Wednesday 17 September 2008
Marseille - Liverpool 1-2 champions league 16 september 2008
Marseille 1 - Steven Gerrard 2....
New season, similar outcome. Nine months after dancing through the Stade Vélodrome as if they owned the place, Liverpool FC kicked off UEFA Champions League Group D with a 2-1 comeback win at Olympique de Marseille, Steven Gerrard returning to the side to fire both their goals.
Gerrard double
The influential Reds' captain was an injury doubt before kick-off, but there was nothing rusty about his first-half performance as he responded to Lorik Cana's opener with a majestic strike from distance and a pinpoint spot-kick. He eventually departed in the 69th minute, but by then his team were well on their way to victory – one less dominant than their 4-0 success here last December, but important all the same.
Returning stars
Fernando Torres likewise found his way back into Rafael Benítez's starting XI after a hamstring knock, and the Spaniard instigated the first real skirmish too, forcing a corner that he himself subsequently headed goalwards, only for Steve Mandanda to palm over. At the other end Mamadou Niang blasted over, but if Marseille thought they were now going to impose their will, Liverpool began displaying real menace. First, Ryan Babel skipped past Ronald Zubar and shot high, then Gerrard called Mandanda into action with a low drive before Torres looped a header on to the roof of the net.
Cana breakthrough
Given that pattern, it was a genuine surprise when Cana broke the deadlock after 23 minutes. Modeste M'Bami served Benoît Cheyrou in the centre and the midfielder flicked a pass over the visitors' static back line for his captain to rifle beyond Pepe Reina. That merely incurred the Merseysiders' wrath, however, Torres quickly dispossessing M'Bami and feeding Dirk Kuyt on the right. The Dutchman calmly set up Gerrard to hit a magnificent, long-distance curling effort first time that Mandanda merely watched as it looped in.
Retaken penalty
Merely four minutes later, Liverpool were ahead courtesy of their talismanic skipper once again. Zubar's foul on Babel had the referee pointing to the spot, and despite having to retake his penalty, Gerrard found joy low to Mandanda's left. Immediately afterwards, Niang speared narrowly wide, but the home side were rattled and replaced M'Bami with Mathieu Valbuena four minutes before half-time.
Marseille chances
Symbol of Marseille's 1-0 triumph at Anfield last term, the diminutive provocateur demonstrated quick feet more than once after the restart, with Benítez's charges now content to counterattack. Considering Babel's pace, that was always a threatening proposition and Mandanda had to dive at the winger's feet to deny him close to the hour. Chances for Koné volley and Vitorino Hilton restored local belief, but substitute Karim Ziani really should have done better with Koné's expert cut-back.
Babel threat
Instead, Liverpool continued to look the more likely scorers and Babel almost did just that with a fierce close-range effort blocked by Mandanda. A constant threat as he celebrated a rare starting berth, the Dutch international still had time to clip a post. The gulf between the two teams may have shrunk, but the English outfit look a lot more comfortable than their Ligue 1 counterparts.
Marseille kalah oleh Steven Gerrard...
Hasil tersebut menempatkan Liverpool di posisi runner up dengan tiga angka, satu strip di bawah Atletico Madrid yang menang besar 3-0 di kandang PSV Eindhoven.
Tampil sebagai favorit di Stade Velodrome, Liverpool menunjukkan performa yang apik sejak menit pertama. Sejumlah peluang pun tercipta, di antaranya datang dari sundulan Fernando Torres di menit ketujuh dan sepakan Ryan Babel delapan menit kemudian.
Steven Gerrard juga tak ketinggalan menguji ketangguhan Steve Mandanda di bawah mistar gawang Marseille. Hingga menit ke-20, gawang tuan rumah masih perawan.
Adapun Liverpool cukup jarang mendapat tekanan. Namun dari yang sedikit itu, Marseille mampu mencuri satu gol di menit 23. Lorik Cana menjadi penakluk Pepe Reina di kesempatan tersebut dengan sontekannya.
Keunggulan tim tuan rumah tidak bertahan lama karena tiga menit kemudian Gerrard bisa menjebol gawang Mandanda. Tendangan first timenya mengarah ke sudut kiri gawang Marseille tanpa bisa dihentikan Mandanda.
Skor 1-1 juga hanya bertahan sebentar karena Liverpool mendapat hadiah penalti di menit 32 setelah Babel dilanggar Ronald Zubar. Gerrard yang menjadi eksekutor melakukan sempurna tugasnya, sekaligus mengubah kedudukan menjadi 2-1.
Memasuki babak kedua, Marseille mulai bermain sedikit terbuka. Namun dominasi permainan masih ada di tangan Liverpool. Berada di bawah tekanan semacam ini membuat manajer Marseille Eric Gerets tampak geregetan di pinggir lapangan. Beberapa kali ia harus bangkit dari tempat duduknya untuk memberi instruksi kepada anak asuhnya.
Namun karena kematangan Liverpool di Liga Champions membuat perintah Gerets untuk anak asuhnya tidak banyak membantu. Bahkan beberapa kali pula gawang anak asuhnya nyaris kebobolan jika saja Mandanda tak tampil apik di bawah mistar gawang.
Momen paling terbuka bagi Liverpool untuk menambah keunggulannya adalah saat Babel melepas tendangan keras dari jarak dua meter dari depan gawang, yang masih bisa dibendung Mandanda di menit 75.
Sementara Mamadou Niang mendapat kesempatan untuk menyamakan kedudukan di menit 88. Akan tetapi ia gagal mengarahkan bola yang dikirimkan Mathieu Valbuena dengan kepalanya ke gawang Reina. Kiper asal Spanyol itu juga dua kali menggagalkan peluang yang didapat Benoit Cheyrou dan Niang di masa injury time. Skor 2-1 untuk tim tamu pun bertahan hingga peluit panjang ditiup Konrad Plautz.
Susunan Pemain
Marseille: Mandanda, Bonnart, Zubar, Hilton, Taiwo, Cana, Cheyrou, Kone (Samassa 75), M'Bami (Valbuena 41), Ben Arfa (Ziani 57), Niang.
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Dossena, Gerrard (Benayoun 69), Mascherano, Leiva Lucas, Kuyt (Keane 86), Torres (Riera 64), Babel.
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