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Liverpool slips to a draw
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AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
It was one crazy night in Madrid, and one certified nightmare for the linesmen – who shouldn’t be calling any Champions League games for a while.
Liverpool looked strong in the first half in the midfield (despite a terrible-looking pitch in terms of both speed and footing), and Steven Gerrard’s cut-throat pass down the middle to a slightly offside Robbie Keane gave them the early one-nil advantage.
In addressing Liverpool’s season as a whole this looks like a strong midfield, and the addition of Albert Riera has been a helpful one. Still, once Gerrard went out in the 61st minute (a curious decision if it was not for injury), Atletico Madrid seemed to find themselves a bit and started applying pressure.
But the linesmen had the biggest say in this game. Yossi Benayoun was clearly on when his goal was disallowed early in the second half, and Madrid were subsequently called off twice – one for a goal that was scored – despite being well back of the last man each time. Inexcusable decisions on those last two, as there wasn’t even a question.
Still, the home team claimed their deserved equalizer thanks to a slip-up from Jamie Carragher on a long ball and a beautiful shot from Simao into the right corner. Credit to Madrid, who didn’t allow their subpar first half to affect them too much and showed some nice possession in the second half.
Liverpool continually wasted chances, including a header by Ryan Babel from point-blank range near the end and a first-half miss from an unmarked Keane on a Gerrard cross when he tried to play a back heel for God knows what reason. The Reds also took too long to make decisions in the box, clearly missing Fernando Torres in that area.
The draw puts both sides at seven points after three matches and in good position to advance.
Meanwhile, Chelsea took care of business over at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win against AS Roma on a John Terry header in the 77th minute to plant themselves atop thegroup (Apologies, but I can’t watch two games at once). In all, England’s four are looking set to move on to reach the final 16 after this week’s matchup. And now both of tonight’s EPL teams can look forward to Sunday’s mega-game in London. Should be a fun one.
