Too Close For Comfort

You simply could not take your eyes off this one. Liverpool v Galatasaray turned out to be a Champions League encounter that had virtually everything – a thriller that held the Anfield crowd spellbound until the final whistle.

But that wasn’t the way it started. Liverpool dominated the opening exchanges and it was no surprise when they swept into an early lead, Peter Crouch timing his run perfectly to convert Aurelio’s cross from close range with only 9 minutes on the clock. Five minutes later it was Pennant’s turn to provide service from the right and Garcia’s header seemed to be the signal for the floodgates to open. Somehow Galatasaray held out, until 7 minutes after half time Finnan sent in a driven cross which seemed to be behind Crouch, but the lanky striker swung himself into the horizontal position to volley home one of the most spectacular goals Anfield has seen in a long time as the goalkeeper stood rooted to the spot.

Then something remarkable happened. As substitutes Hasan Sas and Umit Karan began to influence the match, Liverpool looked increasingly fragile and seven minutes after Crouch’s second goal, Karan headed home from Turan’s cross. Worse was to follow – within six minutes Karan headed another, set up by Sarioglu and the tension was growing.

Somehow or other Liverpool held out, but it was uncomfortable and raised niggling doubts about their future in the competition, particularly if they do not improve their ability to defend against crosses, or preferably cut off the supply line.