It was just like the good old days. A great atmosphere, a great performance and we all went home happy. This was the perfect illustration of why European nights at Anfield are so special. A full house, a sizeable and noisy away following, and a cracking game. The next stage should be even better. The question before the game was whether we would go out and try to kill the game early or sit tight and make sure we got the point that we required to advance to the next stage. Thommo had suggested beforehand that we would attack, and thankfully he was true to his word. The performance was excellent, and at no stage did we ever look in any trouble. Had the game been level going into the last ten minutes though, it would have been a torturous climax to the game. Vladi's beautifully struck volley ensured that wasn't the case.
Each and every player did their bit for the reds in this game, and no-one had a bad game. As usual, Carra and Steph were faultless in defence, with Carra producing a real captain's display in Sami's continued absence. Does JC ever have a bad game?
The two young full backs were also superb. Riise has done very well since moving back into defence following Greg's injury, and Wrighty's performances have been remarkable for someone with such limited big game experience. Young Stephen had a storming game at right back. There's no frills about him, he just gets the job done, and is a lot like Carra, in that if the ball's there to be won he'll just go in and win it.
I've been watching Wrighty since his youth team days, and so I'm not really surprised by how well he's done. I'd also say that there is more to come from him though. As well as being a solid defender, he's a good footballer too, and the more games he gets, the more comfortable he'll become and he'll express himself a bit more. At the moment he's just doing the basics, and doing them very, very well. The goal was the icing on the cake, and surely made up for the disappointment of being sent off on Saturday.
I'd also like to praise the contribution of Emile Heskey. There's been times this season when I've been critical of Emile, because he just wasn't doing enough. Some are still having a go at him now, because of his lack of goals, but the fact he hasn't scored since Bolton doesn't concern me at all. The goals will come, and it's his performances which I'm interested in, and since Kiev away, he's been doing a great job for the side. Against Dortmund he was fantastic. This was the Heskey we want to see every week. He chased, he harried, he won everything in the air, and he was a real handful for the Dortmund defence. All that was missing was a goal, but he didn't get many chances, and the couple of half chances that came his way he fluffed, probably due to a lack of confidence. Emile just needs one to go in off his arse or something and he'll be off and running again. This Sunday at Anfield would be a nice place for that to happen.
I would have given Emile the star man, but how could I have gone for anyone other than Didi? Once again, he was outstanding. Time and again he's our best player in European games, and it's an absolute scandal that he will miss our next game through suspension. He barely touched Koller, who for about the fifth time in the two games we've had with Dortmund, went down like the proverbial sack of shite when hardly touched. If there is one word to describe Koller, it has to be 'shit.' It's a good job he's eight foot three, or he'd never win a single header as he can't get off the ground.
Dortmund have had some great strikers in the past, including Stephane Chapiusat and Karlheinz Riedle, and Koller isn't fit to wipe their arses. The shining light in the Dortmund side is young Rosicky, but he was kept relatively quiet, and it seemed to be that Danny Murphy was given the job of staying close to him. I wouldn't say it was a man marking job, but Danny was usually the first to arrive on the scene when Rosicky got the ball, and once again Danny did a fine job for the side. He seems to be looking leaner and fitter with every game, and he has definitely picked up an extra yard of pace from somewhere. He'll be getting an ear-ring and Mohawk haircut next, and dressing in women's clothes!
Dortmund played some decent stuff, but like so many other European sides have, they found that we are a very tough nut to crack. They didn't create much, and the closest they came was when Ricken's excellent shot was stunningly tipped onto the bar by Jerzy (it was only after watching the highlights on TV when I got home that I realised Jerzy had got a touch). I questioned the signing of Dudek (mainly the way it was done rather questioning the player himself, who I'd never seen play and was prepared to reserve judgement on), but it has to be said that he has been a superb acquisition so far. He looks composed, assured, and has made some brilliant saves when we've needed him to.
So we're through to the next stage, where hopefully we'll get one of the big boys. I want Real, as I reckon it would be great watching Figo, Zidane, Raul & co trying to break down our defence. My money would be on two clean sheets for our boys.
I'm sad to see Dortmund go out though, particularly as it means the cheats of Boavista going through. The Dortmund fans were probably the best fans I've ever seen at Anfield. Loud, passionate and very friendly. I hope they go on to win the UEFA Cup now, preferably beating Leeds along the way! Just a shame that the Kop for some reason decided to sing "Shit on the Germans." It was unnecessary, and smacked of the 'manc mentality.' I wonder what our 'star man' felt when he heard that?
The only other gripe I have about the night was the number of touts, pick pockets and all round scumbags that were hanging around outside before the game. It's always a problem, but this time there seemed to be twice as many as I've ever seen before. One Irish red, who subscribes to the fanzine and was chatting to my old man before the game, had his tickets robbed by some lowlife, and my cousin saw a Dortmund fan surrounded by scallies before having his ticket robbed. Another specimen tried to pick my dads pocket, and got a right hook from my old man for his troubles! He might only be four foot three, but you don't want to mess with "Nice Guy Eddie!"
But what were the police doing about all this? Very little from what I saw. All it would take is to have a few plain clothes officers hanging around outside the ground and they could put a complete stop to it. Sadly, they seem to be more concerned with harassing flag sellers and the likes of yours truly.
TEAM: Jerzy Dudek; Stephen Wright, Jamie Carragher, Stephane Henchoz, John Arne Riise; Steven Gerrard (Jamie Redknapp), Didi Hamann, Danny Murphy, Vladimir Smicer (Patrik Berger); Michael Owen (Robbie Fowler), Emile Heskey:
