the same time having good lucks this year, then we are unbeaten..i mean totally unbeaten at home and away. Just look at what happened in Anfield. The Good Luck just gives us a FAVOR, so accept it and it will come again.
23. Nihongo Blue
ha ha FAVOURITES!!! A team which cannot get a single save out of opposition goalkeeper for 90 mins you call that team favourites to go through final leave aside winning it. Just an own goal gives bragging rights to call us favourites? luck would not last for ever and the actual original picture will soon come in front of the public( if still some one cant see it). Dont ever call our team favourties the way we have been playing oflate. IT REALLY HURTS as the expectations increase. we might not be underdogs but certainly not the favourites.
When in the whole match did you see a move in the opposition half that you can proudly say “YA thats my chelsea”. piss poor final delivery of the ball in so many occasions. Lampard was playing where defensive midfielder should be and makalele as a centre back on more occasions. How many successful completed passes did we make in whole game. Just back pass to the keeper as soon as any opposition player comes who will hoof it over the midfield “fight boys”
If we are being happy just for the reason that we have got an away goal and liverpool hasnt scored at SB for many years now ill say “Wake up”. That was some other chelsea(better defense) and this is some other liverpool(better offense). Dont you guys remember if liverpool hasnt scored against us at SB we also have just scored 1 goal in 3 meetings at SB against them in CL. Liverpool can easily score at SB given our defending at set pieces ( did u see cech slipping twice to 2 corners and lucky enough not to concede)
24. Nihongo Blue
Another big factor against us is the man utd game on weekend for the title hopes. We have to play a full strenght team however liverpool can rest all their key players before the tie. More over if man utd happen to beat us think of the morale in the dressing room which is not even good right now. but you call us FAVOURITES.
25. Nihongo Blue
And for those who are okay to see grant next season ill just say if that happens i will happily take a year long break from football.
26. Nihongo Blue
AG press talk to sky
“It was a game without many chances.They had a chance in the first half. We had a chance in the first half.It was the same in the second half. There were not many chances. It was typical for a semi-final.”
He must be sleeping if liverpool had just 1 chancein first half??? bull shit
“The two goals were from mistakes. Until the first goal we controlled the game. We controlled the game and then we made a mistake.”
Where did we controlled the game??? in dreams may be.
“In the second half we made some changes because we knew that the away game is important,” Grant continued.
“We changed the midfield and changed the system and it was a good result for us.
When is this guy gonna stop bragging. I am really tired of it.
terrible
27. Mindframe
Hey Nihongo, r u referring to my “FAVOR”…? It is funny of you…if u understand english better than I do, “The Good Luck just gives us a FAVOR, so accept it and it will come again ” as i mispelled it. I did not say “MAKING US A FAVOR” which by sense it means making us a FAVOURITE. I said it GIVES us FAVOR/FAVOUR or which ENglish you are using. I never make CHelsea a FAVORITES/FAVOURITES for CL final, but I just HOPE LUCK GIVES US A FAVOR/FAVOUR. Hope you frustration can make you think logically next time.
28. Adonis
AG has to be on his way. Is there anyone left that supports him?
He’s lost the confidence of everyone but Abramovich. I’m not going to be so pleased if we win a trophy this year, because frankly, we’ve been outplayed completely by our competition. Manchester United deserve the league, and Liverpool, Manchester United, or Barcelona are more deserving of the title of European champions.
This is a sad day.
29. Nihongo Blue
hey mindframe, i was not refering to you but in general to all who consider us favourites to go to final just because of that own goal. Kinda having a bad sleepy bad day in office waking up at 3:45 am till 5:45 am and then every poor final pass we made in the game not letting me sleep again.
30. JoseHoliday
SEXY AG with HIS SEXY FOOTBALL
SEXY OWN GOAL
SEXY SEMI-FINAL
SEXY VOODOO MAGIC WORKING
SEXY HE-WITCH IS THE SEXY MANAGER
I SHALL BE JUDGED ONLY BY MY SEXY RESULTS
31. JoseHoliday
94 min 35 secs of UNSEXY , UNFOCUSED,POOR , UNSOLID football
1sec for the SEXY OWN GOAL
THEN REAL SEXY SMILE ON SEXY MANAGER’S SEXY FACE , like he had set it all up to end like this…..
32. TBF
@BC
WE ARE Impotent when attack is concerned……….maouda was our best attacker that tells something…………ballack blew hot and cold,joe was anonymous and of the worst player on pitch though deprived of any link up play by fereira or anyone for that matter………..drogba flattered to decieve……….i will rather not comment on lampard caus in this site people take constructive criticism as personal vendetta or hatred.
john terry is no longer the JT i used to know………..carvalho saved his ass umpteen no. of times……….ashley and ferreira were decent.
33. zakaria
it may has been a destined that we are going to Moscow….but im afraid for this Sunday showdown…our home record may in jeopardy looking to our performance…im not blaming the players, but AG needs to think why on earth he throw Anelka only in 85th minutes…for DD, where is your passion my boy??????????
34. Anonymous
Philip Lahm & Bayern Munich have broken off talks about a contract extension.
Any chance that we will go for Lahm???
35. AGfriend
Man of the match Peter Cech follwed very closed by Carvalho.
Well the toad may wish “to change things” but he just doesnt know “how”.
I flabbergasted that so many own goals and so much LUCK is putting chelsea on the brink of a first final, not through being the better team or playing best football.
He man as usually was half a sleep, he only saw one liverpool chance in the first half
sugar I saw more than one, we also had some chances but not clear cut as liver’s.
Well I do not think it is done and dusted yet, in the last 8 visits liver never scored a goal but sooner or later have to score.lets see what happens next week.
Again Carvalho was superb doubling JT most of the time, with JT lack of pace the central defense starts showing cracks.
Avram’s bei arse is back LOL
36. AGfriend
bei=big
37. BlueFan nr:1
we fvuckin deserve it. they had their luck its our turn. avram sucks but fvuckit i wanna win the CL.
GO CHELSEA
38. loyaday
well anelka, if grant was buying a car he would but a scoda (pre wall type)chelsea looked past theri sell by jaded no ideas, looking forward to sun seas and sex on a beach, football and winnning jsut for supporters(sorry customers, or is spectators or clients) those who watch.LIVERPOOL played like ateam without aground or looking for owners who will pay the wages next season.
39. Brian
Go AG! He’ll take us to where Jose never could, the UCL final! Before everyone jumps down my throat if your honest you’ll know we played defensive footie under both managers, except now we might actually win it!
I also agree with putting Mikel instead of Maka, or Essien as a midfielder for Maka and keeping the same back 4. Finally, Cech was brilliant
40. BlueFan nr:1
about didier, i belive he was good but to alone upfront. he is not a god he did what he could eccept scoring. he did a good job in my eyes and i love him. i wanted to se mikel in the game then our midfield would be lot more stabil spec when babel was playing in the mid.
41. RomanEmpire
when Drogba and Anelka were both playing pisspoor footy, then why dun use Shevchenko pathetic grandfa Grant. This Grandfa hired by Roman just to give some confidence and refurnish the good old Sheva’s abilities, but he destroyed Sheva completely, gOd how cruel. Sheva is the man who makes the big difference in European nights atleast. gOd even Jose utilized Sheva effectively in UEFA, how many matches he saved for us, oh lets take Porto away goal and Valencia away goal in last year’s campaign. Funnily they will talk abt Kaka, Doka and all but if you treat a Sheva-The Legend like this, will any superstar have the desire to come to Chelsea. If Grant still stays as a Coach of Chelsea next season, I doubt that I will ever support Chelsea once again in my lifetime. Oh yes I knew club is most important than any individual, but I also knew when the Club doesn’t care about majority of fans and keeping this piss-poor man as a coach just bcoz he is the friend of the owner then its not for me, period.
then coming to the match, its pain to watch Chelsea now a days. Their clueless attacks, all mistimed passes, comedy defending, blah blah, still we got such an undeserved goal gifted from the Heavens of Football. But yes, still I don’t believe we are favs to reach the finals when I think of Wigan kinda performances, so to me it’s very open and 50-50 but honestly I think its 49-51. Coz I don’t have any clue where our goals will come from, even against Arsenal luckily Drogba single handedly saved us, but for them Torres and Gerrad can change the game in any second. Liverpool plays with their heart out with more sprit, but we know about our Chelsea guys they always think its some fashion parade and do some catwalks.
42. Nihongo Blue
i do not have much problem with drogba as carrighar was excellent.. he didnt let him move anywhere. He did quite ok
43. AGfriend
Well based on the last visit to SB liverpool drew 0-0 and was unlucky not to have scored through a Crouch.
I have a feeling this CL draw is not yet a foregone conclusion, yes advantage is chelsea’s, but sooner or later liver may score in SB and if they score first , that’s it.
Not impressed at all with the so called “freedom given to the players, to express themselves” that the toad claimed before the game.
But if Luck and it seems destine is on the side of the toad again, Liver can kiss it good buy.
what a woeful performance. thoroughly undeserved - AG was bewildered all night
| Quote This Comment | Add Comment | Go To Top | Back To Home | Gravatar | BC Shout | BBC Radio | Refresh |