One thing for sure, Rafa won't react like this... ever!By Patrick Barclay
Last Updated: 1:43am BST 06/04/2008
Last Updated: 1:43am BST 06/04/2008
The view that Liverpool already have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals ignores, of all things, history, the very force that appears to have inspired them to punch well above their domestic weight in Europe of late. History can work against you too and, having experienced the unforgettable on Liverpool's ground in 1989, I'd say all Arsenal have to do is bring back Alan Smith and Michael Thomas for the second leg.
There is another proper match in prospect, too, at Stamford Bridge. Fenerbahce always seemed the most likely dark horses in the knockout stages and, while Deivid seldom prevails over Goliath, the threat to Chelsea on Tuesday will be authentic as long as the Brazilian keeps aiming his remarkable slingshots in the right direction. The Turks also bring Mateja Kezman back to the Bridge. It is a wonderful story they are writing and, when that equaliser from Colin Kazim-Richards, late of Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United, made the great Zico dance for joy in Istanbul, I bet I was not alone in having encountered a spine tremor: what you might call a Ronnie Radford moment.
Who would have thought it: the romance of the Champions League? But the spirit of the old European Cup really does live again, from time to time, once spring is sprung - and on Merseyside certainly there is a song to be sung. To hark back 19 years is only partly frivolous, because, as on that extraordinary night when George Graham's Arsenal snatched the English title from under Liverpool's noses (and were so sportingly applauded by the Kop), the home side will be cagey and the visitors obliged to take risks. Arsenal, moreover, have match-winners and a recent Anfield pedigree. Their technicians, led by Cesc Fabregas, will again appreciate the fast surface and tight confines.
On the other hand, it will be a European night and Liverpool have Steven Gerrard. With one brilliant intervention at the Emirates Stadium, the Liverpool captain changed the tie. The dribble past two men was exciting enough, but for a right-footed player to play such a pass for Dirk Kuyt with his left was a sign of true class, as Gerrard gleefully acknowledged with his come-and-hug-me celebration. When Gerrard scores, the finish is everything; when Gerrard assists, the finish is a mere adornment. But there has been enough moaning from this quarter about his individualism and, now that he has found a position in which its benefits can be reaped without damage to the team, both Liverpool and England can look forward to quite a harvest.
The other aspect that elevated last Wednesday's match was the contest for midfield supremacy between Fabregas and Javier Mascherano. At last Rafa Benitez has, in Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, a solid barrier in front of the back four. At the Emirates it appeared to have taken years off Sami Hyypia and it is the key to Gerrard's new liberty, which he may find frustrating at times because the nearer you get to the front of a team the more patient and tolerant an attacker must be. But this shape will next season, if the manager stays, take Liverpool closer to Gerrard's dream of the domestic title.
Already they can set themselves up to overcome just about anyone on the big European occasion: among their victims have been Barcelona, Juventus, Inter and Chelsea. What they need is more consistency and some will note that Liverpool's recent successes have coincided with a moratorium on team rotation. Equally Benitez could claim that regularly refreshing the side has brought the players to peak condition at this crucial stage of the European season (when Manchester United sagged fatally a year ago).
A balance, I suspect, is about to be struck and if next season sees a more expansive Liverpool, at least in their home matches in the Premier League, they could be contenders. Meanwhile another step towards a third Champions League final would bolster Anfield's faith and on Tuesday - again this is only a suspicion - there could be a role for Peter Crouch, given Arsenal's recurrent fallibility when defending in the air.
There is another proper match in prospect, too, at Stamford Bridge. Fenerbahce always seemed the most likely dark horses in the knockout stages and, while Deivid seldom prevails over Goliath, the threat to Chelsea on Tuesday will be authentic as long as the Brazilian keeps aiming his remarkable slingshots in the right direction. The Turks also bring Mateja Kezman back to the Bridge. It is a wonderful story they are writing and, when that equaliser from Colin Kazim-Richards, late of Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United, made the great Zico dance for joy in Istanbul, I bet I was not alone in having encountered a spine tremor: what you might call a Ronnie Radford moment.
Who would have thought it: the romance of the Champions League? But the spirit of the old European Cup really does live again, from time to time, once spring is sprung - and on Merseyside certainly there is a song to be sung. To hark back 19 years is only partly frivolous, because, as on that extraordinary night when George Graham's Arsenal snatched the English title from under Liverpool's noses (and were so sportingly applauded by the Kop), the home side will be cagey and the visitors obliged to take risks. Arsenal, moreover, have match-winners and a recent Anfield pedigree. Their technicians, led by Cesc Fabregas, will again appreciate the fast surface and tight confines.
On the other hand, it will be a European night and Liverpool have Steven Gerrard. With one brilliant intervention at the Emirates Stadium, the Liverpool captain changed the tie. The dribble past two men was exciting enough, but for a right-footed player to play such a pass for Dirk Kuyt with his left was a sign of true class, as Gerrard gleefully acknowledged with his come-and-hug-me celebration. When Gerrard scores, the finish is everything; when Gerrard assists, the finish is a mere adornment. But there has been enough moaning from this quarter about his individualism and, now that he has found a position in which its benefits can be reaped without damage to the team, both Liverpool and England can look forward to quite a harvest.
The other aspect that elevated last Wednesday's match was the contest for midfield supremacy between Fabregas and Javier Mascherano. At last Rafa Benitez has, in Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, a solid barrier in front of the back four. At the Emirates it appeared to have taken years off Sami Hyypia and it is the key to Gerrard's new liberty, which he may find frustrating at times because the nearer you get to the front of a team the more patient and tolerant an attacker must be. But this shape will next season, if the manager stays, take Liverpool closer to Gerrard's dream of the domestic title.
Already they can set themselves up to overcome just about anyone on the big European occasion: among their victims have been Barcelona, Juventus, Inter and Chelsea. What they need is more consistency and some will note that Liverpool's recent successes have coincided with a moratorium on team rotation. Equally Benitez could claim that regularly refreshing the side has brought the players to peak condition at this crucial stage of the European season (when Manchester United sagged fatally a year ago).
A balance, I suspect, is about to be struck and if next season sees a more expansive Liverpool, at least in their home matches in the Premier League, they could be contenders. Meanwhile another step towards a third Champions League final would bolster Anfield's faith and on Tuesday - again this is only a suspicion - there could be a role for Peter Crouch, given Arsenal's recurrent fallibility when defending in the air.
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