The Times
Liverpool left on ropes by Hiddink's mastery
Liverpool left on ropes by Hiddink's mastery
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 3
Oliver Kay Football Correspondent
Oliver Kay Football Correspondent
The resident disc jockey opted for a Beatles classic at the final whistle. We Can Work It Out sounded like wishful thinking on Liverpool’s part at the end of an evening when the fortress of Anfield was not just stormed but ransacked, but, to put it in another context, who can possibly work out the remarkable transformation that Guus Hiddink has managed in only two months in charge of Chelsea?
It cannot be rocket science, just a case of restoring some much-needed confidence and tactical discipline to a team who had lost their way under Luiz Felipe Scolari. Given the way that Chelsea capitulated at the same venue just before his arrival, though, the Hiddink effect is looking like something close to alchemy. Only not alchemy, since Chelsea, after crowning a superb performance with two goals from Branislav Ivanovic and one from Didier Drogba, are dreaming not of gold but of silver and, specifically, the European Cup that has proved elusive during the Roman Abramovich era.
Hiddink called Chelsea’s performance “perfect”, at least after they had recovered from the blow of conceding a sixth-minute goal to Fernando Torres. At that point it seemed as though Liverpool’s momentum was propelling them towards yet another Champions League semi-final, but as Michael Essien began to relish his man-marking assignment against Steven Gerrard and, as Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Drogba and the rest warmed to their task, it became a quite outstanding Chelsea display on an evening when they finally cast aside the caution of the José Mourinho era.
Chelsea’s performance contained certain parallels with Liverpool’s tactical masterclass in winning 4-1 away to Manchester United last month, a result that stripped the losers of their aura of invincibility. It remains to be seen whether this result will have such a demoralising effect on Liverpool in their bid for the Barclays Premier League title, but, as Drogba tormented Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher much as Torres had given the runaround to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, it was easy to see why Sir Alex Ferguson had suggested that the winners of this tie would pose a far greater threat to United on the domestic front than the losers.
With three away goals to his team’s name, Hiddink was even asked afterwards whether John Terry’s suspension for the second leg, after he was booked for an overzealous challenge on José Manuel Reina, might now be regarded as a blessing in that it would free him up for a semi-final against, one presumes, Barcelona. Hiddink was not too keen to follow that particular line of inquiry, but, given the manner in which Terry exchanged barbs with Gerrard, his England team-mate, in the heat of the battle, the Chelsea captain might just be able to see the logic behind that argument.
It was a glorious night for Terry and his team-mates. They have suffered at Liverpool’s hands in the Champions League in recent years, as well as tasting two defeats in the Premier League this season, but they dealt with everything that Rafael Benítez’s team could throw at them. By the end, Gerrard and Torres looked frustrated and the fervour of the home crowd had been reduced to a whimper — a far cry from the opening minutes, when Torres seemed to have lit the fuse for another of those Anfield glory nights.
Hiddink had identified Gerrard as the main threat to Chelsea, but the Liverpool captain had only a fleeting involvement in the goal that gave his team the lead. It was his lung-busting run into the penalty area that forced Alex into a wild clearance, but then came a surprisingly deft piece of control from Dirk Kuyt and an even better reverse pass into the path of Álvaro Arbeloa on the overlap. Arbeloa surged into the penalty area and picked out Torres, who, neglected by Alex, had the time and the space to steer a cool shot past Petr Cech.
For Chelsea, it was the nightmare start, but their recovery was almost immediate. Within 60 seconds Salomon Kalou harried Fábio Aurélio into a mistake and set up Drogba, who should have scored but shot straight at the advancing Reina.
Drogba then squandered an even better chance on the half-hour, shooting high into the Kop after a perfect first touch, from Ballack’s cross, had taken him away from Jamie Carragher in the penalty area. Drogba’s moment would arrive, but first came not one but two goals from a player who could not get close to the Chelsea teamsheet 12 months ago, let alone the scoresheet.
For the first eight months of his Chelsea career, after his arrival from Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2008, Ivanovic looked destined to go down as the new Winston Bogarde, but his contribution last night will not be forgotten. Five minutes before half-time Florent Malouda swung in a corner from the right and the Serbia defender escaped the attentions of Xabi Alonso and then rose between Skrtel and Albert Riera to beat Reina with a firm header. In the 62nd minute he repeated the act, this time getting between Gerrard and Arbeloa to score again.
Questions will be asked about Liverpool’s zonal marking from set-pieces, as they are on every occasion that they concede from such situations, but Benítez will be more concerned by the way that Chelsea outmuscled and outplayed his team. The third goal was a classic, Ballack releasing Malouda, who hit a superb cross into the six-yard box, where Drogba, attacking the ball ahead of Carragher and Sktel, slammed the ball past Reina.
The closing stages were played out to near-silence until the home supporters responded to questions about the atmosphere by asking “where’s your European Cups?” — note the plural. The Chelsea fans had no answer, but more of this and their players may soon be able to provide the perfect riposte, Barcelona notwithstanding.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — Á Arbeloa, M Skrtel, J Carragher, F Aurélio (sub: A Dossena, 75min) — X Alonso, Lucas Leiva (sub: R Babel, 80) — D Kuyt, S Gerrard, A Riera (sub: Y Benayoun, 68) — F Torres. Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, S Hyypia, D Agger, D Ngog. Booked: Aurélio.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): P Cech — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — M Ballack, M Essien, — S Kalou, F Lampard, F Malouda — D Drogba (sub: N Anelka, 80). Substitutes not used: Hilário, R Carvalho, M Mancienne, J Belletti, J O Mikel, Deco. Booked: Kalou, Terry.
Referee: C B Larsen (Denmark)
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Telegraph:
Branislav Ivanovic heads Chelsea towards last four
A dream start descended into the darkest of nightmares for Liverpool on Wednesday night.Fernando Torres’ early strike had asked real questions of Chelsea’s character and they answered them in emphatic fashion. Goals from Branislav Ivanovic, twice, and Didier Drogba pushed Chelsea to within touching distance of the Champions League semi-finals where they should meet Barcelona. By Henry Winter at Anfield
None of Chelsea’s starting XI had ever won the European Cup, a contrast to their bench that contained four men who possess winner’s medals, and the craving of Guus Hiddink’s chosen ones was inescapable. Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien bossed midfield.
Essien’s marking job on Steven Gerrard drained the life out of Liverpool while Martin Skrtel chose the worst moment to have a shocker in defence. Rafa Benitez’s zonal marking system was also ripped to shreds. The only down side for Chelsea was the booking for their captain John Terry, which rules him out of next Tuesday’s meeting at the Bridge. A tie that had begun so promisingly for Liverpool now looks set for disappointment.
Chelsea back into second place after victory over Manchester CityThe Champions League anthem never stood a chance before kick-off, the Kop launching into the 12-inch version of "You’ll Never Walk Alone", and nor did Alex and John Terry when Gerrard and Torres, Liverpool’s big noises on the pitch, came calling after only four minutes.
Riddled with panic as Gerrard lurked, Alex skied a clearance over Chelsea’s box. Anfield sensed early blood. Dirk Kuyt was first to the loose ball, initially running away from Petr Cech’s area before brilliantly reversing the direction, sending the ball spinning down the inside-right channel for the overlapping Alvaro Arbeloa.
Those Liverpool supporters not already standing leapt to their feet in anticipation. Chelsea’s defence was ragged, the famed organisation patently absent. Vulnerability was in the air, and Liverpool had emerged from the tunnel in merciless mood.
Liverpool’s prominence in recent weeks has partly been rooted in the buccaneering spirit of their full-backs, Arbeloa and Fabio Aurelio. Arbeloa’s response was superb, drilling the ball to Torres, whose finish was perfection, the ball struck hard and fast and sent flying past Cech. Chelsea’s keeper had no chance. His defence had let him down. And when presented with a chance in front of goal, Torres rarely lets Liverpool down.
The tie remained evenly balanced, Chelsea knowing that an equaliser immediately secured them the initiative. A classic game unfolded, Chelsea opening up and pouring forward. Opportunity started knocking in front of a concerned Kop.
Didier Drogba, the spearhead of Hiddink’s 4-1-2-2-1 formation, squandered two good chances to level before the break. When Salomon Kalou ushered Drogba through, Pepe Reina stood firm, making a good save. Then when Michael Ballack swept the ball in from the left, Drogba lost Jamie Carragher but his finish was poor, hammered into a relieved Kop.
The waves of blue rolled with increasing frequency towards Reina’s goal. Ballack started to reveal his true class, although he was deceived by a wonderful piece of skill from Alonso, who needed only a cape and a shout of "ole’’ to complete the matador’s touch. Behind Alonso, Martin Skrtel rose to the aerial challenge.
Until seven minutes from the break, Liverpool repelled everything that came their way. Chelsea would not be denied. When Gerrard slid in to block a cross from Kalou, Chelsea had a corner and their big guns moved up. All eyes were on Terry and Alex, Ballack and Drogba. Mistake.
No Liverpool player paid enough attention to Ivanovic. As Florent Malouda’s corner swirled in, Ivanovic made his move, brushing aside Alonso and jumping between Skytel and Albert Riera. Muscling opponents out of the way, the Serbian had eyes only for the ball, which he sent powering past Reina.
Liverpool rallied. Roared on by fans who made this another unforgettable European night at Anfield, Liverpool stormed forward, looking to regain the lead. Kuyt went close as the half concluded, his strong shot pushed away by Cech.
Now attacking the Kop in the second half, Liverpool still had to escape the assorted traps Hiddink had set them, notably Michael Essien shadowing Gerrard. As Chelsea gained in confidence, the bouts of abuse towards Lampard and Terry quickened. Lampard’s weight, Terry’s mother: the merits of both were discussed at length.
Chelsea took the barbs in their stride, not losing their composure, rarely giving away possession. Lampard, wearing a tribute to his mother stitched into his boots, a remembrance of the anniversary of her tragic death, delivered a superb display in front of his proud father, who sat in the directors’ box admiring his son’s work-rate.
Lampard was everywhere, clearing in front of his defence one moment, then powering forward to send Drogba through on goal. Having beaten Skrtel, Drogba placed his shot past Reina but there was the indefatigable Carragher covering back to clear off the line.
Chelsea were seeing more of the ball, Liverpool being restricted to counter-attacks. In the Kop, a large banner reading "FEARLESS" was raised. Yet the fears were found in Liverpool’s defence, Skrtel enduring a particularly awkward evening.
On the hour, Reina was caught by Terry, hardly maliciously but deeply unnecessarily as the Liverpool keeper clearly had the ball safely in his clutches before Chelsea’s captain came wading in. Claus Bo Larsen, the Danish referee, brandished a yellow card that triggered outrage in the blue ranks as it ruled Terry out of the second leg.
Anger swept through Hiddink in particular. Chelsea’s coach charged down the line to protest, a rare display of dissent from a manager who has seen it all before in a long, distinguished career. The sense of injustice stirred something deep within Chelsea, something that triggered an astonishing reaction.
Within seven minutes they were leading 3-1. Liverpool had failed to learn from Chelsea’s corners. Again their zonal marking was vulnerable to runners arriving late, as Ivanovic did again. Speeding on to a Lampard corner, the mystery man of Chelsea FC really made a name for himself with another emphatic header.
Liverpool were stunned, their defence a shambles when the ball was whipped in from the flanks. Three minutes later, Ballack teased a fine pass down the inside-left channel and Malouda was off and running, hurtling towards the byeline before crossing. Drogba, sliding in ahead of Carragher, made it 3-1. Anfield was momentarily silenced, all the noise now coming from Chelsea throats. Crowing was not the least of it.
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Indy:
Hiddink stifles Gerrard in the storming of Anfield
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 3
Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent
In the tightly controlled, meticulously planned, strategy-obsessed world which Rafael Benitez inhabits, this was an utter meltdown for his team. The great Liverpool dynasty created by Benitez, the team that refuses to be beaten however mighty the opposition, met their match in a coach every bit as crafty as the famous bearded Spaniard.
That, of course, was Guus Hiddink who last night appeared to have unlocked the secrets to a Liverpool team that have overachieved in Europe ever since they embarked on that unlikely journey to the Champions League final in 2005. Branislav Ivanovic scored the two goals that put his side on their way, but it was Hiddink whose tactics dealt with the threat of Steven Gerrard and Hiddink's tactics that exploited Liverpool's confusion at set pieces.
The epitaph to Liverpool's Champions League campaign should it end, as expected, at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday will read simply: they marked zonally. It was the spectre of zonal marking that haunted the old Luiz Felipe Scolari regime at Chelsea earlier this season and it proved just as debilitating to Liverpool last night when at corners they twice lost Ivanovic, the hitherto uncelebrated Serb, who scored two identical goals for Chelsea.
To compound Benitez's frustration, Michael Essien, the brilliantly athletic midfielder, followed Gerrard around all night, hustling and dispossessing English football's most in-form player. When Hiddink described the job he had asked Essien to do upon Gerrard he spoke about the necessity of Chelsea "disarming" Liverpool's "main weapon" and so for one night at least the gunpowder was removed from a team that have rampaged through English football of late.
Although it will be of scant consolation to Anfield, this game was by much more absorbing than the eight Champions League encounters that have preceded it between these two teams in the last five seasons. Fernando Torres opened the scoring in the third minute and when it looked like Liverpool might run amok on another famous reputation, Chelsea found it in their deep reserves to come back and change the course of the game.
The scoreline equalled Liverpool's heaviest home defeat in European competition, the 3-1 margin by which Barcelona triumphed in 2001. In terms of the Benitez years' low points, it was just as demoralising as the FA Cup defeat away at Burnley in 2005, Chelsea's 4-1 win at Anfield later that year and any one of a few defeats to Manchester United. It reminded the home crowd of something they have not had to witness all season: the vulnerability of Benitez's teams.
Chief among those having a dreadful night was Martin Skrtel, bullied out of it by Didier Drogba, who scored the third. The defender would have had an even worse time had Jamie Carragher not kicked another one of the Chelsea striker's shots off the line. At corners Skrtel – off-colour since he featured in Slovakia's collapse to England at Wembley – had to shoulder most of the blame for Ivanovic running free.
There was no Roman Abramovich among the Chelsea entourage, although it is difficult to imagine what could possibly be more important to do on a night such as this, even for a Russian oligarch. Installing Hiddink as manager was Abramovich's masterstroke, so why he does not show up to enjoy the results is a mystery. There would have been many more goals had Drogba been on the kind of finishing form he has been in previous seasons.
John Terry's booking in the second half means that he will be suspended for the game in London, but even so it is hard to see Chelsea making a mess of this one. For the first time in a long while they have two in-form wingers in Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda, who were effective last night. They could also afford to leave England's top goalscorer, Nicolas Anelka, on the bench until the closing stages.
There was some needle in this game too, notably from Gerrard when Terry chose a break in play to complain about his booking to the Danish referee Claus Bo Larsen. For those without allegiance it added up to first-class entertainment wherever you looked.
Torres' goal was an unusual one, in the sense that Chelsea's defence gave him 10 times as much space as he usually needs to score a goal. They had not recovered their positions from an earlier phase of play when Alex had done well to clear the ball off the toe of Gerrard. From there Dirk Kuyt did wonderfully well to control the ball and set Alvaro Arbeloa free from whose cross Torres scored.
Very soon it was the away side who had taken the game by the throat and, had it not been for Drogba's hopeless finishing, they would have reached half-time in the lead. Clean through five minutes after Liverpool's goal, Drogba hit his shot straight at Pepe Reina. When he shot over after Michael Ballack had played him in on 29 minutes, Eugene Tenenbaum, Abramovich's closest lieutenant, buried his face in his hands.
Ivanovic's first goal was a simple affair as he twisted and turned in the area to lose Xabi Alonso before meeting Malouda's corner firmly. Liverpool went in for half-time facing a stark choice. They either had to settle for taking a 1-1 drawn to Stamford Bridge, where they would have to score at the very least, or try to improve their position. Benitez opted for the latter and Liverpool were taken apart.
Carragher cleared off the line from Drogba; Torres missed the target when Gerrard cushioned a header down into his path and then shortly after the hour, Liverpool collapsed. The second Chelsea goal was preposterously similar to their first: a corner, this time from Frank Lampard, and Ivanovic met the ball firmly but under no pressure from any Chelsea marker.
Chelsea's third goal came four minutes later. Malouda was released down the left and when he hit his cross into the centre, Drogba muscled Skrtel out of the way to score from close range. The substitutes at Benitez's disposal – Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel – made no difference while Chelsea had Anelka to call upon. They are the new emergent force in English football and if Benitez wants to turn this tie, the plan will have to be a cunning one.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio (Dossena, 75); Lucas (Babel, 79), Alonso; Kuyt, Gerrard, Riera (Benayoun, 68); Torres. Substitutes not used: Cavalieri, Hyypia, Agger, Ngog.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, A Cole; Essien; Kalou, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda; Drogba (Anelka, 80). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Carvalho, Mikel, Deco, Belletti, Mancienne.
Referee: C Larsen (Denmark).
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Observer:
Irresistible Chelsea take complete control over Liverpool
Liverpool 1 Torres 6 Chelsea 3 Ivanovic 39, Ivanovic 62, Drogba 67
Kevin McCarra at Anfield
Liverpool's disbelief must be very nearly as great as their despair. It can only be dwarfed by the exultation of Chelsea, who have surely reduced next week's return leg of the Champions League quarter-final to a statutory obligation. So confounding is this outcome that it converted John Terry's booking into a blessing. A ban will be served when the teams meet again and he can go into the remainder of the tournament with a clean disciplinary record.
That is the least of the wonders for Guus Hiddink, a manager whose interim status at Stamford Bridge is in even deeper doubt. How could the owner Roman Abramovich bear to watch him return full-time to his post with Russia now? The Dutchman shone in all areas and his preparation of the set-pieces exposed unsuspected defects in Liverpool's zonal marking at corners. The Serbian right-back Branislav Ivanovic struck twice, his first goals for the club.
Until this, the only time Chelsea had scored at Anfield over four Champions League fixtures was when John Arne Riise put the ball in his own net last year. The victors were irresistible. Everything worked and Michael Essien's re-emergence after extended injury has profound resonance now that his close attention has left Steven Gerrard looking like a commonplace footballer.
This is as heavy a margin of defeat at Anfield as Liverpool have ever known in European competition. It is a statistic that also underlines how potent they almost always are at their stronghold. Chelsea, all the same, were buoyant and nothing could unsettle them for long, not even the loss of the evening's first goal.
Liverpool broke the deadlock in the sixth minute and, giving a misleading impression of what was to come, did so with scant hindrance. Dirk Kuyt passed to Alvaro Arbeloa on the right and his cross was dispatched with the efficiency expected of Fernando Torres.
Chelsea had suffered a collective malfunction then, but the ensuing lapses were all Liverpool's. Salomon Kalou was soon dispossessing Fabio Aurelio to release Didier Drogba and, while the Ivorian's shot was saved, it was a sign of things to come from Kalou on the right. Hiddink preferred him to Nicolas Anelka and he reacted with an impact that is at odds with past unobtrusiveness. There was proof everywhere of a fresh start. Liverpool had won both Premier League games with Chelsea in this campaign, but Hiddink had not been in the post then.
Rafael Benítez, for once, did not have a credible battleplan, although he also suffered because too much rests with Gerrard's fortunes. When the equaliser did arrive it seemed unfeasibly overdue. The oddity was enhanced by the fact that a Benítez team should be so confused while defending a set-piece.
Seven minutes from half-time, Ivanovic ran free of his marker Xabi Alonso, got in front of Martin Skrtel and headed home a corner from the unexpectedly excellent Florent Malouda. The defender had displayed elusive movement then and would do so again, but might have had no role if the regular right full-back, Jose Bosingwa, had not been injured.
Falling behind on the score sheet proved to be a liberation for an adventurous Chelsea. Drogba continued to be provided with openings, but wasted them for a while, as when he rammed a drive high after Michael Ballack had located him meticulously. Before that, the visitors' centre-forward had been disappointed when his build-up work was not brought to fruition.
For a while, there was an erratic streak to this clash. Untypically, Frank Lampard, for instance, had let himself be robbed by Torres in the 26th minute and the dipping, bending attempt that ensued from the Spaniard came close to establishing a 2–0 advantage. That was virtually the last glimmer of menace from Liverpool.
Benítez's words must have been roundly ignored in the dressing room. His side were scatty in the 52nd minute as Drogba linked with Lampard and burst clear. After the earlier impetuousness, the striker was studied and eased a shot beyond Reina, only to see Jamie Carragher clear from near the goal-line.
The openness of the action was bewildering and it led to brief mayhem. In one of many slipshod moments, Skrtl neglected to clear and Reina came haring out for the loose ball. Terry also pursued it and collided with the Spaniard. There was a minor melee before the referee Claus Bo Larsen, who had been no disciplinarian in England's win over Ukraine last week, cautioned him.
Chelsea had too much command to dwell on that and kept punishing a Liverpool team that had unravelled. Gerrard omitted to mark Ivanovic as he climbed to take his second goal from a corner after 62 minutes, sending Lampard's delivery past Reina.
Hiddink's team made the opposition look demoralised at their third goal. Malouda, who had by far his best game for Chelsea since signing in 2007, broke loose on the left and his low ball was converted by Drogba for the goal he deserved. The win will be relished at Chelsea, but the promise it held must be more stirring still.
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Sun:
IVANFIELD !
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 3
From SHAUN CUSTIS at Anfield CHELSEA are back. This was the night they signalled their return as a European football force.
The pain of the Champions League final defeat against Manchester United in Moscow last May has been eating away all season.
But this destruction of Liverpool, masterminded by tactically-astute boss Guus Hiddink, has got Chelsea and their fans believing they can win the trophy in Rome.
Even the might of Barcelona in a likely semi-final will not scare them.
Hiddink is apparently known as Lucky Guus in his native Holland but there was nothing fortunate about this.
The wily Dutchman stuck the outstanding Michael Essien on Steven Gerrard and cut out Liverpool’s supply line.
Gerrard has never been so quiet. He usually rules the roost but he barely got a kick.
And two of Chelsea’s goals came from cleverly-worked set-pieces scored by a man who Liverpool would never have singled out as a major threat — defender Branislav Ivanovic.
The Serb had not netted for Chelsea since his £8million move 15 months ago but he twice headed in from corners as the visitors recovered from going behind to a Fernando Torres strike.
Didier Drogba provided the Blues with an extra cushion, sliding home the third after failing to convert three good chances.
So many times Liverpool have flourished on European nights at Anfield. There is a special atmosphere about these occasions which brings the best out of their players.
But they were blown away and it will take a miracle to turn this around now.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez claimed if his side lost this tie it would be a worry for Manchester United because they could concentrate on trying to beat them in the Premier League title race.
But this defeat was so comprehensive you feel Liverpool’s confidence must have taken a significant hit. These two were meeting for a fifth successive year in the competition and not many before had been classics.
But the game was surprisingly entertaining and it was the home side who took an early grip, taking the lead after panic in the Chelsea defence.
Alex was forced into a high clearance and Dirk Kuyt seized on the loose ball before feeding it wide to Alvaro Arbeloa.
The cross picked out Torres in acres of space and he crisply swept it in with his right foot for his 12th goal of an injury-hit season.
However, Chelsea were almost back on level terms when Drogba squandered the first of his openings as his shot was blocked by Pepe Reina.
Then, when Drogba found Florent Malouda, the Frenchman’s drive was inches wide.
Drogba was a handful but he was cursing himself on 29 minutes. He collected a pass from Michael Ballack, slipped yet still recovered quickly enough to shrug off Jamie Carragher.
But, with the goal in his sights, Drogba volleyed over.
It was difficult to imagine this finishing 1-0 with it being so open and, on 39 minutes, Chelsea finally equalised.
Malouda’s corner floated to the edge of the six-yard box and Ivanovic made a run from deep to head in unchallenged.
Petr Cech immediately denied Kuyt but Drogba was never out of the action and he capitalised on Aurelio’s loose ball in the 51st minute to burst into the box and shoot past Reina, only for Carragher to brilliantly clear off the line.
On the hour, Blues skipper John Terry challenged for a 50-50 ball with Reina and both ended up on the ground.
Terry was adjudged to have fouled and collected a yellow to rule him out of the return.
As the man who missed the penalty which would have won Chelsea the Champions League a year ago, Terry wants to make amends more than anyone but his absence should not matter.
The amazing Ivanovic story continued as he climbed unchallenged to head in Lampard’s corner and give Chelsea a crucial second on 62 minutes.
Then, five minutes later, Drogba got the goal his industry fully deserved as he slid in to convert Malouda’s low cross.
This was the Chelsea that owner Roman Abramovich has always wanted, not just effective but a pleasure to watch.
If only he could work out a way to keep Hiddink.
CHELSEA enjoyed one of their finest European nights with a stunning 3-1 success at Anfield. Here's how their players rated:
PETR CECH
UNUSUALLY busy time for the keeper in the opening 15 minutes of the game. Had no chance with the Reds goal but did well on three occasions soon afterwards. Once Chelsea were ahead he looked a comfortable man in every situation and was rarely troubled. Rating: 6
BRANISLAV IVANOVIC
PREFERRED to Michael Mancienne for his performance at right-back against Newcastle last weekend. Looked very comfortable in defensive mode but made his name with a winding run and leap to head the equaliser in the first half before scoring a second to silence Reds fans. Rating: 8
ALEX
MADE a mistake with a poor clearance early on which set up the Torres goal and he then failed to close down the space on the striker. Looked shaky at set-pieces after that but tried his best to atone at the other end, making a nuisance of himself at corners. Rating: 5
JOHN TERRY
FOUND himself covering for Alex when the Brazilian was caught out of position. Held the line well though. Exposed when Kuyt found a way round him before the break but recovered his composure. Unfairly booked and misses second leg. Rating: 7
ASHLEY COLE
STRANGE performance from the left-back, who looked in two minds for much of the game. From the outset he seemed unable to decide whether he would attack or defend. Went missing on a few occasions when Kuyt got in behind him but steadied as the game wore on. Rating: 6
MICHAEL BALLACK
SHOULD have put his stamp on a game that was played mostly through the centre but failed to get a grip in the first half. That changed after the break and he supplied the wide balls for Kalou and Malouda which then resulted in the third goal. Rating: 6
FRANK LAMPARD
RAN himself into the ground carrying, passing and making his team play to the tempo the game needed. It was his corner to Ivanovic which provided the crucial second goal but his superb all-round play was the key to this stunning Blues performance. Rating: 8
MICHAEL ESSIEN
THE unsung hero. Was asked to keep Gerrard quiet but silenced him completely. Even when the Liverpool skipper went wide Essien was his shadow. And when Blues had the ball he tried to get a shot in. Rating: 9 (DREAM TEAM STAR MAN)
FLORENT MALOUDA
RARELY in the game before the 22nd minute when Drogba set him up and his shot went just wide of Reina’s goal. He was quiet for spells but when it mattered he showed and it was his bullet cross which set up the Drog for the third goal to kill the game off. Rating: 7
DIDIER DROGBA
LOOKED sharper than he has all season and was desperately unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in the first half. He never lost confidence and kept putting himself in the line of fire before he did score a brilliant third to cap a great night. Rating: 8
SALOMAN KALOU
STUTTERED through the match, collecting the ball and running at Liverpool from the right. There were moments when he looked dangerous and others when he was just ineffective. But he stretched play when needed and provided a threat when the space opened up. Rating: 6
SUBSTITUTES:
NICOLAS ANELKA (for Drogba)
USED to give the Drog a rest as the Blues looked to close the game out and held the ball up well enough for the short time he was on the pitch. Rating: 6
NOT USED: Hilario, Carvalho, Belletti, Mancienne, Mikel, Deco.
BOOKED: Kalou, Terry.
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Mail:
Anfield stages perfect riposte to Senor Jorge, as hammer and tongs replace cat and mouse when Liverpool meet Chelsea
By MARTIN SAMUEL, chief sports writer
To think this was the fixture that Jorge Valdano, former sporting director of Real Madrid, once compared to something odorous on a stick. When these teams reconvene at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday it will be to play the only game in town, so pathetic was Bayern Munichs resistance to Barcelona.
That tie is over and while this one may be clinging to the edge of a cliff by its fingertips, there is still something about Liverpool in Europe that argues against writing them off until the final whistle blows even though they will face a doubly difficult task if Steven Gerrard has suffered a re-occurrence of his groin problems. As for Valdanos assessment, the world has moved on. He got the bullet at Real Madrid and the remnants of the team he left behind were last seen on these shores getting their backsides kicked by the losers of last nights game. If football is going the way Chelsea and Liverpool are taking it, we had better be ready to wave goodbye to any expression of the cleverness and talent we have enjoyed for a century, Valdano sneered after one of their early encounters. Shows how wrong you can be. These days, Chelsea and Liverpool have replaced cat and mouse with hammer and tongs and it is Madrid who have come to represent major team mediocrity.
The irony is that Liverpool intended to set about Chelsea in exactly the same manner that had reduced Madrid to quivering wrecks at Anfield last month, but Chelsea were too good for that. The midfield was bossed by Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack and, had Didier Drogba taken all the chances that fell his way, there would be no contest remaining. If there is any mystery left in this quarter-final it is there because Liverpool once came back from three goals down in 45 minutes in the Champions League final against AC Milan, and that a harsh decision by Claus Bo Larsen, the Danish referee, has denied Chelsea the presence of their captain, John Terry, who will miss the return leg through suspension. Terry was guilty of nothing more than a robust challenge for the ball when he clattered into Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina midway through the second-half. He led with his head, true, but in the circumstances with the ball in the air, what else could he have stuck in first? An elbow? A boot? Larsen interpreted a thunderous 50-50, in which Terry came out worse, as dangerous play and now Chelsea must play without their spiritual leader. That Liverpool need to win 3-0 to progress is some consolation but an early goal could still make for a nervous night with Fernando Torres on the prowl. Not that there is ever much danger of a damp squib between these teams nowadays. Indeed, Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, may come to look back fondly on the years when the pairing of red and blue in Europe was footballs equivalent of whale song, a warm duvet and Moroccan roll-up before retiring. Yet it was not Liverpools new attacking gameplan that was their undoing, but some uncharacteristically poor marking from set-pieces that gifted two goals to an unlikely hero, Branislav Ivanovic, a player who would not even had started were it not for injury to Jose Bosingwa. Somehow, Liverpool contrived to throw away an early lead and the mental impetus that came with it.
A goal up after six minutes, Liverpool were looking every inch the form team in England, if not Europe. That fantasy was dismantled by Chelsea before half-time, when they could have been several goals clear. By the end they had recorded a truly magnificent result and Anfields famous cacophony had faded to mute observance. When Benitezs players came out for their traditional warm-down after the game it was with heads bowed, as if somebody had given them some bad news about a beloved family pet. They went through their exercises as if in a daze. That is what a result such as this will do, even to a good team. Liverpool put a marker down at Old Trafford in the league last month and we all know what happened next to Manchester United. If Sir Alex Fergusons appraisal is right, Chelsea are about to deliver a fatal blow to Liverpools title ambitions by knocking their confidence at an important time. Benitez said Ferguson would want Liverpool to win because he would wish his great rivals distracted. If Ferguson is to be believed, though, this result will have suited him perfectly, Liverpool left to concentrate not on the league title, but their own pain. What should be celebrated is that Liverpool versus Chelsea is now a game in which the football lives up to the hype. Before this tie, Benitez needled his old adversary, Jose Mourinho, by claiming he did not miss his stifling style of football at Chelsea, but it took two to tango, or to produce matches as mind-numbingly cautious as the early Champions League clashes between these teams. This was different. Liverpool and Chelsea typically play in the frenzied atmosphere of a Beatles concert but with all the edge on the field of a Forties tea dance. The teams tiptoe around each other tactically while beyond the boundaries of the pitch the supporters rage and rave. These days it is as much as those watching can do to draw breath between waves of attacking play, end to end, the accelerator flat to the floor and the twin engines screaming under the strain. It will definitely be that way at Stamford Bridge next week. No time for chess moves, unless it is the one that gets the queen out and on the attack, charging through a line of defensive pawns. But anything could still happen. Anything exciting, that is. We can look forward to Tuesday night confident the days when these teams took lectures on entertainment from employees of Real Madrid are long gone.
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Mirror:
Liverpool 1-3 Chelsea: Branislav Ivanovic double puts Blues in control
Liverpool were hammered in their own back-yard in the Champions League tonight as Chelsea took a huge step on the road to a possible Rome final.
Chelsea produced a performance of great quality and strength to leave Liverpool's dreams in tatters after this quarter-final first leg.
Next Tuesday's second leg at Stamford Bridge may not be a mere formality just yet, but Liverpool will need an exceptional performance to stay in the competition.
It all started so well for Liverpool when Fernando Torres scored in the sixth minute. But Chelsea gradually took over, and two headed goals from Branislav Ivanovic - both poorly-defended set-pieces - and a close-range Didier Drogba strike stunned the Reds.
Steven Gerrard appeared to be struggling for full fitness - and with their captain's powers compromised, Liverpool saw a 14-month and 32-match unbeaten home record destroyed.
The side that has of late battered Real Madrid and Manchester United into submission was nowhere to be seen as Chelsea reigned supreme.
Liverpool had Albert Riera and Fabio Aurelio back after being rested on Saturday at Fulham, while Lucas was in for the suspended Javier Mascherano.
Chelsea had Drogba back up front, and Ivanovic continued as the injured Jose Bosingwa's replacement.
For the 23rd meeting between these bitter rivals in five years - nine in the Champions League - the atmosphere was electric, the noise deafening and the stakes so high.
Liverpool could not have got off to a better start.
Dirk Kuyt had already seen a shot deflected inches wide, before he produced a clever backheel on the edge of the box to set up Alvaro Arbeloa for a laid-back cross which was clinically driven past Petr Cech by Torres from 12 yards.
Yet that just served to galvanise Chelsea into sustained possession and pressure and a performance of growing assertiveness.
The alarm bells should have been ringing within two minutes of their goal for Liverpool when Salomon Kalou pounced on an Aurelio error to send Drogba clear - only for Jose Reina to make a fine, blocking save.
Michael Ballack and Michael Essien slowly but surely took over in midfield, and Liverpool were forced back. Florent Malouda flashed one effort wide of the far post, before Drogba blasted over from close range.
Liverpool were rattled, Torres isolated and Gerrard denied time and space.
Drogba, all menace and muscle, gave Martin Skrtel a hard time - while Kalou was equally dangerous on the right against Aurelio.
Torres curled one effort wide, and Arbeloa missed with a left-footer. But they were rare breaks from Liverpool, Chelsea already moving relentlessly towards an equaliser.
It came after 38 minutes when Malouda's right-wing corner was met with a firm header by Ivanovic, having evaded three defenders in the box as he darted and twisted into space to beat Reina from six yards.
Chelsea went for the throat straight after the break, and only Jamie Carragher's plunging clearance off the line from Drogba's angled effort stopped them going ahead after 51 minutes.
The game had taken a nasty turn by now.
Torres took a painful crack on the ankle from Alex seconds after firing over, and Essien looked to be caught by Skrtel's shoulder in one shuddering aerial collision - before John Terry clattered into Reina in mid air and was booked.
That yellow card will put Terry out of next week's second leg, but Chelsea annoyance was soon replaced by more elation.
A 62nd-minute corner from Frank Lampard was again met by Ivanovic, again unmarked, as he powered another header past Reina to put the Blues ahead.
It soon got even better for Chelsea, and horribly worse for Liverpool.
Five minutes after their second, Drogba arrived in the six-yard box to finish off a low cross from Malouda on the left.
Liverpool's fans fell silent, and the replacement of Riera with Yossi Benayoun before the re-start seemed of little consequence.
Liverpool sent on Ryan Babel for Lucas and Andrea Dossena for an out-of-touch Aurelio, who had just been booked. Drogba went off to a great ovation from the travelling support, allowing Nicolas Anelka into the fray.
The game, though, was already well won by the Blues and up for the Reds.
Champions League: Chelsea have learned to walk on through the storm.
By Oliver Holt
Champions League quarter-final 1st leg: Liverpool 1-3 Chelsea
Someone who didn't know better sat in Tommy Smith's seat in the press box last night.
The old Anfield Iron, one of the game's great hard men, gave him a tap on the shoulder.
As his victim began the search for a new place, the strains of You'll Never Walk Alone began to fill the stadium.
Any football fan with a heart and a feel for the game can't help but wear a stupid grin when they look around Anfield, hear that music and see the bank of scarves raised aloft.
In the Kop, a giant likeness of Bob Paisley, the manager who led Liverpool to three European Cup victories, loomed large behind the goal, next to a banner in tribute to Kenny Dalglish.
History itself seemed to be pulling Liverpool back to Rome where the Champions League final will take place next month and where Liverpool won two of their five European Cups.
The Chelsea players stood in the tunnel as all this unfolded.
They had walked beneath the "This is Anfield" sign on the wall above the stairs down from the changing rooms.
They knew that Anfield on nights like this is as intimidating a place as any in football, a journey into the beating heart of a city as well as a club.
Five years ago, when Chelsea paid their first Champions League visit here for the second leg of a semi-final, their legs turned to jelly.
The record books say they lost to what Jose Mourinho still insists was a ghost goal from Luis Garcia. But the reality was that they lost to Bill Shankly's old heroes in the Kop. They were beaten before they came out.
The atmosphere was the same last night. But something else has changed - Chelsea have learned to live with it. Maybe it was John Arne Riise's own goal last year that broke the spell and made Chelsea believe they could withstand whatever Liverpool and their crowd threw at them on nights like this.
Maybe it was just the accumulated experience of being forced to endure this cauldron of a ground so often.
Maybe it was just that they felt liberated by no longer being considered overwhelming favourites to win.
In previous years, Liverpool victories have been greeted almost as sorcery, so sure were most neutrals that Chelsea in the Mourinho era would emerge as winners.
But Liverpool beat Chelsea home and away in the Premier League this season and so, if anything, Rafa Benitez's team were favourites.
There is another thing too.
Chelsea have been driven this season by a burning desire to make up for the pain of their penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester United in last season's Champions League final.
Men like captain John Terry and Didier Drogba, sent off for a churlish slap in Moscow, have been gripped by the search for redemption.
Terry, who missed a crucial kick in the shoot-out, spoke about the desire the team harbours to make amends.
Terry is a brave man but you could see the manic determination when he flung himself into a challenge with Pepe Reina after an hour.
That challenge was always going to hurt but it was a gesture of defiance from Terry.
When he was berated by Steven Gerrard afterwards, Terry gave him a verbal blast back.
Seconds later, Branislav Ivanovic scored Chelsea's second goal.
Chelsea had done the hard work by then. They had suffered what could have been a crushing early setback and fought back.
They did not panic when Fernando Torres put Liverpool ahead in the sixth minute.
They did not become dispirited when Drogba missed two clear chances. They did not let Liverpool's intensity break them.
And when Ivanovic scored his first goal, also direct from a corner, Chelsea knew they had weathered the storm.
They knew they had survived the worst Liverpool could throw at them. From then on, the force of nature that is the Anfield crowd was quietened and so was their team.
The home supporters grew restless, berating the referee. Their team began to fall apart.
Drogba should have put Chelsea ahead five minutes after the break but Jamie Carragher made a brilliant goal-line clearance.
It was just a stay of execution. Ivanovic scored his second and when Drogba scored a brilliant third midway through the half, the game, and probably the tie, was over.
Anfield was muted. The destruction of Real Madrid in the last round seemed suddenly devalued.
In the hush, the Chelsea fans in the corner finally made themselves heard.
"F*** your history," they sang. "We're going to Rome."
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Express:
IVAN THE TERRIBLE TORTURES RAFA
By Paul Joyce
Liverpool 1 - 3 Chelsea
IT took three years and 16 matches for Rafa Benitez to grow to loathe Jose Mourinho. One evening spent in the company of Guus Hiddink and he will already be sick of the sight of him.
Chelsea savoured a momentous victory last night and that it even came tinged with a sense of disappointment merely served to underline the swashbuckling style with which they responded to seeing Liverpool lead inside six minutes.
A booking for John Terry after an ill-advised jump into Pepe Reina means their skipper will be suspended when hostilities are renewed at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, but the biggest gripe Hiddink will have is that the margin of victory was not more.
Liverpool must score three times in the second leg to keep their Champions League dreams alive and the miracle of Istanbul will be name-checked time and time again in the coming days.
Had Didier Drogba not carelessly discarded his shooting boots here then the regret Benitez was left with could have been replaced by ridicule.
When he turned home Michael Ballack’s cross in the 67th minute to open up a yawning gap, it was fourth-time lucky for him having spurned three palatable chances.
Yet a rumbustious quarter-final was not the biggest surprise, nor even Drogba’s profligacy, but the sight of Branislav Ivanovic twice scoring with headers from corners served to highlight Liverpool’s weaknesses.
Terry had spoken with discerning honesty about “dreading” the prospect of trying to halt the juggernaut Steven Gerrard has resembled of late.
Hiddink must have felt the same way judging by his decision to hand Michael Essien the unenviable task of ensuring Gerrard’s influence did not reach a makeshift Chelsea defence shorn of Ricardo Carvalho and containing Ivanovic at right-back.
While acknowledging Essien’s energy meant he was the only one capable of accepting the challenge, Hiddink must have initially worried what his team would lose further forward.
It was a concern that was immediately compounded when, with the Kop’s deafening war cry still reverberating around this famous stadium, Liverpool bounded out of the traps intent on wreaking havoc.
The warning was sounded inside two minutes when a waspish Dirk Kuyt drive was goalbound until Ivanovic diverted it behind and a sense of calm had not been properly restored when Anfield exploded.
Gerrard’s sheer presence prompted the mayhem, with a panicked Alex snaking out a boot to half-clear the ball to Kuyt, whose clever pass sent Alvaro Arbeloa scampering into the space behind Ashley Cole. And Arbeloa was granted time to measure a cross which Fernando Torres swept home with the sort of simplicity that betrayed both the occasion and the stakes.
For those – and the two managers were among them – who had predicted a cagey, suffocating affair, then the contest which unfolded at breakneck speed proved a refreshing antidote. This was titanic rather than tedious.
The unerring finishing of Torres was quickly magnified as Liverpool replicated Chelsea’s slap-dash defending and almost gifted them an equaliser within 60 seconds.
Salomon Kalou dispossessed the dawdling Fabio Aurelio and played in Drogba, whose rasping volley was blocked by Reina. Drogba cursed his misfortune and his mood was hardly improved just before the half-hour.
On this occasion it was Ballack who threaded an exquisite pass to his team-mate. Having given Jamie Carragher the slip, the ball sat up beautifully but a left-foot volley sailed into the Kop .
There had been more chances in the opening 30 minutes last night than in all of their previous eight collisions in this competition put together.
Chelsea’s response had been increasingly assured and deserving of a reward, though the manner of their equaliser would have dismayed Benitez. A corner from Florent Malouda was straight forward but Ivanovic, having escaped Xabi Alonso, was allowed to arrive between Martin Skrtel and Albert Riera to head home.
Hiddink will have privately marvelled at the manner in which his players shrugged off the setback of conceding so early to showcase the spirit and strength to play their way back into an enthralling encounter. Whether under Luiz Felipe Scolari they would have mustered the confidence to do so is doubtful and Chelsea’s invention almost brought a further prize.
Again it was Drogba who was left tormented. There was a suspicion of handball as he controlled Lampard’s pass following a mistake by Aurelio but, having been allowed to proceed into the area where he pushed a shot past Reina, parity was only preserved by Carragher’s goal-line clearance.
It did not matter. Ivanovic powered another header from a Lampard corner with the home markers again AWOL and Drogba’s belated intervention made it almost the perfect night.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio (Dossena 75); Lucas (Babel 79), Alonso; Kuyt, Gerrard, Riera (Benayoun 67); Torres. Booked: Aurelio. Goal: Torres 6.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole A; Essien; Kalou, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda; Drogba (Anelka 80). Booked: Kalou, Terry. Goals: Ivanovic 39, 62, Drogba 67.
Referee: C Larsen (Denmark).
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Star:
IVAN'S JUST SO TERRIBLE FOR RAFA
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 3
Two-goal Branislav Ivanovic put Chelsea in the Champions League box seat with his first goals for the club.
The defender scored either side of half-time with Didier Drogba adding a third to leave Liverpool needing a miracle in Tuesday’s second leg of this quarter-final.
Chelsea were almost left counting the cost of two glaring first-half misses from Drogba after Fernando Torres had shot Liverpool into an early lead.
Then Ivanovic headed the visitors level to spare Drogba’s blushes in a pulsating encounter.
Torres stunned the Blues with a superb finish to give Rafa Benitez’s men the lead after just six minutes.
But how different it could have all been if ace marksman Drogba hadn’t squandered those two superb chances.
A cracking game had got off to a brisk enough start as it was when Torres suddenly handed a massive advantage to Liverpool with a brilliant strike.
Liverpool had threatened to go in front even earlier when Dirk Kuyt’s beautifully-struck, 20-yard volley flew goalwards, only to be taken off course by the head of Ivanovic.
But within minutes the ground exploded as Liverpool edged in front through Spanish hitman Torres.
Chelsea looked to have cleared their ranks when Alex’s overhead kick thwarted Steven Gerrard but when Kuyt sent Xabi Alonso down the right with a magnificent flicked pass, Chelsea were badly stretched.
Alonso’s sweeping low cross was perfectly directed towards an unmarked Torres, who took it first time a yard back from the penalty spot and fired a crisp shot into the bottom corner of the net.
But Chelsea didn’t give themselves time to get down in the dumps and should have been level within a minute.
Fabio Aurelio was robbed by Salomon Kalou and when he put Drogba clear on goal there seemed to be only one outcome. But keeper Pepe Reina made himself big and, though he should have been given no chance, he managed to block magnificently to leave Drogba holding his head in disbelief.
Chelsea enjoyed a spell in control and then managed to get level with a crucial away goal in the 39th minute.
The Ivory Coast striker definitely should have equalised on the half- hour when Michael Ballack set him up perfectly just seven yards out with a terrific, sweeping cross.
Drogba took it with his left foot and really only had to find the target, but shot over with audible gasps of relief from the home crowd.
How happy he must have been a few minutes later when Ivanovic showed a true striker’s finish with a headed goal from a corner which Liverpool will surely have nightmares over.
Ivanovic managed to shrug off Alonso and worm his way between four other red shirts to level things up with a stunning header.
It was a fitting end to a fantastic opening half during which both sides displayed a real devil-may-care showcase of attacking football.
Kop boss Benitez had good cause to be wary going into this double-header despite his side’s blistering form.
For now, Liverpool’s snapping at the heels of stuttering Manchester United for the Premier League title, had to be put on hold.
Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink made no secret of his side’s desire to try and get at least one away goal to take back to Stamford Bridge.
These two giants of the domestic game have clashed in the Champions League for the past five seasons – and the side playing in front of their own fans first has gone on to lose in their three semi-final meetings.
But Chelsea sent the five-times winners tumbling out in the final four last season to set up that epic clash with Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.
And the heartache of that penalty shoot-out defeat meant that Hiddink would have to say little to ensure his men’s minds were on the job and up for it. While Benitez’s prowess in the European showpiece is legendary, Hiddink is also tried and tested having won it in 1988 with PSV Eindhoven.
One strange fact that emerged from the star-packed teams is that Hiddink had four players on the bench with Champions League winners’ medals – Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Juliano Belletti and Nicolas Anelka.
Yet he had no-one in his starting line-up who could make a similar boast.
The pace of the game was absolutely breathtaking with both sides giving no quarter in as good a display of attacking, open football as you are likely to see. Arbeloa was only inches off target with a cleverly engineered curling shot which finished just inches wide of the angle.
Then Petr Cech was forced into action at the other end, flinging himself bravely in the way to pull out a superb block to deny Kuyt.
Drogba must have thought it wasn’t going to be his night when a third attempt to get on the scoresheet fell on stony ground minutes after the interval.
He bypassed Reina and sent an angled shot goalwards to put Chelsea in front only to see Kop hero Jamie Carragher scramble back to scoop it off the line.
Ivanovic stunned Anfield with an almost carbon copy of his first goal in the 62nd minute from another corner.
Then Drogba put Chelsea on the verge on the semi-finals when he swept in Florent Malouda’s pinpoint cross following Michael Ballack’s superb through ball five minutes later.
The only Chelsea blemish was a Terry booking for a challenge on Reina. It rules him out of the return.
