After we had watched this game on TV, my old fella remarked to me "It's getting boring winning all these cups now isn't it?" Boring? No, predictable? Yes. It's got to the point now where you expect the reds to win no matter who they're playing. I strongly fancied us to win this game, as even though Bayern are European Champions and a formiddable team, they're not exactly Real Madrid or Barcelona. By that I mean they don't have star names in the side that would put the fear of God into the opposition. There's no Figo, no Rivaldo, no Zidane. They're an excellent unit, and their success is based on being solid and well organised. In many ways they remind me of ourselves, except unlike Bayern, we do have a player that can compare with the greats of the modern game. Michael Owen may not have the silky skills of Figo, Zidane and Rivaldo, but in terms of what he can contribute to a side and the fear he strikes into opponents, Michael is right up there alongside the creme de la creme of world football.
Bayern simply had no answer to him in this game. Their defenders looked like rabbits trapped in the headlights of a speeding Ferrari. Michael tore them to pieces, and was the single biggest reason why we won this game. Of course, others played well too, notably Heskey (who finally looked to have rediscovered the form of the middle of last season), Hamann (as ever, excellent in European competition) and Big Sami (immense as usual).
Bayern's main strength is the centre of their midfield, but to be fair to them, that area of the side was decimated through injury. Effenberg, Jeremies and Scholl would have made this a much closer game indeed, but even taking this into account, it was still a fine win for us. Bayern didn't become Champions of Europe because of three players alone, and as I said, their success is based more around organisation and efficiency rather than on individual brilliance, and they should be able to compensate for the loss of three players. After all, the players they brought in as replacements weren't exactly mugs. Owen Hargreaves has been hyped up as the next saviour of English football, Ciriaco Sforza is an experienced international, and Pizzarro is said to be one South America's most exciting prospects, so injuries are not an excuse.
The day before the game, I'd been trying to pick the side I thought Gerard would use, and for once I managed to do it correctly. It's not easy trying to guess what side the great man will put out, as he tends to pick his team depending on the opposition and style of play he wants to use. Obviously the back four picks itself for these games, as does Sander. You know Hamann will play, and usually Owen and Heskey up front. Gerrard is a certainty to play, but will it be on the right or in the centre? Given the fact that Lizarazu would be looking to raid down their left hand side, it made sense to pick Stevie on the right, which would mean Gary Mac getting a well deserved place in the side too.
So the only real dilemma would be who played on the left. Given that he was rested against Haka, and that this was his old stomping ground, I suspected that Riise would get the nod, and thankfully he did. Usually Murphy plays in the big games, and no disrespect to Danny, but this has continued to surprise me. He does a good job for us whenever he is called upon, but he isn't naturally left sided, and when you've got Carragher playing on that side as well, it isn't ideal. Having a genuine left sided player out there makes a huge difference to the balance of the side, and I thought Riise was excellent against Bayern.
His goal may have been little more than a tap in, but the fact that he was in there counts for a lot in my book. He's got a great engine, and gave Carragher a lot of help in keeping tabs on the dangerous Willy Sagnol, but he was also looking to support the attack whenever he could, and was always a threat going forward. We may see a lot more of Riise in this position, particularly given Paddy's cruel luck with injuries.
Riise's goal was created by the clever running of Owen. His movement is phenomenal, and given the fact that the lad is still only 21, it will only get better. A scary thought for defenders all over Europe. Even scarier when you think that when he's making these runs he'll have the stunning passing ability of Stevie G picking him out. Michael was getting in behind Bayern at will, and had it not been for an excellent clearance he would have set up a tap in for Heskey as well. Then Oliver Kahn - a player who I detested even before this game - needed to be at his best to stop Michael making it 2-0 after Heskey had played him in, but the fat headed arrogant Bayern keeper was powerless to stop Heskey from increasing the lead just before half time when he powered past two defenders before showing the deftest of finishes with his left foot.
Oliver Kahn is possibly the most arrogant footballer in Europe at the moment. When the reds were linked with him in the summer, I was almost as horrified about that as I was when the Michael Ball link surfaced. I don't like Oliver Kahn, never have done, never will do. I don't think he's as good a keeper as he's made out to be, as he punches when there's absolutely no need to do so. I hate looking at him, his arrogant face, his stupid haircut, his Peter Schmeichel wannabee attitude. In short, I'm not a fan of Kahn's, and after this game I despise him even more.
First, he has a go at Sami for... well for having the nerve to enter his six yard box it seems. Sami just looked at him and laughed. Kahn's lucky it was Sami he did that too, if it had been Mad Igor then Kahn could now be missing several teeth. Then the soft get tried to make a name for himself by coming up for a corner at the end. He dragged Heskey to the floor, and kicked him whilst he was lying there. Emile was furious, but the ref bottled it and just gave the free kick. He should have walked for that. He definitely is Schmeichel mark II.
Anyway, I've been sidetracked a bit there. As I said, Heskey made it 2-0 just before half time, and just after the restart Owen got the goal his performance so richly deserved, when a shocking piece of defending by Bayern's sweeper allowed Mickey another run at Kahn's goal. This time Michael wasn't going to be denied, and finished with a perfectly placed left foot shot that was so similar to his winning strike in the FA Cup final it was scary. Crap Stam said in his book that Owen's first touch is poor and his left side is weak. If he was watching this then the big dumb ugly bastard will be feeling a bit silly I suspect. Mind you, having just lost his place to Ronny Johnsen how silly can one man actually feel?
So 3-0 then, and we were all in dreamland. Unfortunately we were joined there by the players, who decided that it was game over and went to sleep. Bayern pulled one back from a corner, and although it must be said it was a quality ball and a fine header, the fact is that we don't concede goals from corners anymore, and this was solely down to a lack of concentration. It sounds daft, but 3-0 is a dodgy lead. 1-0 means that you're constantly on your guard. 2-0 means that if you concede a goal then you'll tighten up and protect the 2-1 lead, but when it's 3-0 strange things can happen.
You let one in, ad you think "it's okay, we're still two goals up, no need to panic." But then they get another and suddenly it's "Shit, we could blow a three goal lead here", and panic sets in big time. Look at what happened to us at the Dell last season. And look at Southampton's game at Prenton Park. When Bayern grabbed the second goal through Jancker (who was manhandling Babbel by the way and should have been penalised), I was very worried indeed. However, the lads just kept their focus and there weren't any more scares after that.
So that's five trophies in six months. No other English team has EVER done that, and it is a remarkable achievement. Petty and jealous folk (aka mancs and bluenoses) will say that this is yet another Micky Mouse Trophy, but let them. The fact is that we are winning everything in sight at the moment. What will they say when we add the Champions League and Premiership Crown to our vast collection of silverware? I don't know, but it will be fun finding out!
The only downside to the game (for those of us watching on TV anyway) was that we were subjected to "England this, and England that" all through the game. I lost count of how many references were made the forthcoming England/Germany clash, and that tosser Garth Crooks seemed to really piss GH off when he kept trying to talk about Sven and England instead of the glorious achievement of our players in winning five trophies in six months. Mind you, at least we didn't have to suffer through 'Townsend's Tactics Truck!"
TEAM: Sander Westerveld; Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz , Jamie Carragher; Steven Gerrard (Igor Biscan), Dietmar Hamann, Gary McAllister, John Arne Riise (Danny Murphy); Michael Owen (Robbie Fowler), Emile Heskey:
