Liverpool lost on the night against Barcelona in the Last 16 of the European Cup but still knocked the competition's holders Barca out and progressed to the Quarter Finals on the Away Goals rule after it finished 2-2 on aggregate. Despite losing on the night Liverpool were by far the better team and should have been at least 3-0 up at half time.
English Champions Chelsea also progressed to the Quarter Finals. They beat Porto 2-1 to win 3-2 on aggregate......
KUYT'S FLYING ... Dirk Kuyt gets a lift from Riise after the tie is sealed
...............................Gudjohnsen 75
(Aggregate: 2-2. Liverpool win on AWAY GOALS)
By PHIL THOMAS
March 07, 2007
HAVE they ever greeted defeat with such a deafening roar on the Kop?
Have Liverpool ever claimed such an impressive scalp in all their illustrious European history?
A resounding and definite ‘No’ on both counts.
And no one, absolutely no one could argue Liverpool do not deserve to be sitting pretty in the Champions League quarter-finals this morning.
Never mind the fact Barcelona nicked this last-16, second-leg tie. Never mind the fact Eidur Gudjohnsen’s 75th-minute goal meant there was not a Scouse fingernail left come the final whistle.
For once, the Reds’ failure to turn all those chances into goals did not matter one jot.
Yes, a natural, cool-eyed assassin may still be missing from the Anfield ranks. But, when it comes to Europe, is there any other side with a heart quite as big as Liverpool?
Holders Barcelona found the answer, to their cost.
Just like Juventus, Chelsea, AC Milan and the rest before them.
And quite what George Gillett and Tom Hicks made of it as they watched from the directors’ box for the first time, heaven only knows.
Someone will have to tell Liverpool’s new American owners it is not like this every week!
Twice now boss Rafa Benitez has outfoxed opposite number Frank Rijkaard, though the Barca chief hardly covered himself in glory with his own approach.
And, boy, does it help when you have someone like Jamie Carragher at the heart of things at the back.
Carragher was equalling Phil Neal’s record of 57 European Cup appearances for the Merseysiders. And few have matched his colossus of a performance last night.
If only Steve McClaren would recognise it, maybe England would even make it past the quarter-finals as well!
Carragher had claimed beforehand that Ronaldinho, for all his disappointing season, was still the best player in the world.
You do not need to be a genius to see what that makes the Liverpool centre-back, given how easily he shackled the Brazilian.
But this was not about one man, one performance or one moment of brilliance. It was about a team packed with heroes — and all wearing the Liver Bird upon their chest.
The only injustice was that the Reds actually lost this battle, even if they won the war.
They should have been out of sight way, way before Gudjohnsen stepped around Jose Reina and slid the ball in to make it a squeaky-bum final 15 minutes.
Twice the Reds, 2-1 up from the Nou Camp, rattled the Spaniards’ bar in the first half and how one scramble did not end with the ball in the Barca net beggared belief.
John Arne Riise was the first to leave the woodwork shaking, thumping in a 20-yard rocket that visiting keeper Victor Valdes never even saw.
And when Valdes fluffed a clearance straight to Momo Sissoko, the Mali midfielder’s first-time 35-yarder ended with the same result.
WE MADE IT ... Barcelona's Carles Puyol slips off as the Kop heroes start to party
Valdes had been at fault for both Liverpool goals in Spain.
But at least he went some way to redeeming himself in one amazing melee.
He could only parry Craig Bellamy’s thunderbolt, yet did superbly to get across and beat away Dirk Kuyt’s follow-up.
Even then it took an unbelievable goal-line block by Carles Puyol to keep out Riise’s header from the rebound.
Barca managed their first shot on target some seven minutes after the break.
Yet with Ronaldinho and Deco finding their range, it was never going to be a case of seeing it out with a cigar and a glass of red.
MISERY ... Barcelona's Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho clipped one drive against an upright and, when Gudjohnsen skipped on to Xavi’s through ball to score, suddenly the great escape was back on for the reigning champs.
For a few, agonising moments you feared the home side would blow it.
Even then, Liverpool should have put an end to those frayed nerves as Steven Gerrard, Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch went within an ace of wrapping it up.
Skipper Gerrard insisted in the build-up that Liverpool should fear no one if they dumped the holders.
There will not be too many left in the competition disagreeing with that.
LAST NIGHT'S OTHER RESULTS
Chelsea 2-1 Porto
(Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate)
Valencia 0-0 Inter Milan
(Aggregate: 2-2. Valencia win on AWAY GOALS)
Lyon 0-2 Roma
(Roma win 2-0 on aggregate)
The other four games in this round are tonight.
thesun.co.uk
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