Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Football: Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0

Liverpool shocked Chelsea to move into finals of the UEFA Champions League, courtesy Luis Garcia.

Liverpool, which trails the already crowned Premiership champions Chelsea by 33 points, must now wait until Wednesday to find out its opponent in the final. Either AC Milan or PSV Eindhoven will earn a date with the Reds on May 25 in Istanbul. AC Milan holds a 2-0 lead in its tie after a home win last week.

It was good to see the smirk wiped of Jose's face at last and the defeat spoiled Jose Mourinho's attempt at back-to-back Champions League titles. The current Chelsea coach guided FC Porto to the title last season. The loss also denied the Blues an opportunity to complete a treble after having already won the Carling Cup and Premier League titles.

Chelsea beat Liverpool in the final of the Carling Cup. It could not, however, keep the Reds from pulling off the improbable and getting their revenge in the Champions League.

Drogba - 24 million pounds
Duff - 17 million
pounds
Makelele - 16 million
pounds
The look on Jose Mourinho' s face when he has to suck it up during the post match interview -- Priceless



Jose' s Post Match Interview

Jose Mourinho shrugged off the disappointment of his side's semi-final defeat at Anfield to declare: "I hope Liverpool win the final."
The Chelsea boss insists his side didn't deserve to finish the game as losers but he has now wished Rafa Benitez and the Liverpool players all the best in Istanbul.

He said: "From my heart I want Liverpool to win the final. It will be good for the Premiership if they do and I really mean it when I say I hope they win.

"I don't think they were better than us on the night, in fact the best team lost. There is no doubt about that. They got an early goal and then just defended for the rest of the game.

"They defended with committment, energy and enthusiasm and did it very well. Sometimes football can be cruel and I think it was cruel on us tonight."

Mourinho was less than impressed with the linesman's decision to award Luis Garcia's early strike, especially as TV replays have also proved inconclusive.

"He has to be 100 per cent sure," he said. "And even when you see it on the TV you cannot be sure.

"But we all make mistakes. These things happen. I don't think the Anfield crowd interfered with my players at all, but maybe it interfered with other people.

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