At 3.00pm GMT, today, it will be exactly 12 days until the first round of Premier League fixtures get underway.
At Ewood Park, Craven Cottage, Anfield, Loftus Road, White Hart Lane, The DW Stadium and at St. James' "We-don't-know-quite-what-the -stadium-will-be-called" Park, the first whistle of the season will blow, and with it, absolute joy will wash over millions of football fans up and down the country!
After the (shorter-than-it-seems) Summer period where limited football is played and the back pages become filled with news of Cricket and Golf, we will finally start to see normality return as football will start to dominate
The fixture list in full, then, for the weekend of 13th-15th August: Saturday, 13 August 2011 Blackburn v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Fulham v Aston Villa, 15:00
Liverpool v Sunderland, 15:00
QPR v Bolton, 15:00
Tottenham v Everton, 15:00
Wigan v Norwich, 15:00
Newcastle v Arsenal, 17:30
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Stoke v Chelsea, 13:30
West Brom v Man Utd, 16:00
Another round of fixtures produce some shocking results...
Darlington 0-2 Newcastle United
Firstly, on Friday evening, Newcastle United travelled to the Darlington Arena to take on Blue Square Premier League side, Darlington, who finished 7th last season.
A comfortable 2-0 victory for the Toon Army, through Barton (3) after a cross from Leon Best, and a strike from Ameobi (55), 10 minutes into the second half, were marred when Newcastle fans rushed onto the pitch and scenes turned ugly. Half-Time: 0-1
Full-Time: 0-2
Managing director, Derek Llambias said: "On behalf of everyone at Newcastle United FC, we wholly condemn the behaviour of a number of our supporters who invaded the pitch during the second half of the club's friendly against Darlington this evening (July 15). The club will be seeking to obtain footage of the disorder from Darlington FC and the police and will be taking the strongest possible action against those individuals responsible for the shameful behaviour.
This behaviour is not typical of the vast majority of our fans, however this incident gives a poor impression of Newcastle United and its loyal supporters."
On Saturday 16th July, six Premier League clubs played.
We'll start with the convincing victories- first Liverpool..
Malaysia XI 3-6 Liverpool
Charlie Adam got his first goal as a Red, converting a penalty in the convincing 6-3 victory over a Malaysia XI. Adam converted on 27 mins, after Jasuli's soft contact had taken down the big man, Andy Carroll. A Rahim goal levelled things on 43, giving a disappointing half time scoreline. Half-Time: 1-1
It took a further 23 minutes for Liverpool to regain the lead, with Ngog (68) first making it 1-2, then 2 minutes later on 70, making it 1-3. Rodriguez (76) made it 1-4, before Sali (79) got the first of his 2, making it 2-4, before adding Malaysia's 3rd on 82. At 3-4, and the scoreline the same as their earlier fixture, Liverpool turned it up a notch, hitting 2 stoppage time goals through Rodriguez (91) and Dirk Kuyt (94). Full-Time: 3-6
Gorleston 0-7 Norwich
An emphatic victory for Premier League newcomers, Norwich City, over Ridgeons Premier League side Gorleston at Emerald Park.
Captain Holt (6), Whitbread (12) and a Holt penalty (30) gave the Canaries a 3-0 lead. A Smith strike made it 4 and Jackson hit a 5th before half time. Half-Time 0-5 Johnson (49) and Wilbraham completed the rout, to set Norwich on their way to the Premier League. Full-Time 0-7
Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Accrington Stanley
At Morecambe's Globe Arena, Premier League Blackburn Rovers failed to convince against Accrington (Who are they? Exactly...) Stanley, but took the lead on 15 minutes through Keith Andrews. Half-Time: 1-0
Stanley equalised 9 minutes into the second half, through trialist, Kurtis Guthrie's 54th minute strike, before a Kalinic strike concluded the fixture. Full-Time: 2-1
Portsmouth 0-1 Chelsea
At Fratton Park, Chelsea fans had their first opportunity to see Andres Villas-Boas' line-up and match approach. Having played Wycombe behind closed doors in mid-week, fans were able to catch a glimpse in a damp squib of a match.
Former Chelsea defender, Ben-Haim headed past his own keeper on just 7 minutes. Half-Time: 0-1
A penalty for Portsmouth, taken by Luke Varney, and saved by Hilario, was the only thing of note in the second half. Full-Time: 0-1
Hangzhou Greentown 1-1 Arsenal
A desperately poor performance by the Gunners, as after just 16 minutes, Hangzhou took the lead through Sebastian Vazquez following a mistake from goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Carlos Vela drew Arsenal level on the stroke of half-time with a close-range strike. Half-Time: 1-1
Despite making a full 11 changes in the half-time interval, Arsenal failed to break down vastly inferior opponents and the 1-1 scoreline stood until the full time whistle blew. Full-Time: 1-1
Kaizer Chief's 1-0 Tottenham
A disappointing match for Tottenham at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Twice denied by top-drawer saves from keeper Itumeleng Khune, the last in the 90th minute sparked the counter-attack that George Lebese scored the winner from.
Luka Modric, who handed a transfer request in this week was ruled out with an ankle problem, while fellow midfielder Sandro is expected to miss three months of action with a knee injury. Half-Time: 0-0
Full-Time: 1-0
The following excerpt was taken from 'Across The Park' by Peter Lupson, a new book that examines the shared heritage of Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs.
15 April 1989 is a date no Liverpool supporter will ever forget. It was the day on which one of the worst disasters in football history occurred, and its memory remains as vivid and horrifying as ever. The occasion was the FA Cup semi-final clash between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, a match that should have been an exciting cup tie with the added spice of the prospect of an all-Merseyside final at Wembley. But it turned out to be a nightmare of the worst kind.
The day started normally enough. Liverpool and Nottingham Forest had both enjoyed good seasons and there was an air of eager anticipation as both sets of supporters made their way to the ground in glorious sunshine. As the Liverpool supporters headed for the Leppings Lane end of the ground there was nothing at first to suggest a terrible tragedy was about to unfold. But about half an hour before kick-off, the congestion at the turnstiles had built to such an alarming level that supporters had become frightened and distressed. To relieve the pressure at the turnstiles, the police took the decision to open one of the exit gates in the perimeter wall. The consequences proved disastrous.
Within minutes of the gate being opened, some 2,000 Liverpool fans made their way onto the terrace, most going down a tunnel immediately in front of them. The tunnel led to two already full pens but they had no idea of this. As they pushed forward into the pens, the crush at the front by the perimeter fencing became intolerable for those unfortunate enough to be there. There was no means of escape. As the pressure from behind increased, many lost consciousness. Tragically, 96 never recovered.
The shock and horror of the disaster reverberated throughout Britain and far beyond, but nowhere more so than on Merseyside, which was engulfed with grief. It was a grief of such intensity that it could not be carried alone. Its burden had to be shared. And instinctively Anfield became the place to share it.
After Newcastle Uniteds two nil loss to Chelsea on the weekend, it all but seems like the Geordies will be a Championship team next year.
The Geordies are currently sitting third from the bottom in the Premiership, and are four points from the safety position.
Newcastle United also welcomed back favourite son Alan Shearer, this time as manager of the northern English side, but his arrival back at Newcastle was not enough to hold off third placed Chelsea, whom are also in intention for the Premiership title.
Owen who is said to be delighted to have Shearer back at the club, after these two have teamed up so many times when Shearer was a player for Newcastle and England, has also backed the appointment of Shearer as manager.
The press in England is also saying appointing Shearer as manager of the Geordies, is the last chance for the club to stay alive in the premiership.
Michael Owen (left) with former Newcastle player and now manager Alan Shearer. Courtesy of Skysports
If by any chance the Geordies lose their battle to stay in the premiership. Michael Owen like Robbie Fowler, who are favourite sons of the red side of Liverpool, must be a damn certainity of returning to his old club. Benetiz who has shown interest in getting Owen back to merseyside before must be thinking of the same again.
Owen who is too good of a player to play in the Championship, and help Newcastle back in to the Premiership, if Newcastle gets relegated will somehow have a clause in his contract where he can leave the club shall they not be in the premiership. You see this with most players.
If Newcastle goes down, it will be another fight for the Geordies to hang on to Owen, pathing the way for him to return to Liverpool.
Owen who is also in good form currently with Newcastle, and was considered for the recent internationals for England will only get better for the rest of the season while Newcastle fights to stay in the top league, and will play a big role in that fight.
Michael Owen the player. Courtesy of Skysports
Owen who left Liverpool on the 14th August 2004 to join Real Madrid for a undisclosed fee, only lasted a year with the Spanish giants before being signed by the Geordies on the 31st August, one year later.
Liverpool then was the other team to make a unsuccessful bid for Owen .
The 29 year old striker from Chester England has scored 40 goals in 89 games for his country, and is still in intention to play more international games.
Just weeks ago now, football critics like myself were handing the silverware to Manchester United, but with a end of year revival by Liverpool and with Chelsea slowly creeping to the top as well, despite a loss this week, it is coming down to one of the most exciting finishes to the Premiership in seven years.
Liverpool this week who trounced a 10 man Aston Villa at Anfield 5-0 including a hatrick by captain courageous Steven Gerrard, coming off enormous wins thrashing Manchester United at Old Trafford 4-0 and beating Real Madrid twice in recent weeks are in outstanding form which we must say is better than their form at the beginning of the season.
Steven Gerrard-Liverpool
Liverpool who were going through another mid season slump in January and February were slowly slipping out of contention for the flag, and were starting to be written by everyone.
A mid season slump in January and February is nothing new to Liverpool under Benitez and even his predecessor Gerrard Houliard. This is something that Liverpool has to overcome if it is going to win more Barclaycard Premierships.
Can we say that the mid season slump this season by Liverpool ' May have cost them the Premiership again". I think we can. At the start of the season, they were also in tremendous form, opening up a 6 point lead on their rivals.
With nine weeks left in the season, leaders Manchester United have two more matches more to play than their closest rivals Liverpool and I have to unfortunately say that they are still the favorites to take out the Premiership, on their games in hand.
Manchester United are still to play Aston Villa, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Tottenham, Middlesborough, Manchester City, Wigan, Arsenal and Hull City in their last match.
While Liverpool has only seven matches to play in the premiership with their next Premiership match not until the 11th of April against Blackburn, then it is Arsenal, Hull City, Newcastle, West Ham, West brom and then Tottenham to finish off the Premiership season.
We still can not write of Chelsea who has one more match to play than Liverpool, and they have slightly the easier run home with Newcastle in their next match, and then Bolton, Everton, West Ham, Fulham, Arsenal, Blackburn and Sunderland.
For Liverpool to hold up the silverware at the end of the Premiership season we can not afford to drop a game while we need two or three of Manchester United games to go our way, and for Manchester to lose.
One thing going Liverpools way, is that, they have creeped in front of Manchester on the for and against goal tally, which may come into account if the teams end up on the same amount of points at the end of the season.
Also to take into account that Manchester United and Chelsea still have a Champions League and FA Cup season to play while Liverpool still have a Champions League season to play, and it may come down to who is the fittest team at the end.
One thing we can say it is going to be an exciting finish to the end of the Premiership season.
Just weeks ago now, football critics like myself were handing the silverware to Manchester United, but with a end of year revival by Liverpool and with Chelsea slowly creeping to the top as well, despite a loss this week, it is coming down to one of the most exciting finishes to the Premiership in seven years.
Liverpool this week who trounced a 10 man Aston Villa at Anfield 5-0 including a hatrick by captain courageous Steven Gerrard, coming off enormous wins thrashing Manchester United at Old Trafford 4-0 and beating Real Madrid twice in recent weeks are in outstanding form which we must say is better than their form at the beginning of the season.
Steven Gerrard-Liverpool
Liverpool who were going through another mid season slump in January and February were slowly slipping out of contention for the flag, and were starting to be written by everyone.
A mid season slump in January and February is nothing new to Liverpool under Benitez and even his predecessor Gerrard Houliard. This is something that Liverpool has to overcome if it is going to win more Barclaycard Premierships.
Can we say that the mid season slump this season by Liverpool ' May have cost them the Premiership again". I think we can. At the start of the season, they were also in tremendous form, opening up a 6 point lead on their rivals.
With nine weeks left in the season, leaders Manchester United have two more matches more to play than their closest rivals Liverpool and I have to unfortunately say that they are still the favorites to take out the Premiership, on their games in hand.
Manchester United are still to play Aston Villa, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Tottenham, Middlesborough, Manchester City, Wigan, Arsenal and Hull City in their last match.
While Liverpool has only seven matches to play in the premiership with their next Premiership match not until the 11th of April against Blackburn, then it is Arsenal, Hull City, Newcastle, West Ham, West brom and then Tottenham to finish off the Premiership season.
We still can not write of Chelsea who has one more match to play than Liverpool, and they have slightly the easier run home with Newcastle in their next match, and then Bolton, Everton, West Ham, Fulham, Arsenal, Blackburn and Sunderland.
For Liverpool to hold up the silverware at the end of the Premiership season we can not afford to drop a game while we need two or three of Manchester United games to go our way, and for Manchester to lose.
Also to take into account that Manchester United and Chelsea still have a Champions League and FA Cup season to play while Liverpool still have a Champions League season to play, and it may come down to who is the fittest team at the end.
One thing we can say it is going to be an exciting finish to the end of the Premiership season.
Liverpool 2 - 1 Man Utd
Blackburn 0 - 4 Arsenal
Fulham 2 - 1 Bolton
Newcastle 1 - 2 Hull
Portsmouth 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
West Brom 3 - 2 West Ham
Wigan 1 - 1 Sunderland
Man City 1 - 3 Chelsea
Sun, Sep 14:
Stoke 2 - 3 Everton
SUMMARY:
Every fan was looking forward to this weekend's Premier League action because it had all the ingredients for an explosive weekend. First there was arguably the biggest club match in world football - Liverpool vs. Man Utd; the match-up between two of the world's most cash-rich clubs: Man City vs Chelsea including the British record signing Robinho and whether Mike Ashley would survive the weekend as Newcastle takes on Hull for their first match since Kevin Keegan walked out on the club.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez finally got one over his Manchester United counterpart as the Reds beat United 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday - their first win in eight league games against their bitter rivals.
The early signs were not good for the home side as they fell behind to an early Carlos Tevez goal after a neat pass from new signing Dimitar Berbatov in the 3rd minute. But Liverpool never buckled under the pressure and were level with a Wes Brown own goal before dominating the second half, playing the best football they have played this season, and grabbed a priceless win with 13 minutes left when Dutch winger Ryan Babel came onto score the winner.
Arsenal turned on the style against Blackburn at Ewood Park by scoring four unanswered goals against Paul Ince's men. Emmanuel Adebayor became the second Gunner to score a hat-trick this week following teammate Theo Walcott's exploits for England earlier in the week.
The 19 year-old didn't get on the scoresheet in this match but he set up the opening goal for Robin van Persie in the eighth minute before Adebayor stole the limelight with three goals.
Meanwhile, new British record signing Robinho scored on debut for Manchester City but could not stop his side from falling to a 3-1 defeat against Chelsea. The Brazilian forward lashed home a superb 13th-minute free-kick but it was downhill all the way after that as Chelsea scored three times without reply to register a seventh straight win over the Sky Blues.
When the fixtures list is released for a new season of English Premier League football, it's almost second nature for me to find the Liverpool vs. Manchester United games before I do anything else.
What's interesting though is that this doesn't necessarily apply to just Liverpool or Manchester United fans - this 'derby' garners the interest of supporters from other clubs/ leagues/countries, or the 'neutrals' because of the reputation of both sides and the intense rivalry over the years.
For the 2008-09 season of the EPL, the first Liverpool vs. Manchester United blockbuster takes place on September 13. Players from both teams will be pumped for the game, there's no doubt about that, but with some big players from both sides set to miss this fixture due to injury - there could be more by the time the latest round of international fixtures finishes - things are looking rather underwhelming.
While United will point to injury problems of their own with Portugese winger Cristiano Ronaldo still recovering from ankle surgery, they will be buoyed by the arrival of Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov who is set to make his debut for the Red Devils against Liverpool on Saturday.
Despite the match being played at the fortress that is Anfield, it appears Liverpool will be the big underdogs in this match.
BATE Borisov* 1 - 1 Levski Sofia
Dinamo Zagreb 1 - 3 Shakhtar Donetsk*
FBK Kaunas 0 - 2 AaB*
Olympiacos 1 - 0 Anorthosis Famagusta*
Steaua Bucuresti* 1 - 0 Galatasaray
Marseille* 2 - 1 SK Brann
Dynamo Kiev* 4 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Atlético Madrid* 4 - 0 Schalke 04
Fenerbahce* 2 - 1 Partizan Belgrade
Arsenal* 4 - 0 Twente Enschede
FC Basel* 2 - 1 Guimaraes
Liverpool* 1 - 0 Standard Liege
Slavia Prague 0 - 0 Fiorentina*
*denotes qualifiers for the group stages of 2008-09 UEFA Champions League.
SUMMARY:
English Premier League giants Arsenal cruised through to the group stages of Europe's premier club competition with a comfortable 4-0 (6-0 agg) win over Dutch side FC Twente but five-times European champions Liverpool only just managed to scrape through with an extra time winner against Standard Liege at Anfield.
The Gunners were just too classy for FC Twente, a side managed by former England boss Steve 'Brolly' McLaren, and the home side controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish, such was there dominance all over the park.
Arsene Wenger's men completely passed the visitors off the pitch with some imaginative football which resulted in four different players getting on the scoresheet - Samir Nasri (27), William Gallas (52), Theo Walcott (66) and Nicklas Bendtner (89).
It wasn't so easy for Rafa Benitez's at Anfield as Liverpool's woeful early season form continued but once again, they were left off the hook by Belgian champions Standard Liege.
The visitors gave the five-time European champions a torrid time at home with a spirited and organised performance which highlighted Liverpool's lack of width on several occasions. Both sides had chances to win the game - the first leg ended with a draw - and it took until the 118th minute for Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt to find the winner to send the Reds through to the lucrative group stages of the competition.
Liverpool will wear a new 'Euro Away' kit as they travel round the continent next term. Finished in a retro-looking aqua/green/teal colour with black collars and white adidas stripes, the shirt is matched with black shorts.
Manufactured by Adidas, the shirt is made from 100% polyester, anatomically cut and features Climacool technology to bring out the best performance in the players under any given conditions.
The Euro Away kit will also double up as the team's third kit in the English Premier League.
Liverpool have signed Tottenham striker Robbie Keane on a four-year contract for a fee that could rise to £20.3m.
The 28 year-old Republic of Ireland captain will join the club he has supported from a young age on a reported salary of around £80,000 a week and will be a direct replacement for the recently departed Peter Crouch.
Despite becoming the fifth summer addition to Rafa Benitez's first-team squad after the arrival of David Ngog, Diego Cavalieri, Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena, Keane is by far the biggest and most expensive signing to arrive at Anfield and is tipped by most pundits to form a formidable first-choice partnership with the prolific Fernando Torres in attack.
The transfer is the sixth major move of Keane's career which includes spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur. In his personal statement to Spurs, the striker said:
"I would like to place on record my thanks to the board, players and fans of Tottenham for the past six years, which were the best and most enjoyable of my career to date.
"I will never forget them. I would specifically like to thank chairman Daniel Levy for understanding, that, as a fan, joining Liverpool is a lifelong dream of mine and one I couldn't let pass me by.
"I hope one day the Spurs fans, who have been brilliant to me, can understand this too.
"I have only good things to say about my time at Tottenham and expect them to go from strength to strength under Juande Ramos and Daniel Levy."
The Republic of Ireland's all-time leading goalscorer could make his first start in a Liverpool shirt this Saturday.
Liverpool will be wearing a grey coloured away kit for the 2008/09 season of the English Premier League.
The shirt features a chequered pattern design with the three stripes of manufacturer Adidas and the collar finished in red. The end of the sleeves on the short sleeve shirt is also finished in red.
The 'Carlsberg' sponsor's logo is finished in white which happens to contrast quite well with the grey shirt and red inserts. The underside of the shirt features a unique red and white chequered pattern.
The new away kit will be officially launched on July 17 but is already available for pre-orders.
The Reds will kick off the 2008/09 English Premier League season with an away trip to Sunderland on the first day of the season on August 16.
Gareth Southgate's Middlesbrough will be the first visitors to Anfield in the new season on August 23 with a mouthwatering home tie against reigning champions Manchester United as soon as the fourth game of the new season on September 13.
In the same month, the first derby of the season takes place at Goodison Park on September 27 with the corresponding Anfield fixture taking place after the new year. Liverpool will make a trip to Stamford Bridge on October 25 with manager Rafa Benitez pitting his wits against new Chelsea boss Scolari for the first time.
The Boxing Day clash next season will be a home game with Bolton with an away trip to Arsenal just six days before. The season ends in May 24, 2009 with a home game against Tottenham.
Liverpool's fixture list for the 2008-09 Barclays Premier League campaign is as follows:
August:
16 Sunderland (a)
23 Middlesbrough (h)
30 Aston Villa (a)
September:
13 Manchester United (h)
20 Stoke City (h)
27 Everton (a)
October:
4 Manchester City (a)
18 Wigan Athletic (h)
25 Chelsea (a)
29 Portsmouth (h)
November:
1 Tottenham Hotspur (a)
8 West Bromwich Albion (h)
15 Bolton Wanderers (a)
22 Fulham (h)
29 West Ham United (h)
December:
6 Blackburn Rovers (a)
13 Hull City (h)
20 Arsenal (a)
26 Bolton Wanderers (h)
28 Newcastle United (a)
January:
10 Stoke City (a)
17 Everton (h)
27 Wigan Athletic (a)
31 Chelsea (h)
February:
7 Portsmouth (a)
21 Manchester City (h)
28 Middlesbrough (a)
March:
4 Sunderland (h)
14 Manchester United (a)
21 Aston Villa (h)
April:
4 Fulham (a)
11 Blackburn Rovers (h)
18 Arsenal (h)
25 Hull City (a)
May:
2 Newcastle United (h)
9 West Ham United (a)
16 West Bromwich Albion (a)
24 Tottenham Hotspur (h)
English giants Liverpool has unveiled their all-new home kit for the next two seasons with pre-orders now available through the club's official website.
Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina models the new home kit
Designed and manufactured by sporting giants Adidas, the new kit features a V-neck collar that is outlined in white - the Liverpool crest remains on the players left. The famous three stripes of Adidas is cut off just past the shoulder blades on the short sleeve shirt while the cut off on the long sleeve shirt is down at the bottom of the sleeve and in the form of an arched shape.
While the current kit appears to be more of a modern design, the new home kit is more retro with modern styling cues.
The new goalkeeper shirt for 2008 - 2010
The new goalkeeper shirt worn by Pepe Reina for the next two seasons is entirely black with red stripes along the sleeves - an Adidas trademark - and red dots on the side from the underarm down to the waist area. There are also red inserts on the raised colour.
Wed, Apr 30: UEFA Champions League (Semi-Final 2nd Leg)
Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool (Chelsea wins 4-3 agg)
SUMMARY:
It was a case of third-time lucky for Chelsea as Roman Abramovich's multi-million dollar squad finally ended their Liverpool jinx in Europe by reaching the final of the Champion's League for the first time in the history of the club.
On a rainy night in the capital, Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners - and 4-3 on aggregate - over Liverpool courtesy of a brace from Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard penalty while Liverpool ended their barren run of goals at Stamford Bridge through Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel.
The match ran into extra-time between the closely-matched sides after Drogba opened the scoring with a thunderous drive in the first half before Fernando Torres hauled the five-times European champions level with a slotted finish in the 64th minute.
With neither side willing to give in, extra-time loomed and Michael Essien thought he had scored the winner for the hosts with a 20-yard effort that was correctly ruled offside. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, the Blues continued to attack and were awarded a penalty just moments later when Reds defender Sami Hyypia brought down Michael Ballack just a fraction inside the box.
Up stepped Lampard - who returned to the side after the death of his mother last week - to send Pepe Reina the wrong way to spark emotional celebrations.
A 2-1 scoreline was never going to be safe against a never-say-die Liverpool team and the home side knew that the visitors only had to equalise to go through on the away goal rule so Drogba made sure of victory in the 105th minute after good work from ex-Liverpool striker Nicolas Anelka.
There was more drama though as Ryan Babel conjured a goal out of nothing in the second half of extra time with a rasping 35-yard shot that caught Petr Cech off guard, It was, however, a mere consolation for the Reds as Chelsea held onto win the match and book a place in the showpiece final in Moscow on May 21.
Tue, Apr 22: UEFA Champions League (Semi-Final 1st Leg)
Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea
SUMMARY
Liverpool were on the brink of securing a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield overnight before disaster struck in the fourth minute of extra-time when a John Arne Riise own goal gave the visitors a vital away goal in the 1st leg of the first semi-final.
So dominant were Liverpool's display throughout the match that the mighty Reds could have scored at least four goals without reply on a night when several players were on brilliant form.
Unfortunately, Chelsea keeper Petr Cech chose last night to reaffirm his position as arguably the best goalkeeper in the world with a string of impressive saves to deny both Steven Gerrard and Fernando on countless occasions throughout the match.
The hosts took the lead in the 43rd minute through Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt who had robbed Frank Lampard of the ball before forcing it past the inspirational Cech. Buoyed by the breakthrough, the Reds went all out thereafter for the killer blow but time and time again, Cech was able to thwart the efforts of the home side.
With the match ticking away and Chelsea clearly bereft of ideas, the Blues fans amongst the crowd at Anfield were anxiously waiting for the final whistle before the sucker punch was delivered.
Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou curled a hopeful cross into the box from wide on the left which was headed in by Liverpool sub John Arne Riise and the Kop were stunned.
The vital away goal means that the London club are now in pole position to reach the Champions League final for the first time on May 21 with the return leg of the semi-final to be played at Stamford Bridge next week.
According to the official Liverpool FC website, registered members will be able to exclusively preview and pre-order the new home kit for season 2008-09 starting from next Friday (May 2, 2008).
The club has also offered supporters an added incentive to pre-order online - a free £10 LFC retail voucher with every adult and junior shirt purchased.
The new Liverpool home kit for 08-09?
As you can imagine, the club has tried its hardest to keep the design of the new kit under wraps until its official launch for members next week but it seems the new design has already been leaked on the internet.
If this is genuine, the collar design of the kit worn by Steven Gerrard and co. for the past two seasons is out the window and replaced with a white V-neck design. The body of the shirt forgoes the thin white stripe of the current kit and is plain red although if you look closely, you can see that it isn't all that plain with contour lines visible down the side of the shirt.
Genuine or not, all will be revealed next week when the kit is available for pre-order and images will be posted on here as soon as they come to hand!
Just days after sealing a semi-final berth in the Champions League, news have emerged from Anfield that Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has written to the club's chief executive Rick Parry calling for him to resign.
The American is thought to feel that Parry is siding with co-owner George Gillett in the club's ongoing power struggle while the club's prospective buyer Dubai International Capital (DIC) said it will wait for the saga to be resolved before pursuing its interest in the club again.
Rick Parry may not be the most dynamic chief executive in the Premier League - he did, after all, sell the club to these buffoons - and there have been times where fans have been frustrated with his slow movings in the transfer market.
However, this just isn't the time to be airing dirty laundry with two vital games against Chelsea coming up in the Champions League and to qualify for next season's competition by securing at least a fourth place finish in the league.
According to the reports, the ownership of the club is split 50-50 between the two Americans thus Hicks would need approval from Gillett to force Parry out of his positionanyway. Unless he is forced, it appears unlikely Parry would want to leave the club he has supported his entire life on his own accord.
Reds fans across the world will be praying that this latest twist won't affect the team's preparation for the remainder of the season.
Tues, Apr 8: UEFA Champions League (Quarter-Final 2nd Leg)
Liverpool 4 - 2 Arsenal (Liverpool through on 5 - 3 Agg)
Chelsea 2 - 0 Fenerbahce (Chelsea through on 3 - 2 Agg)
SUMMARY:
Liverpool and Chelsea have been reunited in the Champions League semi-final for the third time in four years courtesy of wins over Arsenal and Fenerbahce overnight.
Liverpool went into the return leg with a slender away goal advantage but it was Arsenal who started the brighter of the two sides and it came as no surprise when they went in front in the 13th minute through an Abou Diaby strike.
The Kop was silenced but not for long as defender Sami Hyypia restored parity on the half hour mark with a trademark headed goal and the home side began to dominate with new found confidence.
The Reds then took the lead in the second half when goal machine Fernando Torres gratefully latched onto Peter Crouch's flick on to fire a shot into the top corner. But with just seven minutes left, Arsenal stunned the hosts with an equaliser through Emmanuel Adebayor to make it 2-2 and it was advantage Gunners on the away goals rule.
A minute later, Liverpool were awarded a penalty when substitute Ryan Babel was adjudged to have been brought down by Toure. Up stepped captain marvel Steven Gerrard to fire the spot kick into the top corner to restore the home side's lead.
But the action was not over yet. Arsenal surged forward in search of the equaliser that would send them through to the next round but were caught out by a Ryan Babel breakaway goal which sealed a 4-2 victory on another famous European night at Anfield.
In the other quarter-final clash of the evening, goals from midfielders Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard gave Chelsea a 2-0 win at home over Turkish side Fenerbahce to book a place in the semi-final for the fourth time in five years.
Liverpool striker Peter Crouch appears to be on the brink of a summer exit from Anfield in search of regular first team football for next season.
Despite Liverpool's offer of a new contract, the bean-pole England striker feels that he needs to be playing regularly if he was to harbour any aspirations of playing for England and furthering his career at the highest level.
The tallest player in the Premier League arrived at Anfield from Southampton in a £7million deal during 2005 but is well down the pecking order behind boss Rafa Benitez's first choice pairing of Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt.
"I would love to stay, it is a fantastic club and I love everything about it, but I have got to be realistic.
"If I want to have any aspirations of playing for England, or furthering my career, then I have to be playing - and that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.
"I will have to look at it - but that's certainly something I won't be doing now, I will be doing it at the end of the season." said Crouch.
Crouch's height at 6'7" has meant that his role for Liverpool and England has largely been that of an impact substitute where his aerial ability can be used to threaten tiring opposition. However, long ball tactics would often have to be used in order to exploit his aerial ability and height advantage and that hasn't worked out as much as Liverpool or England would have liked in the past.
Although he possesses fantastic technique with the ball on the ground for such a tall player, he lacks the goal scoring prowess and track record of players such as Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen for England.
Having had just seven Premier League starts this season, you can't blame him from wanting to leave in search of more regular football but in reality, would he make it at any of the other big clubs i.e. Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea etc.?
You'd be hard pressed to say yes and given how many of the players at the smaller clubs moan about a lack of exposure to European football thus harming their selection for the national team, Crouch should actually remain at Anfield if he really harbours aspirations of featuring for England in the future.
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