While one Rafa bagged the Australian Open title, the other Rafa scored a league double against Chel$ki, a feat last achieved in 1990. After drawing way too many games, dropping points unnecessarily and culpable of not finishing off weaker opponents, the Reds finally conjured their first win in 2009 and as blasphemous as this might sound, we have that bald, yellow-card lovin’ prick Mike Riley to thank, after he sent off Frank Lampard, whom in my opinion, had an anonymous game, up till that dubious “tackle” against Xabi Alonso at the hour mark. In all honesty, Lamps doesn’t deserve the card, not that I’ve suddenly become a Chel$ki lover overnight. Instead, he could have shown it to Unabrow Bosingwa for that harsh kick to Benayoun’s lower back near the corner post, in front of the Kop and the linesman!?! Fact?

Remember August 2007? The day El-Nino opened his goal-scoring account in a Liverpool jersey, and what better way to haunt Chel$ki than to end his 8-month goal drought at Anfield with a brace in the 2nd half. Though Alex, arguably Chel$ki’s best player yesterday, managed to stop several goal attempts when all Petr Cech could do is spill the ball, Liverpool’s number 9 superbly headed in the ball from a Fabio Aurelio cross on the 89th minute. His second in the match came during injury time when Benayoun was dispossessed by Cashley, giving Torres the opportunity to slot in a rebound. Seems like all those Japanese cooking lessons are paying off.

Now before we could go on gloating about this lucky win (yes Liverpool did play well, but c’mon who are we kidding), let’s not forget we are still trailing Manures by 2 points and the Red Devils still have a game in hand. Things are still pretty much unsettled in the dressing room. Rafa has yet not signed his new contract; Agger is not being offered any. Keane, after being repeatedly snubbed, is probably in London waiting for medical examination at the Spurs training ground, as I’m typing this. We have to face our Blueshite neighbours (AGAIN) for a FA Cup 4th round replay…please, not another draw :\

On the bright side, Chickendinner thinks Liverpool will do just fine from now on. Comments?

Gerrard was played following his little run-in with the law and produced yet another composed display.

Keane wasted another hatfull of chances as usual and was replaced by Torres after 73 minutes. Nando showed Keane how it’s done here in Anfield after linking up with Gerrard in injury time after Riera put The Reds up after 24 minutes.

Preston put up a good fight but in the end, Liverpool managed to secure passage into the next round, where we will meet our Mersyside rivals, Everton on the weekend of January 24/25 at Anfield. This match comes a week after a similar fixture in the League.

Personally, I’m wondering if Rafa will put as much emphasis on the FA Cup as he does in the League. Would that be spreading our team too thin? What do you think?

Rafa finally learns how to pronounce ‘dilemma’, some Marseille fans are morons and clearly, we have a goal-scoring crisis

CSD was spot-on when he predicted a narrow score-line for Wednesday’s Matchday 5 encounter with French side, Olympique de Marseille. Nevertheless, this “scary” win qualifies the Reds to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League tournament for the 5th successive year – a perfect record for Benitez. Back from groin injury, Captain Fantastic showed us why he hearts scoring against Marseille with a 23rd minute emphatic header from a Xabi Alonso cross, making him joint top scorer with Barca’s Lionel Messi. Though seriously we should all give thanks to Bakari Koné for hesitating to man-mark Steven Gerrard in the penalty area.

Erik Gerets’ men won at Anfield the last time they visited, so they were probably confident of stealing a victory at our fortress again. Niang, Zubar, Taiwo and pink-lovin’ Ben Arfa came close, but all failed to beat the awesomeness, that is, Pepe Reina.

2nd half was a one-sided affair with the Ligue 1 team surging forward, hoping to level the game to at least guarantee them a UEFA cup placing, ahead of PSV Eindhoven. The introduction of Andrea Dossena to replace injured Fabio Aurelio, exposed the left flank, and the Italian proved he lacks the pace to keep up with feisty Ben Arfa, and was even guilty of making foolish tackles, that could have resulted in a penalty, if not for Portugese ref’s leniency.

Milestones

This game was Benitez’s 66th European game in charge of Liverpool and the win marks his 39th victory, equaling Bob Paisley’s record. Steven Gerrard’s cracker was his 30th goal in Europe.

Marseille fans

So some charitable Marseille fan decided to throw a lighter at Stevie G, while he was about to take a corner kick during the 1st half. That’s not cool. I don’t think Stevie was going for a smoke break either, but anyways, unlike Drogba, MBE was professional about it and chose not to retaliate.

And what’s with that poof holding up an Everton scarf?!?

Again?

News has it that Torres might be suffering from a relapse of the hamstring injury that has been plaguing him. Just when the Gernando partnership was about to take off…*sigh

Other news:
Inter lost to Panathinaikos (imagines puppet Jose going “shuttup Panathinaikos”)
Chelsea’s latest achievement: Frank Lampard sent off for 2 bookable offence. Keep it up people!

If we hadn’t scored, I would probably started off by saying Liverpool was shite. Nando’s former club outplayed us, and though we had most of the possessions in the 2nd half, we were not able to find the net. And this, despite 2nd-choice goalkeeper, Leo Franco, spilling the ball on several occasions.

Robbie Keane proved once again he is pretty much ineffective as a lone striker and has not yet tuned in to the same frequency as the rest of the squad. Even the commentator mentioned that he “tries too hard”.

The 1st half was mostly played in the midfield, both teams giving away the ball recklessly. We had several close calls, as early as the 1st minute into the game, and on the 15th, when Xabi Alonso’s long cross to Keane was met by a volley which then miss the back of the net.

Atletico had their chances too in the 1st half, when Simao was unmarked in front of Reina, but ballooned the ball way off the post. It was captain Maxi Rodriquez who converted for the Spanish team in the 37th minute, after a sublime pass from Antonio Lopez on the right wing.

There was a couple of hand ball claims in the 2nd half. Ref Hansson just couldn’t give 2.5 shites about them. Dejected Rafa Benitez seemed to be running out of options when he surprisingly called upon the services of David N’gog, whom I might add, looked more at ease in his striker role, than the Irishman.

Man of the match for me would have to be Steven Gerrard, if not Daniel Agger. Despite losing steam in the later part of the 2nd half, he kept pressing on and had several good shots on goal, notably one on the 70th minute after a link-up with Keane. Captain Fantastic once again saved the game for us : ))

Interestingly enough, Liverpool has not won against a Spanish club from their past 5 encounters in Anfield, so this is kinda, sorta a good draw for the Reds. LFC just needs one more victory to qualify into the knockout rounds.

1. I do have a crystal ball =X
2. Daniel Agger would make a good winger or midfielder.
3. Our opponents should be careful the next time they score against us first.
4. Once again, we have won the hard way, but we have what it takes to be serious title contender.
5. Keane has yet to find the back of the net in the league. In fact, he was frustrating to watch today, always out of positions, had less goal attempts than Kuyt and did not convert the chances he had in front of goal.
6. Can’t quite discount CSD’s “favorite player”; he saved our arses today.
7. Stevie G did not have a good game. Jermaine Pennant and Nabil El Zhar should start more often.
8. Tackling our no 14, might get you a red card. (Valencia, Zabaleta Cahill, Vidic…and maybe Terry next week?)
9. Amr Zaki is a badass and he proved that he alone can get the job done up front. Says a lot about how unimportant Heskey can be…so please Rafa, don’t even think about it!
10. Yay I have 2 free lunches *hint hint

Man of the match: Fernando Torres for turning up to watch the game Yes he actually scores and is the inspiration behind today’s comeback, Dirk Kuyt *clap clap clap
This is the first time he has scored in three successive games for the Reds, and yay Riera scored too!

To my mate, Idz, hope you didn’t have a heart attack watching another 3-2 game. Peace

Seriously, let’s not sell the guy. He’s beaming with confidence right now and if he gets a start this Saturday, I think he’s going to come up with a solid performance. As for the England squad, it’s still McClaren’s team with McClaren’s captain, soon to follow in McClaren’s footsteps.

Pepe Reina is away with Spain, and after last month’s appearance in the friendly with Greece, there is a possibility he may start for the Spaniards. Spain are away to Iceland today and host Latvia on Wednesday. Those two games should bring Spain six points, but you never know, as they have messed it up in the past. I hope they do, as my very own Northern Ireland sit a point ahead of the Spanish today, and any slip-ups would be very helpful.
Our back-up goalkeepers, Charles Itandje and David Martin, were either too old for the U-21s (Itandje) or out of contention for now (Martin). Scott Carson (loaned out to Aston Villa) is however in the England squad for the home games against Israel and Russia. He was a dark horse to take the jersey for the matches, until McLaren restored his blind faith in Paul Robinson.

Steve Finnan was to be on duty with Ireland until he got injured. Jamie Carragher is injured, but Steve McLaren appears to have recognised his decision to quit international football. Daniel Agger’s talent has not gone unnoticed (ed-uhuh, naturally), and he is set to be the Danes’ number one defender for the match away to Sweden today. However, confidence is low in the Danish camp, after the 4-0 loss to Ireland last month. John Arne Riise, as usual, is in the Norwegian squad and should play for them today in Chisinau and next week against Greece in Oslo. Four points from those games against Moldova and Greece would do the Norwegians nicely. Alvaro Arbeloa has been left out of the Spain squad, good news for us, I can’t see why with the form he’s in. Sami Hyypia is also a certain starter for Finland’s matches against Serbia and Poland.

Harry Kewell still ain’t fit enough for the Aussie squad. Steven Gerrard is going to threaten serious harm to his toe by playing Israel today. This could put him out of the Liverpool side for weeks. However, we can always hope that this story is true and that he won’t need painkillers. Yossi Benayoun will play against England for Israel today. Xabi Alonso has been called up for Spain, and Aragones has stated he may be in line for a rare start against Iceland. Jermaine Pennant, whilst he should be in the England squad (albeit not playing as I have said), he isn’t and so gains valuable resting time. Ryan Babel may well start Holland’s vital games at home to Bulgaria and away to Albania on the back of his excellent form. Unfortunately, Javier Mascherano has had to travel thousands of miles for a friendly against Australia. This ludicrous match means that he is unlikely to play next weekend for the Reds, even if the Tuesday kick-off is slightly more advantageous for the European players. Sebastien Leto has thankfully been left out. Lucas Leiva has also been left out of the Brazil squad, despite his appearance in the squad for last month’s Algeria friendly. This is good for us, as we don’t really want him to suffer jetlag as a result of the trip to the USA.

Fernando Torres has shook off a knee problem and should play for Spain. Peter Crouch is banned for the Israel game, but should start against Russia on Wednesday in place of former Red Emile Heskey. Dirk Kuyt may play for Holland, but with the return of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Babel’s fine form and some fitness concerns, that is not definite. Andriy Voronin is likely to start up front for Ukraine against Scotland and the Faroe Islands as their top striker.

And I’d like to comment first on his post from earlier today. Well-written, admittedly, but I sorta disagree with what he was saying. Pennant was only decent against Derby because it was Derby. Sami Hyypia could have hit quality crosses from the left-wing against that defence. And for England? After one game on the left? Granted – he should be in the squad, and his pace makes him a valuable asset for the Reds – as well as his vast improvement this season, but his crossing isn’t consistently good enough from the wing to be better than the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips. He may be fast, but isn’t as fast as SWP or Aaron Lennon.

Frankly, I wouldn’t have him in my Liverpool team. Possibly against the likes of Derby, whose defenders’ legs have seen many a better day, but for teams where brains are required rather than pace, Benayoun or Babel are both much better choices (Babel even has pace too). England’s Left Side? Joe Cole. He’s brilliant, never mind his lack of playing time thus far. No other questions. And as backup? Stuart Downing. Yes, he’s naturally left-sided. Yes, he’s the teacher’s pet. But yes, he is rather good actually.

But interesting points though. This is what the site is all about – debate and comment. I rather like Babel and Benayoun myself, mixed with a little of Stevie G and the Monster Masch – sounds like a rather nice midfield cocktail to me. But Rafa doesn’t like Benayoun too much, even if he was immense against Toulouse last week. Oh, and we’ve got Sissoko, Alonso, Kewell and Pennant too. I don’t seriously believe that Leiva or Leto will be regularly used this season (despite the €15 million outlay), but both look like crackers for the future.

Let us not get ahead of ourselves though. Top of the league. Fantastic, but every encounter should be treated as tricky. In the next two months, we have Portsmouth away (great atmosphere at Fratton), Everton away (tense derby), Blackburn away (always difficult at Ewood Park) Tottenham at home (good side, but possibly the easiest cos of Anfield and their lack of form) and Arsenal at home (…its Arsenal). If we pick up thirteen points (/15) from the five, as well as full points from the other encounters (Fulham, Wigan, Birmingham) – thats championship form. I will certainly have no doubts we can do it, even if now it feels to me that something has to pop up and ruin it. Like possibly Steven Gerrard’s toe falling off tomorrow.

Interestingly, Benayoun is captaining Israel tomorrow evening. He gives us his own view on the Gerrard jab, deeming him the world’s best player and says that the Israelis have little fear in going to Wembley.

Carra, oh how we love you. He says that he is desperate for the Reds to break their title duck. As are all of us.

More good news for the Reds. Stevie Finnan is set to be ruled out because of injury for Ireland’s games this week. Now he can stay in Liverpool for recuperation and should now be able to get fit and ready for Portsmouth.

“You’re ugly, but you’ll win in the end”. Just like that annoying kid in your Maths class, well thats how I’ve paraphrased Bernd Schuster’s statement. Bit early to be worried about us, is it not?

See ya on Saturday.

P.S. I liked Carra’s coat. Very Back to the Future.

5. We didn’t sign another keeper
Surely six or eight or who knows how many Rafa has in his back pocket isn’t enough for him.

4. Gabriel Paletta was sold
Though happy it happened, I was still a bit surprised when it did. I really thought Rafa was going to hold on to Paletta as long as possible, hoping that the Argentinian would wake up one morning and all of sudden be a Premiership quality centre back.

3. We signed a French midfielder
First, this is surprising because Rafa is not known for his affinity for French players. Sure, Momo is technically French, but he plays internationally for Mali and has learned the ropes under Rafa in Spain and now England. Second, I’m going to guess that Damien Plessis, the kid we signed, didn’t speak with Anthony Le Tallec nor Charles Itandje nor even Djibril Cisse beforehand. Which brings me to my next one.

2. Anthony Le Tallec is still a Liverpool player… for now
There’s still a little over three hours remaining and he can always be sent out on ‘emergency’ loan at anytime, but as of this moment, he’s still a Liverpool player collecting dust in the reserves. Maybe Plessis was brought in to keep him company. Wouldn’t it be ironic that one of our many, many heroes of the 2005 Champions League run would be needed once again to suit up for us this season? He’s without a doubt the most likely to be gone by the time Big Ben (doesn’t) strikes midnight.

1. We didn’t sign a defender
The only thing I can take comfort in is the fact that we have players like Xabi and Mascherano who are intelligent enough football wise and disciplined enough to possibly play centre back and also we’ll have Carragher back after the international break and Aurelio returning not too long after that, but it would have been nice to sign even more insurance.