Champions League football has now been confirmed for another year. It was a mere formality getting honoured, as the feeling of ‘I’d rather be somewhere else’ could be read on every player’s face. Ironically such a formality was only concluded the hard way, the latest Liverpool fashion as the reds found themselves two goals down five minutes before the hour mark.

The big match is now looming ever closer and it will definitely be the antithesis of last Saturday. From all its contrasts to be expected, a similar score-line will be more than enough and will let the dream roll on and this strange season going.

Nothing is impossible with Liverpool F.C.

A solitary goal by Dirk Kuyt looked to have set the first tie, and earned Liverpool a slim but yet handy advantage that can be administered on their travels at Stamford Bridge in a week’s time. The solitary goal looked to have set the reds another European night to remember whereby the big progress of the side, since the first tie in rather similar circumstances back in 2005, was vivid.

It was another great team performance that oozed with hard work. Even though taking their time, to find properly their feet like they have done against Arsenal, once they did, they never looked back and controlled, at times veering on dominating the proceedings. The four minutes added time were not greeted by jeers and disbelief as like the six ones back in 2005. They were seen as an opportunity to consolidate and further the result. Fernando Torres shot almost vindicated such mentality, but one minute later, disaster struck. The basis of the work was still there, but the facelift got scratched by a still unfathomable own goal by the supposed fresh John Arne Riise. It was a mixture of bad luck, rashness and bad judgment whereby the defender used his head but not his brains.

The facelift has definitely been disfigured, and in dramatic circumstances but the basis has already been nailed on. Liverpool have twice overcome such opposition through sheer adrenaline and hope. Yesterday, the reds showed thought and skill, whereby what we used to call hope has certainly been promoted to belief. It is sad that Rafa’s post match conference has been used to rally the lads rather than congratulate them. And while the skill and thought has been definitely added, they have not replaced the adrenaline and determination we have seen in the past two encounters. Dirk Kuyt is the epitome of such, as out on the wing, he puffed, hurried, won balls and scored. Xabi Alonso had one of his better nights this season, as he sprayed the ball around like we know he can do, aided nonetheless by the Argentinean. The pairing of Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel had another good night, where the menace of Drogba was only evident in his usual antics.

It is now up to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stamp their authority in a week’s time. The basis is there, it is only the facelift that has been damaged, but it is far from irreparable. The latter has proved time and again, that he can make all the difference, and that records are only there to be broken. If anything, we have to keep this dream and season going, that is keeping us all away from the depressing situation at the boardroom.

As another European campaign is getting to its climax, in parallel circumstances Liverpool are still in the process of confirming their eligibility for next year’s campaign. A two-nil win at Craven Cottage has moved Liverpool one step closer to such target when realistically they were only a couple of steps away. Next year’s Champions League seems set to have the privilege of having Liverpool F.C. in.

It was a comfortable win, that betrayed any cliché that a side fighting relegation will be fighting for their life as the performance was as dire and reassuring as a Tom Hicks promise. Players who had been on the fringes for most of the season were given their chance, and they replied with an honest contribution, most notably the two scorers Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch. Still, I think it is safe to think that both have not yet earned a place in tomorrow’s line-up and will be only savouring the Anfield atmosphere from the bench.

It was a repeat of Anfield’s score-line back in November, but this time it didn’t require the entry of Fernando Torres late in the game to break the deadlock. On Saturday, the deadlock was broken as early as the seventeenth minute and Liverpool just spent the match administering such advantage rather than chasing.

In complete different circumstances Liverpool now face the task of building an advantage at home that can be administered at Stamford Bridge.

John 'Jack' Alfred Anderson (62)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron Snr (67)
Simon Bell (17)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
David John Benson (22)
David William Birtle (22)
Tony Bland (22)
Paul David Brady (21)
Andrew Mark Brookes (26)
Carl Brown (18)
David Steven Brown (25)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Joseph Clark 'Oey' (29)
Paul Clark (18)
Gary Collins (22)
Stephen Paul Copoe (20)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
James Philip Delaney (19)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Christopher Edwards (29)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)
Barry Glover (27)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Philip Hammond (14)
Eric Hankin (33)
Gary Harrison (27)
Peter Andrew Harrison (31)
David Hawley (39)
James Robert 'Jimmy' Hennessy (29)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Gordon Rodney 'Goffer' Horn (20)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Thomas Howard (39)
Thomas 'Tommy' Anthony Howard (14)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Alan Johnston (29)
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Richard Jones (25)
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Lee Nicol (14)
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Henry Charles Rogers (17)
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Inger Shah (38)
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Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Kevin Tyrell (15)
Colin Wafer (19)
Ian David 'Ronnie' Whelan (19)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Graham John Wright (17)

Ninety brothers and six sisters that never returned.
Rest in Peace.

You'll Never Walk Alone.

Following the heights achieved on Tuesday, Liverpool reverted back to their earthly commitments hosting Blackburn Rovers at Anfield to honour their thirty-fourth Premiership fixture of the season. Liverpool must have been slightly hungover, and took their time to adjust themselves to the low gravity and contrast that such fixture presented compared to the yet again dramatically successful European quarter-final tie, but they went with their job in the same way most reds have probably gone on last Wednesday morning. Nothing special, nothing high flying, but enough to get through the day, and doing enough to earn their pay. The first half looked rather insipid and the 0-0 score-line did it justice and was probably akin to most reds productivity in the first hours of Wednesday morning, but then in the second half, Liverpool looked livelier, eventually breaking the deadlock on the hour mark.

It was Yossi Benayoun who won the ball when Blackburn looked to be averting the danger. Steven Gerrard was then the recipient, and with a quick one-two with Lucas, the captain infiltrated his way face to face with their keeper through the legs of Samba and coolly side-footing the ball into the net. The partnership between the captain and Fernando Torres was once again in action later on the match, as a perfect dipping cross by the former was met by the latter’s header that finished in the net, looked to confirm the three points to Liverpool, and with such a peace of mind, Rafael Benìtez substituted the thirty goal man so far with the sound of another standing ovation in the background.

In his five minute cameo, Andriy Voronin managed to get his name on the score-sheet, courtesy of a pass from the other out of favour John Arne Riise. He could hardly celebrate as he looked to do his ankle in the process, in what could easily be his last goal for Liverpool. A clean sheet was tainted by a Santa Cruz volley, but it only served to frustrate Jamie Carragher as another campaign of Champions League football looks to be on the way to be confirmed in the next one or two weeks.

‘Anfield produces the most glorious of European nights.’ Sometimes it feels a bit of a cliché. Whole books have now been written about them all, endless tales have been told, and in a way it might feel like a statement that The Beatles are the greatest ever band in the world, a confirmation of the obvious. On nights like yesterday though, more than a cliché or a confirmation of what we have already known, it was a reinvention of it all. It was like the Beatles putting out another whole album, and you’ve got your hands on it, and you’ve listened to this whole thing on your own for the very first time. There have been great nights at Anfield, that carried their own intensity but I dare say that no match had the same drama, subplots, anti-climaxes and explosion of yesterday. The two matches against Chelsea were magnificent in their own right, but on both occasions Liverpool got early goals, and administered the match in a way they never had to come from behind and were found in a position where everything looked completely lost. These European nights never seem to stop to amaze us all, to carry us through every type of emotion. A rollercoaster would be the first word that comes to my mind to describe it, but at the moment it feels like a hollow and common description that doesn’t do the night any justice. If yesterday’s match was a science experiment, I would say Liverpool would have defied gravity. After having the whole weight of the world crashing on Anfield by Adebayor’s goal, Liverpool reacted by scoring two goals, having every red at Anfield feeling like floating on thin air.

It started awry, and the away goal advantage was succumbed as early as the thirteenth minute. The force of gravity seemed to be having an effect as most reds seemed to be rooted on the ground, while Arsenal whizzed around. But then Sami Hyypia took centre stage. His movement in their penalty area bought him space, and as he connected with Steven Gerrard’s corner, he directed the ball to a place where Almunia felt unworthy to even try to dive to. Contrary to awry, the start of the second half was pretty much aligned on the right track, as Liverpool were imposing themselves into the match, looking to undo the balance of the tie. And after the first goal by the one that has been here, done it all, got the shirt and the medal in the process, it was the turn to the European apprentice to put his name on the score-sheet and Liverpool’s folklore. Finding himself in the penalty area surrounded with white shirts, he turned and just stabbed the ball into the net, once again leaving the opposing keeper rooted on his line.

It was a strike worthy of any match-winner, a good enough conclusion to any poem. But Theo Walcott had a long run that looked more as a marathon than a sprint. It was enough to open up for Adebayor and give the away goal advantage to Arsenal. One minute later though, the fresh Ryan Babel won a penalty and we had another contrast. After so much frenzied action, everything looked to set itself in slow motion as the captain took the whole responsibility from the penalty spot to restore Liverpool’s advantage and revert the despair into ecstasy. He did it with the expertise and conviction of someone betting his mortgage.

It was still not enough, as Babel won the race and tug with Cesc Fabregas to score Liverpool’s fourth, crescendoing the whole surreality of the night and confirming the already written name of Liverpool in the last four of the Champions League.

It was Oasis who used to claim of having the best B-sides, producing a whole album of them, which swaggeringly enough they called ‘The Masterplan’.
Talking about B-sides, the side that Benitez put on today to face Arsenal on their own turf, having eight changes from the one that started three days earlier, and including the debuting Damien Plessis, could just be called that. Certain names have probably confused the on looking Tom Hicks. And like most B-sides on the mentioned Oasis album, it did not disappoint at all, made us nod in appreciation of the simplicity of it all, and finally applauding the 1-1 creditable draw it earned, in the process paving the way to their more illustrious squad members to finish the job, and stamp their authority at the finale of this trilogy in less than a week.

It was the out of favour Peter Crouch who set the tone of the match, when he forced opposing keeper Manuel Almunia into a great save and got the first corner of the day. And it was only justice that he got on the score-sheet, shortly before half-time. Firstly nodding the ball to Yossi Benayoun after a long Pepe Reina spot kick, he received the ball again from the former, wrong-footed Gallas and drove an unstoppable and accurate kick at Almunia’s right. Apart from setting the tone of the match, the 6’7’’ one set the talking point of most post match rants between reds. Rafael Benitez is claiming that another contract only lacks his signing but the regular snubbing of him from the starting line-up is as enigmatic as Crouch himself – the very tall player who is weak in the air but defies gravity and is sometimes unplayable on the deck. It was Rafael Benitez who really put faith into him and from a relegated team and a ridiculed figure gave him the chance to prove himself with a big club. I understand his frustrations of not playing, and today in a true Liverpool way he answered Benitez with a man of the match display. Nothing is straight forward with Crouch though, and such a display will most probably still not be enough to get him a starting place in the big one next Tuesday, as today Rafa rotated for the sake of not rotating on next Tuesday. Still, the sight of him warming up come next Tuesday could give Arsene Wenger the jitters.

Tuesday is now ever so close, and psychologically this was another boost for Liverpool. With all three scores so far as equal as George Orwell’s animals, it could well be another draw that will be more equal than others.

A total of eleven draws has been blamed as the scourge of Liverpool’s Premiership campaign, losing twenty-two points in the process and surrendering a proper challenge on the title as early as the turn of the year. Yesterday though, the 1-1 draw can hopefully be looked at as the first big step by Benitez on his march to the last four in the Champions League and to eventually the city that hosts the Kremlin. Earlier, in the build-up of the match, Jamie Carragher argued that they owe themselves an Anfield chance. With such a result, the red men acquired that and more than that gave themselves a higher probability of finishing the job and advancing at their own home in the definitely unparalleled atmosphere that the lure of the European Cup can only offer.

It was a mixture of silk and steel, class and resilience that gave Liverpool the all important away goal. Steven Gerrard ran and wrong-footed a couple of Arsenal defenders, opening space in the process, then squaring the ball to the tireless Dirk Kuyt who with his usual perseverance poked the ball into the net. It was the least Kuyt has deserved for his season so far. Whilst his goal account admittedly resembles more of a student than of the hard worker he is, his industry has bought him time from his manager and fans, and such a goal coupled with its importance is on the way of redeeming his whole season.

Alongside this possible redemption, we had the renewal of Sami Hyypia’s stature. At thirty-four years of age and on his ninth season for Liverpool, this Finn is on the verge of penning another contract for Liverpool, a contract offered to him by a manager that some three years ago, thought someone like Mauricio Pellegrino could offer him a decent challenge to his place. Once again, Hyypia made himself big, intercepted with ease and coolness and made defending look beautiful to watch and observe. On days like yesterday, Houllier’s biggest legacy multiplies himself into a hammer that breaks everything that comes his way with the authority of an auctioneer hammering his mallet to confirm a successful bid.

This away goal advantage can be felt very slender, but coupled with the residing European’s Cup shadow lurking over Anfield underneath the floodlights, would have been bought by any red before yesterday’s kick-off. A passage to the semi-finals though, would be the only valid currency after next week’s final whistle.