Translated material
Removing the Curse
Chelsea managed to beat Liverpool in the Champions League
For the third time in four years, Chelsea are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. But now, after winning the home match over Liverpool - 1:0, the Blues have an excellent chance to finally reach the final of the tournament. And on the way to this goal, Mourinho’s team is ready to destroy traditions that are unpleasant for them.Chelsea have never managed to beat Liverpool in the Champions League. Meanwhile, in recent years, the lot has often brought them together in the main club tournament of the continent. Last season, the “blues” and “reds” were in the same group and both of their meetings ended with a peaceful score of 0:0. And two years ago, Chelsea and Liverpool, as now, met in the semi-finals. Then Jose Mourinho's team again failed to score a single goal in two matches, and, having lost in the return game, flew out of the Champions League, which was won by the Merseysiders.
In domestic English competitions, the picture of meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool is completely different - only once did Mourinho fail to defeat Benitez, playing, as a rule, effectively. But from the first minutes of the next European Cup confrontation, it became obvious that traditions are above all for the British, and one can hardly expect a hail of goals scored from the head-to-head meeting of these teams in the Champions League.
Chelsea, having lost the disqualified Mikael Essien and the injured Michael Ballack, still tried to carry out attacks, but Liverpool did not even dare to make rare attacks. So after the first half the guests quite rightly lost - 0:1. The Red curse in the Champions League was broken by Joe Cole's 29th-minute strike, but Drogba's role in the goal was dominant. The home team's forward rushed along the right flank, accompanied by visiting player Agger, then abruptly tucked the ball under him, missed a defender who had flown by inertia, and rolled the pass into the center of the penalty area. There, Cole was already flying towards the ball in the fall.
Chelsea honestly deserved this goal. Up to this point, the Blues had a few more opportunities to score: but Drogba and Shevchenko's shots were a little inaccurate, as was Lampard's shot. In another almost hopeless situation, Liverpool goalkeeper Reina saved his team.
The Reds' goalkeeper had plenty of opportunities to demonstrate his skills after the break, and the Merseysiders had a lot to thank for the minimal score. However, Peter Cech also had a chance to prove himself in the middle of the half - he parried a dangerous shot from Steve Gerard.
“Peter simply saved us by parrying this wonderful shot,” Jose Mourinho also recalled that moment. - It would be a shame to end a won match in a draw. I'm very happy with my players. They played the match at the highest level, especially the first half, in which the game was simply magnificent. But I don't understand why the referee doesn't award penalties in cases where they are obvious. There were several episodes with obvious violations of the rules, and, you understand, the score 2:0 is not at all the same as 1:0.”
Rafael Benitez understands this too. That’s why he rates his team’s chances before the return match quite high. "We are now looking forward to the second leg at Anfield and the chance to play in front of our fans," Benitez said. - We are confident of victory because we are a good team, we know how to score goals and we know how to beat Chelsea. I don't think about the chances of either team going forward, I just know we can do it."
Nevertheless, Chelsea are already selecting their future opponent for the final. Andrey Shevchenko, for example, would like to meet his former club there. “If everything goes well in the return match, we will meet Milan in the final,” the Ukrainian forward is confident. -- Milan has an excellent chance of winning at San Siro. They played great against Manchester in the first half, a little worse in the second, but Kaká was simply wonderful. All Milan need to get to the final is to play the way they know how.”
But the rest of England is waiting for additional intrigue in the confrontation between Chelsea and Manchester United. These two clubs will soon meet in the FA Cup final and play for the gold of the English Premier League. The final round would be the perfect conclusion to this fight.
Champions League. Semi-final. First match. Chelsea - Liverpool - 1:0 (D. Cole 29).