Liverpool could meet Barcelona in the semis(draw was made for that last time) but I would be very surprised if they lost to Man Utd tonight. Biggest surprise Spurs beating Man City! Still think our back four need to tighten up, gave Porto's strikers too many chances which thankfully never came off. Second leg will be interesting, do we attack and go for more goals or let them run like madmen and then get them on the counter.?
Watching the Liverpool /Porto game on BT sports the other night Porto's defence looked very open throughout the game & after Firminho tapped in the 2nd instead of effectively killing the game with another goal or two we went into that same flux from previous games (West Ham,Leicester etc) playing wasteful football ie losing the ball needlessly & missed passing etc.It was at times as if Liverpool were in the mindframe of do we go for the 3rd goal or do we try & keep the clean sheet.Keeping the clean sheet & preventing Porto from an away goal was key though.
We scored 5 goals against them at their ground in the 1st leg in the CL League last season & watching their defence on Tuesdays game I'm pretty confident Liverpool will get that away goal (or more) & kill the tie off early on.Fingers crossed that the Man City defeat to Spurs will knock their confidence against Hodgson's Jekyll & Hyde team Palace on Sunday.
As you know tomorrow is the 30th Anniversary of Hillsborough with the on-going saga of who should take the blame it doesn't get any easier. Take a moment to reflect at 3.15pm tomorrow and remember the 96(yes they say 95 because the last person died some time later) I shall wear my commemorative wristband with pride(as I always do) and stand in silence to remember.
It doesn't look like Palace are going to do us any favours at the moment with City 1-0 up coming up to the second half of the game shortly, so today's game it will be a massive game for us AND for Chelsea. Someone on 606(5live) reckoned that Barcelona are a "bang average" team now and that Liverpool would beat them easily-oh really? I am not so sure that is true, especially with Messi and Suarez who can have off games but at home they will be deadly against Man Utd and equally against us(should we beat Porto of course) I would wait and see what happens with Man Utd first; I fully expect Barcelona to beat Man Utd and Liverpool should beat Porto, so that huge game will be a massive night at Anfield.
This is edge-of-the-seat stuff. We know that Chelsea are a good side but with all the possession Liverpool have had, they've got nothing to show for it. Maybe the second half will be different. It's going to have to be because City lead by a point and 3 here would lift us past them again. Why the smeg are they bringing up something that happened 5 years ago(yes we all know that Gerrard slipped, not on the ball, but by it allowing Chelsea to score) but why dredge that up now-what is it about broadcasters/journalists that they have to always put the mockers on Liverpool, especially at this crucial stage of the season? Really annoying. BTW impeccable one minute silence observed by ALL fans.
GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL Sadio Mané scores 1-0 to the Pool!!
GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL Mo Salah scores 2-0 to the Pool!!
Final Score Liverpool 2-Chelsea 0 and it sounded like Salah's goal was an absolute rip-snorter! Can't wait for Match of the Day 2 tonight to see it.
I feared for our title chances when Chelsea stifled us out of the game in the 1st half resorting us to having only one shot on target but Henderson's sublime chipped cross for Mane to nod in the 2nd half opened the game up.Salah had something to prove against his old club & he did in style with that 20 yard rocket that 3 keepers in goal wouldn't have saved (& as Gary Neville would say 'Take a bow son!').That irritating habit Liverpool have of switching off during the game nearly cost us with two great chances missed by Hazard where he hit the post on one of them.Andy Robertson momentarily brought painful memories back when he slipped on the ball in his own half (like Gerrard did) & gifted Chelsea with a chance but luckily Chelsea didn't capitalize on it.It was another game Henderson played well in where he looks a better player in the advanced midfield role allowing him to push forward, fingers crossed he suffered no injury after being brought off in the 2nd half.
Porto on Wednesday then Cardiff on Sunday with momentum in full flow & Man City have Spurs twice at the Etihad during the week fingers crossed Spurs can do the double for us.
(14-04-2019 17:20 )GreenMachine Wrote: [ -> ]This is edge-of-the-seat stuff. We know that Chelsea are a good side but with all the possession Liverpool have had, they've got nothing to show for it. Maybe the second half will be different. It's going to have to be because City lead by a point and 3 here would lift us past them again. Why the smeg are they bringing up something that happened 5 years ago(yes we all know that Gerrard slipped, not on the ball, but by it allowing Chelsea to score) but why dredge that up now-what is it about broadcasters/journalists that they have to always put the mockers on Liverpool, especially at this crucial stage of the season? Really annoying. BTW impeccable one minute silence observed by ALL fans.
That 5 years ago crap was doing my head in. No chance was that happening again. This Liverpool side is a very different animal to that 2014 one. Today's Liverpool is so much superior defensively and is a better team overall.
Salah's goal is a goal of the season contender.
Exciting time to be a Red, my Bitter Blue Evertonian family members are sick as pigs about it, and I just cant resist rubbing it in a bit.
Lets keep it going Redmen, finish off Porto then onward we go..
Just got back from Liverpool about 20 minutes ago.
Going there has been an annual pilgrimage on 15th April every year having been in the Leppings Lane on that fateful day 30 years ago. Was different this year now that the Memorial Services have now been stopped.
Still made sure that I was at Anfield when the time came round to 3:06...for that minute of silent reflection, hearing nothing but the wind blowing....
God bless those 96 Reds who never came home.
Love that boxing style celebration that Klopp does-so much more animated than any other Liverpool manager of the past. He really wears his heart on his sleeve.
If you'll indulge me a memory or two:
Today we remember the 96 people that lost their lives in that tragedy that occurred in Hillsborough, Sheffield on 15th April, 1989 a day that is as vivid to me now as it was then. I remember watching Grandstand and Desmond Lynam crossed live to commentator John Motson who was in the dark at the time as to what was happening. We saw scenes of people being lifted up high into the stands by other fans and at first I thought there had been fighting or violence happening but then it began to unfold, the devastating incident that had taken place and the people that had been caught in the crush thanks to a gate being opened and hundreds of fans streaming in. The place was never going to be big enough to hold that amount of supporters; warnings had been issued months before.
Supporters were taking hoardings off and using them as stretchers but the ambulances had been held up outside the ground and arrived too late for some. Later the Sun newspaper wrote some terrible lies (including stealing from other supporters' pockets) about what had happened and no wonder they were/are persona non grata in Liverpool even today. A catalogue of mistakes could have prevented this tragedy, and much later it was discovered that over 100 police statements had been changed and thus all the blame was laid at the supporters, which affected the whole of Liverpool. Many years later, thanks to Andy Burnham(a self-confessed Evertonian) persuaded Tony Blair to open an inquiry into what really happened. He wanted answers and was determined to get to the bottom of it. On the 25th Anniversary he was invited to speak at Anfield and promised not to rest until someone was brough to justice.
A few years after that all the blame that had been placed on Liverpool was found to be fabricated and Liverpool was finally vindicated of any blame. Even though I am a Londoner I've been a Liverpool supporter since 1977 and I am proud to remember the 96 today. I even got to Anfield and did a tour with my friend for my 40th birthday present and met some friends I'd made on Friends Reunited-they made me an honorary Scouser which I was happy to accept( I do a pretty good Scouse accent lah!) and I got to see the trophies, the museum and get my picture taken (and indeed touch it) in front of the famous sign THIS IS ANFIELD Today and forever Y.N.W.A.
On a lighter note I did laugh when they showed that magnificent goal scored by Salah yesterday. Last night on Match of the Day it showed in the crowd Ian Rush, Sammy Hyppia and Sir Kenny Dalglish-when the goal went, in cue a picture of an applauding Sir Kenny and then being grabbed from behind by an ecstatic Margaret Aspinall(Hillsborough Support Group) half throttling him
but it was a hell of a goal so who can blame her.