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Champions League quarter-final 2nd Leg: Chelsea v
Liverpool
Liverpool did not surrender meekly last night. No matter
what the odds against them, there was never a chance of that. Never
ever.
Not with everyone of them wearing a black armband to remind them
of the heavy significance of today's date.
Not with their loyal supporters massed at The Shed End of
Stamford Bridge and their banners of remembrance draped proudly
over the hoardings between the two tiers.
Not with Steven Gerrard, their captain, who lost a young cousin
at Hillsborough, sitting in the directors' box with club officials,
gripped by the action even though he was missing the game through
injury.
Not with Jamie Carragher, a man who feels the heartbeat of his
city every time he plays, taking Gerrard's place at the head of his
side and playing like a rock in the centre of their defence.
Liverpool's players set out to pay tribute to the 96 fans who
died at the Leppings Lane End last night by striving to overturn
what seemed like an insurmountable deficit and recreate the Miracle
of Istanbul.
And even though emotions will be raw at Anfield this afternoon
when a memorial service will be held to honour those who were
killed, there was also something intensely moving about the events
that unfolded in west London last night.
This is a Liverpool team for whom the impossible has become
almost routine in the European Cup but, nevertheless, there was
something magical about what occurred in the first half in
particular.
Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager, may not be a particularly
emotional man and many of his players may have no connection to
what happened at Hillsborough.
But Benitez has a special bond with this club and its
supporters.
You only needed to see them carrying icons of him through the
streets of the city when his job was under threat to realise
that.
Or to see the emotion on the face of his wife, Montse, when the
Kop sings You'll Never Walk Alone to know that managing Liverpool
is more than just a job to Benitez and his family. However cold and
analytical he can be, he will have made sure that each of his
players knew that today is the most important day in Liverpool's
season, the day when the city comes together in mourning and in
grief.
And in continuing anger for the justice they have not yet
achieved for those who died.
