3-1 and we came back from hell! Rafa's tactics were really spot-on, 2 substitution, 2 goals from their respective first touches, and Stevie G scored the most important winner in his life, and probably the most important goal in Liverpool history. Absolute stunning!
We dominated the whole game and almost scored in 2nd minutes but the referee decided Hyypia had fouled the goalkeeper. In fact we scored 5 - 2 of them ruled out. However we didn't scored and Alonso losted the ball in midfielder and it lead to a Olympiakos counter attack. Non of our defenders stopped him and Hyypia had to foul him to stop him. Unfortunately, bad defense - the wall was pulled out by the Olympiakos players and probably blocked Kirkland's view, allowed Rivaldo to score directly. Given his class we should not allow him to do so. At half time We look hopeless as we need to score 3 goals. Where will they come from?
Rafa had an answer. He substituted Traore with Sinama-Pongolle and we immediately get an equalizer. A nice pass from the centre circle found Kewell on the left wing, and his lovely low cross found Sinama-Pongolle and we are equalized. 43 minutes to go to score 2 more!
Olympiakos throughout the game had been playing all-defense, and their players pretend they were painful after every tackles. As time goes by we get frustuated, especially Stevie G who had a silly needless tackle which resulted in a yellow card and he will miss the next European game. Baros was not too effective, given this is his first game back, and time is running out.
Then Rafa did his trick again. He substituted Baros with Mellor, and once again he scored. It's also another Sinama-Pongolle trick. We won a freekick and Stevie G crossed the ball into the penalty box. Florent got the ball and passed it back to Nunez, his header was not strong enough and the goalkeeper parried, but it wasn't far enough and Mellor tapped it in. 9 minutes to go and we need to score one more!
At this point of time the Kop is at its loudest, and I am very confident that the much needed goal will come. But from whom? Of course Stevie G. I must admit that I was not too happy about his display in this game, he seems to have mind in elsewhere (Chelsea?) and did not play to his very best. But the Kop lifted him. Great pass from Carragher and found Mellor, he headed the ball to the edge of the penalty, and here comes Stevie G - a magnificant strike into the net, an unstoppable striker. Stevie G loves it, his happiness shows how much he loves the club and wants to win things to the club. And the Kop loves it too!
So now we are in the last 16 and will face either one of Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Lyon or Leverkusen. I personally would love to draw Leverkusen. I still remember it was that game at Leverkusen that Houllier somehow substituted Hamann and then lead to us lost to Leverkusen and start to see the fall of the club... It would be nice to re-start there.
Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6 At fault for the Rivaldo goal. He has been conceding 2 goals from freekicks in a row. Need to sort it out ASAP.
Finnan: 6.5 Do well defensively and have time to attack as well.
Carragher: 6.5 Apart from that Rivaldo goal his performance was very consistent.
Hyypia: 7 Same comment as Carra, he's also been a threat to the Olympiakos goalkeeper especially during freekicks.
Traore: 6 He plays OK and was substituted for tactical reason.
Nunez: 6 Not quite there yet, but is getting close.
Alonso: 6.5 He's been the playmaker once again. Good performance.
Gerrard: 7.5 Excellent strike. Do it more often! Get a silly yellow card and apart from the goal, I was not too happy about his performance. But what's important is that he scored that goal.
Riise: 6 1H as left midfielder and 2H as left back. An OK performance.
Kewell: 7 Excellent assist to Florent's goal. Also missed a few chances. His confidence is getting back. A goal at Goodison park would be nice.
Baros: 6 Scored a goal but was rule out... Since this is only his first game back so he looks a bit off the form. Hope he can pick up soon.
Substitution:
Sinama-Pongolle: 8.5 Scored a great goal to kick start 2H and also involved in the 2nd goal. Maybe this is the way to play him - as a supersub and use his pace when the opponent defenders are tired.
Mellor: 8 One goal, one assist in 12 minutes. Another supersub!
Josemi: Played only a few minutes. A bit shaky as he fouled in a bad position and created some fear to us.
Rafa: 10 Brilliant team talk and substitutions. But need to sort out the defensive free kick tactics ASAP.
Olympiakos: 4 No sportsmanship at all. They derseve to play in UEFA Cup.
Man of the match: The Kop. Without the Kop's support we can't do it. But for the players on the pitch, Sinama-Pongolle had the most impact. Great job young man!
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