There were few errors, even less space, and beauty was almost completely absent. Well, what can be beautiful in that Javi Alonso rode his foot in the groin of Obi Mikelu, and Drogba endlessly cursed with Agger?
Two points, however, were remembered. The first is a surprisingly easy scoring attack by the hosts with Ricardo Carvalho, Drogba and Joe Cole. The Portuguese defender brought the exits from the defense, it seems, to the standard. He took the ball, ran a dozen meters, raised his head. Long gear - then Drogba will figure it out ...
And in the second half, Gerrard, corkscrew dodging in the air, shot into the far corner. Smartly, strongly, with a rebound from the lawn. The goal was Cech, and that’s why Gerrard’s goal will only be in the next game - or when the Liverpool captain hits the same great?
Probably in the first half, Jose Mourinho still defeated Rafa Benitez. After all, Chelsea had not only a goal, but also three good shots on goal, and Liverpool had none. And it is not only a matter of mathematics. The guests gave in to the little things. More precisely, in the little things. Agger and Carragher could not stand the pressure from Drogba. Here Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, for example, Makelele with Lampard in the center restrained. And Kate with his task - to hustle with Terry and Ricardo Carvalho - coped. But Carragher and Agger could not resist Drogba. And not only in the episode with a missed ball. Throughout the half.
After the break, Benitez switched from minimalism to primitivism. He deliberately simplified the attack by releasing Crouch instead of Bellamy. With this scheme, the game ran to the flanks. Consider the right flank of the Merseysiders - Gerrard was listed there only for the sake of accountability. But on the opposite wing, Zenden again showed up - unsophisticated, like a student ruler. The Dutchman used the left, the balls flew into the Chelsea penalty box, and the hosts felt slightly unwell. True, not so much that Cech missed.
But the Londoners had to defend themselves. Occasionally. Midfield in the absence of Ballack and Essien dipped a little, but withstood. The hosts could even score. But Marcus Merck did not pay attention to the manual illusion of Arbeloa in the penalty area.
In the last 10 minutes, the rivals remembered that they had known each other for a long time and had perfectly learned how dangerous it was to take risks. 1-0 - a normal score. And 0: 1 is also not bad. Now we can say in microphones that the chances of success are 50 to 50, and go to ponder how to achieve this success. In five days, they will arrive at the Anfield and will again skilfully compete with each other until someone misses someone. Whoever stumbles first will fall.
After the match, crowds of fans rushed to the Fulham Broadway metro station, where an additional entrance was opened on the occasion of the match. Chelsea fans gutted songs, the Liverpools from time to time answered the good-natured "f ... k off." A girl in a red and white cloak gestured animatedly on the platform. “Next time we will win!” She exclaimed, barely seeing the colors of Chelsea. “Good luck,” someone answered politely. “O'k,” an energetic cheerleader suddenly calmed down and jumped into the carriage. And in fact: why swear? They will see you very soon.
Vladimir STOGNIENKO, London
Chelsea - Liverpool - 1: 0 (1: 0)
Goal: 1: 0 - Joe Cole (29).
Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferrira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Obi Mikel, Lampard, Makelele, Joe Cole (Wright-Phillips, 85), Shevchenko (Kalu, 76), Drogba.
LIVERPOUL: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Riise, Gerrard, Xabi Alonso (Penant, 82), Mascherano, Zenden, Bellamy (Crouch, 53), Kate.
Warning: Mascherano (77).
25th of April. London. Stamford Bridge.
Judge: M. Merck (Germany).