Live The Pitch

There is no doubt that watching the final leg of  the quarterfinal between Liverpool and Chelsea was a treat for us all.  Chelsea went into the game with a score of 3-1 on aggregate so Liverpool had a huge mountain to climb.  This was a back and forth affair that no one wanted to end.  It had the making of on of the greatest matches in recent history between two English Premier league powers.

The scoring started when Fabio Aurelio of Liverpool struck a free kick to the near post completely fooling Chelsea gk Petr Cech.  It was just awful goalkeeping from arguably one of the  best keepers in the world.  Liverpool made it 2-0 with Xabi Alonso finishing off a penalty into the left corner of the net.  Overall both teams had their share of chances in the first half but Liverpool still needed more.

The second half of the match in my opinion was the best half of soccer I have seen in a long time….

Didier Drogba got Chelsea on the board with a flick off a cross that cought the Liverpool keeper off guard in the 51st minute.  Then just six minutes later Chelsea defender Alex struck the goal of the year.  From about 25 yards out Chelsea was awarded a direct free kick that Alex surprisingly struck and he hit a perfect shot that was knuckling from his initial impact of the ball.

Liverpool would change thier tactics throughout the second half and now needing a miracle they were caught pushing players forward when Frank Lampard found the net in the 76th minute.  Chelsea took the lead 3-2 and it seemed there was no hope for Liverpool.  Yet they would not give up.

Liverpool came back and score again off a deflection in the 81st minute with Lucas getting credit for it.   Just one minute later Dirk Kuyt would net home a great header from a cross from the outside midfield.  This made the score 4-3 Liverpool with Chelsea looking stunned on the field.

Liverpool was extremely close to netting a 5th if not for Michael Essien saving a shot off the line with his head.  Liverpool was pushing everyone forward trying to get one more goal when Frank Lampard put Chelsea into the next round in the 89th minute with a shot that hit both posts!

Final Score 4-4!  Chelsea advances to the semifinals with a final score of 7-5.

The first legs of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal round was everything a soccer fan could ask for.  We were privileged to see some fantastic play from the remaining  teams in the four games.  The results from this weeks games were somewhat surprising.  I was especially disappointed in the play of the English Premier League juggernauts Manchester United and Liverpool.  Both teams will have to pull out a miracle in order to advance to the final four.

In the first game Manchester United were huge favorites to beat FC Porto. The match began with Porto coming out like gangbusters.  The scoring began when Porto’s Cristian Rodriguez found the back of the net just 4 minutes in.  In all actuality the game could have been 3-0 in the first 10 minutes.  Manchester United gk Edwin Van der Sar was forced to come up with 2 huge saves.  United leveled the game 11 minutes later after a huge mental lapse in the Porto Defense.  Wayne Rooney was given the ball by Porto’s defensive line with an errant back pass leaving him 1v1 with the gk.  For the remainder of the first half Porto showed their speed and absolutely dominated.  The second half saw United control the gameplay from the first whistle.  United definitely came out with a purpose in the second half.  United Broke the tie when substitute Carlos Teves found the net in the 85th minute with a world class finish.  The game was over, so we thought!  Porto showed that they are extremely dangerous on the counter attack and in the 89th minute they leveled with an excellent goal from Gonzales.  Final score 2-2!

In the second match Arsenal took on Villereal.  In my opinion the first half could have gone either way.  Villereal started the scoring off in the 10th minute in a stunning way.   Marcos Sennahit hit a shot from about 30 yards out that found the back of the net!  One of the goals of the tournament.   Both teams had good spells of possession but neither could break through until the 66th minute when Arsenal finally found the net.  Emmanuel Adebayor struck an incredible shot in between 3 defenders in stunning fashion.  Another goal of the tournament!  The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

In Wednesday’s match up Liverpool took on English rival Chelsea.  Liverpool came out of the tunnel flying.  Fernando Torres started the scoring in the 6th minute with a great finish in front of goal.  Liverpool seemed to have all the momentum until Branislav Ivanovic headed in a corner right before the half in the 39th minute.  The teams would enter halftime 1-1.  The second half saw Chelea dominate the entire 45 minutes.  Chelsea broke the deadlock with another header by Ivanovic off a corner in the 62 minute.  The unlikely goal scorer found himself wide open for the second time of the match.  The Liverpool defense on corner kicks was pitiful to say the least.  Then 5 minutes later in the 67th minute Didier Drogba put the visitors up top for good with a beautiful goal.  Final Score 3-1!

In the final match of the week Barcelona played a struggling Bayern Munich squad.  This game was over when the opening whistle blew.  Barcelona came out of the gate flying giving Bayern no chance at all.  The scoring started in the 9th minute when Lionel Messi found the back of the net.  Just 3 minutes later Barcelona doubled their lead when Samuel Eto’ struck a great shot that found the  net.  Things would only get worse for Bayern in the 38th minute when Messi would net his 2nd of the night.  Thierry Henry played out of his mind in the first half.  Henry finished out the scoring in the 43rd minute off an excellent assist from Eto’.  This game in my opinion could have finished 8-0 to  Barcelona.  This is now 9 goals allowed in the last 2 games by Bayern Munich.  Final Score 4-0.

Let’s all watch next week to see who will advance to the final four!!!