Sporting Week: Familiar foes have chance to break dull stereotype

Published on Sunday 5 April 2009 23:33

IN ADVANCE of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, it may be instructive to review the highlights of Chelsea and Liverpool's previous encounters in this competition – if you've got five minutes to spare that is.

Given the talent at the clubs' disposal, it's baffling that their almost annual European showdowns should prove so consistently arid. It encourages the theory that each is the other's antidote, a kind of negative image that reduces its opposite number into an impotent void.

A swaggering Steven Gerrard is erased by an imperturbable Michael Essien, a deft Fernando Torres crashes into a solid John Terry, a marauding Didier Drogba is shackled by an assiduous Jamie Carragher.

Jorge Valdano's memorable characterisation of one of these games as amounting to dangling a stick coated with mierda, was unworthy of one of world football's more articulate observers. Rather than being a cogent criticism of English football, it expressed a certain sour-grapes dismay that Real Madrid couldn't offer a challenge to these English sides.

In terms of entertainment value, though, he had half a point. It's true that there should be something fascinating about such closely-matched encounters, but invariably frustration results. Last season's semi-final was a partial exception, mainly because Liverpool's approach to the second leg was coloured by John-Arne Riise's calamitous own goal in the first match.

It's not unreasonable to attribute most of the blame to Rafael Benitez. Here is a manager with an accountant's grasp of the disparity in resources between Liverpool and Chelsea. Whether facing Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant or Guus Hiddink, Benitez has been quick to claim the underdog's kennel. Against Mourinho and Grant, his team were essentially reactive, seeking to contain Chelsea and punish them on the break.

Against Hiddink, Benitez has an unfamiliar dilemma. The old cautious Liverpool chrysalis seems to have cracked, and a swaggering team full of attacking verve and exuberant goalscoring is emerging. 4-0 against Real, 4-1 against Manchester United, 5-0 against Aston Villa. Even Saturday's game at Craven Cottage was the most one-sided of marginal 1-0 victories.

So does Benitez let loose his new goal-machine on Wednesday night? It would seem to go against all the manager's instincts, but the fact is that Benitez now has a settled first XI, a self-selecting elite, and their natural inclination seems to be to sweep forward with verve and commitment.

Against Fulham, Benitez rested Javier Mascherano (to allow his lungs to adjust to English oxygen after that daunting trip to Bolivia with Argentina), Fabio Aurelio and Albert Riera (to allow his elation to subside after scoring a last-minute winner for Spain in Turkey). That suggests that the perennially glass-half-empty Benitez still suspects that the Premier League may prove disappointing, and that most of his best eggs belong in the European basket.

Hiddink has yet to stamp his style or authority on Chelsea, but has been concentrating on improving the players' fitness and attitude. That shouldn't be too significant against Liverpool, the sort of game where the superstars usually deign to raise their powers of concentration. Chelsea's best news all season has been the return to fitness and form of Essien, who at his best is arguably the most influential midfielder in the Premier League despite the claims of Gerrard or Cesc Fabregas.

Liverpool's two league victories over Chelsea this season merely reminded us how tight these matches can be. The 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in October was the more impressive, characterised by Liverpool's magisterial dominance in midfield, orchestrated by Xabi Alonso, underpinned by Mascherano.

Two Torres goals in the last two minutes at Anfield at the beginning of February were highlights of an enervating game, where Chelsea's limited ambition was further affected by Frank Lampard's dismissal.

Those who habitually assume that Uefa rig the Champions League draw will assert that the authorities wanted to get this fixture out of the way at the quarter-final stage, rather than risk the two sides ruining the showcase final in Rome. Given Liverpool's recent performances, and Chelsea's stellar personnel, that may be a little harsh.

We're overdue a classic between these two teams. It's more likely to occur in the second leg, but if Benitez permits his confident team to express themselves, Liverpool may be in the mood to take a significant lead to London.