Spawn
08-13-2006, 05:38 PM
Crouch was unmarked as he jumped to head past Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini in the 80th minute.
"It's always a big game against Chelsea no matter when it is," Crouch said. "If you look around and see the fans and the players who played today it's important to both sets of players and thankfully we've come out with the right result."
Liverpool had scored its first goal in the ninth minute on a counter attack, with John Arne Riise making a solo run down most of the field and shooting past Cudicini. He had collected the ball from a cleared Chelsea corner.
"They just backed off and backed off and I thought I'll just have a go," the Norway defender said. "I caught it sweet. I thought the goalkeeper would save it. I went so far and I couldn't see anybody so I'd just smash it and hope for the best."
Andriy Shevchenko scored his first goal for Chelsea in the 43rd minute, taking Frank Lampard's cross from the halfway line and chesting it down to sidefoot past Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Ten minutes earlier, Shevchenko had curled a long-range shot that Reina needed to dive to parry with one hand.
Michael Ballack, Chelsea's other big signing, only lasted 26 minutes after appearing to pull a muscle in his leg. He held ice to his left hip before being substituted.
Liverpool could have scored another before halftime, but Luis Garcia's shot hit Crouch's head and Cudicini pushed the ball over the bar with his fingers.
Chelsea and Liverpool have played 10 times in the last two seasons. Though Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has won only twice, they've been in two semifinals - in the 2005 Champions League, which Liverpool went on to win, and last year's FA Cup, which Liverpool also won.
The game, featuring the league champion against the FA Cup winner, was again be played at Millennium Stadium because of a delay of more than a year in completing Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea is bidding for its third consecutive English Premier League title.
Both sides were involved in a shoving match in the 17th minute, after which Lampard was shown a yellow card. Liverpool's Momo Sissoko, who made the most impact in the midfield throughout the match, had tackled Ballack and Lampard retaliated against Liverpool's Boudewijn Zenden, a former Chelsea player.
Ballack had been shown a yellow card in the sixth for slide tackling Sissoko. He was replaced by another newcomer, Salomon Kalou.
Resting regular goalkeeper Petr Cech, Chelsea started with Cudicini in goal, who apart from failing to cope with Riise, nearly allowed an own-goal when Paulo Ferriera hit a weak back pass toward him. He also nearly let in an easy shot by Liverpool's Fabio Aurelio in the closing minutes.
Chelsea dictated the play early in the second half and Reina twice made saves. He first tipped over a shot by Didier Drogba, then dived low to parry Shevchenko's low header.
Liverpool started with a weakened lineup, with midfielder Steven Gerrard and new signing Craig Bellamy on the bench. Gerrard warmed up near the end of the first half to cheers from the crowd, and garnered the biggest cheer of the day when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute. Bellamy also played as a late sub as both sides made multiple changes.
Benitez did start new additions Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez, neither of who finished the match. Gonzalez scored the winner for Liverpool in its 2-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in the first leg of a Champions League qualifying match on Wednesday.
Benitez and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho are both likely to tinker with their lineups with the Premier League season kicking off on Saturday. Liverpool opens at Sheffield United and Chelsea hosts Manchester City next Sunday.
Credit:Fox Sports
"It's always a big game against Chelsea no matter when it is," Crouch said. "If you look around and see the fans and the players who played today it's important to both sets of players and thankfully we've come out with the right result."
Liverpool had scored its first goal in the ninth minute on a counter attack, with John Arne Riise making a solo run down most of the field and shooting past Cudicini. He had collected the ball from a cleared Chelsea corner.
"They just backed off and backed off and I thought I'll just have a go," the Norway defender said. "I caught it sweet. I thought the goalkeeper would save it. I went so far and I couldn't see anybody so I'd just smash it and hope for the best."
Andriy Shevchenko scored his first goal for Chelsea in the 43rd minute, taking Frank Lampard's cross from the halfway line and chesting it down to sidefoot past Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Ten minutes earlier, Shevchenko had curled a long-range shot that Reina needed to dive to parry with one hand.
Michael Ballack, Chelsea's other big signing, only lasted 26 minutes after appearing to pull a muscle in his leg. He held ice to his left hip before being substituted.
Liverpool could have scored another before halftime, but Luis Garcia's shot hit Crouch's head and Cudicini pushed the ball over the bar with his fingers.
Chelsea and Liverpool have played 10 times in the last two seasons. Though Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has won only twice, they've been in two semifinals - in the 2005 Champions League, which Liverpool went on to win, and last year's FA Cup, which Liverpool also won.
The game, featuring the league champion against the FA Cup winner, was again be played at Millennium Stadium because of a delay of more than a year in completing Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea is bidding for its third consecutive English Premier League title.
Both sides were involved in a shoving match in the 17th minute, after which Lampard was shown a yellow card. Liverpool's Momo Sissoko, who made the most impact in the midfield throughout the match, had tackled Ballack and Lampard retaliated against Liverpool's Boudewijn Zenden, a former Chelsea player.
Ballack had been shown a yellow card in the sixth for slide tackling Sissoko. He was replaced by another newcomer, Salomon Kalou.
Resting regular goalkeeper Petr Cech, Chelsea started with Cudicini in goal, who apart from failing to cope with Riise, nearly allowed an own-goal when Paulo Ferriera hit a weak back pass toward him. He also nearly let in an easy shot by Liverpool's Fabio Aurelio in the closing minutes.
Chelsea dictated the play early in the second half and Reina twice made saves. He first tipped over a shot by Didier Drogba, then dived low to parry Shevchenko's low header.
Liverpool started with a weakened lineup, with midfielder Steven Gerrard and new signing Craig Bellamy on the bench. Gerrard warmed up near the end of the first half to cheers from the crowd, and garnered the biggest cheer of the day when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute. Bellamy also played as a late sub as both sides made multiple changes.
Benitez did start new additions Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez, neither of who finished the match. Gonzalez scored the winner for Liverpool in its 2-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in the first leg of a Champions League qualifying match on Wednesday.
Benitez and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho are both likely to tinker with their lineups with the Premier League season kicking off on Saturday. Liverpool opens at Sheffield United and Chelsea hosts Manchester City next Sunday.
Credit:Fox Sports