JUBILANT Steven Gerrard thanked Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho for inspiring Liverpool to a seventh European Cup final last night.Rafael Benitez’s side scored a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over the Londoners and a final date in Athens against either AC Milan or Manchester United on May 23.
On another famous European night at Anfield, Daniel Agger’s well-worked 22nd-minute strike had levelled the tie during 120 tense minutes.
Pepe Reina was then Liverpool’s hero in the shoot-out, saving from Arjen Robben and Geremi to give Dirk Kuyt the opportunity to secure a 4-1 spot-kick win and put Benitez’s side through to their second Champions League final in three seasons.
During the build-up to the tie, Chelsea manager Mourinho had questioned Liverpool’s heritage and dismissed them as “not a big club.”
And Gerrard, who scored in the shoot-out, said last night: “I think Mourinho did the team talk for us. We read all the Press and although he’s great for the game, he makes us laugh sometimes.
“But I thought it was a little disrespectful to call us a little club, but there you go. But for a little club, getting to two European Cup finals in three years isn’t bad.”
Bolo Zenden and Xabi Alonso also netted in the penalties, meaning Liverpool have now won a remarkable 10 of 11 shoot-outs in cup competitions.
But it was Reina who took the plaudits, replicating his match-winning performance in helping Liverpool win the FA Cup against West Ham United last season.
“Pepe is a specialist at penalties,” said Benitez. “He liked to save them in Spain where he was also really good. He enjoys facing the penalties when we take them
during training at Melwood.”
The Liverpool manager believes Chelsea were undone by his team’s greater passion and the vociferous backing from the Anfield crowd.
“The players knew how to beat Chelsea – by playing with passion,” he said. “When you can hear the supporters behind you, it helped the players play with determination, passion and heart and they were also trying to do a good job with game intelligence.
“Our supporters were fantastic and the atmosphere was amazing. The game was massive and everything was perfect. You can see the difference when you play in another stadium and then you play here.
“I am really proud that we are through. I think it’s really important for the club and the future to get to the final.”
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho once again claimed the best team had lost after the Londoners were defeated at the semi-final stage of a major cup competition by Liverpool for the third season in succession.
But Benitez preferred to let the result do the talking and said: “We are in the final and we need to enjoy the moment and not talk a lot. You could see our people enjoying the day supporting the team and behind the players. The atmosphere was fantastic.”
Liverpool could have won the game in extra time when Kuyt’s strike was controversially disallowed for offside.
And Benitez said: “I think it was a goal, it was really narrow decision and the advantage should be given to the striker. It doesn’t matter now because we won but it could have made a big difference.”
Of the game, the Spaniard added: “We had some chances but Chelsea played well, especially in the second half. We worked really hard in defence”
By:Ian Doyle
Date:2 May 2007
Credit:icliverpool.co.uk
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