Liverpool v Anderlecht

v


Liverpool FC play their tenth match of this season's campaign at Anfield when they play host to an RSC Anderlecht side striving to break a sequence of losing matches. The Belgian club have lost their last ten games in the UEFA Champions League, an ongoing record, but all three defeats this season have been by the same 1-0 margin, offering some hope that the run can be ended. The sides were separated only by Djibril Cissé's 20th-minute winner for the holders and five-time winners in Brussels on 19 October.

Source - www.Uefa.com

Kick Off time is 19:45 GMT.

Discuss the game here

This is my line up
Reina
Finnan Carra Hyypia Riise
Sinama Xabi Gerrard Kewell
Luis Garcia
Fernand Morientes

3 Points expected from this game. We will qualify for the knock out stage if we win this game.

We need to win this one as that would qualify us IMO. I am hopeful we will play the same line up as we did against West Ham which was

-------------Reina---------------

Finnan----Hyypia---Carra---Riise

Gerrard---Xabi---Sissoko---Garcia

-----------Cisse----Moro---------

Or if we bring back Kewell I wouldn't mind seeing him play on the left and push Luis Garcia behind Morientes and dropping Cisse, but bringing him of the bench early in the second half. Another option would be to drop Sissoko play Gerrard and Xabi centre midfield and Cisse on the right.

No one can predict Rafa so they are just what I want to see.

I think it will be a tough game but hopefully we will score early and control the game in midfield and cruise to a 2 - 0 win.

Van Den Borre and Kompany are both out so no threat from VDB like there was in the first leg. Wilhelmsson was very good in the first game so hopefully he won't play as well this time. Anderlecht have just signed a striker from Argentina who is very useful but thankfully he is unavailable to them this season in this competition, because last time we played all they lacked was a goalscorer to finish any of the great movesthey put together in the second half.

Fingers crossed the first half Anderlecht turn up tomorrow.

^^^^^^...I guess great minds think alike


Sorry, my bad for starting the topic in the Liverpool forum, now I know where to look.

No worries mate, I only just made the match threads so there wasn't anywhere to discuss until a couple of hours ago

I hope Rafa stick with the same side not because others suggested it both so the likes of Cisse and Morientes get a good run in the team and won't feel if they have a bad game they will lose their place.

Oooh, I really see a slim scoreline on this one. Don't see Anderlecht pulling an upset at Anfield, although they will put up a fight. 1-0 to Liverpool, or a draw is max what Anderlecht can achieve, in my opinion.

This is gonna be real close. Had the Reds lost this weekend, this might be a draw. But seeing as they won, their confidence will be high and that might just edge them out on top 1-0 like D-man said.

I think Kewell will start this one, Liverpool should get up by at least 2 goals and a clean sheet.

My prediction 3-0 (Gerrard 16, Kewell 58, Cisse 89) - to be pricise

This would my line up:


------------------Reina------------------
Finnan-----Carra-----Hyypia-----Traore
Pongolle---Gerrard----Alonso---Kewell
------------------Garcia--------------------
-----------------Morientes-----------------

We really should come away with a win from this match. Im being optimistic and im going for a 2-0 or 3-0 in favour of the mighty reds!

I really really hope the Reds win this, because it doesn't surprise me anymore when they lose to shite teams (e.g fulham, graz ak)

My team:
Reina
Finnan Carragher Hyypia Riise

Gerrard Alonso Sissoko Zenden/Kewell

Cisse Morientes


I think rafa will stick with gerrard on the right, because it was very effective against west ham. Its a tought call between zenden and kewell, both of them have played well. I'd have Zenden start because he must build his confidence from the goal he score last week

Subs:

Carson/Dudek
Luis Garcia
Kewell/ Zenden
Crouch
Florent SP
Warnock
Hamann

I predict a comfortable liverpool win tonight. I hope Rafael Benitez start kewell on the right and see if he can be the man to solve liverpool's right mid problem. Kewell might be left footed but he is a winger and should give it a go. Liverpool should also start with 2 strikers who are Cisse and Morrientes. Morrientes have a reputation of scoring in champions league matches and Cisse is liverpool's top scorer. Hope this striking pair work well for liverpool, kill the game off early and bring Crouch in for the tired one.

well, i expect a 2-0 win. we have to win this one and i am optimistic that we will .
i can't see us score more than 3.
btw does anybody know the last time when we scored more than 3 at Anfield?

hmm may i know now liverpool match viewing now ?

Ref is Kim Milton Neilsen. Usually a bad sign but we have won every game he has officiated for us.

EDIT: HT score Liverpool 1-0 Anderlecht

Great goal by Morientes.

Liverpool 2-0 Anderlecht

Garcia header from the edge of the box.

Some real sexy football being played now.

EDIT: Liverpool 3-0 Anderlecht

Cisse, nice finish.

3 great goals. Liverpool played well and deserved that. I think Cisse shud have kayed from the start though i think they could have done with the pace in the 1st half.

Cisse cant seem to stop scoring when hes on as a sub

The sending off.

I thought was harsh at the time but the ref has said he sent him off for a racist insult so fair play to the ref. Great performance from the team as a whole, Sami and Carra were immense yet again. Garcia was superb, got some decent crosses in and the full-backs got forward well. Morientes's movement in and around the box was great and he fully deserved his goal. It seemed at times the team were trying to get Crouchy a goal but the ball never seemed to break his way.

All in all with Chavski losing im very very happy.

yes, a nice and comfortable win and we are top of the group
good to see that morientes scored a goal

genius

Bullshit. He said nothing more than "Fuck you man". Simply ridiculous that red card.

Btw, last goal was obviously off-side.

Ref was there and you were not. End of story its going in the ref's report so the dude will have a ban waiting for him. Cant see why the ref would make it up either.

hmmm i doubt he sent him off for 'f&ck you'

we'll have to see the report

all 3 finishes were pure class

golsky.....guessing the 89th minute goal............creepy

Ref thought it was told against him.

You heard what he said did you? Or are you saying that just because that's what you think he said trying to lip read? Please. The ref was right there. But I guess we will know more in the aftermath.

Good game, however I am unimpressed at the starting lineup. So slow and cumbersome for me. We didn't play top quality football until Cisse came on. I also don't understand starting Crouch and Morientes then putting the ball forward into space as though they are going to beat a player in a sprint. I also can see what Crouch's problem is. One he doesn't move at set pieces. He always seems to be standing still. He won't score many goals like this unless he gets a barage of crosses in, which is something he won't get for a while at Liverpool. Two he is passive and weak. He doesn't show anywhere near enough aggression and for a player his size, is much too soft IMO.

Morientes scored a good goal, but I don't see a huge difference in the rest of his play. I guess small improvements are good though. Gerrard had little impact on the right in spite of the fact that he got more crosses in than we generally get on the wing. Made his best contribution when he came central and set up Morientes. Alonso and Sissoko played well. Sissoko in particular got involved in the attacking play a bit more than he usually does. Garcia wasn't a black hole which is a good thing. But then this was a European game. Very well taken goal.

Defensively you cannot rate the players. They had nothing whatsoever to do. Andelecht were worse than some of the teams we played in the qualification rounds. Finnan had a decent game going forward, Riise had no impact as usual. We only started playing well, considering the opposition when Garcia scored, and even then only into top gear when Cisse came on. Kewell looks good. I would much rather see him play Garcia's role, behind the striker, while sometimes going out wide. However we obviously need an outlet on the wing. Overall it was a good game for us, but against a piss poor team.

How did Kewell play when he came on? I read that he setup the Cisse goal...but did he have time to do anything else?

I want him to play some more football so he is ready for the upcoming Australia WCQ's

That's what he said after the match. I don't know about you, but I don't call someone a racist until it is actually proven.

I'm starting to remember what it feels like to win comfortably....

....

Excellent victory, I'm very happy with that. Good finishes all three, Garcias goal in particular. Wing play still lacking a little I feel, but I'm much more positive now. Carry it on in the league please!

If the sending off was for racial abuse, which from the reports I've heard is the reason, then Jestrovich deserves to have the book thrown at him. And if it is the case then Momo's reaction was exemplary.

And if not, he doesn't deserve it. Please stop 'if'-ing.

Here's Jestrovic reaction (it's in french, just click on 'reactie Jestrovic'):

I'm 'If'ing because thats the reason we've been told the red card was for.

Guess you're a close friend of Nielsen, right? Please stop accusing the man without listening to him.

Well I'm sorry but I'm only reporting what I've heard, thats why I have said if.

just got home, bloody traffic.
best atmosphere of a game i've been to, didn't think it would be half as good as what it was, my voice is dead.
three great goals, glad morientes scored hopefully this will kick start him.
Garcia's header was superb.

everyone was baffled by the red card but reading this it was racism? cant comment but if so he deserved it thoroughly.
uhm yeh, i think rafa has solved our problems, Garcia on the left and Gerrard on the right with them interchanging seems to work to great effect.
hope we can keep up this form.

glad chelsea lost, woohoo

Where were you sat Oli?

I thought Xabi Alonso was awesome again, the guy is a class above anything in the team at the moment. I thought Kewell looked great again when he came on and Zenden also looked alot quicker and direct when he came on. Moro and Cisse scored which was great and I hope that the defence and Xabi, Sissoko and Gerrard stay in the team in those positions. The left side and forwards can be alternated because we have options in those players.

All in all we seem alot closer to being a team now than 3 weeks ago although there is a long way to go but it's a start

Bloody Awesome
Kewell played brilliant for the 12 minutes he played and nearly even scored. He looks to of gained some speed too ?
Im gona get Kewell in my fantasy team now

I enjoyed the game so much and was a very good result to get even though we could of had and should of had won it by more.

From what I saw in the highlights, Moro looked dangerous. He can be a great player for you guys if he really manages to settle in. He has always been a big game performer so the CL suits him perfectly. His goal was very well taken and the volley he had that was saved by the keeper was classic Morientes.

Morientes looked great and he has ever since returning from injury. He just needs to keep scoring now. One of my games of the season. I thought it was a very attractive game with goals and many great plays. Keep it rolling

20 rows up Kop end.
i think our amazing improvement last two games has been simply by Gerrard on the right and Garcia on the left, interchanging between the two.

seems to of brought balance, i mean just look at it, Garcia is playing ALOT better because of it, we still keep the influence if stevie g on the pitch and have a nice balance of Momo breaking down the play and Alonso controlling it (which is why he looks awesome now) because when we had stevie and alonso both in the middle, although they are great.. i dont think the balance was as good as what momo and alonso is.

also by having 4 in midfield, it allows two up-top, Morientes is getting in the right posistions and hopefully will score more now and kick start him, and Cisse's pace will compliment playing next to either Moro or Crouch, ariel and pace.

i think weve fond a good balance now til january

Nice seats, it was quiet until the second goal though I thought. I was in the Ani. Road end Row 22. There fans were pretty rowdy like!

Agree with everything you said mate, apart from the Gerrard Alonso thing. I think Momo and Alonso naturally suit each other more and look better at the moment, but eventually I'm certain a centre midfield of Gerrard and Alonso will be equally as good.

congratulations scousers. i went to a liverpool pub with my mate to watch the game(in iceland). everytime crouch touched the ball they jeered him. 'they only do that cause they love him' he explained to me. it was a beautiful night. in the next room there was a screening of betis vs chelsea. ahh to see the chelsea fans come crawling out of that room. 'why do you bow your heads down?' the liverpool fans asked them. 'why so sad?' and 'you'll never walk alone' was blasting in the stereo.

i look forward to meeting you in the knockout stages. there is just something electric about anfield in the cl.

He has definately gained a bit off pace mate and I think his footspeed has also improved thats helping him go past players.

I'm not sure he meant to pass that to Cisse though!

I don't want to expect too much of him too soon though he is still finding his feet, and Anderlecht where down to 2 10 men when he came on, but the way he and Cisse linked up was VERY promising.

I shouldn't say ths because I don't want to jinx it, but I don't think we are too far away from having the 22 year old Harry Kewell who could have been one of the top 25 players in the world back

Please please please let him stay injury free from now on, although I think the weight he has clearly lost should help him with that

Great performance. Im very happy about the result. Garcia did well, Moro scored, Kewell did well and Cisse got his 10th goal. I hope this all continues.

Convincing win for Liverpool and finally Morientes is starting to score(Poor Crouch) .
Gerrard on the right side looks quite good and Kewell is certainly improving.
Crouch and Morientes partnership does not look good cuz both of them were sort of trying to do the same thing.
Nonetheless well done Liverpool (although i support Man Utd but credit is due where credit is due)

Great performance from Liverpool. We completely dominated the game. Im glad Morientes scored and it was a classy goal too. I was thinking earlier in that half that the poor bloke couldnt buy a goal as he missed some chances, then he went and put that in! We dominated the possession in both halves but the better chances were created in the 2nd. Luis Garcia's header was class, I couldnt believe it! I certainly did not expect a goal like that from him. As mentioned, Harry was also impressive when he came on, and he set up Cisse's goal (although I dont think it was deliberate but oh well) which was well finished.

Very delighted with our performance indeed.
Seriously we are doing very well in europe , hopefully we ca carry this form in the domestic league

love Liverpool, i just hope they beat Chelsea

The last two games we've played have been our best all season. It took a little while for us to get going but after Garcia's goal we were top class.

Everyone else has mentioned what I was thinking... Morientes scored a fantastic goal. Gerrard & Garcia on the right/left respectively seems to be working very well with Sissoko and Alonso anchoring and distributing well at the moment. Kewell looked very good when he came on, pace and control was excellent (we'll just say for his sake that he meant to pass) Cisse finished well, and Crouch was unlucky...again. If we keep playing like this maybe we won't have to buy in January!?!

Well after a performance in Europe you tend to do badly so I doubt the next match will be anything great from Liverpool. Having said that I was happy to see Morientes on the score sheet ( used to like him before he moved to Liverpool Apart from when he scored against us in the CL and was showing his tongue to the Chelsea fans ).

am delighted for Morientes, i was pretty confident he would score in this game as its HIS champions league. i cant understand the moro & crouch partnership though both are not the fastest and not the strongest, both thrive on crosses and both are not known for beating defenders they are so alike, i think cisse would be a more suitable partner for Moro upfront as his pace and power can act as a decoy for Morientes to win more headers. Crouch is a good player but good enough to start for Liverpool ? i dont think so at least not yet.