You Knew It When You Saw Startinig 11

25 Apr 2007 Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool - CL semi-final lst leg

BBC - Joe Cole's first-half goal gave Chelsea a narrow victory in their Champions League semi-final first-leg clash with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Cole slid in Didier Drogba's cross after 29 minutes to give Jose Mourinho's side the upper hand. Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina produced two brilliant saves from Frank Lampard to keep the tie in the balance. Petr Cech denied Liverpool an away goal with a stunning second-half stop from Steven Gerrard's long-range volley.

So......
1. Bellamy? If I remember right, he hasn't played much recently?
2. Zenden??? Has he really performed since he came to Liverpool? And put him on in this kind of game?
3. Gerrard on the right? Where's the on-form Pennant? Mascherano and Alonso in the middle is fine. Then why not move Gerrard upfront to support Kuyt or Crouchy?
4. Can't complain about playing Arbeloa on the right-back since Finnan is out with injury. However, Arbeloa's performance tonight just prove that we miss StevieF there.

Well..maybe everything could be sorted out if Finnan was fit, because Rafa would probably play Arbeloa on the left-back and push Riise forward. But since Finnan was out, he could only choose from Zenden and Gonzalez. Watching Gonzalez played full 90 minutes last Saturday against Wigan, I don't think he would make big differences tonight. Zenden on the other hand is better in defence and got more experiences. Having thought about that, I think I can understand why Rafa started him, though I still think he's not good enough. We certainly miss players like Garcia, Kewell and Aurelio, don't we?

I would love to see Pennant starts next week, with Gerrard either in the centre of midfield or supporting lone striker which Crouchy should be given the chance. Riise on the left wing, with Finnan back in the squad and Arbeloa on the left-back. Well...I believe we need something special because Chelsea is hard to break down. I can't share the comments that fans saying they're not worried at all. I do. I'm worried and nervous. I want to prepare myself that Liverpool could be knocked out next week, though I know it's only half time and we're still alive in the tie. The disappointment of losing the first leg just hit me so badly because I was too confident and because I was expecting a result like we had in Nou Camp. Now that if we're on the way to Athens, it would be a bonus to me, and if we don't, well at least I've already prepared for it. With the Kop behind us at Anfield, I do believe we have chances to go through. Gerrard could be the key man again, but as long as he got supports from other players on the pitch. All the best, my mighty Reds.

Stevie: "The mood wasn't downbeat in the dressing room after the game. It's still game on. If we score first at Anfield, we could be in for a very good second leg. I think Chelsea were happy with the result, but I think they will still show us a lot of respect in the second leg. They know the tie isn't over yet and they've witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield before. They know that we're capable of beating them at Anfield - as we proved in the Premiership earlier this year. It's only half-time. We would have liked a better scoreline going back to Anfield but we're one down and we'll get on with it. We'll approach the game knowing that we need to score the first goal and we'll be ready for Tuesday night. We're confident we can hurt them a lot more at our place with the crowd behind us. We'll raise the tempo and the first 20 minutes will be really interesting next week. If any supporters can raise the roof, it's our supporters, so I think we could be in store for another memorable European night."