Chelsea 1, Liverpool 0 (D,Post)

Apr 26 2007 by Ian Doyle at Stamford Bridge

TIME briefly stood still at Stamford Bridge last night. But Rafael Benitez will hope his Liverpool players can now turn back the clock to keep their Champions League dream alive.

The re-run of their 2005 semi-final with Chelsea didn’t go to script for the Spaniard as Jose Mourinho’s side claimed a slender advantage to take into next Tuesday’s Anfield return.

Benitez had wanted his team to keep a clean sheet and score an away goal. Having done neither, Liverpool must now come from behind to secure their place in Athens on May 23.

While enjoying some memorable comebacks during Champions League games, Liverpool have not successfully overturned a first-leg European deficit since coming from 2-0 down against Auxerre to win 3-2 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup in November 1991.

It should be said there had only been five previous instances during that 16-year period before last night’s game, which was decided by a 29th-minute strike from Liverpool nemesis Joe Cole.

But it underlines the task now facing Liverpool if they are to reach a seventh European Cup final. If Mourinho didn’t think his team were favourites to progress before last night, they certainly are now; Benitez’s noticeably downbeat demeanour during the post-match inquest spoke volumes.

The win over Auxerre ranks among several unforgettable European nights at Anfield. And next week the grand old stadium will require another of the order that moved Mourinho to observe he had felt the “power of Anfield Road” two years ago.

That, though, won’t be enough if Liverpool repeat the slow start that hampered their performance last night, a sluggish opening from which they never recovered.

The stadium clock stopped in the 14th minute and Liverpool still hadn’t got going when it resumed just in time for Joe Cole’s winner.

The flamboyant Chelsea midfielder is a real nuisance to Liverpool. Having twice proven the difference against Benitez’s side in the Premiership, the only surprise about his goal last night was that it wasn’t deflected. Admittedly, however, both he and Didier Drogba tormented a surprisingly shaky visiting back-line during a difficult first half.

Liverpool had not scored at Stamford Bridge in five previous attempts under Benitez. And the harsh reality is that, aside from one Steven Gerrard shot brilliantly saved by Petr Cech, they didn’t look remotely like altering that statistic.

Once again, Gerrard led the fight to Chelsea, outshining England colleague Frank Lampard in midfield. But that Pepe Reina was Liverpool’s next best on show said much about a game Mourinho’s men deserved to edge.

Of course, an outcome similar to the 2-0 win Liverpool achieved over Chelsea in the Premiership back in January will see them progress, and their home form is such that only Manchester United have won at Anfield this season – and even that was fortunate.

But that league defeat was the sole occasion since the turn of the year that Chelsea have conceded twice in one game, an indication of the task that now awaits Liverpool.