No blame and no shame for Gerrard
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Article summary
Steven Gerrard defended John Arne Riise after his own goal cost Liverpool FC a victory at Anfield, and believes that "maybe we'll get a bit of luck at Stamford Bridge".
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Frustration was etched on Steven Gerrard's face but the Liverpool FC skipper was in a defiant mood after Chelsea FC drew 1-1 with a late, late away goal in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg.
No blame
John Arne Riise's headed own goal deep into added time possibly shifted the balance of power after Dirk Kuyt's 43rd minute opener had given Liverpool the initiative at Anfield. Yet Gerrard insisted his side can still reach the final by producing a good performance in London on 30 April, adding: "No fingers are pointed at John."
Collective responsibility
Riise is a good friend of Gerrard, and the England international stressed that everybody shared the responsibility for not holding on to their lead. "We win, lose and draw together and it's my job as captain to pick the boys up and make sure that we're ready to go next week," he said. "We'll give it everything we've got at Stamford Bridge but we believe this tie's not over. These ties are decided on small details and unfortunately for us tonight that bit of luck has gone with Chelsea at the end, but maybe we'll get a bit of luck at Stamford Bridge."
'Not important'
It was suggested that many will now consider Chelsea the favourites to progress to the final in Moscow, but Gerrard fired back: "Let them. Let people say Chelsea are favourites, that's not important. We've just got to block that out. We know the job we've got to do and we believe we can beat Chelsea on their own patch. We'll have to see what happens."
'Fantastic saves'
Gerrard has cause to be confident as he is convinced Liverpool deserved far more for their efforts at Anfield. "We've created the better chances," he said. "I don't think Pepe [Reina] had anything to do besides pick the ball out of the back of the net late on. Petr Čech pulled off two or three fantastic saves and if we'd have come off that pitch with a 1-0 victory, we'd have been disappointed it wasn't 2-0."
Torres warning
Scoring away from home in the second leg is now essential for their survival, but when he was reminded that Liverpool are yet to find the net against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge since Rafael Benítez took charge of the club in 2004, Gerrard instantly replied: "We haven't played there with Fernando Torres, have we?"
