19.12.07  CARLING CUP QUARTER FINAL
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0 (www.lfc.tv)


Liverpool's quest for an eighth League Cup is over for another year after a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in which Peter Crouch saw red.

Frank Lampard's 58th minute strike - which took a wicked deflection from Jamie Carragher - and a late hit from Andriy Shevchenko gave Avram Grant's side victory in a thrilling quarter-final.

The Reds had to play the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Crouch was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Mikel.

The tie could have gone either way before that but Rafa Benitez's men will now have to focus their energies on the three competitions which, at the start of the year, every fan would have labelled the priorities.

With Sunday's drab defeat to Manchester United still fresh in the memory, Liverpool at least set out to entertain the travelling Kop from the off.

It took them just eight minutes to find their attacking stride, Lucas - playing in an advanced midfield role for the first time in a red shirt - crafting a chance for Peter Crouch. Unfortunately, the big man dragged his low drive well wide.

The home side quickly countered with a dangerous strike from Solomon Kalou, who tested Charles Itandje after being put through by Shevchenko.

Seconds later the ball was back in the Chelsea box when Ryan Babel wriggled past two or three men before failing to find Crouch in acres of space.

An end to end start, then. The goalmouth action continued with a couple of threatening corners from Frank Lampard right in front of the away fans (who, happily, took no notice of Sol Campbell's plea for a little more respect).

Xabi Alonso was next to have a pop, though it failed to trouble Petr Cech, with a trademark hit from the half-way line.

The sell-out crowd hadn't had chance to draw breath when Lampard found himself through following some sloppy play by the otherwise impressive Jack Hobbs.

Thankfully, the young centre-back had his blushes spared by a fantastic save from Itandje.

Another trio of Liverpool chances came and went: Lucas should perhaps have scored after a lay off from Crouch; seconds later the big man shouted for a penalty following a barge from Tal Ben Haim; then Alonso came close with a low volley from outside the box. How was it still 0-0?
Michael Essien, who'll soon be on his way to the African nations, came within inches of breaking the deadlock on 36 minutes with a great volley from distance. Just wide.

The game had everything except a goal, even an extravagant flick from Momo Sissoko which, had his teammates been on the same wavelength, could have produced something special.

It all made for a cracking atmosphere, despite the arctic conditions. The away fans were in particularly impressive form even without the scores who were forced to turn back due to an accident on the M40.

The ones who did make it had their hearts in their mouths on 54 minutes when Essien looked to have opened the scoring from distance. It was that man Itandje - who's known as The Cat at Melwood - who came to the Reds' rescue with a save that did his nickname justice.

The second half was picking up where the first left off, with the next chance falling to Crouch after a mistake from Ricardo Carvalho. The England striker tried to lob it over Cech but, ironically, he couldn't find enough height.

Then came the opener thanks to a massive piece of luck, Lampard the beneficiary of a hefty deflection from Carragher which took his shot over the helpless Itandje.

It went from bad to worse almost immediately for Rafa Benitez's side when Martin Atkinson, with 30 minutes remaining, flashed a straight red at Crouch for a two-footed challenge on Mikel. It was a wild attempt to get the ball, but Avram Grant's over-the-top protests were an unnecessary addition to proceedings.

The game took a while to settle after the sending off, with the Reds failing to create another serious chance until substitute Nabil El Zhar hit a low shot wide on 77 minutes.

There was plenty of huff and puff but it was always going to be difficult to overturn a deficit in an arena where the home side have now failed to lose in 51 games.

Shevchenko doubled Chelsea's advantage on 89 minutes, hitting the ball past Itandje from a tight angle.

The return of Alonso will provide some comfort ahead of a busy Christmas period, as will decent performances from Lucas, Hobbs, Itandje and Aurelio.

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Chelsea: Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Belletti, Ben-Haim, Essien, Mikel (Ballack 68), Lampard, Kalou, Shevchenko (Sidwell 90), Sinclair (Joe Cole 57).

Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ferreira.
Goals: Lampard 59, Shevchenko 90.

Liverpool: Itandje, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hobbs, Aurelio, Sissoko, Lucas, Alonso (El Zhar 60), Voronin, Crouch, Babel (Benayoun 73).

Subs Not Used: Martin, Hyypia, Riise.
Sent Off: Crouch (60).
Booked: Alonso, Lucas, Sissoko.

Att: 41,366
Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).