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Crouch gives Liverpool Shield win

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  • Crouch gives Liverpool Shield win

    Liverpool lifted the Community Shield, thanks to Peter Crouch's 80th-minute winner at the Millennium Stadium.

    A tepid second half looked to be drifting towards penalties when Crouch rose to head in Craig Bellamy's cross.

    Liverpool, with Steven Gerrard on the bench, went ahead when John Arne Riise ran 60 yards before beating Carlo Cudicini with a dipping shot.

    But £30.8m striker Andriy Shevchenko equalised before the break, guiding home Frank Lampard's inviting pass.

    <DIV class=avinline>Interview: Liverpoool boss Rafa Benitez </DIV><DIV class=avinline>Interview: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho </DIV><DIV class=avinline>Interviews: John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch </DIV>

    Victory will be particularly sweet for Rafael Benitez, who began the match with skipper Gerrard, £6m signing Bellamy and Xabi Alonso on the bench.

    By contrast, Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho packed summer arrivals Shevchenko and Michael Ballack into his side alongside established first-teamers Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben.

    But while Liverpool may have lacked the star power of their opponents, they were the more cohesive unit in the first half.

    <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV> <DIV class=cap>Shevchenko scored his first goal in English football</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

    Chelsea fans had only just been revelling in the way Shevchenko had pressurised the Liverpool defence into conceding a corner when they saw their team go behind.

    Steve Finnan headed clear and Riise ran almost the length of the pitch unchallenged before unleashing a 25-yard shot which Cudicini perhaps should have saved.

    Mourinho looked on in disgust, arms folded.

    His mood worsened when first Lampard was booked for a petulant kick on Bolo Zenden and then Ballack, yellow-carded after seven minutes, hobbled off with an apparent hip injury midway through the first half.



    Liverpool could have made it 2-0 when the lively Mark Gonzalez slid a dangerous pass across goal and the ball came off Luis Garcia but Cudicini redeemed himself by tipping over under pressure from Crouch.

    But while his team-mates struggled, Shevchenko shone and the Ukrainian drew Chelsea level on 43 minutes.

    Lampard provided the pass, which Shevchenko controlled beautifully before coolly slotting past Reina.

    <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sib606><DIV class=sihf></DIV><DIV id=q2></DIV><BR clear=all><DIV class=mva><DIV class=mva></DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

    The Shevchenko show continued in the second half, the former AC Milan star forcing Reina to tip a header round the post.

    But as Chelsea began to take charge of proceedings, Benitez fir
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

  • #2
    RE: Crouch gives Liverpool Shield win

    Mankine and the 'pool posse glad bag mussi bus?

    ...as to Chelsea getting a whipping? Couldn't have happened to nicer guys!
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

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    • #3
      RE: Crouch gives Liverpool Shield win

      Yes, we are a happy band today. Pool always seems to beat Chelsea when a trophy is on the line. Mourinho got his excuses out early I hear, saying that his world cup starts are not at their peak yet because they started training late. But so did Gerrard, Crouch, and other Pool WC ballers.

      This is a set up for what will happen in the EPL. I present to you the new 2006/2007 EPL Champions: Liverpool FC.

      And you'll never walk alone........

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