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All to play for in Champions League semi-final return leg

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29-04-2008
All to play for in Champions League semi-final return legLiverpool travel down to London to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening in the return leg of the Champions League semi-final, kick-off at 19:45 hours (BST).

The two sides drew last Tuesday at Anfield 1-1 in the first-leg of the all-English semi-final. Kuyt gave the Reds the lead with a first-half strike, and the Anfield club deserved to double their lead, before an own goal form Riise in the fifth minute of stoppage time levelled for Chelsea.

Fernando Torres was unlucky not to score his eighth goal in eight consecutive home games for the Reds against the Blues in the first-leg. The Spaniard was brilliantly thwarted by the Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal on two occasions.

If the past meetings between the two are anything to go by, then Liverpool will favour their chances of qualifying for the Moscow final. The tie is the third Champions League semi-final between the two teams, with the Reds having progressed to the final on both occasions. The Merseysiders beat the Londoners 1-0 on aggregate in the 2004/05 semi-finals, and knocked them out again last year at the same stage, this time on penalties.

Liverpool and Chelsea have had 151 major competitive meetings; Liverpool lead by 58 wins to 44, with 29 games ending in a draw. This season in the Premier League the two teams drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.

In the match build-up Liverpool skipper Steve Gerrard confirmed that he believes that Fernando Torres will be the difference between the two sides on Wednesday night. When asked about Liverpool’s poor goalscoring record at Stamford Bridge, Gerrard replied bluntly: “We haven't played there with Torres, have we?”

Torres has scored five goals in the Champions League and is just two strikes behind leading goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo. The Manchester United player heads the list with 7 goals, ahead of Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) and Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) with 6 strikes, and tied with Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Deivid (Fenerbahce SK), and Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla FC). Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerrard, Messi, and Fernando Torres remain in the hunt, as the other players’ teams are no longer in the competition.

The Reds will be seeking their sixth title having won the European Cup/Champions League five times (1976/77, 1977/1978, 1980/1981, 1983/1984 and 2004/2005). Should Liverpool reach the final, it will be their third in four years, and a first for their top goalscorer, Fernando Torres.


Photo: J. A. Sirvent