Chelsea beats Liverpool by 1-0 in
their Champions League semifinal first leg calsh at Stamford Bridge,
April 25, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Joe Cole scored the only
goal to give Chelsea a narrow victory over Liverpool in their Champions League
semifinal first-leg clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Cole slid in Didier Drogba's cross after 29 minutes
to give Jose Mourinho's side the upper hand.
But the 1-0 edge was not satisfactory considering the
chances the Blues generated in the first half and the tie is still delicately
poised for the second leg at Anfield next Tuesday.
Mourinho believed that referee Markus Merk failed to
spot Alvaro Arbeloa's first-half handball.
"No doubt it's a handball, one hundred percent, I'm
not sure it's inside or outside the box...it's a decision against us," said the
Portugese.
"The first-half performance was superb and we had
five or six great chances to score. The second half was different, Liverpool
attacked more..."
"Overall, one goal more will be more fair."
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez surprisingly selected
Bolo Zendenon the left flank and opted for Javier Mascherano instead of Momo
Sissoko in the middle of midfield.
As for Chelsea, they gave a start to Joe Cole and he
proved an influential figure as the home side dominated the opening half.
Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina was called into action as
early as the seventh minute, producing a marvelous reaction save to deny Frank
Lampard from 10 yards out after the midfielder had run on to Drogba's
knock-down.
Chelsea's pressure looked certain to pay off and they
eventually took the lead just before the half-hour mark.
Ricardo Carvalho's pass out of defense found Drogba,
who turned Daniel Agger before providing a perfect cross for Cole to slide in
from close range.
Benitez was quick to introduce Peter Crouch for the
ineffective Craig Bellamy in the second half and the giant striker's sheer
presence immediately unsettled the Chelsea defense.
Liverpool penned Chelsea back for long periods after
the break but were unable to create any clear-cut chances.
Instead it was Reina who had to be alert, diving
to his left to push away a vicious volley by Lampard 10 minutes from time.
LONDON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Wayne Rooney scored twice
including an injury-time winner to give Manchester United a 3-2 victory over AC
Milan in their UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg at home on Tuesday.
Rooney pulled United back into the match when he leveled
the score at 2-2 after 59 minutes and his winner gives United a narrow advantage
into the second leg in Milan next Wednesday. Full
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