Chelsea and Liverpool in scoreless draw
A Champion's League semi-final it may bave been,
but the match between Chelsea and Liverpool resembled nothing more than an
early-season Premiership game.
Chelsea start extremely cautiously, and Liverpool
don't look quite dangerous enough to cause real problems. Cole is causing
trouble for the Liverpudlian defense down the right side. Drogba misses a chance
in the 14th minute, shooting wide. In the 19th, Gerrard walks it into a
dangerous position, but Petr Cech saves well at short range. Both teams are
sharing the possession, but the two defenses are holding. In the 22nd, it is
Lampard who misses from the edge of the 6-yard box after a nice series of
Chelsea passes.
As the half wears on, the battles become a little more physical. Both sides are frustrated at the lack of scoring, as are we, the viewers. Cech saves in the 39th off a Baros head flick, the Chelsea keeper is playing extremely well. In the 43rd, it is John Terry's chance to mis-fire off a deflected Tiago cross. As the half ticks away, Liverpool seem happy to take a tie score into the locker room. Increasingly, the pressure is on Chelsea to find a way through, since this is a home game and next week's second leg is in Liverpool.
In the second half, the game recovers some of the pace it lost at the end of the first. In the 50th, Joe Cole dances in on the right but holds it a little too long and coughs up the ball close to the goalie. Dutch striker Arjen Robben comes on for Chelsea, and Djibril Cisse replaces Baros for Liverpool, both in an effort to score a late goal. However, the two teams are effectively cancelling each other out at every position. Strong defending by Jamie Carragher for Liverpool is keeping them in it. Chelsea's usually miserly defense is also doing its job. Chelsea's Gudjohnse is too far withdrawn to threaten effectively.
Towards the conclusion, slopiness creeps into the game, as Liverpool try to kill time and Chelsea unsuccessfully search for high gear. It ends tied at zero, a disappointing finish, but setting up a great second leg next week at Anfield.
As the half wears on, the battles become a little more physical. Both sides are frustrated at the lack of scoring, as are we, the viewers. Cech saves in the 39th off a Baros head flick, the Chelsea keeper is playing extremely well. In the 43rd, it is John Terry's chance to mis-fire off a deflected Tiago cross. As the half ticks away, Liverpool seem happy to take a tie score into the locker room. Increasingly, the pressure is on Chelsea to find a way through, since this is a home game and next week's second leg is in Liverpool.
In the second half, the game recovers some of the pace it lost at the end of the first. In the 50th, Joe Cole dances in on the right but holds it a little too long and coughs up the ball close to the goalie. Dutch striker Arjen Robben comes on for Chelsea, and Djibril Cisse replaces Baros for Liverpool, both in an effort to score a late goal. However, the two teams are effectively cancelling each other out at every position. Strong defending by Jamie Carragher for Liverpool is keeping them in it. Chelsea's usually miserly defense is also doing its job. Chelsea's Gudjohnse is too far withdrawn to threaten effectively.
Towards the conclusion, slopiness creeps into the game, as Liverpool try to kill time and Chelsea unsuccessfully search for high gear. It ends tied at zero, a disappointing finish, but setting up a great second leg next week at Anfield.
Posted: Thu - April 28, 2005 at 11:14 AM
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Published On: Jun 13, 2006 12:00 AM
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Published On: Jun 13, 2006 12:00 AM