FOOTBALL Live

Wednesday April 30, 2008 Finished Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 3 - Logo 2

Chelsea

  • Drogba 33’, 105’
  • Lampard 98’ (pen.)

Liverpool

  • Torres 64’
  • Babel 117’
  1. Chelsea win thriller

    Chelsea win thriller

    Chelsea reached the Champions League final for the first time with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Liverpool after extra-time at Stamford Bridge. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:120'
    • Chelsea
    • Liverpool
    • 120' FULL-TIME!! Chelsea hold on and they will face Manchester United in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on May 21 after a 4-3 aggregate success.
    • 120' Hyypia is now playing up front but Kuyt is offside.
    • 119' Andriy Shevchenko is on for Lampard.
    • 118' If Liverpool score again they will go through on away goals.
    • 117' GOAL!! A lifeline for Liverpool as Babel's 30-yard shot slips through Cech's fingertips.
    • 114' Mascherano has given away a couple of petty fouls as Chelsea run down the clock.
    • 111' Liverpool just cannot create anything.
    • 108' Hyypia goes down in the penalty area! Drogba hangs a leg out but the referee says no. Chelsea's players surround the giant Finn but it could have easily been given.
    • 106' Here we go for the final 15 minutes.
    • 105' GOAL!! Surely that's it, a lovely one-two between Malouda and Anelka - the January signing fizzes the ball across the goal and Drogba gets ahead of Carragher to fire home the second.
    • 101' Alonso gets a free header but his effort is straight at Cech.
    • 100' Essien makes a vital tackle in the penalty area to deny Mascherano who dives to no avail. Arbeloa is booked for his fruitless protests.
    • 99' Incredibly Torres has been taken off and replaced by Ryan Babel.
    • 98' GOAL!! More drama as Hyypia lets the ball away from him on the slick surface and brings down Ballack for a clear penalty. Lampard calmly slots away the penalty and Chelsea lead.
    • 95' From the corner, Anelka's shot is blocked and Essien blasts the rebound into the net. Chelsea celebrate but the flag goes up as three Blues players are technically offside but not in Reina's line of vision. A massive decision!
    • 94' Drogba tricks his way past Carragher but the Liverpool stalwart makes a superb last ditch tackle to deny him.
    • 93' Gerrard's corner is met by Hyypia, who loses Drogba, and his header is marginally wide of the post.
    • 92' Gerrard picks out Riise but his dink to the back post is smuggled clear by Chelsea.
    • 91' Nicolas Anelka on for Joe Cole at the start of the extra period.
    • 90+2' We are headed into extra-time.
    • 90' Two minutes injury time to be played.
    • 89' Ashley Cole's deep free-kick into the penalty area is cleared by Kuyt.
    • 88' Ballack penalised for backing into Mascherano on the edge of the penalty area.
    • 87' Extra time on the cards unless someone can become a late hero.
    • 85' Mascherano tries to save a throw-in but only succeeds in gifting Chelsea a corner which Reina palms away.
    • 83' Ballack tries to cushion a header into Lampard's path - as he bursts into the penalty area - but the German's direction is astray.
    • 82' Terry and Torres have an exchange of words after the Spaniard aims a little kick in the home captain's direction.
    • 80' Carvalho has to deal with the danger and gives away a corner which is charged down by Makelele on two occasions.
    • 78' Pennant replaces Benayoun.
    • 77' An outstanding run by Essien down the right flank, beating two but he opts to shoot from an acute angle and can only find the side netting with players waiting for the cross.
    • 75' Great work by Joe Cole but again Malouda cannot produce the delivery, his cross headed away by Hyypia.
    • 73' Malouda's cross from the left is far too strong for Drogba.
    • 71' Florent Malouda replaces Kalou.
    • 70' Gerrard lofts an ambitious shot over the crossbar.
    • 68' Arbeloa's dink into the penalty area is headed clear by Terry.
    • 66' Appeals for handball but Gerrard smashes the ball into Terry's stomach.
    • 64' GOAL!! Liverpool back on level terms. Benayoun skips away from Makelele and his darting cross field run concludes with a precise through ball to Torres who calmly slots the ball past Cech and the tie is level at 2-2!!
    • 64' Hyypia's clearance on his weaker side is poor but Joe Cole's long-range drive is straight at Reina.
    • 62' Arbeloa slides in and brings down Lampard but he gets away without caution probably due to the wet surface.
    • 60' Ryan Babel, Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch are warming up.
    • 58' Mascherano's cross from the right is straight in Cech's bread basket.
    • 56' The Anfield club won both previous CL semis in 2005 and 2007 but Chelsea are now thinking about the double.
    • 54' Ballack tees up Lampard on the edge of the penalty area but his strike is straight at Reina.
    • 52' Gerrard pumps the ball into the Chelsea penalty area but Ballack heads clear.
    • 51' Chelsea win a free-kick on the right touchline but Lampard's delivery is far too deep and an opportunity wasted.
    • 49' Chelsea just do enough after initially failing to deal with the corner. Drogba is the man to extend his right leg and nick the ball away with Torres ready to pull the trigger.
    • 48' Javier Mascherano's chip is headed across goal by Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt's toe-poke with the outside of his right boot is turned away by Cech's left foot.
    • 46' No change in personnel at the start of the second-half as the rain continues to fall.
    • 45' Half-time and Chelsea on top.
    • 44' Decent possession for the visitors but Alonso's intended pass for Riise is over hit.
    • 42' Ballack curls his 25-yard free-kick marginally wide of the post, it hits the stanchion with Reina beaten!
    • 41' A cynical foul by Xabi Alonso on Kalou and the midfielder is given a yellow card.
    • 40' Gerrard receives treatment after being fouled by Liverpool's public enemy number one Drogba.
    • 38' Chelsea now strong favourites to reach the final for the first time but there was a hint of offside about their goal with Kalou possibly a couple of feet off.
    • 36' Essien bends a cross in from the right but Carragher makes a vital headed clearance.
    • 34' Drogba thought about celebrating in the corner but instead ran down the touchline and slid on his knees in front of the Liverpool bench.
    • 33' GOAL!! Lampard slides in Kalou down the left channel, the Ivorian cuts inside Hyypia. His curling shot is pushed away by Reina but Drogba sweeps in the rebound from a tight angle.
    • 29' Remember as long as Avram Grant's men stop Liverpool from finding the net they will face Manchester United in the Luzhniki Stadium.
    • 27' Liverpool win a corner but Carragher is penalised for a push.
    • 26' Ballack's long-range drive is fisted away by Reina.
    • 25' Alvaro Arbeloa's cross is prodded away by Carvalho.
    • 23' Riise fizzes in a cross to Benayoun but the former West Ham man can't make clean contact with his attempted volley.
    • 22' The veteran Finn is on after Skrtel picked up an accidental kick on the knee from Drogba.
    • 21' Ballack picks out Salomon Kalou but Skrtel meets the cross. Essien tries his luck from all of 30 yards but Reina catches cleanly.
    • 20' Skrtel looks in trouble and Sami Hyypia is warming up.
    • 19' Lampard feeds Drogba down the left channel but the Ivorian scuffs his shot past the far post on his weaker side. A gilt edge chance.
    • 17' Avram Grant is having a row with the fourth official over that free-kick.
    • 16' Riise's 25-yard effort is straight into the wall.
    • 15' Torres wins a generous free-kick from Ricardo Carvalho with the Portuguese adjudged to have lent on the striker.
    • 14' Reina has to be bright and alert to race off his line and clear a deflected through ball just ahead of Drogba.
    • 13' The pitch cutting up a little due to the weather.
    • 12' Skrtel gets back to make a key tackle on Drogba but concedes a corner. Carragher then clears the danger on two occasions.
    • 11' Riise's clearance is poor but Ballack's ambitious attempt drifts harmlessly wide.
    • 10' Joe Cole loses out to Benayoun and Liverpool launch a lightning counter. The Israeli finds Gerrard who in turn feeds Fernando Torres but his first touch is a little heavy and that allows Petr Cech to make a fine save.
    • 8' Ballack finds Ashley Cole with a delightful diagonal pass but Joe Cole is caught offside.
    • 7' A free-kick in a dangerous position for Liverpool but Steven Gerrard's delivery is cleared by Michael Ballack.
    • 6' The corner is only half cleared but Essien's follow up effort is over the top.
    • 5' Drogba forces Jose Reina into the first save of the match. A 25-yard shot skids on the slick surface and the Spanish custodian is forced to push the effort around the post.
    • 4' Drogba nicks the ball off Skrtel in the corner but Jamie Carragher is on hand to clear the danger.
    • 3' A long ball brushes the head of Martin Skrtel but no corner is awarded.
    • 2' Referee Roberto Rosetti of Italy awards an early free-kick after a foul on yes, you guessed it Didier Drogba.
    • 1' We are underway!
    • - Liverpool must end a run of eight games at Stamford Bridge without a goal to have any chance of reaching the all-English final against Manchester United in Moscow on May 21.
    • - It has been raining in West London for most of the afternoon and continues to do so.
    • - A minor surprise from Rafael Benitez as he opts for Yossi Benayoun on the left ahead of first leg "scorer" John Arne Riise.
    • - Chelsea bring back Michael Essien from suspension and he fills in at right back with Frank Lampard starting.

  • Team Stats

    Chelsea Stats Liverpool
    44% Possession 55%
    19 Shots 15
    11 Shots on target 5
    3 Saves 1
    5 Corners 9
    17 Fouls 19
    8 Offsides 4
    0 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    21 Tackles 32
    334 Accurate passes 428
    85 Bad passes 63

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Chelsea
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Petr Cech 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 0
      6 Ricardo Carvalho 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 19 1 2
      3 Ashley Cole 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 41 16 4
      26 John Terry 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 26 3 1
      10 Joe Cole 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 33 4 2
      4 Claude Makelele 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 8 1
      8 Frank Lampard 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 47 22 2
      13 Michael Ballack 0 3 1 2 3 0 0 34 11 1
      5 Michael Essien 0 4 2 1 1 0 0 39 3 1
      11 Didier Drogba 2 6 3 5 1 4 0 17 4 1
      21 Salomon Kalou 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 15 6 3
      15 Florent Malouda 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 14 5 3
      39 Nicolas Anelka 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0
      12 John Obi Mikel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      35 Juliano Belletti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      7 Andriy Shevchenko 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
      33 Alex da Dias Costa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      23 Carlo Cudicini 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Liverpool
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Jose Reina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 6 0
      23 Jamie Carragher 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 51 1 3
      6 John Arne Riise 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 26 8 2
      17 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 0 0 3 6 0 0 29 0 8
      37 Martin Skrtel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1
      8 Steven Gerrard 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 39 7 1
      20 Javier Mascherano 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 54 11 6
      14 Xabi Alonso 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 70 11 2
      11 Yossi Benayoun 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 16 5 4
      9 Fernando Torres 1 4 2 5 1 1 0 12 2 1
      18 Dirk Kuyt 0 3 1 2 0 1 0 26 4 3
      15 Peter Crouch 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Charles Itandje 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      4 Sami Hyypia 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 67 7 0
      21 Lucas Leiva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      3 Steve Finnan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      19 Ryan Babel 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 1
      16 Jermaine Pennant 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 7 1 0

  • Summary

    • 117' GOAL!! A lifeline for Liverpool as Babel's 30-yard shot slips through Cech's fingertips.
    • 108' Hyypia goes down in the penalty area! Drogba hangs a leg out but the referee says no. Chelsea's players surround the giant Finn but it could have easily been given.
    • 105' GOAL!! Surely that's it, a lovely one-two between Malouda and Anelka - the January signing fizzes the ball across the goal and Drogba gets ahead of Carragher to fire home the second.
    • 98' GOAL!! More drama as Hyypia lets the ball away from him on the slick surface and brings down Ballack for a clear penalty. Lampard calmly slots away the penalty and Chelsea lead.
    • 95' From the corner, Anelka's shot is blocked and Essien blasts the rebound into the net. Chelsea celebrate but the flag goes up as three Blues players are technically offside but not in Reina's line of vision. A massive decision!
    • 94' Drogba tricks his way past Carragher but the Liverpool stalwart makes a superb last ditch tackle to deny him.
    • 93' Gerrard's corner is met by Hyypia, who loses Drogba, and his header is marginally wide of the post.
    • 77' An outstanding run by Essien down the right flank, beating two but he opts to shoot from an acute angle and can only find the side netting with players waiting for the cross.
    • 64' GOAL!! Liverpool back on level terms. Benayoun skips away from Makelele and his darting cross field run concludes with a precise through ball to Torres who calmly slots the ball past Cech and the tie is level at 2-2!!
    • 54' Ballack tees up Lampard on the edge of the penalty area but his strike is straight at Reina.
    • 49' Chelsea just do enough after initially failing to deal with the corner. Drogba is the man to extend his right leg and nick the ball away with Torres ready to pull the trigger.
    • 48' Javier Mascherano's chip is headed across goal by Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt's toe-poke with the outside of his right boot is turned away by Cech's left foot.
    • 42' Ballack curls his 25-yard free-kick marginally wide of the post, it hits the stanchion with Reina beaten!
    • 33' GOAL!! Lampard slides in Kalou down the left channel, the Ivorian cuts inside Hyypia. His curling shot is pushed away by Reina but Drogba sweeps in the rebound from a tight angle.
    • 26' Ballack's long-range drive is fisted away by Reina.
    • 19' Lampard feeds Drogba down the left channel but the Ivorian scuffs his shot past the far post on his weaker side. A gilt edge chance.
    • 14' Reina has to be bright and alert to race off his line and clear a deflected through ball just ahead of Drogba.
    • 10' Joe Cole loses out to Benayoun and Liverpool launch a lightning counter. The Israeli finds Gerrard who in turn feeds Fernando Torres but his first touch is a little heavy and that allows Petr Cech to make a fine save.
    • 5' Drogba forces Jose Reina into the first save of the match. A 25-yard shot skids on the slick surface and the Spanish custodian is forced to push the effort around the post.
    • - A minor surprise from Rafael Benitez as he opts for Yossi Benayoun on the left ahead of first leg "scorer" John Arne Riise.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Chelsea

    Manager: Avram Grant

    Captain: John Terry

    On the Field

    • Cech
    • Essien
    • Terry
    • Carvalho
    • Cole
    • Makelele
    • Lampard Substitution Out (119′)
    • Ballack
    • Kalou Substitution Out (71′)
    • Cole Substitution Out (91′)
    • Drogba Goals×2

    Subs

    • Anelka Substitution In91′
    • Malouda Substitution In71′
    • Shevchenko Substitution In119′
    • Alex
    • Belletti
    • Mikel
    • Hilario

    Injured

    • Cudicini

    Suspended

    None

  • Liverpool

    Manager: Rafa Benitez

    Captain: Steven Gerrard

    On the Field

    • Reina
    • Arbeloa Yellow Card
    • Carragher
    • Skrtel Substitution Out (22′)
    • Riise
    • Mascherano
    • Alonso Yellow Card
    • Gerrard
    • Kuijt
    • Benayoun Substitution Out (78′)
    • Torres Goal Substitution Out (99′)

    Subs

    • Pennant Substitution In78′
    • Hyypia Substitution In22′
    • Crouch
    • Finnan
    • Itandje
    • Babel Substitution In99′ Goal
    • Lucas

    Injured

    • Kewell
    • Aurelio
    • Agger

    Suspended

    None