After last weeks 2 day trip through Europe which ended in 1-0 defeat away at Atletico, Liverpool had it all to do in front of a packed Anfield.
The stadium began to rock before kick off as the fans hoped another European final would put a silver lining on the cloud that has been this season. Alas, it wasn't to be.
With injuries beginning to hamper the reds yet again changes were needed in the line up. Dirk Kuyt was moved up front, Benayon and Babel patrolling the wings - meaning that Johnson moved to left back and Mascherano fulfilled the right back slot.
Aquilani, Lucas and Gerrard controlled the midfield triangle.
The Kop roared the players on to the pitch and the first half was solid from the reds. Kicking towards the Kop Liverpool dominated the opening minutes - it being 5 minutes before Atletico got out of their own half.
The reds in fact could have been 1-0 up within 10 seconds but Benayoun's shot was saved by the legs of the Madrid keeper.
Daniel Agger put the ball in to Atletico's net with a header from a free kick - but it was offside.
But as the half time whistle approached the reds got a vital goal to level the tie.
From a Yossi Benayoun cross, Aquilani skilfully turned the shot goalbound - creeping in to the bottom left hand corner.
The second half was disappointing. Atletico were allowed far more control of the ball and the reds looked jaded - as if this was a game too far this season. Atletico called Reina in to action once or twice but the half was relatively sparse on chances.
The full time whistle arrived and the managers began their team-talks for extra time. Liverpool responded first.
When a Liverpool move found Benayoun angled down at goal he volleyed the ball home before celebrating wildly with his manager. But the fans and atmosphere had a sense of foreboding. And they were right to.
Before the extra time break Atletico had scored the ever so crucial away goal and Reyes skipped past Glen Johnson before Forlan scored for the Atleti.
Liverpool miss out on the chance of their third European final in 6 years.
Teams:
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — J Mascherano (sub: P Degen, 109min), J Carragher, D Agger, G Johnson — Lucas Leiva, S Gerrard — Y Benayoun (sub: D Pacheco, 113), A Aquilani (sub: N El Zhar, 90), R Babel — D Kuyt.
Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, S Kyrgiakos, D Ayala, D Ngog.
Booked: Aquilani, Gerrard, Carragher.
Atlético Madrid (4-2-3-1): D de Gea — J Valera, Alvaro Domínguez, L Perea, Antonio López — Raul García, Paulo Assunção (sub: Jurado, 98) — J A Reyes, D Forlán (sub: I Camacho, 116), Simão — S Agüero (sub: E Salvio, 119).
Substitutes not used: S Asenjo, Juanito, T Ujfalusi, L Cabrera.
Booked: Paulo Assunção, Valera, Forlán, Alvaro Domínguez.
Referee: T Hauge (Norway).
- LFC Player StatsUpdated
brace yourself, no new owners, no meny, rafas future is no clear, torres is really thinking twice about staying and yes i do now about that.
enough is enough, it has broken me to go to anfield and watch our great club on its knees, i read all the crap writtern by so called people in the know, they know nothing, liverpool is at the end, very close to falling down, and yes all thanks to 3 people, tom hicks gillett, moores, and do not tell me any different.
we have had a season which every thing has gone so wrong, beach balls, long journey to madrid just to please uefa for their tv money, games changed to suit sky tv, offside goals that should of be given, injuries like i have never seen, get ready hold your heart and pray.
You forgot Parry to, he’s just as much to blame as Moores but at least Parry didn’t have the cheek to come back and demand compensation with the threat of a lawsuit as Moores did . These men are simply the worst kind of hypocritical , money hungry , evil Bastards who exist to cause decent people like us the most amount of pain.
Iv had it with these type of people and how they are never accountable for their actions ( just like bankers and politicians ) Someone should bring all these people to book and i hope and pray that Kama dose come back on these lot ‘three fold’ for what they’ve done.
I love this club with every thing i am and i will never give up on them whatever the situation cus im a real supporter LIVERPOOL FC 4LIFE
Y.N.W.A
We lost the game because we don’t scored in Madrid.
to complicate more them even scored a goal in our home.
Anyways we are good team and we have to raise the head
More chances will come.
Liverpool Football Club is the best team in the World
Noticed that the bench is not looking good. Rafa did not really want to make any changes and can see why. Look back a couple of years ago, even last season and we had a good 11 and a good couple of subs. Now we have El Zhar and co. There is only 1 man to blame for that. I have been behind Rafa most of the way but am very quickly changing my mind.
Time to start again. If we can’t beat a mid-league Spanish club and have to bring on players as subs who can’t kick the ball straight we’ve had it.
This game was all promise and no delivery. Two great goals and with Torres on the pitch it would have been four easily but the team lack cohesion and direction. Raffa has to answer for this, much as we all like the guy, his buying skills are non existent and his ideas for a subs bench scare me. When Graham Taylor said ‘Theres no-one to excite me on the bench” he was spot on.
New owners, new drawing board, good new players (Babel out!!) and renewed commitment is now required otherwise we are staring mid-league in the face for a long time to come.
…extra time and penalties, but this meant that Athletico could settle into the game and start to dictate play.
We were pushed rite back and forced to play far to deep which nulled our attack because we could no longer get wide men supported by wing-backs thus everything went one way through the middle or hoofed up (easy)
We gave more of a go at the start of extra time but I always felt that they were capable nicking a goal which meant to be safe we needed to go for that third goal and we just couldn’t get it.
Baring a miracle fourth place is gone and the seasons over so all we can do now is hope for investment, all the dead wood to be stripped from the club and heres hoping for a super rich arab and a sinking ship for the yanks YNWA
In retrospect we lost this game last week in Madrid. With the help of the FA screwing us in order to cash in on TV money and UEFA being totally unfair making us travel when the game should have been called off it was already an up-hill struggle. But I do feel that Madrid were there for the taking last week and we gifted them the result without trying at all.
That being said last night I felt if we had kept up the tempo of the first half we probably would be booking our tickets for Hamburg rite now. In the end, like many times this season we failed to perform for 90 mins, and took the game in to extra time in which it could go ether way.
In the second half the team seemed content with 1-0 and to see the game out with the possibility of …
We played well but allowed them back in the game. Babel was woeful. Aquilani is really showing us he can develop. That goal of his was sublime. Showed his game intelligence. Why rafa put on el zhar is beyond me – Pacheco would have been my choice.