Football, Sports, and all that Jazz: History Maker

History Maker

by vetriciawizach on Rabu, 30 April 2008

Will Liverpool score at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 4 years? Will Chelsea go to the final for the first time, ever? Well...both are happening at the same time.

Good gracious, my hands still trembling. I can’t continue to write.

[Sigh]

Okay. Here we go.

From scale 1 to 10, I would rate this game with an 8. Far...far more interesting than the other semi. More goals. More drama. More passions. More movie-material things. And whoever said that the game is going to be dull must’ve been deluded. I don’t care how many world class players that MU and Barca have, but the world class game absolutely happen in today’s game. I mean, how can you even compare a total 1 goal for 2 games to 7 goals?

Hmmm....maybe I exaggerate it a little. After all, this is coming from a fan.

Well…IMO this is how the game played.

In the first half Chelsea outplayed Liverpool.

Misunderstandings happen among Liverpool players, hence many inaccurate passes happens. Lack of pace and lack of spirit was also becoming a problem. So, it wasn’t a surprise when the first goal came. Another mistake from the defender and along came Drogba. 1-0. Fair outcome.

At the second half, the reds brought the game to a higher level. I don’t know what Benitez or maybe Gerrard said at half time, but they definitely play it with a different pace and a different attitude.

A brilliant strategy came from St. Rafa. He changes position by placing Kuyt at the left and Bena at the right, something I’ve never seen before for sure. And the gambling paid of. Bena makes a tremendous run and give a wonderful pass to Torres. Well, you could never over-rate Torres. With a simple touch, but deadly of course, he placed the ball to the right side of the net. 1-1.

And the real semifinal begin.

Chelsea begins to strike back as Grant replaced Kalou with Malouda. Liverpool, at the other side, replaced Bena with Pennant. It wasn’t a shock. Pennant played well against Birmingham and Fulham, plus he’s a wonderful passer too. But nothing serious happens. Both teams create chances but the goalkeeper played well too. So, 1-1 remains until the ref blew his whistle. (Hmmm…somehow I made it sound so simple, but actually the tension is increasing. Both could never afford to be conceded, and the result…..my heart beat ten times faster that usual.)

And the drama began at extra time.

Rafa started another gamble, replacing Torres with Babel. Whilst Grant replaced one of Chelski players with Anelka. (sorry, I wasn’t paying any attention to Chelski). Liverpool and Chelski have their opportunity, and Chelski grabbed the hell out of it.

Essien, again, was taking advantage out of the defender mistake, creating a powerful goal. But………the referee said no. Three players were offside. And the lino already pulls the flag before Essien kicked the ball.

And if you think the drama is over, you got it all wrong.

One minute later the ref gave Chelsea a penalty due to a late tackle from Hypia at the penalty box. And I said: “Man…you’ve sent us to heaven only to pull us back to the ground, ref”. But it’s a fair decision. Lampard takes the penalty, scored, and do the I-love-you-mom-this-is-four-you things. Well done by him.

Cut to the chase, Chelsea scored again. With a fine pass from Anelka, Drogba showed that he’s more than a whiny player. Scoring 17 goals, he’s now Chelsea’s top scorer at the UEFA CL. Actually, Anelka’s position was a little bit offside when he made the pass. It’s a close call but the linesman failed to notice. 3-1. And I’m down on my knees starting to pray.

At the second extra time the tension was downed. With a 2 goals ahead, Chelsea focused on their defense but once in a while come out to attack. But Liverpool won’t give up on the game yet. From a long distance Babel makes a shoot and Cech makes a mistakes. 3-2. The flair is rising again. Alonso, Gerrard, even Carra desperately penetrate Chelsea defense system.

But there’s no enough time. 3-2 remains and Chelsea is now the history maker.

Overall…it’s a wonderful game to be seen, and both team deserved to win. But we all know, that only one could. Unfortunately, it’s the blues who won the gamble.

But the reds boys should held their head up high. They fought bravely. They won’t give up. They set a game to a higher level and they’ve showed United and Barca that this is how a UCL semifinal should be.

After all, this is a blazing year for them. Against Porto, Marseille, and Benfica they showed us that no matter how small it is…the hope is still there. And you should never loose faith. They even create an 8-0 history along the way. Against Inter, Arsenal and Chelsea they showed courage and a never give up attitude. That fortune always favors the brave!

Fare well my red lads. We’re going to come back next years and get to final for the third time under Rafa’s guidance.

YNWA!

My usual unimportant comment:

1. Poor Mourinho. He left as a hero to the fans, but only to see his successor succeeded. People can say anything they want to Grant, but he actually brings Chelski to the final stage (both at UCL and EPL). Salute!

2. When Chelsea was given a free kick near Liverpool penalty box, Drogba and Ballack are standing together. And I said: Hey, aren’t the two of you supposed to be fighting? He he..

3. Drogba...drogba. I think he has learned from his mistakes. No more theatrical act this time. Whenever the ref blew the whistle against him, he only smiled. Good for you.

4. What happen between Torres and Terry? What’s up with that ear pulling thing?

5. For 4 years Liverpool didn’t know what it takes to score at Stamford Bridge. But now they do. It was Babel and Torres who made the different. The Bridge?? Naaah…not so scary anymore.

6. Before the game I was thinking, between Lampard and Riise which one would create a drama? Riise could pay his mistakes and creates a goal with his head. At the other sides there’s Lampard, who could play this strong figure and overcome his grief with a victory goal. And one of it happened. It was Lampard who did it.