by Jonathan Northcroft
It is normal for managers to make videos of opponents to show to their own players. Rafael Benitez has one of Didier Drogba he screens for Jamie Carragher and colleagues, but he would really like Europe’s referees to watch. It’s not a tribute movie. Benitez is still smarting over the striker’s antics at Anfield and is worried, unless there is different officiating, that the second leg of the Champions League semi-final with Chelsea could become another canvas for Drogba’s dark arts.
Not since the Beatles were playing to teenage girls in the Cavern Club has there been such dramatic swooning in Liverpool as Drogba managed on Tuesday. “He is amazing because he is massive [and yet goes down]. It is very impressive,” said Benitez with caustic sarcasm. He was careful not to use the word “diver”, wary of repercussions from the game’s authorities, but made it plain he does not think the striker is always being genuine when he tips from vertical to horizontal and claims a foul. Benitez was sore about the number of free kicks Drogba won and, with Chelsea scoring in the 95th minute, the amount of time added by Konrad Plautz, the Austrian referee, to account for Drogba treatment for “injuries”.
“With Drogba it is important to have a good referee. You can’t do anything [to stop him going down], but I will say it because it was so clear. Drogba was given seven fouls and [Fernando] Torres three. Torres has bruises all around his body. So from the first minute I was disappointed by the performance of the referee,” said Benitez. He is calling for Wednesday’s match official to be stronger with Drogba. “I have a lot of clips about him from over the years and he surprises me. I have shown them to some of the players. [Martin] Skrtel and Carra were really good against him, the only problem was the referee giving fouls.”
Thinking back to his first encounter with Drogba, the 2004 Uefa Cup final between his Valencia and Marseilles, Benitez said with a relishing nod: “Ayala knew what to do.” Roberto Ayala steamrollered Drogba in the opening seconds of the game, Drogba was generally subdued and Valencia won 2-0. One-nil would do Liverpool on Wednesday and what Torres does will be just as important as Drogba’s actions when the sides meet for the 20th time in four years. Liverpool’s last goal at Stamford Bridge was in January 2004, before Benitez arrived. “Always, statistics are for breaking,” the manager said.
He and his squad are intent on treating their eight goalless games on Chelsea’s turf less as a form guide than as an anomaly that cannot endure. “Our idea will be to score more than one and guarantee everything is okay,” said Benitez boldly. “We don’t have anything to fear,” said Ryan Babel. “We feel we will definitely score down there,” Steven Gerrard said. The collective confidence is down to two factors. One, Liverpool believe they outplayed Chelsea, not just on Tuesday but in two previous draws this season, and that the Londoners are just not as impermeable under Avram Grant as under Jose Mourinho. In Gerrard’s words: “The difference is we’ve never gone to Stamford Bridge with Torres before. You will always have a chance with a player like Fernando. He has been superb for us all season.”
Torres had his first poor big-game performance for Liverpool on Tuesday (in two forgettable stints against Manchester United he suffered from lack of supply) but Benitez said: “He’s very strong, mentally, don’t worry. He will do well in the next game.”
In February, Torres missed a goalless draw in west London and Peter Crouch, leading Liverpool’s attack, missed three opportunities, while Dirk Kuyt squandered a good position by mis-controlling when clean through. “I think it’s clear in that game we had chances and the other day we had chances and I’m sure Torres will score. Sometimes you must be really disappointed in the way everything is going, but we had our chances and played well and if we do the same again we’ll go through,” said Benitez.
He may not have beaten a supreme Petr Cech but Torres’s speed and the angles of his movement breached a Chelsea back four that does not appear as compact and unified as when Mourinho was marshalling it. Paolo Ferreira plays with less confidence than in his Mourinho era heyday, John Terry – nagged by injuries – with less mobility and Ashley Cole with less defensive assurance than his forerunner at left-back, William Gallas. Cole and Ferreira were stretched by Kuyt and Babel on Tuesday and Torres was able to elude Terry on one key first-half occasion. Cech denied him a goal but he scored from a similar burst while embarrassing Tal Ben Haim at Anfield in August.
Chelsea – albeit not by much – have conceded more goals per game this season than in the Mourinho campaigns and Liverpool, said Benitez, are better than when they defeated these opponents at the same stage in 2007 and 2005. “They are a very good team, but we were very good on Tuesday,” he added. We were better than them clearly. In some games they play deep and then play on the counter-attack but in this game we were controlling it and pushing them all the time,” said Benitez. Babel had a blunter view. At full-time he was seen in conversation with his former coach at Ajax and Grant’s No 2, the feisty Henk ten Cate. What did he say? “I told him that they were lucky,” said Babel. “He didn’t agree – he never agrees . . .”
Liverpool can talk about superiority and complain about Drogba as much as they like. The reality is John Arne Riise’s brainstorm put them in a more vulnerable position than at any point in their previous semi-finals with Chelsea. One clean sheet, to add to the seven they have already achieved in the Champions League, would send Wednesday’s home side to Moscow. Cech (“If not for him we might already be through,” mourned Gerrard) looks back to world’s finest goalkeeper standard after not being at his best for much of the season. Michael Essien will be back to help Claude Makelele close the game up. But Benitez does not believe uber-negativity will be possible. “The game will be more or less the same as at Anfield,” he said, “because I don’t see them waiting. You know what it is like, what it means with supporters, when you are waiting and playing counter-attack at home. If you concede a goal and lose, supporters will kill you. So I expect Chelsea to attack.”
Being caught in two minds is what Benitez hopes will be Chelsea’s downfall. If not, he may forever bear a bitterness towards the guy who just falls down.
Not since the Beatles were playing to teenage girls in the Cavern Club has there been such dramatic swooning in Liverpool as Drogba managed on Tuesday. “He is amazing because he is massive [and yet goes down]. It is very impressive,” said Benitez with caustic sarcasm. He was careful not to use the word “diver”, wary of repercussions from the game’s authorities, but made it plain he does not think the striker is always being genuine when he tips from vertical to horizontal and claims a foul. Benitez was sore about the number of free kicks Drogba won and, with Chelsea scoring in the 95th minute, the amount of time added by Konrad Plautz, the Austrian referee, to account for Drogba treatment for “injuries”.
“With Drogba it is important to have a good referee. You can’t do anything [to stop him going down], but I will say it because it was so clear. Drogba was given seven fouls and [Fernando] Torres three. Torres has bruises all around his body. So from the first minute I was disappointed by the performance of the referee,” said Benitez. He is calling for Wednesday’s match official to be stronger with Drogba. “I have a lot of clips about him from over the years and he surprises me. I have shown them to some of the players. [Martin] Skrtel and Carra were really good against him, the only problem was the referee giving fouls.”
Thinking back to his first encounter with Drogba, the 2004 Uefa Cup final between his Valencia and Marseilles, Benitez said with a relishing nod: “Ayala knew what to do.” Roberto Ayala steamrollered Drogba in the opening seconds of the game, Drogba was generally subdued and Valencia won 2-0. One-nil would do Liverpool on Wednesday and what Torres does will be just as important as Drogba’s actions when the sides meet for the 20th time in four years. Liverpool’s last goal at Stamford Bridge was in January 2004, before Benitez arrived. “Always, statistics are for breaking,” the manager said.
He and his squad are intent on treating their eight goalless games on Chelsea’s turf less as a form guide than as an anomaly that cannot endure. “Our idea will be to score more than one and guarantee everything is okay,” said Benitez boldly. “We don’t have anything to fear,” said Ryan Babel. “We feel we will definitely score down there,” Steven Gerrard said. The collective confidence is down to two factors. One, Liverpool believe they outplayed Chelsea, not just on Tuesday but in two previous draws this season, and that the Londoners are just not as impermeable under Avram Grant as under Jose Mourinho. In Gerrard’s words: “The difference is we’ve never gone to Stamford Bridge with Torres before. You will always have a chance with a player like Fernando. He has been superb for us all season.”
Torres had his first poor big-game performance for Liverpool on Tuesday (in two forgettable stints against Manchester United he suffered from lack of supply) but Benitez said: “He’s very strong, mentally, don’t worry. He will do well in the next game.”
In February, Torres missed a goalless draw in west London and Peter Crouch, leading Liverpool’s attack, missed three opportunities, while Dirk Kuyt squandered a good position by mis-controlling when clean through. “I think it’s clear in that game we had chances and the other day we had chances and I’m sure Torres will score. Sometimes you must be really disappointed in the way everything is going, but we had our chances and played well and if we do the same again we’ll go through,” said Benitez.
He may not have beaten a supreme Petr Cech but Torres’s speed and the angles of his movement breached a Chelsea back four that does not appear as compact and unified as when Mourinho was marshalling it. Paolo Ferreira plays with less confidence than in his Mourinho era heyday, John Terry – nagged by injuries – with less mobility and Ashley Cole with less defensive assurance than his forerunner at left-back, William Gallas. Cole and Ferreira were stretched by Kuyt and Babel on Tuesday and Torres was able to elude Terry on one key first-half occasion. Cech denied him a goal but he scored from a similar burst while embarrassing Tal Ben Haim at Anfield in August.
Chelsea – albeit not by much – have conceded more goals per game this season than in the Mourinho campaigns and Liverpool, said Benitez, are better than when they defeated these opponents at the same stage in 2007 and 2005. “They are a very good team, but we were very good on Tuesday,” he added. We were better than them clearly. In some games they play deep and then play on the counter-attack but in this game we were controlling it and pushing them all the time,” said Benitez. Babel had a blunter view. At full-time he was seen in conversation with his former coach at Ajax and Grant’s No 2, the feisty Henk ten Cate. What did he say? “I told him that they were lucky,” said Babel. “He didn’t agree – he never agrees . . .”
Liverpool can talk about superiority and complain about Drogba as much as they like. The reality is John Arne Riise’s brainstorm put them in a more vulnerable position than at any point in their previous semi-finals with Chelsea. One clean sheet, to add to the seven they have already achieved in the Champions League, would send Wednesday’s home side to Moscow. Cech (“If not for him we might already be through,” mourned Gerrard) looks back to world’s finest goalkeeper standard after not being at his best for much of the season. Michael Essien will be back to help Claude Makelele close the game up. But Benitez does not believe uber-negativity will be possible. “The game will be more or less the same as at Anfield,” he said, “because I don’t see them waiting. You know what it is like, what it means with supporters, when you are waiting and playing counter-attack at home. If you concede a goal and lose, supporters will kill you. So I expect Chelsea to attack.”
Being caught in two minds is what Benitez hopes will be Chelsea’s downfall. If not, he may forever bear a bitterness towards the guy who just falls down.
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