While Liverpool fans are waking up this morning with their team top of the league and having finally won at Stamford Bridge under Rafa Benitez, Chelsea fans are waking up to the end of an incredible unbeaten home run which ended yesterday after four years without a league defeat. Here’s the best of what the press reaction has been saying…
The Guardian’s byline reads “Rafael BenÃtez’s side, so serene and certain in defence today, are as close as they’ve ever been to a title challenge.”
Much praise has been paid to new winger Albert Riera – a player most were sceptical about when he arrived on transfer deadline day – with The Guardian describing him as “excellent” while The Telegraph wrote this gem:
Liverpool would not be bullied, particularly not Riera, blessed with a wonderful left foot and a hunger for life amidst the flying studs.
If Bosingwa suffers a recurring nightmare over the next month it will involve a deft Spaniard ghosting past him. Riera utterly bemused Bosingwa at one point, racing on and shooting just wide. Liverpool remained in ascendancy, Gerrard letting fly with a left-footed strike that Cech did brilliantly to push over. Riera then went round Bosingwa again. Once more, and he would have got to keep him.
And The Daily Mail noted “Kuyt and Riera were outstanding ‘” strong, aggressive and willing as they pressurised Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole.”
Credit goes to Tony Glover of CFC Blog who in his match review is very fair and full of praise for Carragher, Liverpool and our fans. Well in Tony…
Jamie Carragher today was the inspiration behind Liverpool being able to keep their nerve and stick to a well worked plan.
It sticks in the throat, but they [Liverpool] out-tackled us today, out-fought us all over the pitch, defended superbly and forced us into a lot of errors from which we couldn’t recover. We ran out of ideas, whilst they didn’t need any.
And on the traveling Kop:
They out-sang us all afternoon. The best we could respond with was half-hearted renditions of ‘˜Carefree’ or ‘˜In Your Liverpool Slums’ or the vile chants of ‘˜Murderers’ and ‘˜You killed your own fans’ – that’s why we’ll feature in The Bad.
It seems the media are finally starting to offer some praise for Benitez and his team. After defeating United and Chelsea without Fernando Torres, the man we are so continually told we rely on and must keep fit, the press are starting to note the worth of the likes of Riera, Alonso, Mascherano and even Dirk Kuyt!
