Rarely before can so many long faces have left Anfield after
a great European night. Against the odds, the out of form reds,
minus several key players, had produced an excellent display and
built up a nice cushion to take to the second leg against one
of Europe's form teams.
I'm sure we'd all have taken 3-1 before the game, in fact it
was actually more than many of us dared hope for. Yet as I came
out of Anfield last night all I saw were very disappointed faces,
and a lot of anger directed at Jerzy Dudek.
To be fair, I felt the same, and had I written this report immediately
after getting back from the game, it would have reflected those
feelings.
Having had time to reflect, I'm not going to let that one blunder
from Dudek spoil what was a great night. Had he made that cock
up in the first minute rather than the last, it wouldn't have
felt half as bad.
It was the timing of it which hurt so much. Having just gone
three up, and with time about to run out, for him to do what he
did was an absolute sickener. Leverkusen must be feeling they
got out of jail, and they'll be flying at us from all angles in
the second leg.
But the fact is that we have a 3-1 lead. That's pretty damn good.
If we can score over there, they'll need to score three against
us. If we score two, which is certainly a possibility having seen
how poor they are at the back, they will need to put five past
us to go through. The key is taking our chances and being clinical.
We're in pretty good shape, but this tie is far from being over,
and an early goal for them over there and it will be brown trousers
time. It promises to be a hell of a game, just as it was last
time. I just hope we get a more satisfactory result this time.
We've given ourselves an excellent chance of progression, and
the players deserve great credit for their display. Instead of
focusing on the one negative, why not look at all the positives?
John Arne Riise said on the morning of the game that there was
no reason why we can't go all the way in this competition. Some
may laugh at that, but that's exactly the attitude I want from
our players.
Monaco and Porto reached last years final. Greece won the European
Championships, so why can't we reach the final with a bit of luck
and a kind draw?
The Norwegian's performance suggested they weren't just empty
words, he believed what he was saying. Riise was a man possessed
against Leverkusen. Here was a player who believed we could win,
and who did everything he could to ensure it happened.
Of course, his captain thinks otherwise, but he's commanded enough
column inches with one thing or another and I have no intention
of devoting more to him here. He didn't play in this game, so
I'm going to concentrate on those who did.
This was Riise's best display for the club as far as I'm concerned.
He was a constant menace, and fully deserved his goal.
He's a strange one is John. He isn't the quickest, nor the most
skilful, his right foot is embarrassingly bad (at least I'm presuming
it is as I've never seen him use it) and his crossing isn't the
best.
Yet somehow he manages to make himself a highly effective performer.
He's relentless, he just keeps on going and going. He's full of
self confidence, and I think it's that self belief which makes
him a better player than the sum of his parts suggest he should
be.
He was up against Berndt Schneider (who is a top class player),
and gave him the runaround. John was always looking for the ball,
he won everything in the air, he beat his man regularly and he
made several great runs which were not always found by team-mates.
Then there was his goal. Since he scored THAT goal against the
mancs a few years ago, he's tried to repeat it with every kick
he's taken. Hamann rolls it a yard or two and Riise blasts it.
The alternative is usually someone else rolling it a yard and
Hamann blasting it, and in truth neither method has had much success.
So it was interesting to see them both adopt a different method
with highly successful results. Instead of blasting it, both opted
to just curl the ball over the wall and place it into the corner.
Hopefully we'll see more of that in future, and less of the hit
and hopes. Admittedly the keeper could have done better (especially
with Didi's), but both players will have more joy with this approach
than they will by simply trying to blast it as hard as they can.
Given that there are several teams left in who are much superior
to us, it's vital that we make the most of set pieces. As a rule,
we're pretty shit at them, so it was a nice little bonus for us
to score twice from free-kicks.
We almost scored from a corner as well but Carragher was denied
by a brilliant save by Butt. However, we also wasted several corners
by failing to clear the front post. We need to work on that because
if we are to keep progressing in this competition then set pieces
will be very important.
We did score from open play as well of course, and what a goal
it was too. The mercurial Igor Biscan was the inspiration, winning
possession and then advancing forward to slice open the German
defence with a perfectly weighted ball to Garcia.
The Spaniard's finish was clinical and Anfield went wild. Every
single player went over to Biscan and made a point of congratulating
him. In fact, there was an obvious togetherness in the side which
has not always been there this season.
I've defended Igor more than most, but after his disgustingly
disinterested outing against Burnley I have to say he had cashed
in all his chips with me. I was livid with him after that, and
had it been up to me he'd never have pulled on the shirt again.
His attitude at Burnley was unforgivable as far as I was concerned,
but against Leverkusen he went some way towards getting back in
the good books. He's not there yet, as the wounds from Turf Moor
run pretty deep, but a few more displays like this and I may be
able to put it behind me.
Igor showed against Deportivo what a good player he is, but equally
he's shown on other occasions the other side of his personality.
The one that looks and plays like he's just got out of bed.
Thankfully the 'Deportivo Biscan' turned up against Leverkusen.
We needed a big, big performance from him in the absence of you
know who, and we certainly got it.
Neat and tidy on the ball, he also made several of his trademark
charges forward, and had it not been for the exceptional performance
of Riise, Igor would have been my star man.
Garcia played well too, and he worked his little Spanish arse
off chasing and harrying. He was also a lot better in his ball
retention, and rarely gave it away cheaply.
I still don't know what to make of him, as it's hard to know
which is the real Luis Garcia. Is it the little livewire who buzzes
around making chances and scoring goals, or is it the the irresponsible,
lightweight who gives the ball away constantly by trying backheels
and dummies in his own half?
I really hope its the former, and he can put all the wastefulness
behind him. If he can do that and produce more of what we saw
against Leverkusen, then he'll be a real asset.
We will need the likes of Garcia and Biscan to produce this level
of performance in the away leg, as Leverkusen showed more than
enough to suggest they are capable of getting goals against us.
We're not going to go there and keep a clean sheet, of that I'm
pretty sure.
They look very menacing going forward, and although they're not
as strong as they were when we last met, we are going to have
our work cut out to keep the likes of Berbatov, Franca and Donavon
quiet.
Thankfully the dangerous Frei will miss the return leg through
suspension, as will Robson Ponte. But the Bayarena will be rocking
and they are scoring goals for fun at the moment.
They could have had several at Anfield. In the first half Ponte
blazed over after Freia had skinned Traore and cut the ball back,
whilst Berbatov missed a sitter after Finnan's first mistake of
the season had allowed him a clear run on goal.
Dudek then made a right meal out of a routine stop, opting to
punch the ball and fling himself through the air spectacularly
when all he had to do was stand there and catch it.
In his defence, the new goalkeeping coach at Liverpool insists
his keepers punch the ball and makes them do that in training.
I wasn't a fan of Joe Corrigan, but I hear Jose Ochotorena's methods
are not going down too well with all of the keepers at the club.
Catching the ball is actually frowned upon.
Dudek has always been prone to punching the ball, but this season
I don't think he's caught anything. Even Kirkland had started
to punch balls he'd normally have caught without giving it a second
thought.
Jerzy just doesn't inspire any confidence anymore, and when you
see him punching balls and making camera saves, it is frustrating,
infuriating even.
In fairness he did make one absolutely stunning save in the second
half from the left winger. Initially I didn't think he got anything
on it, but the ref gave a corner and when I saw the highlights
later that night it became clear that Jerzy got the faintest of
touches in it which prevented a goal.
He followed that up with another spectacular save from Schneider's
beautifully struck 20 yard volley, as Leverkusen enjoyed a spell
in the second half which showed their attacking capabilities.
Until Dudek's blunder, our defence kept them out and repelled
most attacks, but often it needed a last ditch challenge to do
so. Traore made a couple of timely interventions when it looked
a goal was imminent, and Finnan made one great tackle just as
the striker was preparing to shoot.
But it was Leverkusen's fragile defence which provides most hope
for the second leg. Baros missed two glorious chances and Kewell
hit the side netting as the reds created several clear opportunities
in open play.
Baros will surely get more chances on the break in the away leg,
but he'll need to be a lot more clinical than he was at Anfield.
Of course, we'll have the captain back for the second leg, but
whether that strengthens or weakens us is open to debate, and
is a discussion for another time and place.
In the meantime, we've got a cup final to look forward to.....
Team: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Garcia, Biscan
Hamann, Riise (Smicer); Kewell (Le Tallec), Baros (Potter):
Agree or disagree?
Email me at dave@liverpoolway.co.uk
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