Chelsea 2, Liverpool 0 - post match analysis

Dec 20 2007 by Ian Doyle, Daily Post

THERE are only three things certain in life: death, taxes and a deflected Chelsea goal against Liverpool.

Frank Lampard supplied the latest entry into the Stamford Bridge hall of fortune to help knock Rafael Benitez’s 10-man team out of the Carling Cup last night.

The midfielder’s lucky 59th-minute strike sent the Londoners on their way to victory in a tight quarter-final contest against a largely-second string Liverpool.

Andriy Shevchenko’s last-minute goal gave the scoreline a flattering appearance for Chelsea, particularly as Benitez’s side had played the last half-hour with 10 men following the sending-off of Peter Crouch for a reckless challenge on Jon Obi Mikel.

While Liverpool’s most recent defeats against Reading and Manchester United have prompted lengthy post-mortems, this third loss in four games should not.

The Carling Cup has long been bottom of the list of priorities for Benitez, and the Spaniard continued with his policy of giving his fringe players a first-team opportunity, Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa the only survivors from those who started on Sunday.

That didn’t sit well with some pundits when the team sheet was handed out before kick off, Sky TV in particular incandescent the Liverpool manager should seemingly treat the competition with such contempt.

Benitez is damned if he does or damned if he doesn’t. Had the likes of Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Sami Hyypia been named in the starting line-up, the Spaniard would have been criticised for overworking his players ahead of a busy festive Premiership schedule.

Yet by making the league the priority – the one trophy by which Benitez continues to be judged by his doubters – the manager was once more ridiculed. After all, lifting the Carling Cup in February would convince nobody that Liverpool are any nearer to threatening the domestic dominance of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Chelsea were without injured duo John Terry and Didier Drogba but, while they rested a handful of first-team regulars, theirs was by far the stronger line-up, winger Scott Sinclair the only lesser-known name.

Since losing 2-0 to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the semi-final in 1998, Liverpool had scored in 32 successive League Cup ties going into last night’s game.

But with the Anfield outfit having failed to score in six previous visits to Chelsea under Benitez, one of those records had to give. Sadly for Liverpool, it was the latter.

With many travelling supporters caught up in a serious accident on the M40 earlier in the day, the away end was dotted with empty seats at kick off despite Liverpool selling out their 6,000 allocation.

The demands of live television meant the game began on schedule regardless, although there was a more light-hearted delay when a referee’s assistant pulled a hamstring seconds before the start.

When proceedings did begin, Liverpool weren’t helped by referee Martin Atkinson’s tendency to award a free-kick against every challenge by a visiting player. It was an aspect of the game that would prove influential later on.

But Benitez’s much-changed side acquitted themselves confidently during a first half they could claim to have shaded.

The return of Xabi Alonso after, save an aborted 68-minute appearance against Arsenal in October, more than three months out with metatarsal problems brought composure and direction to a midfield in which Lucas also shone early on.

The Brazilian’s tenacity created the first opening in the ninth minute, dispossessing Michael Essien before feeding Peter Crouch whose shot was pulled horribly across the face of goal.

Soon after, Ryan Babel dithered before finding Wayne Bridge with his final ball after a forceful run down the left had taken him past Mikel.

In between, Charles Itandje – deputising for Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal – turned a near-post Salomon Kalou shot around after Shevchenko had stepped over Julian Belletti’s cutback from the right.

Chelsea twice came close midway through the half. Kalou failed to gain enough purchase on his header from Lampard’s corner before, after Jack Hobbs gifted possession to Kalou, the ball broke kindly to put Lampard clear, but Itandje kept out the home skipper’s shot, blocking the effort with his chest.

Liverpool, though, should have gone ahead on 26 minutes. Intricate play between Lucas, Andriy Voronin and Crouch ended with the latter playing Lucas in, but the Brazilian opted to fire across goal and give Petr Cech the chance to parry.

Alonso fired a low volley wide and Voronin dragged similarly off target as the visitors ended the half the brighter.

But Itandje was forced into the first save of the second half, springing to his right to palm behind Essien’s shot with the ball having broken to the Ghanaian after Carragher halted Sinclair’s dangerous run.

Then came the five-minute spell that settled the outcome. A poor header back to Cech by Ricardo Carvalho gave Crouch a chance but the striker’s attempted lob was just too close to the Chelsea keeper.

At the other end, Kalou curled an effort over from a good position before the home side took the lead in traditionally fortunate fashion on 59 minutes when Lampard’s drive deflected off Carragher and looped over the helpless Itandje.

Liverpool’s hopes were hit further a minute later by the sending-off of Crouch. The striker, unhappy at referee Atkinson’s failure to penalise Mikel for a foul, launched into the Chelsea man with an unwise two-footed challenge.

To their credit, the 10 men kept pressing forward and never gave up hope of an equaliser.

Substitute Nabil El Zhar, scorer of a screamer in the previous round against Cardiff City, screwed a shot wide and Voronin struck a shot that was deflected wide for a goal kick.

But Liverpool’s fate was sealed in the last minute when the previously poor Shevchenko fired through Itandje at the near post.