Liverpool slips to a draw

Wednesday, 22 October 08, 05:42 PM · Comments(1)

It was one crazy night in Madrid, and one certified nightmare for the linesmen – who shouldn’t be calling any Champions League games for a while.

Liverpool looked strong in the first half in the midfield (despite a terrible-looking pitch in terms of both speed and footing), and Steven Gerrard’s cut-throat pass down the middle to a slightly offside Robbie Keane gave them the early one-nil advantage.

In addressing Liverpool’s season as a whole this looks like a strong midfield, and the addition of Albert Riera has been a helpful one. Still, once Gerrard went out in the 61st minute (a curious decision if it was not for injury), Atletico Madrid seemed to find themselves a bit and started applying pressure.

But the linesmen had the biggest say in this game. Yossi Benayoun was clearly on when his goal was disallowed early in the second half, and Madrid were subsequently called off twice – one for a goal that was scored – despite being well back of the last man each time. Inexcusable decisions on those last two, as there wasn’t even a question.

Still, the home team claimed their deserved equalizer thanks to a slip-up from Jamie Carragher on a long ball and a beautiful shot from Simao into the right corner. Credit to Madrid, who didn’t allow their subpar first half to affect them too much and showed some nice possession in the second half...........read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m10d22-Liverpool-slips-to-a-draw

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