Big-game hunters lay trap for Chelsea's lions

14 April 2012

Having bettered Hannibal by conquering the Alps without the use of elephants, Rafael Benitez will not fear the Lions of Chelsea. The small men of Europe, Liverpudlian Lilliputians, are on the march.

The tactical genius of Jose Mourinho, the instinctive brilliance of Frank Lampard and the unquenchable spirit of John Terry represents a formidable challenge, but Liverpool's Champions League performances this season have reached rare heights.

As well as guaranteeing only the second English European Cup finalist in the competition's history, the first all-England semi-final deserves to be celebrated as a clash of contrasts. Aristocrats against arrivestes. Liverpool's grand European tradition provides an obvious counterpoint to the emergence of Chelsea, while the quietly spoken Benitez could not be more different to the motor-mouth that is Mourinho. Just about the only thing the clubs have in common is a shared admiration for Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool may not quite be the proverbial corner shop waging war against Harrods, but compared to Roman Abramovich's oil-rich Chelsea they are little more than a small petrol station. When they last reached this stage on route to the Heysel disaster 20 years ago the Reds were the undoubted Kings of Europe, but their crown has long since slipped.

The financial gulf between the two clubs is reflected by Chelsea's incredible 31-point lead over Liverpool in the Premiership, but their contests this season have been far closer than such a chasm suggests. Mourinho's side may have won all three matches but at least two of them could have gone the other way.

Liverpool's players are adamant that Chelsea have enjoyed all the luck in their meetings.

Milan Baros said: "We've not played badly against them and they were a little bit lucky, always scoring towards the end of matches. Beating Chelsea will be very difficult and they're the favourites but we have nothing to lose. We've got a good chance, why not? They've beaten us three times this season so surely the next win will be for us."

Napoleon famously asked for lucky generals and Mourinho - similarly small, aggressive and determined to take on all-comers - shares the Frenchman's partiality for providence. There has been far more than luck involved in Chelsea's seemingly relentness march for honours this season but they have enjoyed moments of good fortune, particularly against Liverpool.

In their first Premiership meeting at Stamford Bridge on 3 October, a goal from Joe Cole settled a soporific spectacle. On New Year's Day at Anfield, Chelsea were more fortunate, with Cole again the match-winner courtesy of a deflected shot but only after Liverpool had been refused a clear penalty when Tiago raised a hand in the penalty area.

Spurred on by such frustration, it took Liverpool just less than a minute to open the scoring in the Carling Cup Final and they held their lead for a further 78 until Gerrard put through his own net. Chelsea ran out deserved 3-2 winners in extra time, but there remains a sense that Liverpool's efforts have not been properly rewarded.

Steve Finnan said: "There's no reason why we can't beat Chelsea and we know all about them. We've come through the last two rounds as huge underdogs and can do it again."

With an 11 point lead at the top of the Premiership Chelsea are hardly crumbling, but their previously watertight defence appears to have sprung a few leaks. Mourinho's side have conceded 16 goals in their last 11 games - compared to just two in the previous 16 - and no longer appear impenetrable.

With the statuesque Robert Huth filling in as an emergency right-back, they are certainly vulnerable to pace and Baros feels he can take advantage. He said: "Chelsea have been conceding a lot of goals recently and we have reasons to hope."

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Big-game hunters lay trap for Chelsea's lions

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