Liverpool have an uphill battle at Anfield on Tuesday night, because of an under-par performance by the players and their manager at lasts weeks encounter at Stamford Bridge.
The scoreline from the first leg is 1-0 to Chelsea but in the battle of the two managers, Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourhinho, the blues are also one up because of some not so easy to explain decisions by Benitez. Both managers really did their homework on the opposing teams and both did actually find the Achilles heal of the other team.
Mourhinho decided that Drogba one on one against Agger was a recipe for success and he was proved right, while Shevchenko led Carragher as far away from the action as he possibly could, effectively taking both men out of the game, Drogba tormented and got the better of Agger all night. Benitez also found Chelsea`s soft spot, their problematic right back position, filled this time by Paulo Ferreira. As soon as the game started Liverpool Fc attacked Ferreira`s position at every opportunity, because of Benitez`s team selection and his unwillingness to change his approach this Chelsea weakness was never fully exploited.
Before kick off, many Liverpool Fc fans, myself included were left feeling even more anxious about the big game when the Liverpool starting eleven was announced, two names were causing all this extra anxiety, Bolo Zenden and Craig Bellamy. Peter Crouch had been in great form leading up to this game while Bellamy had not really hit his best form since returning from injury, and as i think as everyone knew this would be a tight congested game, surly the extra option of a ball over the top for Crouch to set up play instead of continually trying to find that incisive, defence splitting pass would have had Chelsea more on the back foot.
But the name that screamed out the most from the starting eleven was Zendon`s, he has never been effective for Liverpool on the left, he was ok in the middle of the park, but at Stamford Bridge i hope he has proved to Benitez that he has no future at the club. He had by far the most attacking possession of the ball, more than any other player on the night and all he did was continually kick the ball at Ferreira while attempting crosses, it seemed like he thought the ball would eventually magically pass through Ferreira`s body. I think Benitez`s original plan was to play Finnan right back, Arbeloa left back and then push Riise forward in midfield to threaten the Chelsea right back position which would have put a lot more pressure on the home team, but Finnans absence threw these plans out the window resulting in Benitez having to find another solution for left midfield, and i believe this is where he made one of his biggest mistakes since he took the reins as Liverpool boss.
Benitez had three options to fill this so important left midfield spot, he chose Zendon and we all have seen the results of that decision, the next and probably what most people would have expected was Mark Gonzalez, he may seem a bit lightweight in the premiership but with his speed and skill he would have have caused Chelsea problems and would have done a much better job than Zendon. Rafa`s third choice for this position is the one i really wished he had gone for.
I think our most in form player over the last couple of games has been Jermaine Pennant, he really has improved since he got a bit of confidence and even though he is a right winger Rafa has in the last few games been tinkering with the idea of him playing on the left. Against Wigan Rafa changed Pennant to the left wing for a spell in the game and he was as effective on the left as the right even swinging in a great cross for Liverpool`s opener.
Whoever should have started Pennant Gonzalez or Zendon will always be up for debate but one thing that is not debatable was that Rafa`s inaction was a mistake, it was obvious to all that Zendon was not making any headway and was wasting most of Liverpool`s attacking chances and Rafa had these other options sitting on the bench but did not take the chance on Gonzalez`s inexperience or Pennant playing out of his natural position, but surly these were chances worth taking after he seen Zendon waste chance after chance.
This tie has swung in Chelsea`s favour but not by much, if Chelsea score at Anfield Liverpool will need three to win, but Liverpool also have a lot going for them in this second leg. A lot has been said about the Anfield roar and the twelfth man. Some is true some is not, Chelsea`s players are too experienced to become intimidated by the cauldron that is Anfield, but what the Kop can give is the most vital part of Liverpools game that was missing in Stamford Bridge, the fire in the belly, never say never attitude that has done so well against the worlds most expensivley assembled sides in the last few years.
Remember one thing, this is Liverpool Football Club and overcoming the odds has become a recent tradition in this clubs European adventures and overcoming a 1-0 deficit at Anfield is a lot easier than the challenges we faced on our way to lifting that cup in Istanbul. So expect to see the players ultra-motivated by a manager who has a very big point to prove.
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