UEFA Champions League

[R.C]

Liverpool 3-0 TNS: Gerrard treble

 

 

Just 49 days after Steven Gerrard drove Liverpool to Champions League glory, the inspirational Anfield captain struck his first hat-trick for the club to make sure their defence of their crown did not end in embarrassment against a bunch of unknowns from mid-Wales.

 

 

The minnows from Llansantffraid feared they would be battered, but they did their league and their country proud with a fine display of organisation and defensive determination to make this anything but a stroll for the European champions in the first leg of this first qualifying round match.

 

And it had to be Gerrard who stole the show at Anfield.

 

All summer he has been on the back pages for all the wrong reasons as his future has been the subject of a soap opera.

 

But his future is now decided and his first chance to prove his commitment produced two fine first-half goals and a late third.

 

The Reds started the defence of their European crown by fielding six of the heroes of Istanbul from the start against a side packed full of Scousers and Anfield fans.

 

Jose `Pepe' Reina made his debut in goal with Jerzy Dudek - the man whose penalty save won the trophy at the expense of AC Milan in Turkey - not even on the bench.

 

TNS boss Ken McKenna, an Evertonian, set out to deny Liverpool time and space with a packed midfield and a team designed to contain, frustrate and avoid severe embarrassment.

 

He left out skipper John Leah, record scorer Marc Lloyd Williams and Liverpool fans John Lawless and Steve Beck.

 

Gerrard's name was greeted with a roar when the teams were announced - and inside eight minutes he had responded with the first goal of the game.

 

John Arne Riise got down the left and crossed for Fernando Morientes to lay the ball neatly into the path of his captain, Gerrard sidefooting the ball crisply past Gerard Doherty.

 

Doherty - captain for the night - performed heroics to keep out efforts from Gerrard, Morientes, Steve Finnan and Anthony Le Tallec.

 

But the England midfielder Gerrard struck again in the 21st minute when Le Tallec flicked the ball on and Steve Evans hesitated long enough to allow the Liverpool skipper to breeze past him before chipping the exposed Doherty.

 

TNS, to the credit, came forward, kept their shape and even won a couple of set pieces and a corner - the sort of opportunities they must have hoped and planned for.

 

And the visitors to Anfield were even better for long spells in the second half against a side whose lack of training was becoming obvious.

 

Riise fired badly over from Le Tallec's pass after the restart before Xabi Alonso fed Gerrard - the England man's instant 20-yard chip flashing inches over with Doherty a spectator.

 

TNS stuck to their task. Phil Baker hampering Riise at every turn while Steve Evans was calm under the quality and pressure that was coming from Morientes.

 

TNS actually started to look comfortable and had plenty of possession before Michael Wilde was taken off just before the hour and Beck took over up front.

 

Bolo Zenden came on for his debut for Warnock, with Riise dropping to left-back and the Dutch signing playing down the left.

 

Gerrard let fly from a Zenden corner, but the avalanche of goals was not coming and TNS opted to take off their defensive midfielder Tommy Holmes and send on John Lawless as an extra option up front.

 

With 15 minutes left Djibril Cisse came on for Darren Potter and looked like he had created the third for Morientes with a fierce cross, but the ball had gone fractionally behind before Morientes slammed the cross home.

 

Nicky Ward was replaced by Leah on 81 minutes, TNS by now winning applause from the Kop for their defiance.

 

Cisse's fine run set up Morientes again but Evans stopped the effort - and seconds later Morientes hooked over from 10 yards.

 

The Kop's chant of 'Champions of Europe' was sounding a bit flat until Gerrard completed his hat-trick a minute from time when he struck an angled 20-yard effort wide of Doherty and inside the far post following Riise's crossfield ball.

 

A three-goal margin will be enough to make next week's second leg a virtual formality, with Benitez likely to use the contest as an opportunity to experiment.

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by archenemy@Jul 13 2005, 11:52 PM

is the amount of soccer you watch equilivent to the amount of football knowledge? if it is, then the ah peks sitting down at the kopitiams drinking tiger must know hell a lot.

 

is it always the case?

 

whether i watch matches or not, be it liverpool or not, is not a factor. there are always other sources to know about football.

 

Ljunberg played a lot? how many matches did he play the whole of last season?

 

i dont love football? why not join me every alternate saturdays & see if i play football? surely i dont play something that i dont love right?

 

will you go play cricket if you dont love cricket?

Some of the things you said getting a bit more funny and ridiculous.... get a grip and control of yourself, brudder. Discussion with anger is not the perfect match..... feel so zen like now .

 

You just keep trying to avoid answering whether you watch other teams play or not.... the reason why I ask you is becos you keep on analysing abt Figo lah, Arsenal lah... but if you never watch them and just from soccernet and news, how credible is your facts? U cannot even name the first eleven of the bigger clubs in EPL (which is why you said Arsenal is aging)...... Actually I used to analyse just from website (abt nine years ago) and I find that something is not rite leh. Until I watch it then I understand why......

 

Kick football and watch football are different things lah bro..... most of the people who kick fb don't really know EPL, La Liga and Serie A that deep. (that's actually a fact that I had observed for a few years liao.... don't argue with me on that. It's a BIG fact. Not trying to point at you, but since you talk abt it, that why I share with you this.)

 

Don't worry I trust my own judgement, unlike those ah-peks.....

 

Actually I had forgotten abt this discussion aldy. Just move on bro and don't need to reply lah.... I aldy told you different frequency liao. Get a grip of yourself k?

 

[archenemy]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 16 2005, 06:47 AM

Some of the things you said getting a bit more funny and ridiculous.... get a grip and control of yourself, brudder. Discussion with anger is not the perfect match..... feel so zen like now .

 

You just keep trying to avoid answering whether you watch other teams play or not.... the reason why I ask you is becos you keep on analysing abt Figo lah, Arsenal lah... but if you never watch them and just from soccernet and news, how credible is your facts? U cannot even name the first eleven of the bigger clubs in EPL (which is why you said Arsenal is aging)...... Actually I used to analyse just from website (abt nine years ago) and I find that something is not rite leh. Until I watch it then I understand why......

 

Kick football and watch football are different things lah bro..... most of the people who kick fb don't really know EPL, La Liga and Serie A that deep. (that's actually a fact that I had observed for a few years liao.... don't argue with me on that. It's a BIG fact. Not trying to point at you, but since you talk abt it, that why I share with you this.)

 

Don't worry I trust my own judgement, unlike those ah-peks.....

 

Actually I had forgotten abt this discussion aldy. Just move on bro and don't need to reply lah.... I aldy told you different frequency liao. Get a grip of yourself k?

 

haha bro..if you cannot counter my points..i understand..dont have to keep on feeling zen.

 

i understand lah..viera left..feeling very empty now? ok..i can understand.

 

i dont think thats a fact. thats your own assumption. do you have statistics to prove it?

 

im not the least angry. i love bickering in fact.

 

i didnt say i dont watch football did i?

 

i wact them every weekend in fact. i have SCV in my hall. whats the big problem with tuning into them? not only do i watch liverpool, i even watch every other teams..why not? i cant be watching liverpool everytime anyway. does that give you an answer to your question?

 

now if u say i avoided your questions..you havent answered a lot of mine either. if watching hell a lot of soccer is equilivant to the amount of knowledge you have..ah peks have LOTS of them eh? what makes you think you are more sensible compared to them? just because you are more highly educated? so you have a degree in football?

 

some of them are old enough to be your grandfather. they have ate more salt than you ate rice.

 

my friend..you think you are good. maybe you are..but there are always a better one. if you really LOVE football as you have claimed..why are you not coaching or doing something related to soccer?

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by archenemy@Jul 16 2005, 12:18 PM

haha bro..if you cannot counter my points..i understand..dont have to keep on feeling zen.

 

i understand lah..viera left..feeling very empty now? ok..i can understand.

 

i dont think thats a fact. thats your own assumption. do you have statistics to prove it?

 

im not the least angry. i love bickering in fact.

 

i didnt say i dont watch football did i?

 

i wact them every weekend in fact. i have SCV in my hall. whats the big problem with tuning into them? not only do i watch liverpool, i even watch every other teams..why not? i cant be watching liverpool everytime anyway. does that give you an answer to your question?

 

now if u say i avoided your questions..you havent answered a lot of mine either. if watching hell a lot of soccer is equilivant to the amount of knowledge you have..ah peks have LOTS of them eh? what makes you think you are more sensible compared to them? just because you are more highly educated? so you have a degree in football?

 

some of them are old enough to be your grandfather. they have ate more salt than you ate rice.

 

my friend..you think you are good. maybe you are..but there are always a better one. if you really LOVE football as you have claimed..why are you not coaching or doing something related to soccer?

hopeless.... u and your stubborn bullshit.

[archenemy]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 16 2005, 04:11 PM

hopeless....

i rest my case.

[Guest NPNT]

didnt noe soccer discussions can strain relationships.

[archenemy]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 16 2005, 04:11 PM

hopeless.... u and your stubborn bullshit.

dont attack people's integrity if you cant answer my questions..

 

what i state is facts. i have answers to your questions. but you didnt answer my questions.

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by archenemy@Jul 18 2005, 12:09 AM

dont attack people's integrity if you cant answer my questions..

 

what i state is facts. i have answers to your questions. but you didnt answer my questions.

So much bullshit.... u understand facts meh? Why part of you are u talking abt interity? U really talk like a child.

[archenemy]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 18 2005, 06:34 PM

So much bullshit.... u understand facts meh? Why part of you are u talking abt interity? U really talk like a child.

i used the things you said against you..but you have no reply to it?

 

kid? bullsh|t?

 

you cant even give me a logical explaination to your points to the ah pek thing.

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by archenemy@Jul 22 2005, 12:19 AM

i used the things you said against you..but you have no reply to it?

 

kid? bullsh|t?

 

you cant even give me a logical explaination to your points to the ah pek thing.

boy-boy ah..... grow-up, if u can think. the more u talk, the more sh*t comes out.

[archenemy]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 22 2005, 10:41 PM

boy-boy ah..... grow-up, if u can think. the more u talk, the more sh*t comes out.

haha..i may not be younger than you.

 

not having my 2B license doesnt show that im young.

 

if you are OLD..all i can say is that your narrow minded views are of a 14 year old kid..

 

feel sad for you actually.

[Guest NPNT]

fight lah fight

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by archenemy@Jul 23 2005, 01:04 AM

haha..i may not be younger than you.

 

not having my 2B license doesnt show that im young.

 

if you are OLD..all i can say is that your narrow minded views are of a 14 year old kid..

 

feel sad for you actually.

but u argue like a baby u and your bullshit.... u pathetic sh*t.

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by newbie@Jul 23 2005, 01:08 AM

fight lah fight

kekeke

[toottoot]

Originally posted by newbie@Jul 23 2005, 01:08 AM

fight lah fight

haha...yup..rem to stab each other...got blood better...

 

LFC forever YNWA

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by toottoot@Jul 23 2005, 09:49 PM

haha...yup..rem to stab each other...got blood better...

 

LFC forever YNWA

kekeke.... computer how to have blood.

 

[R.C]

http://www.guitar4christ.com/modules/Forums/images/smiles/death.gifhttp://www.guitar4christ.com/modules/Forums/images/smiles/giljotiini.gif

 

bloooodddd......

 

 

http://www.guitar4christ.com/modules/Forums/images/smiles/war.gif

 

cool it dudes... soccer is a friendly game man...

[BikeLover]

Look out for this youngster and the other Parma youngster, Arsenal's young Lupoli. Both were from Parma, are 17 yr olds and top scorers in their respective reserve teams.

 

 

=====================================================

 

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Giuseppe Rossi's goal in the 2-0 win against Hong Kong was reminiscent of Gary Lineker in his prime.

 

The Manchester United manager clearly believes Rossi is an out-and-out goalscorer and is enthusiastic about the potential of last season's top marksman in the reserves.

 

"It was a typical goalscorer's goal," he told MUTV. "It bounced off his belly, I think, but he was there to meet it.

 

"A lot of goalscorers in the game score goals like that; you think of Gary Lineker, that type of player. He's got great potential, the boy."

 

The other goalscorer, Dong Fangzhuo, drew praise from the manager as did Alan Smith and Edwin van der Sar.

 

"We've had him [Dong] for a couple of years now, he's been at Antwerp, as you know, but we hope he develops and progresses," stated Ferguson.

 

"The important thing will be if we can get him into the country with a work permit. You've seen today, as we've known for a while, he's a very useful player with good potential; he's strong with a good head on him and it was a well-taken goal.

 

"I thought Smith was superb today; he created great spirit within the team, kept encouraging players and cajoling them. In essence, it was a very good performance. I am going to do that [play him in midfield throughout the tour].

 

"Van der Sar made a good save. He did well and his encouragement and experience at the back is proving very important."

 

Ferguson was satisfied with the overall performance in Hong Kong's National Stadium.

 

"I think it was useful," he added. "We played some fantastic football in the first half, but it was like a replay of the cup final with the chances we missed.

 

"We had a lot of chances. We didn't play as good football in the second half but it was nice to win it.

 

"We'll change the team around a little bit as we can only use six substitutes in Beijing."

[R.C]

well... liverpool have barragan, gonzalez and 'momo' sissoko

 

athough i haven't seen them in action yet... but it sure sounds exciting...

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by R.C@Jul 23 2005, 11:09 PM

well... liverpool have barragan, gonzalez and 'momo' sissoko

 

athough i haven't seen them in action yet... but it sure sounds exciting...

Sisoko sounds like a first team player.... also no chance to watch him. He also very young.

 

Wait for next season to check him out....

 

Chelsea just bought SWP.... sign..... good player.... Chelsea shld still be in the top two.... sign.

[R.C]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 23 2005, 11:24 PM

Sisoko sounds like a first team player.... also no chance to watch him. He also very young.

 

Wait for next season to check him out....

 

Chelsea just bought SWP.... sign..... good player.... Chelsea shld still be in the top two.... sign.

yeah... he and the gonzalez sounds good... 'speedy' gonzalez... sissoko is highly rated i think... the next vieira!!!

 

SWP? haha... only chelsea can afford that kind of money lor... good player but high price tag... I guess chelsea will be dominating the game at least for the next 10 years at the rate they are going man...

[BikeLover]

Originally posted by R.C@Jul 23 2005, 11:29 PM

yeah... he and the gonzalez sounds good... 'speedy' gonzalez... sissoko is highly rated i think... the next vieira!!!

 

SWP? haha... only chelsea can afford that kind of money lor... good player but high price tag... I guess chelsea will be dominating the game at least for the next 10 years at the rate they are going man...

Some many VieriaS.... kekeke.... Essien also.... see whether Chelsea buy him for 31 mil pounds or not. Sisoko.... have to check him out before making comments.... but at least need half a year leh.

 

Chelsea siao lah..... they have so much money that everyone is blackmailing them... kekeke Actually they really spoilt market....

[R.C]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 23 2005, 11:34 PM

Some many VieriaS.... kekeke.... Essien also.... see whether Chelsea buy him for 31 mil pounds or not. Sisoko.... have to check him out before making comments.... but at least need half a year leh.

 

Chelsea siao lah..... they have so much money that everyone is blackmailing them... kekeke Actually they really spoilt market....

yah lor... everyone is just jacking up their prices knowing that Chelsea might just pay the price... If they do buy Essien then its really really crazy... they spoilt the entire transfer market already... its like playing CM with unlimited resources... no different from cheating the game...

[Guest NPNT]

go MU go.

[FernandoLumTorres]

Originally posted by BikeLover@Jul 23 2005, 10:43 PM

Look out for this youngster and the other Parma youngster, Arsenal's young Lupoli. Both were from Parma, are 17 yr olds and top scorers in their respective reserve teams.

 

 

=====================================================

 

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Giuseppe Rossi's goal in the 2-0 win against Hong Kong was reminiscent of Gary Lineker in his prime.

 

The Manchester United manager clearly believes Rossi is an out-and-out goalscorer and is enthusiastic about the potential of last season's top marksman in the reserves.

 

"It was a typical goalscorer's goal," he told MUTV. "It bounced off his belly, I think, but he was there to meet it.

 

"A lot of goalscorers in the game score goals like that; you think of Gary Lineker, that type of player. He's got great potential, the boy."

 

The other goalscorer, Dong Fangzhuo, drew praise from the manager as did Alan Smith and Edwin van der Sar.

 

"We've had him [Dong] for a couple of years now, he's been at Antwerp, as you know, but we hope he develops and progresses," stated Ferguson.

 

"The important thing will be if we can get him into the country with a work permit. You've seen today, as we've known for a while, he's a very useful player with good potential; he's strong with a good head on him and it was a well-taken goal.

 

"I thought Smith was superb today; he created great spirit within the team, kept encouraging players and cajoling them. In essence, it was a very good performance. I am going to do that [play him in midfield throughout the tour].

 

"Van der Sar made a good save. He did well and his encouragement and experience at the back is proving very important."

 

Ferguson was satisfied with the overall performance in Hong Kong's National Stadium.

 

"I think it was useful," he added. "We played some fantastic football in the first half, but it was like a replay of the cup final with the chances we missed.

 

"We had a lot of chances. We didn't play as good football in the second half but it was nice to win it.

 

"We'll change the team around a little bit as we can only use six substitutes in Beijing."

i ve seen lupoli played before and his damn good...gd buy for man u