Wednesday 4 November 2009 – Champions League
Lyon v Liverpool
One of the myriad of conspiracy theories said Liverpool didn’t really have a stack of injuries for the Fulham game, and that players were secretly rested for this fixture tonight. Well if that was true they didn’t do a good job of resting.
There was a dilemma for Rafa at right-back: Glen Johnson is injured, so is Martin Kelly who came in for Johnson in the reverse fixture and Philipp Degen isn’t registered for the Champions League. So it was a choice between risking youngster Stephen Darby in this high-pressure game, or moving Jamie Carragher out wide into that full-back position he stopped liking a long time ago. Rafa went for the latter and Carragher will of course give it his all.
Thankfully for Liverpool Daniel Agger is fit to start – although he reportedly had to stand all the way to France on the flight over to try and get some respite from his back injury. Agger lines up alongside Kyrgiakos because Martin Skrtel stayed hom with a muscle problem, Emiliano Insua plays left-back.
Rafa hinted that he might start with Alberto Aquilani but the Italian signing is on the bench instead. Lucas and Javier Mascherano start in the middle of the park. Benayoun, Kuyt and Voronin start the game, with the most welcome name perhaps that of Fernando Torres.
All things considered, if Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard had been fit Rafa would have been able to pick more or less his first-choice eleven.
Ryan Babel and David Ngog are both on the bench.
Lyon: 1 Lloris, 3 Cris, 13 Reveillere, 20 Cissokho, 6 Kallstrom, 7 Michel Bastos, 8 Pjanic, 17 Makoun, 28 Toulalan, 9 Lopez, 18 Gomis
Subs: 30 Vercoutre, 32 Gassama, 10 Ederson, 41 Gonalons, 14 Govou, 19 Delgado, 29 Tafer
Liverpool: 25 Reina, 23 Carragher, 5 Agger, 16 Kyrgiakos, 22 Insua, 20 Mascherano, 21 Lucas, 15 Benayoun, 10 Voronin, 18 Kuyt, 9 Torres
Subs: 1 Cavalieri, 32 Darby, 40 Ayala, 4 Aquilani, 26 Spearing, 19 Babel, 24 Ngog
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere
Kick-off: 7:45pm
What a Pi**er – So close yet so far away…
There’s me calling Bobble not fit to wear the shirt etc etc and then he comes on the pitch and scores a fantastic goal…
and then before you know it it all goes wrong again ….. sh*t !……
Very unlucky. Boys played well tonight. Fantastic goal as well.
Cant help thinking Keane would have buried the Voronin chance. Its lack of quality in certain areas that cost us tonight.
No motivation for Lyon to go win in Italy now, thats us done.
We were pretty good tonight, still don’t understand why Vornonin spends 70 minutes on the pitch though, Babel did more in 3 than he did all that time. If Babek is a confidence player then surely the more he plays the more he’ll get better…
Still think Lyon do have something to play for….top spot…where they’ll avoid the in form teams…with a bit of luck (which has been pretty sparing so far this season) we still have a chance…
Agree Voro is bla bla, Luck for sure is not on our side, but what we are short of is in difance, pepe was beaten 25 times in three year between 2006 and 2008, this year he was beaten 22 times I think that sums it all.
I am lyon’s supporter, and I was in gerland to see the match, and I was with the supporters of Liverpol, it was a great day for me, I sing YNWA.
I am very happy, thanks to the supporters, you are great.
Still cant get my head around the Torres substitution. Not with 5 mins to go. Disrupted the team and we needed two goals to put things back in our control. Plus Torres just being there unsettles the defence. He comes off, the defence relax and push forward, they score. Another Rafa howler. It goes on and on. Crazy sub……..again.