How Liverpool and Chelsea rated in Europe ?
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How Avram's 10-man trick got Lampard and co in the mood for Liverpool showdown
Magic moment: Avram Grant drops to his knees after Chelsea's victory over Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final last year.
Minutes remain before the most daunting fixture of the season and inside the Stamford Bridge dressing room Chelsea's players are asked to turn their attention to the tactics board one last time.
Avram Grant organises his magnets in the formation he wants his side to employ. The formation he tells them will finally conquer the Liverpool team that has become their nemesis in the Champions League. But there's a problem and Michael Ballack is the first to notice. 'Boss,' he cries, 'are we only playing with 10 men?'
'I'm glad to see someone is paying attention!' replies Grant before everyone collapses with laughter. For Chelsea's then manager it was mission accomplished. A very deliberate ploy to suck all that tension out of the room. 'After losing to Liverpool in Europe for the previous years it was not just a tactical battle but a psychological one,' recalled Grant yesterday.
'I needed to find a way of relaxing the players. I knew they were nervous. So I had this idea beforehand to play a trick with the tactics board and it worked perfectly.'
While the two defeats against Liverpool under Jose Mourinho had clearly taken their toll, Grant was faced with an additional problem in the build-up to the second leg of last year's semi-final. Whether to select Frank Lampard at a time when he was still reeling from the shock of losing his mother Pat.
'I remember Henk Ten Cate coming up to me and saying, "Avram, you'd better get this decision right because we're talking about the biggest game in Chelsea's history". '"Thanks Henk," I said. "That really helps".
'But he was right, and playing Frank was a tough call. The death of his mother had affected him deeply. He hadn't trained. He hadn't played. He'd missed the win against Manchester United the weekend prior to the tie.
'But I talked to him the day before the game. He was still very depressed. But sometimes sadness can be a kind of energy and I decided he needed to play as much as we needed him to play.'
Lampard was outstanding, crowning a fine display with the penalty that was so memorably followed by that emotional goal celebration. A look to the stars and a salute to his father.
In Grant's opinion, his contribution was one of a number of reasons why Chelsea won and something Guus Hiddink should reflect on.
'Tactically, Rafa Benitez is very good and that was something Mourinho did not quite appreciate,' said Grant, who still hopes to return to the Barclays Premier League.
'He simply thought he was better than Benitez, and because he thought he was better he lost.
'One of Liverpool's great strengths is the way Benitez organises them as a team. They work for each other. But we applied some very simple ideas. 'You have to dominate them. That's the first thing. But we also focused on key areas and, more important, key individuals.
'Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard work brilliantly together and even when Torres is not at his best he can still produce a great goal out of nothing. He did that at Stamford Bridge that night and took the game into extra time. He's one of the best strikers I have ever seen and I tried very hard to get him to Chelsea.
'But, if you can put pressure on Gerrard, you can make it more difficult for Torres and that night Claude Makelele did a great job. He made it hard for Gerrard and John Obi Mikel must do the same.'
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He sure likes to get himself in the news eh?
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what he says isnt wrong at all.
Well he just didnt had enough time at Chelsea i guess.
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Avram was better then Scolari @ the bridge.
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How Liverpool rated in Europe?
THIS is how Liverpool rated in their Champions League first-leg defeat to Chelsea at Anfield.
PEPE REINA
THE Spanish stopper stood tall and made a crucial save when Didier Drogba was clean through early on. But he had no chance with any of the goals. Found himself exposed more than once — yet that was down to the Reds’ shoddy defence rather than his failings. Rating: 6
ALVARO ARBELOA
HAS been the most improved player in the Liverpool side this year and last night he was once again outstanding. Delivered a great low cross for Fernando Torres’ opener and went close to a shock goal himself with a curled effort. Rating: 7
JAMIE CARRAGHER
A COUPLE of rare errors but is still the mainstay of the Anfield defence. Made one superb intervention to scoop a Drogba chance over the bar but struggled against the Ivory Coast striker’s pace. Rating: 6
MARTIN SKRTEL
THE big Slovak will be unhappy at failing to spot Branislav Ivanovic’s run when Chelsea equalised. He was also decidedly shaky at times in the second half. Will never win any awards for style but at 6ft 4in does add the necessary muscle to the Reds’ backline. Rating: 5
FABIO AURELIO
DID not exactly get the runaround off Salomon Kalou but at times struggled against the Ivory Coast winger’s lightning quick feet. Defensively, the Brazilian can still look suspect at times but has a great left foot — he just did not get too many chances to show it as the Blues poured forward. Rating: 5
LUCAS
LOOKED all at sea at times in the first half, coughing up possession needlessly when it needed a cool head to put a foot on it. Javier Mascherano was definitely missed and the real surprise was that he lasted 79 minutes before being hooked off. Rating: 3
STEVEN GERRARD
THE Anfield skipper was strangely subdued in the first half, even though a trademark charge into the box caused panic. He did give his side the platform for the opener and came into things a lot more after the break.But he could have marked better for the second goal. Rating: 6
XABI ALONSO
KNOCKED some delightfully shrewd passes around but guilty of going for the glory ball on occasions. He was also caught on his heels and muscled out of the way when Ivanovic took full advantage of Liverpool’s zonal marking to equalise from a corner. Rating: 5
ALBERT RIERA
LIVERPOOL desperately needed an outlet down the left but Riera — unlike much of the season — looked more like the man who flopped at Manchester City than the one who has done so well at Anfield. Much of the match passed him by. No surprise to see him the first hauled off.Rating: 4
DIRK KUYT
ONCE again the Dutch workhorse ran himself into the ground. He chased everything and produced a delightful flick in the build-up to Torres’ opener. But he wasted a glorious opportunity to restore the Reds lead when clean through a minute after the leveller. Rating: 6
FERNANDO TORRES
YOU could almost smell the fear in the Chelsea ranks every time the Spanish hotshot touched the ball. The Kop striker produced a marvellous finish on the spin to give his side a sixth-minute lead and was a constant threat every time he got possession. Rating: 8
SUBSTITUTES:
YOSSI BENAYOUN (for Riera)
Thrown on as desperate measure but struggled to make a real impact. Rating: 5
ANDREA DOSSENA (for Aurelio)
Gave the side more of an attacking focus but, by then, it was a lost cause and failed to impress. Rating: 4
RYAN BABEL (for Lucas)
The Dutchman got only a few minutes to show his skills — and failed. Rating: 5
NOT USED: Cavalieri, Agger, Hyypia, Ngog.
BOOKED: Aurelio.
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CHELSEA SMILE ... Blues celebrate the equaliser
CHELSEA enjoyed one of their finest European nights with a stunning 3-1 success at Anfield. Here's how their players rated:
PETR CECH
UNUSUALLY busy time for the keeper in the opening 15 minutes of the game. Had no chance with the Reds goal but did well on three occasions soon afterwards. Once Chelsea were ahead he looked a comfortable man in every situation and was rarely troubled. Rating: 6
BRANISLAV IVANOVIC
PREFERRED to Michael Mancienne for his performance at right-back against Newcastle last weekend. Looked very comfortable in defensive mode but made his name with a winding run and leap to head the equaliser in the first half before scoring a second to silence Reds fans. Rating: 8
ALEX
MADE a mistake with a poor clearance early on which set up the Torres goal and he then failed to close down the space on the striker. Looked shaky at set-pieces after that but tried his best to atone at the other end, making a nuisance of himself at corners. Rating: 5
JOHN TERRY
FOUND himself covering for Alex when the Brazilian was caught out of position. Held the line well though. Exposed when Kuyt found a way round him before the break but recovered his composure. Unfairly booked and misses second leg. Rating: 7
ASHLEY COLE
STRANGE performance from the left-back, who looked in two minds for much of the game. From the outset he seemed unable to decide whether he would attack or defend. Went missing on a few occasions when Kuyt got in behind him but steadied as the game wore on. Rating: 6
MICHAEL BALLACK
SHOULD have put his stamp on a game that was played mostly through the centre but failed to get a grip in the first half. That changed after the break and he supplied the wide balls for Kalou and Malouda which then resulted in the third goal. Rating: 6
FRANK LAMPARD
RAN himself into the ground carrying, passing and making his team play to the tempo the game needed. It was his corner to Ivanovic which provided the crucial second goal but his superb all-round play was the key to this stunning Blues performance. Rating: 8
MICHAEL ESSIEN
THE unsung hero. Was asked to keep Gerrard quiet but silenced him completely. Even when the Liverpool skipper went wide Essien was his shadow. And when Blues had the ball he tried to get a shot in. Rating: 9 (DREAM TEAM STAR MAN)
FLORENT MALOUDA
RARELY in the game before the 22nd minute when Drogba set him up and his shot went just wide of Reina’s goal. He was quiet for spells but when it mattered he showed and it was his bullet cross which set up the Drog for the third goal to kill the game off. Rating: 7
DIDIER DROGBA
LOOKED sharper than he has all season and was desperately unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in the first half. He never lost confidence and kept putting himself in the line of fire before he did score a brilliant third to cap a great night. Rating: 8
SALOMAN KALOU
STUTTERED through the match, collecting the ball and running at Liverpool from the right. There were moments when he looked dangerous and others when he was just ineffective. But he stretched play when needed and provided a threat when the space opened up. Rating: 6
SUBSTITUTES:
NICOLAS ANELKA (for Drogba)
USED to give the Drog a rest as the Blues looked to close the game out and held the ball up well enough for the short time he was on the pitch. Rating: 6
NOT USED: Hilario, Carvalho, Belletti, Mancienne, Mikel, Deco.
BOOKED: Kalou, Terry.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
How Liverpool rated in Europe?
THIS is how Liverpool rated in their Champions League first-leg defeat to Chelsea at Anfield.
PEPE REINA
THE Spanish stopper stood tall and made a crucial save when Didier Drogba was clean through early on. But he had no chance with any of the goals. Found himself exposed more than once — yet that was down to the Reds’ shoddy defence rather than his failings. Rating: 6
ALVARO ARBELOA
HAS been the most improved player in the Liverpool side this year and last night he was once again outstanding. Delivered a great low cross for Fernando Torres’ opener and went close to a shock goal himself with a curled effort. Rating: 7
JAMIE CARRAGHER
A COUPLE of rare errors but is still the mainstay of the Anfield defence. Made one superb intervention to scoop a Drogba chance over the bar but struggled against the Ivory Coast striker’s pace. Rating: 6
MARTIN SKRTEL
THE big Slovak will be unhappy at failing to spot Branislav Ivanovic’s run when Chelsea equalised. He was also decidedly shaky at times in the second half. Will never win any awards for style but at 6ft 4in does add the necessary muscle to the Reds’ backline. Rating: 5
FABIO AURELIO
DID not exactly get the runaround off Salomon Kalou but at times struggled against the Ivory Coast winger’s lightning quick feet. Defensively, the Brazilian can still look suspect at times but has a great left foot — he just did not get too many chances to show it as the Blues poured forward. Rating: 5
LUCAS
LOOKED all at sea at times in the first half, coughing up possession needlessly when it needed a cool head to put a foot on it. Javier Mascherano was definitely missed and the real surprise was that he lasted 79 minutes before being hooked off. Rating: 3
STEVEN GERRARD
THE Anfield skipper was strangely subdued in the first half, even though a trademark charge into the box caused panic. He did give his side the platform for the opener and came into things a lot more after the break.But he could have marked better for the second goal. Rating: 6
XABI ALONSO
KNOCKED some delightfully shrewd passes around but guilty of going for the glory ball on occasions. He was also caught on his heels and muscled out of the way when Ivanovic took full advantage of Liverpool’s zonal marking to equalise from a corner. Rating: 5
ALBERT RIERA
LIVERPOOL desperately needed an outlet down the left but Riera — unlike much of the season — looked more like the man who flopped at Manchester City than the one who has done so well at Anfield. Much of the match passed him by. No surprise to see him the first hauled off.Rating: 4
DIRK KUYT
ONCE again the Dutch workhorse ran himself into the ground. He chased everything and produced a delightful flick in the build-up to Torres’ opener. But he wasted a glorious opportunity to restore the Reds lead when clean through a minute after the leveller. Rating: 6
FERNANDO TORRES
YOU could almost smell the fear in the Chelsea ranks every time the Spanish hotshot touched the ball. The Kop striker produced a marvellous finish on the spin to give his side a sixth-minute lead and was a constant threat every time he got possession. Rating: 8
SUBSTITUTES:
YOSSI BENAYOUN (for Riera)
Thrown on as desperate measure but struggled to make a real impact. Rating: 5
ANDREA DOSSENA (for Aurelio)
Gave the side more of an attacking focus but, by then, it was a lost cause and failed to impress. Rating: 4
RYAN BABEL (for Lucas)
The Dutchman got only a few minutes to show his skills — and failed. Rating: 5
NOT USED: Cavalieri, Agger, Hyypia, Ngog.
BOOKED: Aurelio.
Lucas rated 3?
I thought will be 1 or 2...
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lucas should get a negative
plus a flight back to brazil... if that's where he is really from.
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think the whole liverpool players should be rate -0!!
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Originally posted by Jffdevil:
think the whole liverpool players should be rate -0!!
Are you retarded? Theres no such thing as -0.
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Originally posted by sand king:
Are you retarded? Theres no such thing as -0.
the question needs no answer
are u sure u guys want fans like these?