Reds vs Blues – the English version

THE question on the lips of most football fans by now is if Liverpool can mount another legendary comeback against Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge tomorrow morning.

Bearing in mind Liverpool’s poor record against Chelsea (they have never scored more than two goals against the Blues in recent seasons), and the fact that Chelsea are playing at home, there is still widespread optimism that Liverpool can overcome these extraordinary circumstances to advance to the semi-finals.

But who can fault the optimism? After all, several factors do work in Liverpool’s favour – the Miracle of Istanbul, the memory of Hillsborough, and – not least – the fact that Chelsea conceded three goals in eight minutes against Bolton over the weekend.

If you were Rafa Benitez, what would be your line-up and strategy to beat Chelsea by three goals?

Or if you prefer to in Guus Hiddink’s shoes: what would be your strategy to shackle Liverpool, bearing in mind that Liverpool will probably find ways to circumvent Michael Essien’s shackling of Steven Gerrard?

What went wrong with Liverpool this morning?

FOR A team that has been riding high since the 4-0 mauling of Real Madrid in the Champions League last month, Liverpool’s stunning run was brought to an end early this morning with a 3-1 defeat by Chelsea at Anfield.

The Reds started brightly enough though, taking the lead in the 4th minute through Fernando Torres, but it soon fell apart soon enough.

What do you think was the main cause of Liverpool’s defeat? Was it the effective shackling of Steven Gerrard by Michael Essien, or was it the ineffective zonal marking when Liverpool defended its corners? Or maybe it was a poor performance for Lucas, who was deputising for the suspended Javier Mascherano?

On a side note, it could just be me, but Liverpool suffered another blip in their form after flying high in the previous games, straight after Rafa Benitez made comments about Sir Alex Ferguson.

In January, it was about Fergie’s influence on referees and the fixtures list, and recently it was about Fergie being scared stiff by a resurgent Liverpool. Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?

Has Hiddink really got the Chelsea dressing room under control?

Salomon Kalou and William Gallas – foes now, teammates next season?
(Picture: Reuters)

SALOMON Kalou has caused a stir among Chelsea and Arsenal fans by saying that he is a fan of Arsene Wenger and is very open to playing for the current Arsenal manager (see story here).

The 23-year-old made the comments right after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League, and hot on the heels of recent revelations of a fractured Chelsea dressing room under the reign of former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

While Didier Drogba has whined – one too many times – about wanting to leave in the past, and shocking rumours of a player mutiny (with Drogba, Petr Cech and Michael Ballack being fingered as the main culprits), Kalou is the first player outburst to come out of the Chelsea dressing room since the arrival of Guus Hiddink.