UEFA CL ~ Rafa cuts and runs for cover in European classic

Marco_Simone SG

Rafa probably watched Slumdog Millionaire too many times liao…Destiny this Destiny that…give me a break!!!

charlize SG

Not every day sunday lah.

If everytime use the Istanbul example, then every game, Liverpool should be winning by 3 goal margins.

Use it as motivation, but you cannot expect every game to be like that.

Maybe they can do it, but obviously the odds are against Liverpool.

Scania N113CRB l0v3r SG

Rafa, u may beat Chelsea unless u do the same like deportivo vs ac milan

zocoss SG

Uefa Champions League

Rafa Benitez (Pic:Getty)

Rafael Benitez has told his Liverpool players that they must believe they can overturn the 3-1 deficit in the Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea tonight.

The Spaniard is pleased that influential skipper Steven Gerrard has declared himself fit for the second-leg at Stamford Bridge.

And goalkeeper Pepe Reina is in confident mood - he has vowed that the Reds will find Chelsea's weak points and exploit them. "If there is anyone who can turn this around, it is Liverpool," the 26-year-old said. "We have hope."

limpper SG

yes yes, it's possible to win at chelsea

i know

but can you & your squad do it?

that time you win, they dont have essien, drogba, and the team is under scolari

now not same alr you know?

sg_forum SG

exciting match!! they came close twice. I thought it was impossible to score 3 at Stamford Bridge but I was proven wrong!!! Although lost the game at the end, but it was quite entertaining game I suppose...that's what we paid for...AN EXCITING FOOTBALL MATCH!!!

iceFatboy SG

Uefa Champions League

Rafa Benitez (Pic:Getty)

Rafael Benitez has told his Liverpool players that they must believe they can overturn the 3-1 deficit in the Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea tonight.

The Spaniard is pleased that influential skipper Steven Gerrard has declared himself fit for the second-leg at Stamford Bridge.

isn't Reina the one who let in the goal to allow Chelsea's fightback???

zocoss SG

It was kind of weird watching Chelsea and Pool screw themselves up side down while Barcelona had an easy passage to the semis...

On the match itself, I thought Pool could have taken a 3 - 0 lead mid-way into the first half... Torres missed the best chance of the night for him when Benayoun turn and gave him a clear shot on goal only to watch him blast it wide...

Yeah I kind of agree that Reina was the one that got Chelsea going when he made that mistake... I thought he should have at least cover his pole so even if he made that mistake, the ball will still go out for a corner... That goal gave Chelsea renewed confidence and at the same time made demoralized Pool players...

Overall, the match was good and interesting... I also thought Rafa made an error when he took out Torres after Chelsea scored and made it 3-2... I guess he gave-up at that moment but Pool came back to make it 3-4... At that point, Chelsea were nervous but Pool had no striker to threaten them anymore... and the player that Rafa brought on to replace Torres... Ngog, I didn't even see him do anything worthwhile. Oh wait, I saw him picking the ball and giving it to Cech when it went out... Thats all he did for 15 mins... Had Rafa kept Torres on the field... That last 10 or 12 mins would have been the moment... But too bad for Rafa... made the wrong decision.

Like I said at the start... I think Barcelona were the biggest winner last night and were glad to have avoided either one of them... cos while they were screwing themselves up side down getting yellow cards and missing the semi-finals... Barce were having an easy game in Germany... Bad news for Chelsea, A Cole is out for the semi first leg... I think this is a very big loss as Cole is their best left-back and it makes things more difficult that Messi plays in that area... Cole would have been perfect marking Messi having had the experience with Ronaldo... Now Chelsea has a serious problem for the first leg...

iceFatboy SG

It was kind of weird watching Chelsea and Pool screw themselves up side down while Barcelona had an easy passage to the semis...

i agreed, it seems Rafa is indecisive, whether to try to win or to reserve for EPL..

when he takes off Torres, he seems he given up, cause he just withdraws his chief striker, but Torres has an off night by his standards. but the players want to win.

If only Gerrard played, I bet he would not have given up so easily like Rafa.

iceFatboy SG

whenever I see a 4-4 scoreline, I must be thinking what the hell the defence was doing..

well, Barca would enjoy meeting Chelsea given how Cech is facing a dip in form and confidence.

Scania N113CRB l0v3r SG

Lolx long balls for Chelsea exposed lia0

SALUTE Liverpool haha putting on a fierce fight against chelsea

zocoss SG

Rafael Benitez

Rafael Benitez will now be left to concentrate on Liverpool's title challenge

Even Rafael Benitez is surprised by Liverpool on occasions. How else to explain his decision to remove Fernando Torres in the 79th minute, and the blissful chaos that followed?

On the back of a 4-4 draw and an aggregate scoreline of 7-5, it seems ludicrous to think of a team throwing in the towel, but that is what Benitez appeared to do when, 3-2 down on the night and with 11 minutes remaining, he withdrew arguably the greatest striker in Europe and introduced the callow David Ngog.

This was a manager at last admitting defeat. This was a manager choosing to concentrate on the league and, with Steven Gerrard clearly struggling, nursing another vital player through what remains of the season. Clearly, nobody had told his team.

Liverpool's response to Torres's disappearance was to score two goals, through Lucas and Dirk Kuyt, and send the game hurtling into one last breathtaking twist, just when such an outcome seemed unimaginable.

Liverpool were ostensibly beaten when they came here. But they gave Chelsea the fright of the season by scoring two early goals, losing the match by conceding three and then being on the brink of winning it back when Frank Lampard intervened, a final stake through the heart silencing the thrashing red beast and leaving the onlookers drained.

Liverpool needed to win 3-0 to progress and got to 2-0. Then they needed to win 5-3 and got to 4-3. Had Torres been on the pitch in that final 10 minutes who knows how Chelsea would have reacted?

Fernando Torres

Substituted: Fernando Torres

CannyOng SG

No la.. Take out Torres. Chelsea even more confused. Don't know mark who and in the end. Liverpool get 2 goals back that time. A good strategy ma. LOL.

But I think he is trying to strengthen the defence la. See it leak in so many goal. Very sian liao.

zocoss SG

Trying to strengthen the defence with Ngog ? Shocked

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