LIVERPOOL 1 CHELSEA 1

I'm giving it 5 stars to Rob Styles : for being the worst referee so far.

Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw which suggested the Barclays Premier League season could be a war of attrition right to the end.

Fernando Torres' excellent first goal for Liverpool was all but forgotten as the yellow cards were waved, five for Chelsea and four for Liverpool. Captains Steven Gerrard and John Terry were among the bookings.

• Benitez laments 'unbelievable' decision

Chelsea battled away after going behind and were rewarded with a controversial penalty that Frank Lampard drove past Jose Reina.

Steve Finnan was adjudged to have brought down Florent Malouda, but the incident looked more like the Frenchman jumping between Finnan and Jamie Carragher before crashing to the ground.

The incident set the tone for the rest of a fractious match in which Styles almost lost control. In the latter stages he appeared to book Michael Essien for a second time without sending off the Ghanaian only for the fourth official reveal the booking had been issued to Terry.

Broken toe or not, Gerrard was there to skipper Liverpool against a Chelsea side who had their own captain Terry back from injury.

It was never a cordial meeting between international skipper and his deputy, the pair involved in frequent verbal exchanges during an increasingly feisty clash.

Chelsea included Essien in their defence, who was pressed into service despite a groin injury because Jose Mourinho was without defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira.

Chelsea used Essien at right-back and John Obi Mikel as a holding midfielder, with Salomon Kalou trying to push on from midfield to aid Didier Drogba.

Malouda, who chose Chelsea ahead of Liverpool when he moved from Lyon in the summer, and Shaun Wright-Phillips were also quick to attack in a brave Mourinho system.

Liverpool went for a straight-forward 4-4-2 with Riise keen to exploit any unfamiliarity to right-back from Essien.

And the threat was demonstrated when Riise appeared in yards of space to take a Steve Finnan cross-field ball only for Petr Cech to come flying off his line to avert the danger.

Essien was booked for sending Alvaro Arbeloa flying on the touchline, then Chelsea's vulnerability on their right flank saw them a goal behind on 16 minutes.

Gerrard played the ball with the outside of his right foot, finding Torres heading into the area.

The Spain international took on Tal Ben-Haim, leaving the ex-Bolton man in just a couple of yards before squeezing a clever side-foot shot just inside Cech's far post.

Anfield went wild and the £20million man was an instant hero as he was mobbed by his delirious colleagues.

Chelsea responded with a Drogba free-kick that was deflected wide and Kalou saw a six-yard box chance disappear as he failed to shoot quickly.

Gerrard mopped up with a ferocious challenge on Drogba to clear.

The match got more heated and Dirk Kuyt was booked for a trip on Lampard.

The atmosphere deteriorated further after Chelsea complaints to referee Rob Styles over challenges on Malouda and Terry, the latter involved in an exchange of words with the perpetrator, Torres.

Pennant was then booked for dissent after being penalised for a foul.

Gerrard was next into the book for a foul on Mikel, the half ending with Torres limping away after a heavy challenge and plenty of exchanges between England colleagues on both sides.

Chelsea brought on Claudio Pizarro for Kalou at the break, to provide better support for Drogba. And the Peruvian made an instant impact.

First he nodded on a Lampard corner for Terry to head just over, and then he stretched at the far post to head wide himself.

Much of Liverpool's play in the opening half was geared to containment, but they were more adventurous attacking the Kop end and Gerrard and Xabi Alonso both saw chances go wide while a Riise free-kick was charged down.

But on 61 minutes, Chelsea were level from the penalty spot. It was a controversial decision by referee Styles to penalise Steve Finnan for a challenge on Malouda.

It looked as if Malouda had jumped between Finnan and Carragher before tumbling and Carragher was booked for arguing before Lampard drove the spot-kick home.

The bookings continued and Ben-Haim's for dissent soon after was the third caution in four minutes.

On 67 minutes, Ryan Babel replaced Pennant, who had just set up Riise for a power drive just wide.

Lampard was soon booked for dissent, with Terry following, Chelsea fuming at what they perceived as a Torres dive looking for a free-kick.

There was more argument involving Essien before the free-kick went Liverpool's way. The Ghanian appeared to be booked for a second time but Styles later confirmed that only Terry had been yellow-carded.

What was certain was that the game had deteriorated into a nasty, spiteful battle.

Cech did well to keep out a close-range Riise effort as Liverpool pressed again. Crouch taking over from Riise with seven minutes left.

Kuyt's flicked header just cleared the bar before Alex came on for his Chelsea debut in place of Malouda.

Chelsea were now intent on the point, which they achieved after Babel skimmed a late effort inches wide.

THE GREAT JOHN ALDRDGE ON FERNANDO TORRES

Anfield goalscoring great John Aldridge has spoken of his admiration for Fernando Torres and said the Spanish striker will prove to be a big hit at Anfield.

The former Liverpool ace believes Torres has got a lot of attributes in his game that will quickly endear himself to the Anfield crowd.

"As a former striker I was watching Fernando Torres' performance very closely at Aston Villa last week and I liked what I saw," enthused Aldridge.

"His all-round attributes were excellent. In fact I saw similarities in his performance to that of one of his opponents tomorrow, Didier Drogba.

"A key part of Chelsea's success has been their ability to play balls to the front men and seem them make something out of nothing. Torres did this on several occasions last weekend.

"He could have taken a few chances but he had no right to have them in the first place because he made the most of those opportunities for himself.

"I liked the way he held the ball up, put himself about, chased down defenders and wanted to get on the end of everything.

"The link-up play with Dirk Kuyt was also excellent. There are already signs of a flourishing partnership which is something Liverpool have lacked for years.

"I see Peter Crouch and Torres working just as well together. While Kuyt can play as a foil for Torres, the Reds number nine would play a different role alongside Crouch and probably help Peter play further up the park.

"It's still early days but there are so many options available for Rafa now, it bodes well for the rest of the season."

THREE REDS NAMED In ENGLAND SQUAD

Three Liverpool players have been included in Steve McClaren's England squad for the friendly against Germany at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Peter Crouch, Steven Gerrard and on loan goalkeeper Scott Carson have been named in the squad.

Gerrard is a likely non-starter at Wembley because he is suffering from a hairline fracture in his toe.

The full squad is:

Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur), David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (Aston Villa on loan), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Sol Campbell (Portsmouth), Steven Taylor (Newcastle United), Phil Neville (Everton), Nicky Shorey (Reading), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Kieron Dyer (West Ham United), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Alan Smith (Newcastle United), Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Johnson (Everton), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur).

RAFA BLAST AT MOANrihno

Rafael Benitez insists he 'does not enjoy' his war of words with Jose Mourinho but the Liverpool boss could not resist responding to his Chelsea counterpart's jibes ahead of the first major showdown of the season.



The pair resume their fierce rivalry on Sunday when Mourinho brings his team to Anfield.


The colourful Portuguese did not even wait for the season to start before declaring the pressure was really on Benitez to deliver following the Spaniards' £40million summer spending spree.


But the Reds' boss retorted: 'I thought Jose had said he wouldn't be talking about other clubs this season. Maybe he's already forgotten that.'


Benitez insists one summer of increased activity has not changed a thing.


He said: 'You only have to look at who are the clubs who have spent most over the last five seasons, and there are two, Chelsea and Manchester United, and they have won most of the trophies.


'If you analyse who finished top of the table last season, who have spent more money in those years, it is clear and simple there are two teams ahead of the others in terms of money, spending and also titles won.


'And I always say that (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich has done a really a good job, that is the key!'


Benitez is expected to field skipper Steven Gerrard tomorrow, despite his talismanic captain suffering a hairline fracture of the big toe on his right foot.


And the Liverpool manager feels under no more pressure now than before he spent big this summer.


He said: 'I do not feel more pressure because I have bought players, and I would rather it was not about me and Jose all the time, I would prefer it to be about Gerrard, (Chelsea captain John) Terry and the other players - they are more important than us.


'I do not really enjoy the exchanges that have gone on between me and Jose, I would prefer there to be none. He has a fine squad with great players, and I think we will be okay together this season.


'We are both professionals and we have our responsibilities. But it is better if we do not talk too much about each other.


'I really don't enjoy it and want to concentrate on my team, I do not like talking about other managers every day.'


What Benitez does want is a level of consistency this season, rather than the occasional stunning performance against big opponents.


Last term Liverpool beat Chelsea in the league and the Champions League semi-finals, but were 15 points behind them and 21 behind champions Manchester United.


Benitez said: 'If we show the same quality against every side in the league as I believe we will against Chelsea, at the end of the season we will be up there.


'Chelsea may be an important game now, but next week's game against Sunderland will be just as important.


'Every three points we play for will mean something at the end of the season, so all the players must be ready every week.


'I want each game in the Premier League to be seen in the same way rather than hear people talking about how a game like Chelsea may be more important than others.'


He added: 'We know when you are playing against a top side you must do well if you want to be a contender, but to be ready against all the teams is the only way to compete in the Premier League.


'I know against the top sides how much everyone wants to play and show their quality and I know they can do it.'

Article Snipped from : soccernet.com

LIVERPOOL VS CHELSEA

Benitez is praying his players have recovered from the match that was played in sweltering conditions, approaching 90 degrees, which sapped even the strongest in his squad.


Benitez is hoping there will be no adverse reaction as he prepares for a match that has a crucial impact on the title race even this early in the campaign.

He said: 'I think we will have enough time to recover for the Chelsea match. But we must control the recuperation of the players, and it does not help that it is Chelsea next. If we were playing another team maybe it would be easier for the players to cope.

'But against Chelsea you need everyone giving 100% of their ability all the time, so we must monitor the players.

'We will need a couple of training sessions to see how each one of them has recovered. Only then will I be able to see who starts the match against Chelsea.''

Benitez will rotate his squad again and the likes of Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger and Dirk Kuyt, who did not play in Toulouse, are likely to be involved.

The Liverpool boss may try to play down the significance of the game, suggesting it is too early to make judgements, but defender Steve Finnan makes it clear how important the clash is.

He said: 'Of course Sunday is massive. Everyone has been talking about getting a good start, and yes, we have got one league win under our belts, but one win alone does not make a good start. We need to get as many points as we can in the first half a dozen games or so.

'As well as that, Chelsea are one of our main rivals, we want to finish above them this season because they are a good team.

'We can take a lot of confidence from the fact we beat them in the same fixture last year, and we have got more options all over the pitch now. We're at home, so we will try to attack them and win the game.''

He added: 'There is a lot of rivalry between the players, that is only natural, especially when we've played them as much as we have over recent seasons. But it is no different to when we play the likes of Manchester United or Everton.''

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Fernando Torres Reveals Liverpool Title Aspirations

New arrival Fernando Torres has revealed that his Liverpool team-mates have focussed their attention on reclaiming the title after 17 years, rather than repeating their more recent Champions League heroics.


The club's record signing is expected to make his Anfield debut against Chelsea tomorrow in a match which has the potential to set the tone for the Reds' Barclays Premier League campaign.


And the Spain striker has admitted that after two Champions League finals in three years, including one win, Rafael Benitez's men are now ready to dedicate themselves fully to domestic success.

'It's strange - I arrived thinking about the Champions League but, in the team, everyone is thinking about the Premier League,' Torres said in The Sun.

'That's because a lot of them won in Istanbul but haven't won a title. Of course, neither have I.

'The club has gone 17 years without doing it and everyone believes this year could be the one.'

Torres, a £21million signing from Atletico Madrid earlier this summer, admits the clash with Jose Mourinho's Blues has been playing on his mind since he knew he would be swapping Madrid for Merseyside.

He added: 'The match against Chelsea at Anfield is the game that I've been most excited about playing in since I signed for Liverpool.

'It looks like the Champions League matches at Anfield and the big ones in the league like facing Chelsea will be indescribable.'

Article snipped from : soccernet.com

MIGHT TORRES END UP ON THE BENCH?

In the space of several months we have gotten for ourselves, in summary:

• Fernando Torres on a 21m pound move from Atletico Madrid, while Luis Garcia has gone the other direction;
• Andriy Voronin on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen;
• Yossi Benayoun on a 5m move from West Ham which saw Craig Bellamy moving to the Hammers;
• Ryan Babel on a 12m move from Ajax;
• Lucas Leiva, the Brazil U-20 captain;
• Sebastian Leto, an exciting young Argentinian according to Benitez;
• And Nikolay Mihailov, who is according to a friend an exciting young goalkeeper all the way from Bulgaria.

This means that our squad now have an abundance of attacking talent. If you had fun last season trying to guess the number of ways Rafa could assemble his first XI, you would have an even greater headache this time round.

Currently, Torres, Voronin, Crouch, Kuyt, and Babel can be squeezed into a first team with two or three strikers.

Rafa looks likely to employ either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 formation that is reminiscent of Chelsea. Which means he probably has these options:

• Voronin and Crouch: We have seen in recent games that Voronin is much more than a makeweight - indeed, he is the top scorer for this pre-season. A finisher, Crouch can be a perfect complement to knock down high balls for him to score, a la a John Toshack-Kevin Keegan combination.
• Kuyt and Torres: Kuyt makes up for his lack in finishing with a superb work rate. Torres doesn't run as much, but with Kuyt running defences ragged, Torres can sneak in to finish.
• Babel and Crouch: Babel, young and energetic, can take the burden off the less pacey but much taller Robo, and this can probably help Crouch with off-the-ball movement.

There are of course many more combinations that are possible, but all of them will leave you wondering: Does Torres really fit into a system with two or three strikers?

Over at Atletico he was El Nino, the one-and-only Kid, the undisputed King of the territory. Over at Liverpool, to expect him to share the limelight with another striker seems strange, even improbable.

Torres has qualities many strikers will envy, but can these qualities be useful in partnerships? While Andriy Voronin looks like he can slip comfortably into any partnership with the Liverpool strikers, I feel that Torres may feel stifled if the final third is congested with another Liverpool striker.

That is why I predict that he may end up on the bench for the majority of the games next season. He is a player whose appearance, no doubt, can change the complexion of the game, but to expect him to work according to the team plan from the start might seem a little harder for him because of the freedom he was given at Atletico.

Of course, this is only a prediction: while last pre-season I was imagining that Mark Gonzalez was going to run Gary Neville ragged (but the opposite happened), things may well change beyond our imagination.

Perhaps the 17-year wait for the title is about to end - without Torres playing as many first-team starts as his transfer fee might suggest.