Liverpool to face Inter Milan in Champions League by the Liverpool ECHO

article taken from Dec 21 2007 Dan Kay, Liverpool Echo

LIVERPOOL have been handed a long overdue reunion with Inter Milan in the last sixteen of the Champions League.

The Reds were paired with the Italian champions at the draw in Switzerland today and will face a tough test to progess to the quarter-finals, with Roberto Mancini’s enjoying another impressive season, currently lying seven points clear at the top of Serie A.

The two-time European Cup winners have only met the Reds once before in European competition but it proved to be one of the most controversial ties in Liverpool’s long decorated history.

Having disposed of Reykjavic, Anderlecht and Cologne during the club’s first season of continental action, reigning Cup holders Inter arrived at Anfield in May 1965 just days after the FA Cup had been secured for the first time against Leeds United at Wembley.

Amidst a tide of emotion, with Bill Shankly stage-managing the parading of the newly-acquired silverware by injured players Gerry Byrne and Gordon Milne to coincide with his side’s emergence from the tunnel, goals from Hunt, Callaghan and St John secured a 3-1 first leg advantage that could have been greater had a solo strike from Chris Lawler not been harshly disallowed.

The second leg in Milan was a different story as goals from Corso, Peiro and Mazzola ensured Inter would participate in the final on the own San Siro ground, which they won against Benfica and so retained the trophy.

But it was the decisions of Spanish referee Ortiz de Mendibil that dominated the thoughts of Bill Shankly and his beaten players, with the first two Italian goals judged by the most impartial of observers to have been hugely contentious.

Shankly later admitted that the Spanish referee’s actions that night had hurt him more than any other experience he’d had in the game but also revealed how the learning experience from that night in Italy helped shaped the Reds approach in Europe that was later to prove so successful.

Now, 42 years on, the sides are to face up again with the Reds having since won the Champions Cup five times whilst Inter have not added to that second win of theirs in 1965.

Speaking after the draw, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said: "There are no easy teams to play at this stage of the tournament, so we'll take what we can get at this stage.

"We stopped a few hearts with the way we qualified this year, but we've shown in the last three games that we are scoring goals and are in form.

"We have done well in previous years and we want that to continue."
The first leg will be at Anfield on February 19/20 with the return at the San Siro on March 4/5.

The draw in full:
Celtic v Barcelona
Lyon v Manchester United
Schalke v FC Porto
Liverpool v Inter Milan
Roma v Real Madrid
Olympiacos v Chelsea
Fenerbahce v Sevilla
Arsenal v AC Milan

The Return of Xabi and Agger: MERSEYSIDE DERBY

XABI ALONSO and Daniel Agger could be poised to hand beleaguered Rafael Benitez a derby boost.


The Liverpool duo are in line to make a swift return from their respective broken metatarsals in time to be considered for the Premier League visit to Everton on Saturday week.

Both Alonso and Agger have been sidelined since scans revealed the injuries following the 1-1 Champions League draw in Porto three weeks ago.

Neither player required an operation to repair the damage and were given an initial estimate of four to six weeks on the sidelines.

Benitez revealed last week that the pair were recovering well and “two to three weeks” away from a return to the first-team squad.

Of the two, Alonso is the more likely to be available for the trip across Stanley Park to face neighbours Everton at Goodison on October 20.

It would be a major tonic for Benitez, who has become increasingly under fire for his team’s underwhelming performances in recent weeks.

Liverpool needed a last-minute goal from Fernando Torres against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday to snatch a 2-2 draw and maintain their unbeaten league run.

But the continued unimpressive form is a concern with Benitez’s side facing a sequence of important games later this month, the Everton game followed by a crucial Champions League trip to Istanbul to play Besiktas and then the visit of leaders Arsenal.

And Steve Finnan believes it is imperative Liverpool now rediscover the verve that rocketed them to the top of the Premier League earlier this season.

“It’s half a dozen games now where we’ve produced poor performances, but we’ve got some big games coming up and we’ve got to get back to the form we were showing earlier in the season,” said Finnan.

“There’s a feeling of overall disappointment because we didn’t play well again and conceding two goals either side of half-time made it difficult for us. But it’s still early days and we’re still unbeaten in the league.

“It’s nice to be unbeaten in the league and the fact that we are still unbeaten and still getting results, even though we’re not playing well – apart from Wednesday night obviously – will help our confidence.”

Finnan joins the Republic of Ireland party today for the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Germany and Cyprus, one of many Liverpool players on international duty for the next fortnight.

And the right-back added: “I don’t know whether the international break has come at a good time or not.

“Sometimes it’s good to get away and play a couple of international matches, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

taken from Liverpool Daily Post by Ian Doyle, Oct 9 2007
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Gerrard: NO PANIC AT THE DISCO!

Stevie dismisses crisis talk
Submitted by tony on Tue, 2007-10-09 18:03. Liverpool FC • Discussion • Players
http://www.anfieldred.co.uk

Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard says there is no need to panic after the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw with Spurs, meaning Liverpool have only managed one win in their last four league games.

After only beating Wigan 1-0, Liverpool have had 3 draws against Portsmouth, Birmingham and Tottenham; but Gerrard has asked the fans to trust him when he says there is no crisis at Anfield.

"We are going through a dip in form which all top teams do at some stage and we just have to make sure we play our way through it. We are not performing to the standards we can do, but that will change.

“I am asking the fans to trust me when I say there is no crisis here. We have fantastic players and a world-class manager and we will get things right again, there is no doubt about that.We have now got an international break which will give Rafa the chance to look at things and work with the players who are staying behind.

“For those of us going away, we have to get the jobs done with our countries and then come back ready for a massive match at Everton. If we can turn in a performance in the derby and win that game then things will be looking better again. That is what we will be aiming for.”
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