The Liverpool Way - First Team

Not a classic, but then it was never likely to be. Avoiding injuries to key players was the priority in this game, with the collection of three points a distant second.

As it turned out, both objectives were achieved - just. With Bolton winning it's a good job we held on, otherwise we'd have suffered the indignity of seeing El Hadji Diouf finish above us in the table.

All in all, it was a mixed afternoon for the reds. Djibril Cisse laid down a marker for a starting place in the final, but Pellegrino showed why this should probably be his last game as a Liverpool player.

If the first half was impressive, the second was awful, and Pellegrino's performance mirrored that of the team as a whole.

The final twenty minutes or so saw Villa threatening to score with every attack, as the reds backline got a severe case of the jitters. The Big Argentine was so poor in the second half, that when he finally managed to win a challenge with about 20 minutes remaining, there was an ironic cheer from many in the crowd.

I don't like that, I think it's degrading for the player and unnecessary, but it showed just how much big Pelle had suffered after the interval. He was awful, although I really don't enjoy saying that as he's obviously a good pro and a good guy.

The reds had done so well in the opening half. Pellegrino looked assured and untroubled, whilst the forgotten man Josemi returned to the side and not only avoided any defensive calamities, he also set up a goal with a marauding run and intelligent cut back.

The last game of the season often throws up these stange occurences. Fans at the City of Manchester Stadium saw David James play up front for the final five minutes, Fulham fans saw their team hit a staggering six goals, whilst we saw the strangest event of all, Josemi and Nunez running riot down the right flank.

Before the game I joked with my cousin that we were at long last seeing the 'dream team' line up together on the right flank. On the evidence of the opening 45 minutes, the joke was on me, as they were actually quite effective.

Nunez, bless him, once again did well. His willingness to hug the touchline stretched Villa and he was always in space and available for a pass.

His crossing wasn't up to its usual standard however, and twice he overhit crosses from good positions. But such has been the turnaround in his form recently that he no longer looks out of his depth and I'd be happy enough with 'Arthur' as a squad player next season.

I've also got this weird feeling that he's going to come off the bench and score the winner in Istanbul. Ridiculous I know, but stranger things have happened. Actually, stranger things haven't happened, but I'm going to stick a couple of quid on it anyway.

Cisse was clearly going to be a good bet for the first goal in this game, although a rumour had been doing the rounds that Carragher would be on pens if we got one.

A lot of money had gone on Carra apparently, and he almost opened the scoring with what would have been our goal of the season after a mazy run from inside his own half ended with a shot into the side-netting.

It isn't the type of thing you see that often from him, so maybe he knew so many people had money on him for the first goal! It shows just what he can do though, and hopefully we'll see it more often in the coming years.

When Cisse was felled by Delaney, there will have been a lot of excited punters in the stadium seeing pound signs. The skipper for the day made no move towards the ball however, and Cisse took the ball from Alonso and promptly buried it in the bottom corner.

His delight was obvious, and he's deserved that moment for all the hard work he put in to get back so soon.

He didn't have to wait long for a second. Josemi fed Nunez, and then set off in pursuit, desperately trying to overlap. He wasn't making any ground on Nunez however, despite his best efforts.

Eventually Nunez slowed down (he may even have stopped) to allow Josemi to go past, and then he slipped the ball into his path. Josemi expertly nutmegged his marker, reached the byline and then picked out Cisse who finished neatly past Sorensen.

Cisse then turned provider, when he took a quick free kick to send Kewell clear on goal. It was a fabulous ball from Cisse, and Kewell did everything right until the finish, missing the target with his left foot shot.

Kewell had a chance to play his way into the starting line up for the final, but I don't think he did enough to warrant it. He could be a good option off the bench, but surely Traore and Riise will start?

Harry didn't have the best of games against Villa, although I didn't think he was especially bad either. He was replaced by Baros in the second half, although I would have liked him to have stayed on and moved to the left wing.

Riise could have done with the break, and I wanted to see how Kewell did on the wing. Rafa had other ideas though, and sent on Milan for what was almost certainly his final Anfield performance as a Liverpool player.

Baros had received a great ovation from the fans when he warmed up in front of the Kop. I wasn't sure what the reaction would be to him after his alleged comments to the Czech press, but thankfully it didn't appear that anyone was holding it against him.

I'm very sceptical about those reported comments, as a lot of it seemed very far fetched and I'm sure it has been twisted a great deal in translation.

Unfortunately for Baros, it isn't the first time it has happened, and Benitez was not impressed from what I hear.

Milan has been fighting a losing battle all season to convince Rafa that he should be part of his plans, and even when he was on fire earlier this season there were strong runours that Benitez wasn't a big fan.

Since then, the goals have dried up, and Baros' form hasn't been good. The writing is on the wall and a summer move - probably to Valencia - seems inevitable.

The dilemma Benitez faces is whether or not to start with Baros or Cisse in Turkey. Cisse's goals in this game appear to have given him the edge, but personally I'd still play Baros.

There are several reasons for this. Obviously Cisse isn't 100% match, how could he be? Coming off the bench when other players are a little more tired makes it a more even playing field for him.

There's also the worry that if Baros was left out of another final, he'd be no good to bring off the bench as his head would be up his arse.

He didn't take it very well when he was left out in Cardiff (I sympathise with him there as it was a kick in the teeth seeing Kewell preferred), and like it or not, we are going to need to call on him at some point in Turkey, and I'd prefer it if his head was right.

The other factor, and perhaps the most persuasive one for me, is that he's played against AC Milan before. It was only a friendly, but it was a very significant game for Baros as it was the first time he actually looked a player since arriving at Anfield.

He'd struggled in his early days at the club, but came back for pre-season a new man and ran the Italians ragged. He arrived as a Liverpool player that day, earning high praise from Paolo Maldini of all people.

Players remember that kind of thing, and it is bound to give Baros a psychological boost knowing he can get some joy against them.

Rafa may see it differently of course, but personally I'd start with Baros and unleash Cisse's pace in the second half.

This is supposed to be a report on the Villa game, but it's really hard to stay focussed on it. To be honest, I'm not really interested too much in what happened against Villa, as all I can think about is the final.

Unfortunately I won't be going, as basically I just couldn't afford it. There'll be a report on it, as Steve Horton and John Gallagher are both going and I'm sure they'll sort out a report between them.

Back to the Villa game now though, at least until I get distracted by the final again.

Riise almost found the net with a typically spectacular long range strike, but he was denied by the crossbar.

Villa pulled a goal back thansk to some awful defending from the reds. I haven't seen it on TV, so I'm not exactly sure what happened. I seem to remember Pellegrino getting caught out, and the ball eventually falling to Barry who blasted past Carson.

The young keeper made some good saves during the game, although a couple of times in the 2nd half I thought he could maybe have been a bit more commanding of his area.

He's done well in the few run outs he's had though, and the call up to the England squad for the trip to USA will only do him good.

He was beaten again as Villa pressed for an equaliser, but luckily Luke Moore's header bounced of the bar.

Moore made a real difference to the visitors, and he's a player I really like. He's terrorised our reserves in recent seasons, and we could do worse than take a close look at him.

The biggest turning point in the game was the introduction of Carlton Cole. From the moment he stepped onto the field, he was a handful and we struggled to keep Villa at bay.

Cole gave Pellegrino a lot of trouble, and even Carra ended up looking a little shaky. Mind you, that's hardly surprising as he spent most of the 2nd half within ten yards of Pellegrino so he could cover for him.

It was hard enough having to babysit Josemi, but it became impossible when he was having to look after Pellegrino as well.

Picking a star man was very tough. I gave it to Cisse as he was the difference between the sides. He wasn't too good in the 2nd half, and it wasn't nice seeing him berating team-mates for stray passes.

Warnock and Alonso both drew his wrath, with Xabi especially getting some proper grief. That pissed me off immensely. If Alonso didn't deliver the pass, it was because the pass couldn't be delivered, Djibril. Don't be having a go at the master.

Alonso showed some lovely touches as usual, but was far from being at his majestic best. Mind you, so talented is this boy that he was even spraying the ball about with his head.

Twice in the first half he produced headed through passes to release Nunez, and he repeated the feat after the break too. Xabi's so good he can make passes with his head that many midfielders couldn't manage with their feet!

Biscan was average, but was given a nice send off by the crowd as he was replaced by Hamann. This game may be both of these players Anfield farewells, although we have to wait and see.

Personally, I doubt we'll see either next season. Igor has had a very successful season, as he's restored his reputation. He is no longer a figure of ridicule, and he's proved himself to be a very capable player who has not let us down when we've needed him (Burnely apart of course!).

The only problem is, his best performances have all been in Europe, and he seems more suited to the slower pace of those games. He has not played to the same standard in domestic games, and that may prevent him getting a new contract.

Several regular squad members will be on their way this summer, and some will be missed more than others. Personally I'll be very sorry to see Baros leave. He's getting a lot of criticism now, and hasn't played well for a few months, but when he's on form he's second only to Henry when it comes to running at defenders.

He was brilliant in the first few months of the season, and always runs himself to a standstill. Just like his mate Paddy Berger, he'll always be a favourite of mine wherever he ends up playing, and I'll be following his career with interest.

Same with Hamann. His contribution to the cup success we've had in recent years can't be understated, and Hamann is a legend for me, one of the greats.

I hope an agreement can be reached where he'll stick around for a little while longer, as his experience can be of great benefit to us, especially if we're in the CL next season (fingers crossed we will be).

The lap of honour at full time was a bit of a disappointment I thought. For a start, they went the wrong way round, starting at the Kop end instead of finishing there.

And loads of the players were missing. The likes of Mellor and the Pong deserved to be there, and where was Traore? I'm pretty sure I saw Dave Galley the physio out there, but half the squad weren't? That doesn't seem right.

I'm not keen on this new trend of the players bringing their kids out with them either. Beckham has a lot to answer for there.

Maybe I'm just being a miserable bastard, but I'd rather it was just the players, manager and no-one else.

Still, seeing Rafa with his little daughters did bring a tear to the eye, and I had a laugh when I saw Morientes give his little lad a playful kick up the arse for not applauding the Kop.

So it all ended in a bit of a carnival atmosphere, we collected the three points which kept us ahead of Bolton, and Cisse got some much needed shooting practice before the final.

Who'd have thought back in August that we'd be saluting a team that had finished below Everton! It's been a mad season though. The league campaign hasn't been good by any means, but will any of us even care about that if we win in Turkey?

It's a tall order, but Rafa has ten days to prepare his players, and the likes of Gerrard, Hyypia and Garcia should be well rested.

Milan aren't in the best of form, and they'll be just as nervous as we are. There are weaknesses there which can be exploited, and I'm sure Rafa is already working on doing just that.

Their lack of pace at the back should encourage Baros and Cisse, whilst their lack of width seems to play into our hands somewhat. They're strong in the middle of midfield, but so are we with Alonso, Gerrard and Hamann.

One mistake or one moment of brilliance could decide this game, and it really does seem to close to call. They're not unbeatable by any means, but they will rightly start as favourites.

Team: Carson; Josemi, Carragher, Pellegrino, Warnock; Nunez (Finnan), Biscan (Hamann), Alonso, Riise; Kewell (Baros), Cisse:

Agree or disagree? Email me at dave@liverpoolway.co.uk

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