If there is a consensus among British sports writers following Chelsea’s Champions League exit at Anfield Tuesday night, it’s that the better team won despite the outcome being decided by penalties. Yet after the match, a defiant, sour-faced, sore-losing Jose Mourinho accused Liverpool of playing for penalties. “Chelsea tried to win it in 90 minutes,” he said. “Chelsea tried to win it in extra time. The best team was the team in blue.”
Ask any neutral who saw the match and they’ll tell you that is absolute nonsense. In fact, it’s hard to remember a decent Chelsea shot on goal, says the BBC’s Phil McNulty. Pepe Reina’s first-half save from Didier Drogba stands out, but that’s about it. Liverpool, meanwhile, forced several fine saves from Petr Cech, who kicked away a powerful header from Peter Crouch in the second half before deflecting wide a point-blank effort from Dirk Kuyt in extra time. Kuyt was also unlucky to hit the bar with his fine looping header, and his goal in the first half of extra time probably shouldn’t have been called back for offside (although it was close).
To their credit, Chelsea’s players were brave, McNulty says, particularly John Terry, Michael Essien and Claude Makelele, but Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano absolutely owned the center of midfield. If anything, he adds, you could accuse of Chelsea coming in with the plan A of trying to secure a goalless draw, and after Agger’s brilliant goal in the 22nd minute, they took the “horribly basic approach of hoofing the ball in the general direction of Didier Drogba,” in the hope that he could do something.