LIVERPOOL FC - CHELSEA FC

Transcription

1 ANFIELD ROAD, LIVERPOOL TUESDAY 3 MAY 2005 at UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL, SECOND LEG LIVERPOOL FC v CHELSEA FC The goal-less draw at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday has set up a pulsating return leg for the fans at Anfield Road, who will doubtless want to enjoy the last home fixture in this season s UEFA Champions League to the absolute maximum. Whether the Reds or the Blues supporters will be hurriedly making plans to travel to Istanbul is still very much an open question. The 0-0 scoreline offers positive and negative readings to both teams, with Chelsea FC preferring to focus on Liverpool FC s lack of away goals at Stamford Bridge, which offers them an alternative winning option via a score-draw. On the other hand, Liverpool FC go into this match in a win-or-win situation but, having drawn the away leg, must feel confident of taking the honours in front of their own crowd. Whatever the outcome, an evening of tension and high drama is in prospect. For the first leg at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday, Liverpool FC striker Harry Kewell, who had played just twice since mid-december because of back, hamstring and groin troubles, was named on the substitutes bench. Milan Baros was given the lone striking role in the Reds'starting line-up - Xabi Alonso and Luís García, who both missed the previous Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace FC because of shin and thigh injuries respectively, were named in the Liverpool FC side. Steven Gerrard led his team despite undergoing dental surgery hours before the game. The Liverpool FC midfielder had surgery to remove a mouth abscess that had caused him increasing pain the night before the match. Gerrard was taken to a dental hospital in London first thing in the morning and after the operation he rejoined his team-mates. The Liverpool FC line-up was (4-5-1) Dudek; Finnan, Hyypiä, Carragher, Traoré; Xabi Alonso, Gerrard, Biscan (Kewell 86), Luís García, Riise; Baros (Cissé 65). The unused substitutes were Carson, Smicer, Le Tallec, Núñez and Warnock. For Chelsea FC, Damien Duff failed a late fitness test, so Tiago was drafted into midfield with Chelsea FC reverting to a formation. Their line-up was: Cech; Johnson, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Gallas; Tiago (Robben 59), Makelele, Lampard, Cole (Kezman 78); Gudjohnsen, Drogba. The unused substitutes were Cudicini, Smertin, Geremi, Forssell and Huth. The clubs now meet for the fifth time this season, with Chelsea FC having won the first three games, all by a single goal, before the 0-0 draw last Wednesday. In the league, Joe Cole proved to be the scourge of Liverpool FC with the only goal in both games, and both after coming on as a substitute. Cole came on for Didier Drogba in the game at Stamford Bridge on 3 October 2004 after 38 minutes and won the game with his 64 th- minute winner. On New Years Day, in the return game at Anfield, Cole came on after 76 minutes for Damien Duff, and scored within four minutes of his arrival, as Chelsea won again 1-0. On 27 February 2005, the teams met again in the League Cup final, with Chelsea prevailing 3-2, after extra time, before 78,000 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. John Arne Riise put Liverpool ahead after 45 seconds, but Steven Gerrard then put through his own

2 goal after 79 minutes to take the game into extra time. Chelsea then pulled clear with goals from Didier Drogba after 107 minutes, and Mateja Kezman five minutes later. Antonio Núñez immediately pulled a goal back but Chelsea hung on for their first major honour under José Mourinho. The teams for the League Cup final were: Chelsea ( ) Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas (Kezman 73); Jarosik (Gudjohnsen 46), Makelele, Lampard; Cole (Johnson 80), Duff; Drogba. Unused subs: Pidgeley and Tiago. Liverpool fielded ( ) Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypiä, Traoré (Biscan 66); Kewell (Núñez 56), Gerrard, Hamann, Riise; Luís García; Morientes (Baros 73), and the unused substitutes were Carson and Pellegrino. This is the 10 th UEFA Champions League tie between clubs from the same country, and the second occasion involving English teams after the Chelsea v Arsenal FC tie last season. Italian and Spanish clubs have met on three occasions, and German clubs have also been paired together twice. Liverpool, however, have won just one of their seven games in UEFA club competitions against English clubs. In the 1970/71 Fairs Cup semi-final, Billy Bremner scored the only goal of the tie at Anfield as Leeds United AFC beat Liverpool 1-0 on aggregate; Leeds went forward to win the Cup. In the 1972/73 UEFA Cup, Liverpool drew the holders Tottenham Hotspur FC in the semifinal, and took a 1-0 lead through full back Alec Lindsay at Anfield. A 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane saw Liverpool progress to the final thanks to Steve Heighway s away goal. Liverpool then beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 on aggregate in the final. Then in the 1978/79 Champion Clubs Cup, Liverpool, the holders, met the league champions Nottingham Forest FC in the first round. Goals from Gary Birtles and Colin Barrett gave Forest a 2-0 lead at the City ground, and Brian Clough s side held on for a 0-0 draw at Anfield, and progressed to the final where they beat Malmö FF 1-0. Last weekend Forest were relegated to League 1, the equivalent of the third division. Against English clubs, Liverpool have one win (the home leg against Tottenham Hotspur), three draws (after last Wednesday) and three defeats in seven games with just two goals scored and five conceded. The winners of Liverpool s three previous all-english ties were the eventual champions. Chelsea have played one other English team in UEFA club competitions besides their meeting with Arsenal FC in last season s UEFA Champions League quarter-final which finished 1-1 at Stamford Bridge and 2-1 to Chelsea at Highbury. In the 1970/71 Cup Winners Cup semi-final, Chelsea won both legs 1-0 against the holders Manchester City FC, and went on to beat Real Madrid CF in the final. Derek Smethurst scored in the first leg in London and the late Keith Weller in the return game at Manchester. Chelsea bring an unbeaten record against English teams in UEFA club competitions into the match, with three wins and two draws from their previous five games and a goal difference of 5-2. Maybe significantly, the Blues have won both away games. The first match between the two clubs took place on Christmas Day 1907, with Chelsea winning 4-1 at Liverpool. But Liverpool have edged ahead in the overall head to head meetings between the clubs. In 124 league meetings since 1907, Liverpool have won 57 matches, Chelsea have 41 wins and 26 games have finished as a draw. But the Cup meetings are closer. Chelsea have five wins to Liverpool s three successes in the FA Cup, but Chelsea s win in the 2005 League Cup final was their first win against two victories for Liverpool in that competition. Last week s 0-0 draw was the first draw in Cup matches. Overall the clubs have met on 136 occasions with Liverpool winning 62, Chelsea 47, and 27 draws.

3 The 4-1 win on their first visit remains Chelsea s biggest win at Liverpool though they did score four times at Liverpool in However Liverpool scored seven for a 7-4 win which is the highest score and the highest match aggregate in the series. Liverpool won 6-0 at home in 1935 for their biggest winning margin. Chelsea FC have won on their last two visits to Anfield, this season s 1-0 win followed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the Premiership last season. Liverpool s last home win against Chelsea was in the 2002/03 season by 1-0 which was, at the time, their 10 th win in the previous 12 home games against Chelsea with two draws. Liverpool FC - background statistics Liverpool FC are taking part in their seventh semi-final in the Champion Clubs Cup/UEFA Champions League. They have won their last five semi-finals in this competition; the only loss was their first, to FC Internazionale Milano in 1964/65. Liverpool FC are in their 32nd season in UEFA club competitions (an English club record), and their 15th in the European Cup/Champions League (one behind Manchester United FC). This is their 13th European semi-final, and their 47th semi-final in all club competitions. Liverpool will be hoping to reach their 32 nd final, their 10 th European final, and their sixth final in this competition. Liverpool have won 31 of their previous 46 cup semi-finals in all competitions, and nine of their previous 12 European semi-finals. This is the 3 rd season of UEFA Champions League football for Liverpool FC, with successive seasons of participation from before their return in 2004/05. In their only other appearance in the knock-out stages of the competition, Liverpool were eliminated by Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4-3 on aggregate in the 2001/02 quarter-final. Liverpool have conceded just six goals in their 11 UEFA Champions League games this season. They conceded three goals in group play, two goals against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the first knock-out round, and a goal to Fabio Cannavaro in the first leg of the quarterfinal against Juventus. Liverpool have played a total of 31 UEFA Champions League games, with 13 wins, 12 draws, and six defeats. Liverpool have played 15 home games in the competition with nine wins, four draws, and two defeats. Both defeats have been at the hands of Spanish clubs by FC Barcelona (3-1) in November 2001, and Valencia CF (2-0) in October 2002, when the current Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez coached the winning team. Since the defeat by Valencia CF, Liverpool have played five home games with four wins and a draw, scoring 10 goals and conceding three. Liverpool FC have lost only two of their last 12 UEFA Champions League games. Liverpool FC have kept shut-outs in their last two matches, after only three shut-outs in their previous 12 UEFA Champions League games. Chelsea FC background statistics This is Chelsea FC s third season in the UEFA Champions League. In 1999/2000 they lost the quarter-final to FC Barcelona, and last season the semi-final to AS Monaco. This is Chelsea s 14th season in European football. The club won the Cup Winners'Cup in 1971 and in This is their seventh UEFA club competition semi-final, and their 30th semi-final in all club competitions. Chelsea will be hoping to reach their 14th final in all club competitions, having won 13 of their previous 29 cup semi-finals, but only two of their six European semi-finals. Chelsea FC s current run is four defeats in their last 21 UEFA Champions League games and nine in their total of 37 UEFA Champions League games.

4 Chelsea have conceded 12 goals in 11 UEFA Champions League games this season, keeping five shut-outs. 11 of the goals conceded have come in the last six games. Since their win at PFC CSKA Moskva in the group stage, which ensured qualification for the knock-out stages, Chelsea have lost their last three away games. They lost 2-1 at FC Porto in the final group game, 2-1 at FC Barcelona in the first knock-out round, and 3-2 at FC Bayern München in the quarter-final. Liverpool FC's disappointing form after a UEFA Champions League game continued with the 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough FC on Saturday 30 April. Of the 13 occasions this has happened in 2004/05 the Reds have won two, drawn four and lost seven. Rafael Benítez made five changes for the draw against Middlesbrough FC. Only Igor Biscan (hamstring) was enforced, with Milan Baros and Djimi Traoré not even on the bench. The fit-again Dietmar Hamann, Sami Hyypiä and Luís García were among the substitutes with Harry Kewell - who made his 50th Premiership start for the Reds and his first since the League Cup final against Chelsea FC on Feb 27 - Mauricio Pellegrino, Fernando Morientes, Antonio Núñez and Stephen Warnock coming into the side. John Arne Riise made his 200th appearance for Liverpool FC. The Liverpool line-up was (4-4-2) Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Pellegrino (Luís García 46), Warnock (Hamann 84); Núñez (Cissé 73), Xabi Alonso, Gerrard, Riise; Morientes, Kewell. The unused substitutes were Hyypiä and Carson. The goalscorer was Gerrard. Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez felt his team "only played for 20 minutes in the second half. "It's similar to the previous Saturday at Crystal Palace and I am frustrated, I am very unhappy with a lot of things about my team. If you think positively we have one point but it's one less game. This is three times now we have failed to close the gap after our rivals Everton have lost. I don't know why we are struggling after playing a UEFA Champions League game midweek, but we need to change things for the future. I hope we will see a different Liverpool and a lot more good things." Liverpool FC captain Steven Gerrard has warned Chelsea FC to expect a night they will never forget at Anfield which he hopes will be like a coliseum. Gerrard believes the home crowd can swing the tie the Reds'way: " We need brave men. We need 11 gladiators and the subs have got to be ready and the fans have to be ready. We know what role the fans can play and hopefully they can be that 12 th man. Anfield is the best place for a big European night, by a mile. It is set up nicely now for Anfield and I am sure the roof is going to come off with the noise our fans will make. Chelsea will not know what has hit them. We know our fans are special and on a European night even more so. Everyone will be looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be our night. The important thing is not to think we are home and dry because they are a great side and more than capable of scoring and winning at our place. We will show them respect but it is going to be some night. The confidence running through us on this type of night is incredible. European nights at Anfield are something special, and the fans will be up for it, we know that. It is going to be a great spectacle for everyone, I just hope come the final whistle we will be celebrating." Steven Gerrard also urged the home fans not to worry if Liverpool FC do not score an early goal. "The message to the Liverpool fans is let's be patient, let's not underestimate Chelsea and show them respect, but hopefully we can put in a Juventus and Olympiacostype performance and then they can celebrate. But this job is only half done. Those two nights were unbelievable, but this will surpass that. During your career not many chances come along to get to the European Cup final. The important thing before this game was to stay in it and give ourselves a chance. We now have a great opportunity to get to the final

5 but we have to perform. It will be the biggest game of our lives. Who isn't going to give their all?" Striker Milan Baros said: "The second leg is going to be difficult but we are confident that we can make it. It wasn't the best result at Stamford Bridge and we could have scored a couple of goals. But we know that if we win just 1-0 in the second game we are in the final. The game will be open now, it's a one-off match, and if we play like we did against Juventus at home then we have nothing to fear. It will be different to the Juve game, more careful I think, but we are always confident in front of our own fans." John Arne Riise believes Liverpool FC achieved their objective last week: "The game plan was to keep a clean sheet, and maybe to nick a goal to take back to Anfield. But if we had been offered 0-0 before the game then we would have taken it, no worries. We are satisfied. We kept the ball well and created a few chances so 0-0 is a fair result. But Chelsea are very strong in defence and they can do to us what we have done to them and if they score then the pressure will really be on us. We know we have played well against them at Anfield this season and we believe we can score and stop them scoring. We have to beat them but there are plenty of positives from the first leg and we know we can play better. We even heard more from our fans at Stamford Bridge than from Chelsea's. They are amazing and they will be even better. They will be up for it as much as us and it will be a great occasion and the biggest Anfield night in Europe that I will play in. I am looking forward to it. Reaching the final is our driving ambition. Everyone is determined to get there, it's the biggest game in the world in club football." Chelsea enter the match having won the league on 30 April with a 2-0 win at Bolton Wanderers FC. It is the second occasion that Chelsea have won the championship and comes 50 years and seven days after their previous success in Geremi was handed only his third Premiership start of the season as Chelsea FC secured the title. Damien Duff and Arjen Robben were not even on the bench after their recent injuries though Joe Cole was among the substitutes. Frank Lampard made his 200th start for the Blues, scoring both goals. Fourteen different clubs have won the title since Chelsea FC's last title success. Chelsea s line-up was (4-4-2) Cech; Geremi, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Gallas; Tiago, Makelele (Smertin 90+2), Lampard, Jarosik; Gudjohnsen (Cole 85), Drogba (Huth 64). Unused subs: Kezman and Cudicini. Lampard scored after 60 and 76 minutes. Chelsea FC became the fourth club to win the Premier League trophy after Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC and Blackburn Rovers FC. The Blues also equalled Manchester United FC's record of 24 clean sheets in a Premiership season achieved in 1994/95. They have conceded only 13 goals so far and are on target to beat Arsenal FC's "fewest goals against" in a Premier League season of 17 in 1998/99. The player with the most league titles in the Chelsea FC squad is Jiri Jarosik. The Czech midfielder won four with AC Sparta Praha and one with CSKA Moskva before collecting a fifth winners'medal with Chelsea FC. It was the second trophy Chelsea FC have won in manager José Mourinho's first season in charge after beating Liverpool FC in the League Cup final. "This group is very special," said Mourinho. "I want to stay with them for more years and talk about a new contract because my heart is with them. The players have a special mentality, ambition and desire. We fight, play and suffer together. We fought like lions for this title and we deserve it. Nobody speaking with fairness and sense can say we don't deserve it because we did it absolutely magnificently. The mentality, the ambition the desire...people from many different places met for the first time in July and from that moment we built something."

6 The Chelsea FC manager recalled situations where he has been involved in a 0-0 home draw yet won the tie. "In the League Cup semi-final against Manchester United, we drew 0-0 but didn't panic and beat them away from home. Last season, when I was at Porto, it was 0-0 in the UEFA Champions League semi-final at home to RC Deportivo and we beat them in La Coruña. It's 0-0 here so I trust we can do it again. They lost Xabi Alonso in the last minute and La Coruña lost Mauro Silva in the last minute. There are a lot of similar things happening and I think we will go to the final." José Mourinho believes Liverpool FC supporters were confident the Reds would reach the final after the 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. "It was a very good result. Not the result we fought for as we tried to win the game, but it's still a very good result in a UEFA Champions League semi-final. At this moment, I feel there is more pressure for them and less pressure for us. I think 99.9 per cent of Liverpool people and fans think they are in the final - but they're not. It's like an FA Cup game, where you play one leg away from home, but I like that situation very much as I think we can score goals and get a result. It will be a completely different game for them at Anfield. It's one thing to play for a zero-zero and it's another thing to play for a victory. I'm very confident that we're going to the final." Asked about José Mourinho's claim that 99.9 per cent of Liverpool FC fans believe their team are as good as in the final, Rafael Benítez responded: "I must be in the 0.1 per cent then! I have a lot of confidence, but we need to play a good game as we know they are a good team and we must be careful." Liverpool FC midfielder Dietmar Hamann has made a quicker than expected recovery from knee ligament damage. The German international played the final six minutes of the weekend game against Middlesbrough FC after recovering from knee ligament damage sustained against Everton FC on 20 March. Igor Biscan missed the weekend game with a hamstring strain. Liverpool midfielder Xavi Alonso was booked in the closing moments of the first leg, and will be suspended for this game. Liverpool players Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann, Steve Finnan and Stephen Warnock will miss the next match if booked in this game. Both Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, who were not selected for the game at the weekend at Bolton Wanderers FC, are expected to be named in the Chelsea squad. Ricardo Carvalho, William Gallas, Mateja Kezman, Glen Johnson and Alexiy Smertin of Chelsea will miss the next match if booked in this game. Liverpool will train at on Monday at their Melwood training ground with the first 15 minutes open to the media. The Press Conference will be at Anfield at Chelsea will hold their Press Conference at Anfield at and will train at Anfield at with the first 15 minutes open to the media. Last week s match generated the highest-ever TV audience for a UEFA Champions League match screened live by Sky Sports. A total of 2.9 million viewers tuned in. The UEFA Champions League started 2005 with a bang. The 16 games played in the first knock-out round produced 48 goals at three per game, an increase of 65.5% on the same stage last season. The momentum was maintained by the 13 goals scored in the first legs of the quarter-finals but only eight were scored in the return matches. The 16 games in last season s first knock-out stage produced 12 wins and four draws whilst this season produced 15 wins and only one draw (FC Porto v FC Internazionale). The quarter-final games produced three draws, four home wins and one away win registered by AC Milan playing on their home ground.

7 The 1,280 matches played in the UEFA Champions League have yielded 955 wins/defeats and 325 draws, along with 3,408 goals at 2.66 per game. During the group phase of the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League, each club received a starting fee of 2.5 million Swiss francs, plus an appearance fee of 500,000 per game during the group phase (in other words, 3 million for six matches). The bonus for reaching the last 16 was 2.5 million francs and reaching the quarter-finals was worth 3m. As a very rough guide, three Swiss francs are around two euros. The four semi-finalists will add a further 4 million. In the Istanbul final, the runner-up will receive 6 million and the champion will pocket 10 million. In addition, clubs retain gate receipts from home games and receive payments from the socalled Market Pool. This is based on the proportional values of different TV markets and the number of clubs competing from any specific country. Last season, the English clubs were the top earners, with Chelsea FC receiving just over 44 million Swiss francs. The champions, FC Porto, totalled fractionally under 30 million francs, while the silver medallists, AS Monaco, finished in fourth place behind the three English clubs in the revenue league with earnings of just over 40 million. Chelsea FC are the only club in the semi-finals who have not won the title before. Irrespective of whether your team gets there or not, will you be at the final? The deadline for accreditation requests is Sunday 8 May but you (or your office) are urged to get into action as soon as possible if you already know that you want to cover the final. Accreditation procedures online via uefa.com / uefa / media services / accreditation opened on Monday 15 April and there was a Media Release also available on uefa.com - to tell you exactly how to go about it. If you are not registered with UEFA s online system, but you wish to apply for an accreditation, you have to register first. When you register, you will receive a user name and password which you need before you can ask online for accreditation for any UEFA event. This process needs to be done only once. When you have been registered, you can apply for accreditation to any UEFA event - not just this final. Media representatives who are already registered will have automatically received an e- mail informing about accreditation application details. This will apply to all media except TV rights-holders, who will need to apply for accreditation via the TEAM Marketing extranet. These broadcasters will be informed separately. UEFA also asks you to kindly keep your contact details up-to-date at all times, by updating the relevant information in the Add/Edit Person section once you have logged-in. Should you wish to unsubscribe from the UEFA online accreditation service, you can do so by using the unsubscribe button on the log-in page. The application period for the sale of tickets to the general public concluded on 15 April, by which time 17,000 applications had been received for the 7,500 tickets which are available for sale to the general public. Some 30% of these applications have come from England, 13% from Italy and 10% from Germany. Although over half have stemmed from only three countries, applications have been received from 88 nations. The requests were scrutinised, with the valid applications going into a ballot. The successful applicants will be notified by Friday 6 May due to the scrutiny of the large volume of applications the response deadline had to be extended from 29 April and the dispatch of tickets will start on 9 May. Lubos Michel of Slovakia is the referee of this game. Although only 36, he has been a referee for 18 years; made his first division debut 12 years ago; has been a FIFA referee since 1994; and has refereed over 100 international fixtures. He officiated at the final between Greece and Spain in the final of the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Bucharest and handled two matches neither of them involving

8 European teams during the Sydney Olympics in He was selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, handling the 2-2 draw between Paraguay and South Africa in Busan. At UEFA EURO 2004, he was the referee of three matches: Greece v Spain (again), Switzerland v France and the Sweden v Netherlands quarter-final. Despite his long track record, Lubos Michel has had minimal contacts with the two teams and this is his first visit to Liverpool. It will be the first time he has officiated at a match involving Liverpool FC and his only previous encounter with Chelsea FC came earlier in the UEFA Champions League campaign (on 20 October), when he officiated at the London club s 2-0 win over PFC CSKA Moskva at Stamford Bridge. However, his presence may well bring back happy memories for José Mourinho, Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, bearing in mind that Lubos Michel was the referee when FC Porto beat Celtic FC 3-2 after extra-time at the Estadio Olímpico in Seville to take the UEFA Cup in For the third time this season, there is a chance of extra-time and penalties. Golden and Silver Goals are now a thing of the past, so a full 30 minutes of extra-time would be played if the 90 minutes end with 0-0 on the scoreboard. Away goals scored during extra-time do count double if the aggregate scores are still level after the 120 minutes. If the sides are level on aggregate score and away goals, the winner will be decided by a penalty shoot-out. The decision on which goal is to be used for the shoot-out is taken by the referee. Photographers will be informed during the second period of extra-time. Incredible as it may seem, no knock-out tie in the UEFA Champions League had ever been decided by a penalty shoot-out until PSV Eindhoven s victory over Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-finals. The only matches to have been decided in this way had been the finals in 1996, 2001 and 2003.

9 Rafael Benítez has paid tribute to José Mourinho before insisting the Chelsea FC manager will be on the losing side. "In three years he has not stopped winning," he said at the prematch Press Conference. "Until tomorrow." "José is one of the best coaches. He has a good team and he is a good manager so if you put together both those things you have a winning formula. He works hard and knows the game, but we will try to do the same. It is difficult to say if he is the best coach, he is one of the best, sure. He has a very good team, sure. But they will lose. Chelsea have the most expensive team in the world and a good manager. But we have our supporters and Chelsea do not hold the balance, it is If you look at the money they have spent on their squad, maybe Chelsea have more to lose than us. I do not think them winning the championship will affect them. You must say 'well done'to their team, their manager and their supporters and then say 'sorry'about the next competition because they will not win that! "We feel we have a good team, even if we are playing against one of the best teams in the world. They have a lot going for them, but this is a challenge for us to beat them. We showed a European mentality at Stamford Bridge last week in the first leg and now we know we have our supporters behind us, it will make a difference. If you tell me you are 0-0 at home to Real Madrid, Barcelona or Chelsea, then I would be confident of getting the result we need. We want to reach the final, we want to make history, we will be trying very hard for that. We will try to do our job, play as well as possible and to win. After watching my team and how they train, and seeing their faces, I have confidence in them. It is not easy to contain Chelsea, ask Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But with our supporters behind us I believe we can win. We have the best in England and now we must show that we have the best supporters in Europe. We need to score one more goal than them and we need to have the right mentality against Chelsea. We know how good our supporters will be and hearing them against Olympiacos, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus we know they are very important to us. Liverpool FC will look to captain Steven Gerrard to inspire the Reds. Rafael Benítez said: "Steve will be the key player for us. He can change a game and you saw on Saturday the kind of goals he can score, and I am sure he will play well. He is fantastic. After his goal against Middlesbrough he would have heard the supporters as he celebrated and realised maybe how important he is for us and I am sure he will continue being an important player and want to play in more games like this. It is important when you play for a team for a lot of years and you can take them to the final and win. Stevie is like Jamie Carragher, a local boy, and they have the passion that we want to see in all the players." Jamie Carragher told the media conference that Liverpool FC can go into this game in a more relaxed mood because the league champions have more to lose. All the pressure is on Chelsea. They have spent a lot of money and expect to succeed in this competition. We have exceeded expectations just getting here and the only pressure on us is the pressure we are putting on ourselves as players. You don't know when you will get to this stage of the competition again and we want to get to the final. We have respect for what they have achieved. They have won the Premiership and that's a difficult thing to do but we can stop them in their tracks in Europe. Chelsea were very strong favourites before the first leg but we got a good result and now they are only slight favourites. We have bridged the gap." It's a chance that we may never get again. Hopefully we will, but we realise how big a game this is. The chance to play in a Champions League final doesn't come around very often so we're all looking forward to a very special night. We've proved a lot of people

10 wrong in the Champions League. At the moment you'd probably say Chelsea are slight favourites, so it's up to us to prove everyone wrong again. We've done it before and I'm sure we can do it again. The crowd have been great. The atmosphere at the Olympiacos game has gone down as one of the best ever and the Juventus game maybe surpassed even that. Hopefully the fans will help us again. The players got a lot of credit after the Juventus game, but I think a lot of credit should go to the supporters. They lifted us to a great performance in the first half against one of the top teams in Europe. And now we're playing another top team, but if the crowd do their part and we do ours then we can get the same result. Liverpool FC, without the suspended Xabi Alonso, were given a boost when Dietmar Hamann and Harry Kewell came through their comebacks against Middlesbrough FC with no ill effects. Hamann played only the final 10 minutes of the 1-1 draw - his first action after missing eight matches. Harry Kewell completed the full 90 minutes of a match for the first time since mid-december following groin problems and, like the German international, is also expected to play a part in the game. Liverpool midfielder Josemi has had a recurrence of his ankle injury following a reserve comeback last week and will be sidelined for a further 10 days, while keeper Chris Kirkland is still recovering from a back operation. José Mourinho took the pressure off his Chelsea players ahead of this game by insisting they would be "heroes" - whatever the result. After celebrating Chelsea FC's first English title in 50 years Mourinho said: "The pressure is on Liverpool. I can imagine Anfield if Liverpool lose and the feeling for their supporters, whereas we will go back to London as heroes whatever. Independent of the result, my players will go to Stamford Bridge on Saturday for a big celebration and they will be received like heroes by the fans as they have given them the championship. When we left London to come to the north before Saturday's game at Bolton, we came with two objectives - going back as champions and qualifying for the Champions League final. One, we have done already. The other, we will see." "I think we will win or get a scoring draw," he said. "Maybe you will laugh at me after the game, but I can't go against my feelings and my confidence. I'm not selfish though. I'm not the man that some people think I am. Only my players really know what and who I am. I would love to do it more for them than myself. Winning the Champions League is something special and because my players are special, I would love to see them do it. I've tried to explain to them what it's like to play in a UEFA final. It's a fantastic feeling. But it's more about ambition, the players want to keep on winning. They have the League Cup and the Premiership in the pockets, but they want more for their careers and their lives. That's why I think our future will be good next season as well, as the players have a good taste and they want to keep it." "I consider Anfield Road, Old Trafford and Portsmouth's ground to be the three special places to play football. So the great atmosphere is certainly going to affect us, but affect in a positive way. Obviously most of the crowd will support the home team, but it still creates a great atmosphere. Hostile fans don t play; it is about eleven against eleven plus a referee. And I believe we have a very good referee in Lubos Michel." Asked if Liverpool will play more offensively than a week ago. "I don't know. Rafa is a great manager, he knows the game very well, so I don't think they will come on too offensively. They know how to keep the balance. Anyway, we are ready for everything." José Mourinho is bidding to become the third coach to win this competition with two different clubs after Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970 and Hamburger SV 1983) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (BV Borussia Dortmund 1997 and FC Bayern Munchen 2001) and the first to win it with different clubs in successive seasons.

11 John Terry says the painful memory of last season's semi-final defeat by AS Monaco will inspire them. "Believe me, when we get there and see our fans and their fans, any little bit of tiredness will all go out the window. I feel really fresh. In fact, this is the freshest I've felt all season. It's such a big night and such a big occasion. Last season, we got knocked out at this stage. That was one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced and I don't want to experience it again. That's why we're so determined." Petr Cech said: "We know it will not be an easy match. Liverpool have great fans, but we know what we are playing for. Our great advantage is that we may just score a goal and then we even do not need to win. The modest way we celebrated the league title clearly shows we are fully concentrated on this match. It could be a great advantage that the pressure is off. This game could be easier knowing the title is ours. Most of the players in this team remember how bitter it was to lose last season in Monaco, so no one wants to experience this again. I have similar memories from EURO 2004 against Greece, so we know how concentrated we must be." Asked if he is prepared for penalties, he said: "I believe we have enough quality in the team to score goals and win the game without it going to penalties. But I am ready." "Another clean sheet would be very important for me. It would be enough for us to score just one goal. One of the reasons we have been conceding goals in the Champions League is the different styles of play and refereeing in Europe. Some referees do not allow too aggressive a style and this forces us to play more carefully in defence, allowing the opposition more space and time." Chelsea may recall Damien Duff (hamstring) and Arjen Robben (not 100% fit after a broken foot) but three players are out with broken bones - Wayne Bridge (ankle), Paulo Ferreira (foot) and Scott Parker (foot). Chelsea also have doubts over the fitness of Damien Duff, who started yesterday's training session but soon walked off in apparent discomfort. José Mourinho said "They'll miss Xabi Alonso no more than we have missed Robben or Duff in other matches. Alonso is a very good player, of course, but they have Igor Biscan, Steven Gerrard, Dietmar Hamann and Harry Kewell. They have a lot of solutions. For us, it's more difficult as we only have two wingers. If we lose one, we are in trouble. If we lose two, then it's a problem that you cannot solve." José Mourinho is particularly frustrated for Arjen Robben. "It's a very difficult moment for him. He wants to play and help the team to arrive at an important moment. He's been very important for us all season. But now, at the decisive moments, he's not involved. He didn't play in the League Cup final, he didn't play at Bolton and maybe he can't play here either. He's ready to risk a little bit or play when he is not fully fit. He's always in my plans, but sometimes it's impossible."

12 LIVERPOOL FC Updated to 02 May 2005 Founded: Chairman: David R. Moores Press Officer: Ian Cotton Club Records: Ian Callaghan 640 matches / Roger Hunt 245 goals Stadium: Anfield (45,362 seats / 1,500 lux / 101m x 68m) Record Att: 61,905 (2-1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers FC on ) Date of Birth 2004/2005 Season Premier League European Cups Internationals Goalkeepers M G M G M G M G 1 Jerzy DUDEK Scott CARSON Chris KIRKLAND Patrice LUZI Defenders 3 Stephen FINNAN Sami HYYPIÄ John Arne RIISE 'JOSEMI'José Miguel González Djimi TRAORÉ Jamie CARRAGHER Stephen WARNOCK Jon OTSEMOBOR Zak WHITBREAD Midfielders 7 Harry KEWELL Steven GERRARD LUIS Javier GARCIA Sanz Vladimir SMICER Anthony LE TALLEC Xabi ALONSO Dietmar HAMANN Antonio NÚÑEZ Igor BIŠCAN Richard PARTRIDGE John WELSH Darren POTTER Forwards 5 Milan BAROŠ Djibril CISSÉ Florent SINAMA Neil MELLOR Head Coach Rafael BENÍTEZ Foreigners: Jerzy DUDEK (Poland), Stephen FINNAN (Republic of Ireland), Sami HYYPIÄ (Finland), Milan BAROŠ (Czech Republic), John Arne RIISE (Norway), Harry KEWELL (Australia), Djibril CISSÈ (France), Xabi ALONSO (Spain), Vladimir ŠMICER (Czech Republic), Antonio NÚÑEZ (Spain), LUIS Javier GARCÍA Sanz (Spain), Anthony LE TALLEC (France), Dietmar HAMANN (Germany), 'JOSEMI'José Miguel Gonzalez (Spain), Djimi TRAORÈ (France), Florent SINAMA (France), Igor BIŠCAN (Croatia), Patrice LUZI (France), Richard PARTRIDGE (Republic of Ireland), Darren POTTER (Republic of Ireland), Rafael BENÍTEZ (Spain).

13 CHELSEA FC Updated to 02 May 2005 Founded: Chairman: Bruce Buck Press Officer: Helen Wood Club Records: Ron Harris 795 matches / Bobby Tambling 202 goals Stadium: Stamford Bridge (42,449 seats / 1,400 lux / 105m x 68m) Record Att: 82,905 (v Arsenal FC on ) Date of Birth 2004/2005 Season Premier League European Cups Internationals Goalkeepers M G M G M G M G 1 Petr CECH Carlo CUDICINI Lenny PIDGELEY Defenders 2 Glen JOHNSON Ricardo CARVALHO William GALLAS Wayne BRIDGE Paulo FERREIRA John TERRY Robert HUTH NUNO M. Barbosa MORAIS Midfielders 4 Claude MAKELELE Alexey SMERTIN Frank LAMPARD Joe COLE Damien DUFF Njitap Fotso GÉRÉMI Scott PARKER TIAGO Cardoso Mendes Forwards 9 Mateja KEZMAN Didier DROGBA Arjen ROBBEN Eidur GUDJOHNSEN Mikael FORSSELL Filipe OLIVEIRA Head Coach Jose MOURINHO M = Matches; G = Goals Foreigners: Carlo CUDICINI (Italy), Petr CECH (Czech Republic), Ricardo CARVALHO (Portugal), William GALLAS (France), Paulo FERREIRA (Portugal), NUNO M. Barbosa MORAIS (Portugal), Robert HUTH (Germany), Filipe OLIVEIRA (Portugal), Claude MAKELELE (France), Alexey SMERTIN (Russia), Damien DUFF (Republic of Ireland), Njitap Fotso GÉRÉMI (Cameroon), Arjen ROBBEN (Netherlands), TIAGO Mendes (Portugal), Mateja KEZMAN (Serbia-Montenegro), Eidur GUDJOHNSEN (Iceland), Didier DROGBA (Ivory Coast), Mikael FORSSELL (Finland), Jose MOURINHO (Portugal).

14 Club s competition results this season LIVERPOOL FC Res Goalscorers Att v Grazer AK (A) 2-0 Gerrard (2) 14, v Tottenham Hotspur FC (A) 1-1 Cissé 35, v Manchester City FC (H) 2-1 Baros, Gerrard 42, v Grazer AK (H) , v Bolton Wanderers FC (A) , v West Bromwich Albion FC (H) 3-0 Gerrard, Finnan, Luis García 42, v AS Monaco FC (H) 2-0 Cissé, Baros 33, v Manchester United FC (A) 1-2 One own goal 67, v Norwich City FC (H) 3-0 Baros, Luis García, Cissé 43, v Olympiacos CFP(A) , v Chelsea FC (A) , v Fulham FC (A) 4-2 One own goal, Baros, Alonso, Biscan 21, v RC Deportivo La Coruña (H) , v Charlton Athletic FC (H) 2-0 Riise, Luis García 41, v Millwall FC (LC) (A) 3-0 Diao, Baros (2) 17, v Blackburn Rovers FC (A) 2-2 Riise, Baros 26, v RC Deportivo La Coruña (A) 1-0 One own goal 22, v Birmingham City FC (H) , v Middlesbrough FC (H) (LC) 2-0 Mellor (2) 28, v Crystal Palace FC (H) 3-2 Baros (3, 2p) 42, v Middlesbrough FC (A) , v AS Monaco FC (A) , v Arsenal FC (H) 2-1 Alonso, Mellor 43, v Tottenham Hotspur FC (A) (LC) 1-1 Sinama (p) Liverpool won 4-3 on penalties 36, v Aston Villa FC (A) 1-1 Kewell 42, v Olympiacos CFP (H) 3-1 Sinama, Mellor, Gerrard 42, v Everton FC (A) , v Portsmouth FC (H) 1-1 Gerrard 35, v Newcastle United FC (H) 3-1 One own goal, Mellor, Baros 43, v West Bromwich Albion FC (A) 5-0 Riise (2), Sinama, Gerrard, Luis García 27, v Southampton FC (H) 1-0 Sinama 42, v Chelsea FC (H) , v Norwich City FC (A) 2-1 Luis García, Riise 24, v Watford FC (H) (LC) 1-0 Gerrard 35, v Manchester United FC (H) , v Burnley FC (A) (C) , v Southampton FC (A) , v Watford FC (A) (LC) 1-0 Gerrard 19, v Charlton Athletic FC (A) 2-1 Morientes, Riise 27, v Fulham FC (H) 3-1 Morientes, Hyypiä, Baros 43, v Birmingham City FC (A) , v Bayer 04 Leverkusen (H) 3-1 Luís García, Riise, Hamann 40, v Chelsea FC (LC) 2-3 Riise, Núñez (League Cup Final in Cardiff) 71, v Newcastle United FC (A) , v Bayer 04 Leverkusen (A) 3-1 Luís García (2), Baros 22, v Blackburn Rovers FC (H) , v Everton FC (H) 2-1 Gerrard, Luís García 44, v Bolton Wanderers FC (H) 1-0 Biscan 43, v Juventus (H) 2-1 Hyypiä, Luís García 41, v Manchester City (A) , v Juventus (A) , v Tottenham Hotspur FC (H) 2-2 Luís García, Hyypiä 44, v Portsmouth FC (A) 2-1 Morientes, Luís García 20, v Crystal Palace FC (A) , v Chelsea FC (A) ,947

15 v Middlesbrough FC (H) 1-1 Gerrard 43, v Chelsea FC (H) v Arsenal FC (A) v Aston Villa FC (H)

16 CHELSEA FC Res Goalscorers Att v Manchester United FC (H) 1-0 Gudjohnsen 41, v Birmingham City FC (A) 1-0 Cole 28, v Crystal Palace FC (A) 2-0 Tiago, Drogba 24, v Southampton FC (H) 2-1 One own goal, Lampard (p) 40, v Aston Villa FC (A) , v Paris Saint-Germain FC (A) 3-0 Drogba (2), Terry 40, v Tottenham Hotspur FC (H) , v Middlesbrough FC (A) 1-0 Drogba 32, v FC Porto (H) 3-1 Smertin, Drogba, Terry 39, v Liverpool FC (H) 1-0 Cole 42, v Manchester City FC (A) , v PFC CSKA Moskva (H) 2-0 Terry, Gudjohnsen 33, v Blackburn Rovers FC (H) 4-0 Gudjohnsen (3, 1p), Duff 41, v West Ham United FC (LC) (A) 1-0 Kezman 41, v West Bromwich Albion FC (A) 4-1 Gallas, Gudjohnsen, Duff, Lampard 27, v PFC CSKA Moskva (A) 1-0 Robben 27, v Everton FC (H) 1-0 Robben 41, v Newcastle United FC (A) (LC) 2-0 Gudjohnsen, Robben 38, v Fulham FC (A) 4-1 Lampard, Robben, Gallas, Tiago 21, v Bolton Wanderers FC (H) 2-2 Duff, Tiago 42, v Paris Saint-Germain FC (H) , v Charlton Athletic FC (A) 4-0 Duff, Terry (2), Gudjohnsen 26, v Fulham FC (A) (LC) 2-1 Duff, Lampard 14, v Newcastle United FC (H) 4-0 Lampard, Drogba, Robben, Kezman (p) 42, v FC Porto (A) 1-2 Duff 42, v Arsenal FC (A) 2-2 Terry, Gudjohnsen 38, v Norwich City FC (H) 4-0 Duff, Lampard, Robben, Drogba 42, v Aston Villa FC (H) 1-0 Duff 41, v Portsmouth FC (A) 2-0 Robben, Cole 20, v Liverpool FC (H) 1-0 Cole 43, v Middlesbrough FC (H) 2-0 Drogba (2) 40, v Scunthorpe United (H) (C) 3-1 Kezman, Gudjohnsen, one own goal 40, v Manchester United FC (H) (LC) , v Tottenham Hotspur FC (A) 2-0 Lampard (2,1p) 36, v Portsmouth FC (H) 3-0 Drogba (2), Robben 42, v Manchester United FC (A) (LC) 2-1 Lampard, Duff 67, v Birmingham City (H) (C) 2-0 Huth, Terry 40, v Backburn Rovers FC (A) 1-0 Robben 23, v Manchester City FC (H) , v Everton FC (A) 1-0 Gudjohnsen 40, v Newcastle United FC (A) (C) , v FC Barcelona (A) 1-2 One own goal 96, v Liverpool FC (LC) 3-2 One own goal, Drogba, Kezman (League Cup Final 71,622 in Cardiff) v Norwich City FC (A) 3-1 Cole, Kezman, Carvalho 24, v FC Barcelona (H) 4-2 Gudjohnsen, Lampard, Duff, Terry 41, v West Bromwich Albion FC (H) 1-0 Drogba 41, v Crystal Palace FC (H) 4-1 Cole, Lampard, Kezman (2) 41, v Southampton FC (A) 3-1 Lampard, Gudjohnsen (2) 31, v FC Bayern München (H) 4-2 Cole, Lampard (2), Drogba 40, v Birmingham City FC (H) 1-1 Drogba 42, v FC Bayern München (A) 2-3 Lampard, Drogba 59, v Arsenal FC (H) , v Fulham FC (H) 3-1 Cole, Lampard, Gudjohnsen 42, v Liverpool FC (H) , v Bolton Wanderers FC (A) 2-0 Lampard (2) 27, v Liverpool FC (A)