Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal
Abou Diaby (13)
Sami Hyypia (30)
Fernando Torres (69)
Emmanuel Adebayor (84)
Steven Gerrard ( p) (86)
Ryan Babel (90)
*- Bold indicates Liverpool player.
Even if you are a Liverpool supporter, take a moment to clap for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s young guns played extremely well, and were the better side over the two legs. But as it so often happens, the better team does not necessarily progress; the luckier team does. And that, precisely, is how I’d describe Liverpool getting into the last four of the Champions League.
Benitez chose to start with both Crouch and Torres, thereby forcing Gerrard to play on the left.
And for the first thirty minutes, it was all Arsenal. Liverpool did not have the time to get settled as Arsenal pounded away relentlessly in search of the crucial away goal. After all, Liverpool had drawn 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium, and they were quite capable of enforcing a shutout.
Arsenal forced Reina to make a good save, and Xabi Alonso got a crucial touch to get the ball out of the box. Unfortunately, it landed at the feet of Mathieu Flamini, and the move culminated in Abou Diaby letting loose a powerful shot from an Alexsandr Hleb pass. Reina made an unsuccessful attempt to stop it. 1-0 Arsenal. Diaby was playing on the left because of Van Persie not being in the squad, with Hleb in a more central role.
In the 30th minute, a long ball from the Liverpool half had Torres, Gallas and Almunia following it. Not willing to leave it to Gallas, Almunia needlessly cleared the ball for a throw in. Aurelio took the throw in, and Gerrard’s slick pass allowed the Brazilian to move into an attacking position in the box. His shot took a wicked deflection off Toure, and Almunia was forced to tip it over for a corner. Peter Crouch was obviously assumed to be the target man for the corner, and the lanky forward was marked well. Senderos was in charge of marking Sami Hyypia. The Finnish defender deceived Senderos before rising to meet Gerrard’s cross. Cesc Fabregas could have probably done better on the line, but the damage was already done. 1-1 Liverpool. A goal that should never have been conceded.
Liverpool slowly started to take control of the game, and Arsenal were dealt a huge blow when Flamini was stretchered off. At that point, Gilberto came on. Probably another option would have been to bring on Walcott and bring Diaby in Flamini’s place.
Liverpool dominated the early parts of the second half and took the lead in the 69th minute through Torres. The Spaniard took control of a flick on by Crouch, and once again Phillipe Senderos was guilty as he ended up giving Torres space in the box. Not the one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Torres smashed it past a helpless Almunia. 2-1 Liverpool.
Wenger made a double substitution and Arsenal nearly equalised two minutes later. Hleb’s pass found Adebayor in the box, but instead of rounding Reina, the Togolese striker chose to go for goal directly and his attempt was wide. It probably summed up Adebayor’s day- it was not a night that he would want to remember.
But Adebayor did make amends for his miss twelve minutes. The goal was all Theo Walcott, with the youngster running past several Liverpool players before squaring it for Adebayor. 2-2 Arsenal, and at that stage, you could have forgiven Wenger for thinking that the match was over. But barely a minute later, Ryan Babel made his way into the Arsenal box from the left hand side and clashed with Toure. It was a harsh penalty given the circumstances, but Steven Gerrard made no mistake with it. Almunia got the side right, but not the height. Gerrard chose the top corner. 2-3 Liverpool.
Arsenal frantically pushed men forward. With seconds to go, Cesc Fabregas took a kick with none but him and Almunia in the Arsenal half. The ball was intercepted by Kuyt in the Liverpool half, and the Dutchman lofted it ahead. Fabregas was unable to stop the stronger, fitter and fresher Ryan Babel, and the former Ajax star steered it past Almunia to bring the curtain down on Arsenal’s European dreams.
Chelsea ended Fenerbahce’s Champions League run, and will meet Liverpool in the semifinals.