And The Man Of The Match Is...

Right. I promised an article Richard Jolly from ESPNsoccernet.com did as a post-match thing from this morning CL clash that saw Liverpool play against Chelsea. So, here it is for your reading pleasure, which I am sure, Luis would love. Ahahahkz!!

Revenge is a dish best served stale

So it wasn't about revenge, or catharsis. It was about moving, rather cautiously, one step further towards the knockout stages of the Champions League. Opening day wins - particularly Liverpool's victory against Real Betis - gave the English sides breathing space. At a deafening Anfield, neither was in a mood to relinquish that hard-fought advantage.

The resulting stalemate, if not mutually acceptable, will certainly bring few complaints from Chelsea, the less adventurous and luckier. But for them, clean sheets are still more common than goalless draws are to Liverpool.

At such an early stage in the competition, this lacked the tension and finality of Chelsea's last trip to Anfield. But reminders, for the visitors, were everywhere; Rafael Benitez was presented with the European Cup by Lennart Johansson, theirs to keep after a fifth success. The matchday programme's nostalgia feature harked back a whole five months to May 3, the day Luis Garcia ended Jose Mourinho's hopes of retaining the Champions League.

If that wasn't enough, the Kop had a question for the visiting supporters. 'Where were you in Istanbul?' the home fans politely asked, adding 'We won it five times'. It did not require further definition.

Jose Mourinho has been busy stating that Liverpool are not the best side in Europe. There are two possible responses; is it sour grapes? Or as great a revelation as saying that Peter Crouch is quite tall? Liverpool are not the best side in Europe; that merely adds to their achievement in winning the Champions League.

Here, Chelsea added weight to the theories that Europe's outstanding team is AC Milan, or Barcelona, but they would have required official intervention to lose.

But after Garcia's goal in May, Chelsea will believe they are entitled to some good fortune. They certainly got it: Jamie Carragher's header struck William Gallas clearly on the arm. Referee Massimo de Santis denied the incandescent defender a penalty. It was the second plausible claim for a spot kick that the Italian had turned down; earlier Drogba appeared to trip Sami Hyypia.

It will provide further talking points for Mourinho and Benitez. The two managers were engaged in a lengthy conversation before kick-off until the discerning Portuguese made a rapid exit when Status Quo's Rockin' All Over The World came on the PA.

Benitez, meanwhile, had made a major decision of his own. Those who have despaired at Liverpool's meagre total of three Premiership goals would have been heartened by the sight of both Djibril Cisse and Peter Crouch in the starting eleven. Two forwards, but not 4-4-2; Crouch led the line alone while Cisse was stationed on the right.

That merely pitted him against William Gallas. Any pigeons on the flanks at Anfield were caught by the flying Frenchmen. After half an hour, Benitez switched Cisse to Liverpool's left, where he got more joy out of Paulo Ferreira. Oddly, he was back on the right for the second half.

The central figure, though, was the man who said no to Mourinho (twice). If not controlling the game, Steven Gerrard was certainly exerting enough of an influence to illustrate why Chelsea's summer rebuilding has twice focused on him. He is indisputably a very good player and arguably a great one; perhaps, though, more an individual capable of glorious goals and outstanding performances than someone capable of forging a great team.

A seeming determination to do everything himself displays an admirable sense of responsibility, but poses the question of whether he actually trusts his team-mates. Certainly, he is not always on the same wavelength as them, though the comment is equally applicable to Cisse and Garcia at times.

It's not something that could be said of Dietmar Hamann, though the German's appearance prompted the thought that his unselfish heroics in Istanbul may have made Benitez pigeonhole him as a Champions League player. He proved as quietly effective as ever; on several occasions, he even advanced beyond Alonso, leaving the Spaniard in the anchor role. Alonso, with two clean strikes from distance, was as near to a late winner as anyone though, in all honesty, he never threatened to beat Petr Cech.

In the final minutes, Didier Drogba, whose major contributions after the interval were defensive, took an age to be substituted, allowing Robert Huth to be an ever taller addition to the defence.

Arjen Robben, who was semi-fit on his last outing at Anfield, has been subdued ever since; he briefly stirred himself to skip inside Hyypia and whip in a shot that Jose Reina tipped over acrobatically. Otherwise, the Dutchman was anonymous and Damien Duff little livelier.

It meant that, ruthless, relentless and remorseless as they are in the Premiership, Chelsea did not win for the first time this season; could Europe yet provide the shot in the arm for the domestic title race? In truth, winning rarely seemed a concern in the second half, when the closest they came was from a misdirected Carragher header - his sole error of the game - that Jose Reina reached before Duff.

But come the second half of the double-header between the Premiership and European champions on Sunday, their incentive will be greater. Time for the real Chelsea to stand up - invincible or merely unambitious?

MAN OF THE MATCH: Xabi Alonso - The Basque's unhurried excellence with the ball at his feet provided a welcome contrast to most others; after an early booking, his tackling was immaculate, too.

MOAN OF THE MATCH: The home fans had no doubt. 'Boring, boring Chelsea', they chanted. Well as Mourinho's men defended, they had a point.

LIVERPOOL VERDICT: Excellent in most aspects of the game, but they still lack that cutting edge.

CHELSEA VERDICT: Defensively excellent, but uninventive in the extreme; perhaps time for Duff and Robben to make way for Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

FOOD WATCH: A top quality spread. In the interests of research, I opted for one of everything.

Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Me, me, me!! I'm Man of The Match!! Actually, I thought it would be Crouch, since he was a great help to the attack but okay lahh, if Richard Jolly says it's me then me lahh...

Ahahahkz!! And I've got the feeling that yesterday's commentator Mark Richmond, has a thing going on for Xabi. You can tell by the way Richmond talks everytime Xabi touches the ball.

"It's Hamann to Xabi Alonso. Wonderful work there by Alonso. Now to Carragher, back to Alonso. Alonso's been fabulous in his passing & well-timed tackles....blah, blah, blah..."

And so Richmond goes on. Ahahahkz!! Listen for yourselves the next time CL is showing live on Channel 5 when Liverpool is playing. That guy has lots to say about Xabi. Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course. *winks*

Laterz...
Lenny JC