You'll Never Walk Alone -- The End...

[hedger_14]

Good comeback from Fiorentina to make their way into the semi finals.

 

[m_vaughan]

Yes Forza Viola. They did knock Madrid out but they destroyed Barca so its all fine I guess.

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Last updated: 18th April 2010

A second-half goal from Albert Riera was enough to send Jose Mourinho's Liverpool through to their first ever FA Cup final in three years.

Ex-Man City winger Albert Riera side-footed an easy chance to see off the Toffees after Tim Howard had denied Alexis Sanchez and Hernanes had failed to clear. Sanchez, who looked to have handled in the build-up to the goal, missed a simple chance to seal the win. They were almost made to pay but Fernandinho's shot hit the bar and Leidson fired wide late on.

Liverpool will face fellow Premier League rivals Chelsea for the fifth time this season- who beat Manchester City 3-0 on Saturday - in the finals at the Wembley. Liverpool were already odds-on favourites to lift the trophy before the game, but for long periods it was Everton who looked the better bet for a return to Wembley on 16 May.

Liverpool's defensive pair of Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel struggled throughout to deal with young and energetic forward Leidson dropping deep. The former Sporting Lisbon striker found plenty of space and tested the Reds early on with a long-range shot just over the bar before a neat lay-off that ended with Hernanes causing problems for a fumbling Pepe Reina with a low shot.

Liverpool were all at sea going forward, with Sanchez - starting alone upfront in place of the injured Fernando Torres - wasteful and Riera and Gerrard barely contributing as Mourinho looking increasingly agitated on the sidelines.

They enjoyed their best spell of the first half shortly before the break but Jose Mourinho, on his first appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals and at Wembley as manager since his return to England, would have had strong words at the interval.

There appeared to be little immediate change in Liverpool's play, but less than 10 minutes after the break they broke the deadlock. Glen Johnson played a ball into Sacnhez, who may have controlled the ball with his arm before getting off a shot which Howard did well to keep out. However, as Howard looked to pounce on the loose ball Hernanes tried to clear and could only steer the ball into the direction of Riera to slot into the empty net from only a couple of yards out.

It should have been game over as Sanchez was played in by a slide rule pass from Steven Gerrard and seemed certain to score, but he made an awful hash of the finish and Howard produced a desperate save.

The Toffees almost made them pay as the game burst into life in the latter stages. Mikel Arteta set up Fernandinho and his shot beat Reina but smacked the top of the bar. Moments later substitute Alex got clear on the left and tried to pick out Fellaini at the back post, but Reina anticipated well and plucked his cross out of the air.

There were further worries as Arteta set up an onrushing Leidson but he side-footed wide and Liverpool survived to book their place in the final.

__________________________________________________​

Everton: Howard, Srna, Yobo, Hangeland, Lescott(Jo 88), Neville(C), Arteta, Hernanes(Fellaini 75), Baines(Alex 76), Fernandinho, Leidson.
Subs not Used: Nash, Hibbert, Jagielka, Vaughan.

Booked: Lescott.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio(Dossena 76), Mascherano, Lucas, Camacho(Aquilani 83), Riera, Gerrard, Sanchez(Destro 90).
Subs Not Used: Diego, Appiah, Degen, Agger.

Goals: Riera 53.

Att: 89,987.

Ref: A Wiley.

Man of the Match: Glen Johnson.​

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Last updated: 21st April 2010

Late goals by Daniel Agger and Alexis Sanchez moved Liverpool three points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

In the first half, a superb save from Craig Gordon denied Albert Riera and Philip Degen missed his kick when he looked certain to score. Liverpool were relieved that Kenwyene Jones and Lorik Cana headed chances wide. Sunderland looked set to snatch a draw, but Agger headed in on 85 minutes and Sanchez rounded off a breakaway move to seal the win three minutes later.

With Arsenal having already won during the weeken, Liverpool needed a win to keep them on the top of the table. But for a long time it looked as though a win would elude the Reds.

Sunderland put on a brave display and their doggedness would have pleased boss Steve Bruce, who was watching from the stands serving a touchline suspension. Bruce would have particularly enjoyed Anton Ferdinand's decisive intervention to cut out an Riera cross set to be converted by Glen Johnson.

And the former Birmingham and Wigan manager would also have noted Sunderland's ability to break and create chances of their own - most notably headers from Jones and Cana that were not far off target. In fact, Jones had thought he had scored in only the fifth minute when he rounded keeper Pepe Reina, but the offside flag denied him.

But for most of the first 45 minutes, Sunderland - as expected - found themselves deep in their own half, repelling Liverpool attacks. Their task was initially made easier by Liverpool's inability to find top gear, with the midfield pairing of Lucas, Camacho and Alberto Aquilani with Steven Gerrard rested. And, at times, it appeared Riera had caught the English disease of squandering possession.

Ironically, Liverpool's only Englishman on show, Glen Johnson, was slick with his passing, direct with his movement and by far the biggest threat on the pitch. He set up the Reds' best chance in the first half when he played an excellent one-two with Riera, whose shot was superbly saved by Craig Gordon.

And the English rightback playing as winger in the match, showed more sharp skills when he sped to the byline and cut the ball back to Degen, only for the Switzerland international to fail to get a boot on the ball.

After the break, Liverpool attempted to come forward with more purpose, but for all of the quick passing they were clearly lacking the invention of the rested Gerrard and the pace of the injured Fernando Torres. Their pressing almost led to a goal when Sanchez's strong running took him deep into the box but the striker dragged a shot across the face of goal and no-one was there to follow up.

At the other end, a mix-up between Martin Skrtel and Agger presented Jones with a chance but he screwed his shot wide. Then Gordon just about managed to bat away Aquilani's free-kick at the near post and Sunderland looked to set to take a point away from Anfield.

But with five minutes left, Glen Johnson's cross to the near post was headed in by Agger to put Liverpool ahead. And then Sanchez made the game safe as Liverpool launched a rapid counter-attack, ending in the Chile international slotting home.

__________________________________________________​

Liverpool boss Jose Mourinho: "We needed something special and some patience to find an opening, and Agger found it. He is like a centre-forward because he knows where to be in the box and he can always turn up with a goal. Once again we found the resources to win the game. That makes me happy, we are able to win games or take away all points even if we are not playing our best football."

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce: "We play well for 80 minutes but we have to eradicate the problem we have of conceding goals in the last 10 minutes. The biggest disappointment for us is that we conceded a goal from a cross after we had fought off all their passing football. But the players showed great attitude and responded well."

__________________________________________________​

Liverpool: Reina, Degen, Skrtel, Agger, Aurelio, Camacho, Lucas, Aquilani(C), Johnson, Riera(Dossena 81), Sanchez(Destro 90).
Subs Not Used: Diego, Carragher, Gerrard, Kuyt, Appiah.

Goals: Agger 85, Sanchez 88.

Sunderland: Gordon, Anyukov, Nosworthy(Davenport 82), Ferdinand, Collins, Wilson, Robson(C), Cana, Thompson, Malbranque(Richardson 75), Jones(Campbell 80).
Subs Not Used: Fulop, McShane, Bardsley, McCartney.

Att: 43,773.

Ref: M Halsey.

Man of the Match: Daniel Agger.​

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Last updated: 24th April 2010

Goals from Alberto Aquilani, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard helped ease Liverpool to victory over 10-man Portsmouth at Anfield.

The first two Liverpool goals came in the first 10 minutes and both were headers from Steven Gerrard free-kicks. Things took a turn for the worse for the visitors when Papa Bouba Diop was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Albert Riera. Substitute Kuyt drilled in the third before Steven Gerrard made it 4-0 with a header from Glen Johnson's cross.

The result could have been very different had Portsmouth taken advantage of ungainly goalkeeping from Pepe Reina in the fourth minute. The Spain shot-stopper could only parry Niko Kranjcar's 25-yard effort, although he was alert enough to prevent Frederic Piquionne from pouncing on the loose ball. Reina also dived at the feet of Diop before Kennedy's shot was deflected over towards the end of a mad scramble.

Just three minutes later, Liverpool opened the scoring when Gerrard, who was rested against Sunderland, delivered a cracking ball from the right for Aquilani to score past David James. And shortly after the restart, striker Fernando Torres grabbed his first and his side's second when he bulleted in another Gerrard free-kick, this time from the left.

Steven Gerrard came close to scoring himself but headed over Sanchez's dinked cross from the right while the marauding Albert Riera drilled a shot four yards wide after a typical surge to the edge of the area.

As Liverpool pressed forward, Paul Hart's side became increasingly frustrated. That frustration led to niggly fouls, one of them resulting in a red card for Diop. The Senegalese player was shown a second yellow after a late tackle on Sanchez after already being booked for a foul on Gerrard.

That was essentially game over for Pompey. Liverpool became more lax after the break but could afford to given their opponents' lack of fight. Piquionne had a half-chance deflected over from six yards midway through the second half before he was replaced by John Utaka.

But the home side landed a knockout combination in the final few minutes thanks to substitute Dirk Kuyt and skipper Gerrard. First, Kuyt - returning to action after an injury - found James' left-hand corner after Riera dummied Andrea Dossena's pass.

Then Gerrard headed in Johnson's cross from the right to make the scoreline emphatic. Reports in Saturday's papers suggested that Hart could find himself out of a job in the summer. This result will not have helped to quell the rumours.

__________________________________________________​

Liverpool assistant boss Sammy Lee: "We were looking for a performance from the players and we got that performance. The early goals from Aquilani and Torres helped our team as did the sending off of Diop. Diop was making too many fouls and that's why he was sent off. But with 10 men they did make it hard."

Portsmouth boss Paul Hart: "It was Man City, Spurs and now Liverpool - we went into the week hoping that anything from those games would help keep the pressure up. But we've had a disastrous week. We now have to try to finish the season as strongly as possible. We've given stupid goals away in the three games."

__________________________________________________​

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Dossena, Lucas, Aquilani(Camacho 78), Gerrard(C), Sanchez(Kuyt 52), Riera, Torres(Destro 80).
Subs Not Used: Diego, Skrtel, Aurelio, Appiah.

Booked: Riera, Dossena, Gerrard.

Goals: Aquilani 7, Torres 10, Kuyt 82, Gerrard 90.

Portsmouth: James(C), Finnan(Primus 61), Kennedy(Hreidarsson 61), Gariddo, Kaboul, Hughes, Hartley, Kennedy, Kranjcar, Diop, Piquionne(Utaka 70).
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, O'Neil, Wilson, Cranie.

Sent Off: Diop (43).

Booked: Diop, Kranjcar.

Att: 42,511.

Ref: L Probert.

Man of the Match: Steven Gerrard

 

[freddiw]

best FM story I have ever seen on this site, never commented on stories for about a year but this deserves it

 

[m_vaughan]

Thats true and the attention to detail is incredible throughout. Anyways two good wins to maintain the three point lead at the top. I know you dropped points before but am surprised that it was that much that it became from a 13-point lead to 3. The title race is very very much on. All the best and hope Chelsea finish in the top four.

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Quarter-Finals - 28 April 2010 20:15 GMT - Allianz Arena - Munchen - Germany​

Liverpool take home late away goal

Bayern Munich player's reaction after Torres' injury time equaliser​

A headed goal deep into added time by Liverpool FC striker Fernando Torres rescued a vital draw for the visitors after Jose Sosa's first-half opener had looked like giving the home team a significant advantage in their UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Torres, who had just returned to first team action during the weekend after missing two Premier League matches, dived low to head in a Albert Riera cross from the left, and his header flew past Diego Benaglio and into the top of the net – giving the Merseysiders an away goal they had virtually given up on getting. It could have been so different for FC Bayern Munchen, had visiting goalkeeper Pepe Reina not spectacularly tipped over a late Mark van Bommel drive before denying Luca Toni seconds before the equaliser.

Both sides were slow to start and the cagey, tactical match predicted by many appeared likely to materialise. Liverpool seemed to have the upper hand thanks to a slightly more measured passing game, until Jurgen Klinsmann's men created the first real opening of the tie. Anatoliy Tymoschuk's long and hopeful ball over the top of Liverpool's back line found Klose, who beat the offside trap but failed to control properly and a combination of Reina and Daniel Agger cleared the danger.

Still, FC Bayern Munchen frequently struggled to find their rhythm as the half wore on and possession of the ball looked to be a luxury commodity. Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard almost caught the four-time champions off guard with a dangerous crossfield pass which the well-placed Dirk Kuyt, in two minds, was unable to get a true touch on. Toni was presented with an even better opportunity at the other end on 34 minutes after being released by van Bommel, yet the striker could only fire straight at Reina when clean in on goal.

Bayern Munchen's fears were eased by the first goal of the semi-final in the 41st minute. Sosa capitalised on confusion between Lucas and Fabio Aurelio after Franck Ribery's miscued shot was skied over their heads, keeping both his eye on the ball and his nerve to drive the ball past Reina. The Argentine's strike had a huge galvanising effect on the home side and on the match in general as the tempo was markedly increased, especially just after the break when the FC Hollywood made several threats to move further in front.

Suddenly the likes of Tymoschuk and Franck Ribery could find each other with incisive interchanges that were previously beyond them, and the home crowd turned up the volume again. With Fernando Torres looking an isolated figure up front for Liverpool as he chased in vain a succession of long balls pumped in his direction, a goal for Jose Mourinho's team seemed more likely to come from midfield. Alberto Aquilani and Gerrard combined to set Albert Riera free in the box, where Van Buyten's last-ditch block kept his effort off target.

The visitors did, however, force the pace as the clock ticked down, although Bayern Munchen might well have doubled their advantage as first van Bommel then Toni tested Reina. Had either of those chances gone in, next Tuesday's second leg would have taken on an altogether different complexion – as it did, to the Merseysiders' benefit, when Torres beat Benaglio.

__________________________________________________​

Bayern Munchen: Bebaglio, Gorlitz, Demichelis, Van Buyten, Lahm, Sosa, Tymoschuk(Schweinsteiger 82), van Bommel?, Ribery(Altintop 80), Klose(Olic 72), Klose.
Subs Not Used: Butt, Gomez, Pranjic, Braafheid.

Booked: Demichelis, Ribery.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio, Lucas(Appiah 80), Aquilani, Gerrard?, Kuyt(Sanchez 80), Riera, Torres.
Subs Not Used: Diego, Skrtel, Camacho, Destro, San Jose.

Booked: Aquilani, Lucas, Carragher, Gerrard.

Att: 69,866.

Ref: M Busacca.

Man of the Match: Pepe Reina.​

 

[m_vaughan]

That away goal changes everything and the timing of it couldn't have been more dramatic.

 

[Dutch]

We are really coming to the climatic ending of this season now! Will Liverpool have the legs to produce a fitting finale! (Brilliant result for the real Liverpool against United. That would have given them a lot of joy!)

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Last updated: 31st April 2010

Second-half goals from Alberto Aquilani and Fernando Torres kept Liverpool at the top of the table, three points ahead of Arsenal.

Liverpool were not at their best and were given a stern test by Blackburn who could have taken the lead had Benni McCarthy lobbed over Pepe Reina. But with 16 minutes remaining, Blackburn switched off, leaving Aquilani to cushion home Albert Riera's cross. Blackburn pressed for an equaliser, but as another attack broke down, Torres burst upfield and coolly slotted home.

The Spaniard was far from his blistering best, but still managed to notch his 25th goal of the season- eight more than what he scored last season. Liverpool, who play Bayern Munich at Anfield in Champions League semi finals second leg, were given a thorough examination by the Rovers who were eventually undone by a move of pure class.

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce, opted for a bold, attacking line-up and his ambition was almost rewarded. With Blackburn's two backline stalwarts, Ryan Nelsen and Chris Samba back to full fitness were charged with containing Torres and Gerrard. The huge centre-back was immense as he outmuscled the Spaniard, while his partner and club skipper - until Aquilani's goal - admirably marshalled the Liverpool skipper.

Blackburn were made to defend for large parts, but they were a constant threat on the break with Carlos Villanueva and McCarthy linking well and creating decent chances. Fine work down the left from Villanueva set up McCarthy who, with Reina grounded, failed to get his shot off before Daniel Agger slid in to prevent the striker from shooting.

Fernando Torres then jinked in from the right and crashed a left-foot shot low past the post, while Lucas forced a fine fingertip save from Paul Robinson from a free-kick from 25 yards.

Alexis Sanchez came on at the break and his introduction almost brought Liverpool the opener. The Chile international's corner was flapped at by Robinson and Samba had to make a heroic hooked clearance off the line to deny Agger.

Liverpool began to dominate and Blackburn were forced to rely on sporadic counter-attacks, although McCarthy should have lofted his close-range shot over Reina when clean through.

Liverpool's pressure soon told and with 16 minutes remaining, Aquilani took his chance under the gaze of Italian boss Marcelo Lippi by superbly guiding Riera's clipped pass into the bottom corner. David Dunn broke from midfield and almost equalised only to drag his effort narrowly wide.

Three minutes into injury-time, as Blackburn surged forward for an unlikely leveller, Torres broke up the attack and surged upfield before slotting in.

__________________________________________________​

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce: "We put an awful lot into the game and tested them to the end. But the quality of Alberto Aquilani and Fernando Torres proved too much. We had a real go at them and although it looks like a routine 2-0 victory, it certainly wasn't that. We didn't want to sit back and we often feel our best defence is to attack and it almost paid off today."

Liverpool boss Jose Mourinho: "We had a number of chances in last third but we started to worry that we weren't going to get the goal. Credit to Blackburn who never stopped working and really made us work. It was a really open match. Our own attacking play wasn't at its best and more care was needed up front. We scored at the right time and held on."

__________________________________________________​

Blackburn: Robinson, Stankevicius, Samba, Nelsen(C), Olsson(Andrews 75), Grella, Reid(van Heerden 65), Dunn, Emerton(Roberts 85), Villanueva, McCarthy.
Subs Not Used: Brown, Givet, N'Zonzi, Doran.

Booked: Olsson, Samba.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger(Skrtel 80), Aurelio, Lucas, Aquilani, Gerrard(Camacho 76), Riera, Kuyt(Sanchez 46), Torres.
Subs Not Used: Diego, Degen, Appiah, Destro.

Goals: Aquilani 74, Torres 89.

Att: 31,283.

Ref: S Attwell.

Man of the Match: Fernando Torres.​

 

[Dutch]

Good win for The Reds. How many games to go before they can definitely say they have won the title?

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Good win for The Reds. How many games to go before they can definitely say they have won the title?

Four matches left including the main one against Arsenal which surely will be the title decider. Arsenal are in second place just 3 points behind us.

 

[Dutch]

Four matches left including the main one against Arsenal which surely will be the title decider. Arsenal are in second place just 3 points behind us.

Still four to go! That is still not decided then plus the fact Liverpool are contending on several fronts still. Do you think they can grab all the trophies they are still going for? Is it FA Cup, Title and Champions League?

 

[m_vaughan]

Well I thought Liverpool had the Premiership in the bag a long time back but credit to Arsenal for keeping up the fight and who knows they might steal it right at the end although as was said before the game between the two should effectively decide the winner.