Champions League LiveBlog: Liverpool v Chelsea

Liverpool and Chelsea are back at it again in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals with a spot in the final in Athens on the line. I’m liveblogging the full 90 minutes so come on in and join in the fun by leaving your thoughts, comments and rants before, during and after the game.

Final: Liverpool 1-1 a.e.t Chelsea (Liverpool 4-1 p.s.o)

Liverpool penalty #4 Dirk Kuyt knocks it in the corner and Liverpool advances on penalties 4-1.

Chelsea penalty #3 Gerimi stoned by Reina. Huge save again. 3-1 Livepool

Liverpool penalty #3 Steven Gerrard calmly hits it in. 3-1 Liverpool

Chelsea penalty #2 Lampard blasts it in. 2-1 Liverpool

Liverpool penalty #2 Xabi Alonso slide its under Cech. 2-0 Livepool.

Chelsea penalty #1 Robben is stoned by Reyna to the left. 1-0 Liverpool.

Liverpool penalty #1 Zenden first up against Cech. He burries it in the corner.

Penalties It is Peter Cech versus Pepe Reina. Both are quality keepers. Both capable of making a save. This is going to be something. They exchange a hug before getting it on.

120:00 After 210 minutes of action, Liverpool and Chelsea end up tied at 1-1. We go to penalties, a sure crapshoot, with the winner advancing to the Champions League final. The loser goes home. What a contest it has been. Not pretty, but the drama has been fabulous.

118:12 Fowler sets up Kuyt who takes his time before shooting it on goal. Cech punches it away.

117:29 Germi on, Makelele off. Robbie Fowler on, Mascherano off. Penalty shot changes.

117:03 Robben taken down by Mascherano outside the box and Chelsea will have a close in free kick from the left side of the area. Lampard takes it and it sails out.

115:00 Wright-Phillips adding pace out there for Chelsea on the right. Bellamy a non factor off the bench thus far. Wright-Phillips with a good ball and Drogba can’t find it. Close.

113:35 Watching two English teams take penalties could be interesting. At least an English team will win on penalties for a change. But still plenty of time before it comes to that.

112:38 Mourinho with a pen out writing on a paper. Maybe he is doing his order for penalties. Benitez on the other end is up and coaching like crazy.

110:57 Drogba contuing to lay down the wood on the Liverpool defense but unable to get a shot off. Both teams seem to be dragging a bit. Don’t blame them. It has been a long, physical game.

109:28 Poor free kick from Alonso is cleared away and on the other end Zenden gets a yellow on a professional foul

108:41 Zenden knocked down in the corner by Mikel and a foul is called. Dangerous free kick opportunity for Liverpool.

106:33 Kalou out and Shaun Wright-Phillips on for Chelsea. And the clock has returned to ESPN thank god.

106 Liverpool going towards the singing Kop end. Robben knocked to the ground and Chelsea gets a free kick.

105:01 Craig Bellamy on and Peter Crouch off for Liverpool. We’ll see if his fresh legs pay off.

105:00 And the first extra period comes to an end. Liverpool with the best opportunity on a goal by Kuyt called back. Will we see a goal in the next 15 or will we be heading to penalties?

105:00 One minute added time. Chelsea with a last free kick that is cleared away before the whistle.

104ish Drogba wins a corner. This is Chelsea’s 5th of the match. The crowd can’t watch. It is cleared away by Gerrard and Crouch.

104ish Robben takes the corner and it gets mixed around in the box before Reina controls it. Wow, a goal called off in extra time. That just adds to the drama of this match.

103ish Collina in the stands. Wonder if he would have called it that way. Kuyt was just off when Zenden took the shot and the linesman saw it all the way.

102ish Zenden with a strong shot on goal and Kuyt burries the rebound in the goal but he is called offside. The right call but heartbreaking for Liverpool fans.

100ish The fact there is no clock and the announcers aren’t announcing the time is pissing the hell out of me. Meanwhile, Mascherano and Kalou go at it and the Liverpool player comes out the better of it.

99ish Robben comes on for Joe Cole.

98 something Lampard has a long shot that doesn’t reach the area. Both teams playing conservatively. Kuyt breaks free but he is just offside. He got stoned by Cech anyway.

95 something ESPN has done away with a working clock on the screen for some reason so I will have to estimate the time. Very annoying.

94:25 Riise earns a corner and the quick take leads to a shot by Xabi Alonso.

93:49 No Champions League semifinals have ever been decided on penalties. If it does go to spot kicks I would have a hard time better against Cech.

92:21 Gerrard with a volley that is well off the mark. Both coaches looking sick. Both teams with that deer in the headlights look.

91:35 Zenden on the corner and Drogba is able to clear it out.

90:39 Liverpool moving away from the Kop end. They start on the attack with Chelsea content to play behind the ball. Corner to Liverpool.

90:01 My fingers are nearly bleeding, my stomach hurts and I am loving every minute of this. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comments. Will we head to penalties or will there be a hero before then? We shall find out in the next 30 minutes.

End of regulation These two teams haven’t played each other enough in the past few years so let’s go ahead and play another 30 minutes. What’s your prediction now?

90+ Two minutes of added time

90:00 Chelsea with a free kick that pushes their defense forward. This could be the final push before the whistle and it is cleared away without harm by Kuyt.

88:13 Liverpool fans looking like they will vomit in the stands. I feel the same way. Chelsea taking their time on the attack. Will we see a last minute miracle?

87:15 Zenden with a blast that is on goal and Cech does a good job controlling without a rebound.

85:07 Drogba gets sent into the box and Reina just does snap it out of the air before he can get a foot on it. Great keeping.

85:00 Lampard looks a strange shade of yellow on my tube. Maybe he has jaundice or maybe I need to adjust the color. Crouch called for a fall and then whines about it.

83:14 The free kick from 33m by Lampard goes well over the bar.

82:32 Just a pair of evenly matched teams trying to find an advantage somewhere. Still no changes in the lineup for Chelsea. Drogba wins a free kick from far out.

80:47 Weird cross in the box and Drogba shoves Reina away from the ball. He is called for the foul.

80:00 Exactly the type of drama a neutral fan loves. Ten minutes left and we don’t know who is going to advance.

77:51 If things end the way they are now we’ll play two 15-minute halves and then go to penalties. Xabi Alonso getting ready to come on for Liverpool. He replaces Jermaine Pennant who was up and down for most of the game.

75:48 Another Liverpool corner won by Kuyt. Zenden takes it and it hits a Liverpool player in the box and is cleared away.

75:00 Ashley Cole with a run into the box and he just can’t find Drogba who was charging towards the goal. That was super close.

73:28 Corner by Chelsea is cleared away. Every set piece and every corner makes you hold your breath. Drogba called for a foul but avoids a yellow.

72:48 Starting to regret that decision to eat before the match. My stomach is churning and I am a fan of neithe team. We get to do this all over again tomorrow too!

70:41 Pennant with a shot in the box and Essien just gets a boot to clear it away. Close in range for Pennant. Could have done more with it.

69:46 Corner to Liverpool right in front of the Kop. Finnan’s effort is cleared away without harm.

68:49 Essien takes down Crouch again and images of clear cutting a forest come to mind.

67:19 Three or four Liverpool players line up to kick Ashley Cole. Can’t say I blame him. Liverpool playing like their lives depend on it. Chelsea yet to rise to the occasion.

66:07 Pace of the match has picked up. Still a bit of choppy play but intense. Finnan with a cross that is cleared away by Terry but Joe Cole unable to continue the break for Chelsea. Still level on aggregate.

64:00 What do you think gang? Who is going to be the hero in this one?

62:39 This sure beats working. A midweek battle between two clubs hungry to advance. Not a super quality match but still tense. Crouch taken out by an Essien sandwich. Liverpool back on the attack again.

61:26 Drogba down on the pitch again and again it is Agger who took him down. Agger is shown the yellow for having too many tattoos.

60:00 Riise fed Kuyt with a pass and the Dutchman headed it off the bar. Liverpool will remember that one if they go on to lose.

59:20 Pennant on fire as he skins Joe Cole. And then Liverpool hits the Crossbar. Kuyt with a shot that all but went in. Wow, that was close.

58:00 Ever notice how even innocent passes in a match like this can make you feel nervous? One little mistake is all it takes.

55:43 Pennanet makes me eat my words. He did a nifty move and feed a nice cross to Crouch who couldn’t head it by Cech. Good effort.

55:02 More choppy start, stop action and Cole is able to get off a shot but you and I could have got it closer than he did.

54:12 Lampard with a free kick into the box and it goes over the whole lot.

53:49 Cole runs through three players but Gerrard wards him off and the Liverpool keeper is able to slide and get the ball. Meanwhile, Pennant is having a hard time doing anything positive in the match.

52:27 Mourinho looking like he swalled something unpleasant on the bench. Benitez looking like he is going to have a heart attack. Could happen. These games always kill a bit of me. Neither side able to do much since the intermission.

50:00 Crouch doing his usual awkward robot moves out there but he does have nice skill. Drogba on the other end called offside. Both teams look like they are playing to avoid a mistake.

48:19 Kalou wearing his orange boots and unable to do much up front for Chelsea who are rolling the ball around a bit befor Gerrarrd pushes forward and gets nothing for his heavy touch and effort.

47:27 Drogba hits one well wide after a nifty flick from Joe Cole. Second half looks like it is being played in slow motion so far.

46:00 Is it me or does Drogba get hit in the head/face more than any player in football?

45:37 Liverpool attacking towards the Kop end. Neither side makes a change at half.

45:01 – We’re back underway from Anfield with Liverpool and Chelsea tiesd on aggregate. It should be a thrilling second half with the winner going to Athens for the final. Thanks for joining me, kids. This should be fun.

Halftime After 45 minutes Liverpool is up a goal in the match and tied on aggregate. Daniel Agger’s goal in the 22nd minute is the difference. I’ll be back at the start of the second half. Your thoughts thus far? Here’s the goal.

45:00 Ashley Cole and Jermaine Pennant continue their bitch fest and this time Cole earns a free kick for Chelsea. It is near the touchline. Lampard takes it and Reina saves it away.

44:21 Chelsea seem to have weathered the attack after Livepool’s goal and have settled the game down. Liverpool fans continue to stand and sing with impressive force.

43:00 Ashley Cole tries a long pass to Drogba and nothing doing. The Chelsea attack is so dependent on those long passes to their Ivorian striker. This is the 60th match of the season for Chelsea. That is a shiteload of games, dontcha think?

40:49 A look at Robben on the bench and a good look at his receding hairline. Will be interesting to see if he features at all in the second half.

39:12 Great chance off the corner for Chelsea as Drogba heads it and it goes off Essien out of bounds. Could have been a goal if it were on target.

38:16 Chelsea with their first corner and it is cleared away. They are starting to put on a little pressure. An away goal would be huge. Obviously.

37:38 Riise with a long pass that Kuyt can’t control. Kuyt is just a workhorse of a player. Wish I could say the same thing about me as a liverblogger. One of these games I will learn how to type.

35:43 Mikel and Riise fight in the box and it is a call against Mikel. I think Chelsea is really missing Ballack’s presence in the midfield. They are getting badly outplayed in the middle of the pitch.

33:01 Essien’s name called for about the first time tonight. On the other end Finnan crosses and Crouch is called for going over the back. Finnan is so good with his crosses.

31:21 And just like that Drogba gets free and drills a shot that Reina is able to save. Nice bit of goalkeeping as Drogba just used his speed to get away from Agger.

30:23 Hard to imagine that a Chelsea side that looked so good in the first half of the first leg could look so poor thus far in this one.

29:06 A Liverpool fan leans over the fence to tell Joe Cole that his shorts are about six sizes to small. Seriously, does Cole want us to see his package?

27:54 Ashley Cole shown a yellow card for smacking Jermaine Pennant. He is not the first to want to do that. Gerrard lining up another free kick. Zenden takes it and it is cleared away.

27:43 It hasn’t been the best of games to this point but you can’t beat the drama. A Daniel Agger goal has brought it all level in the series. The referee doing his part to add to the choppiness on the pitch by blowing his whistle a lot.

25:33 Drogba lives. Liverpool with 71% of the possession. Chelsea has shown little in the attack.

24:58 The Liverpool attack is all coming from the left side with Zenden and Gerrard. Drogba down on the pitch holding his head. He got smacked in the face by a ball. That has to hurt.

23:12 Liverpool looking for more as Chelsea struggle to keep their composure after Agger’s goal. That changes the complexion of this game.

22:08 Agger just took a pass from Gerrard and fired it pas Cech who had no chance to see it and save it. Wow, the crowd is going apeshite.

21:17 Gerrard with an in swinger that Cech punches away. Joe Cole takes down Gerrard and it is a free kick from outside the box. GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!! Gerrard passes it to Agger who punches it in!

19:40 And Mikel does live. It was touch and go for a second. And now he comes back and smacks Zenden. That is one way to work off an injury.

18:28 Shot of Liverpool’s American owners in the stands and once again Mikel picks up a knock. This time it is from Gerrard. It was a love tap. He’ll live despite appearances to the contrary.

17:56 Mascherano with a long cross to Pennant who simply drills it right to Ashley Cole. Keep an eye on the Pennant-Cole contest tonight. Both are capable of screwing up or doing something great.

15:21 Drogba continues to be a load for the Liverpool defenders. His speed and power is lethal. Lots of choppy play out there with neither team able to string together passes.

14:12 When I grow up I want five o’clock shadow like Jose Mourinho’s. He is the Don Johnson of our era. Still not much happening on the pitch other than 22 men running around in shorts.

12:46 Not the best of football from either side thus far. These players must be sick of playing one another. I bet the Liverpool defenders know what deodorant Drogba wears. If he wears any.

11:30 Gerrard clumsily runs into John Terry and now we see a shot of Sheva in the stands. I thought he was at home screwing his incredibly hot wife.

10:23 Riise with a first time ball and Liverpool is applying the pressure. Still neither goalie tested.

10:18 Drogba called offside and it is a good call. Now is a terrible time for my computer to act pissy. Bear with me as I dropkick it.

8:12 Joel Cole down holding something. Not sure what it is. Maybe it is his ego. Just kidding. I love Joe Cole. He is the best Brazilian in England.

6:56 Gerrard with a long free kick cross that Crouch is unable to get his size 90 legs on. Excellent noise coming from the home supporters.

5:47 Sloppy play as both midfields are crowding the ball. Neither team able to roll it around to this point. Ashley Cole with a tackle on Pennant and is called for a foul. Questionable. It is at midfield so no big deal.

4:04 Does any keeper have a stronger leg that Peter Cech? He just kicked it from endline to endline with hardly an effort. Still no shots.

3:54 Mascherano with a sloppy tackle on Mikel. Last game Mikel was smacked around all game. He earns his money for Chelsea even if he is obscenely overypaid like most footballers.

2:02 Both coaches off the bench directing traffic. Benitez in a suit and Mourinho wearing a long coat. The referee looks like a cyborg. Both teams feeling one another out.

:45 Zenden starts the match by dropping Drogba with a clean tackle. Chelsea on the attack early but unable to get a shot off. Both teams look a bit excited to start.

Kickoff – We are underway from Anfield where Liverpool and Chelsea are squaring off in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. Thanks for stopping by and joining me. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome. Keep them clean, have fun and let’s enjoy this one together.

2 minutes to go – The teams are out of the tunnel with Liverpool in their traditional red and Chelsea sporting their blue kits. The kids accompanying the players look thrilled. As they should be. There is a buzz in the stadium that one can feel coming through the television. The Champions League anthem is played and the hearts are beating at full force. It is time to get it on.

5 minutes to go – Having two teams from the same country square off takes some of the luster out of the competition, but regardless this should be a thriller. As a neutral fan it is always exciting when a home team is down a goal and has to score to stay alive. Throw in the expected atmosphere at Anfield, the drama of both coaches and the history of the two clubs, and this makes for some excellent Tuesday football. Let’s just hope that both teams deliver a classic contest.

10 minutes to go – Liverpool have played in six European cup championships. Chelsea have never made it past the semifinals. Two years ago Liverpool eliminated Chelsea in this very stage. That time around both teams played a scoreless draw in the first leg before Liverpool’s 1-0 win on a questionable goal. Will this be the year that the Blues get over the hump or will we see Liverpool return to Europe’s biggest stage once again? I get the feeling we will find out over the course of the next 90 minutes or so. We’ll also have plenty of opportunity to see Peter Crouch’s increasingly ridiculous hair. Looks even scarier in high definition.

15 minutes to go – The referee for tonight’s contest is Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez from Spain. He’s the dude who was in the middle when Liverpool came back to beat AC Milan in the Champions League final in 2004-05. Will he be a lucky omen for the Reds on May Day? Let’s hope he doesn’t play a factor in the match either way. It is 20C in Liverpool and a perfect night for what should be a tense contest between two English sides who have played 15 times against one another while being managed by their current coaches. Oh the tress that have been cut to print their quotes over the years!

Teams
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher Agger, Zenden, Gerrard, Mascherano, Pennant, Riise, Kuyt, Crouch
Chelsea: Cech, A Cole, Makelele, Terry, Essien, Ferreira, Mikel, Lampard, J Cole, Drogba, Kalou

Pregame We’re back at the latest chapter in the midweek drama that is the Champions League. It is time to forget all the headlines about the coaches and to focus on the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. These two teams met just six days ago and played two entirely different halves. Chelsea dominated the first 45 minutes. Liverpool controlled the run after intermission. Both sides played the tight, physical football you’d expect to see from English Premier League teams.

Liverpool enter the contest a goal down but they should be buyoed by the home support. Rafael Benitez has chosen a strong lineup with the one in only Peter Crouch being paired up from with Dirk Kuyt. Jermaine Pennant and Steve Finnan get the nod over Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa. Chelsea enter the game with the advantage but they are missing Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Andriy Shevchenko. Interesting to see that Salomon Kalou gets the nod at forward over Robben, who is coming off an injury. Michael Essien is also back from suspension and will try to fill the hole left by Carvalho’s injury.

Your thoughts and predicitions?

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Category: Champions League, World Football