Boredom battle hots up off the pitch

AS Liverpool and Chelsea supporters relish the second head-to-head showdown between their teams in five days tomorrow, a bizarre argument is breaking out between the players - over which side is the most boring.

Wednesday's 0-0 Champions League draw at Anfield was not quite the rollercoaster ride of last year's semi-final, and ended with Liverpool fans singing 'boring, boring Chelsea'.

But the post-match posturing featured more end-to-end action than anything seen on the pitch.

In the Red corner, Ireland and Liverpool defender Steve Finnan accused Chelsea of coming to Anfield to win just a point, and expects them to do the same when they meet again in the Premiership tomorrow.

In the Blue corner, Frank Lampard believes Liverpool set out deliberately to stop Chelsea playing and lacked ambition themselves.

Both teams accused the other of playing 'long-ball' football, John Terry and Xabi Alonso were seen arguing on the pitch, while Liverpool were furious at being denied three penalties and Chelsea reminded their hosts of Luis Garcia's goal last season which, they say, never crossed the line.

The end result? Well maybe, just maybe, we might get a more interesting and expansive game in the Premiership tomorrow in a match that Liverpool must win to retain any fading hopes of being involved in the title race, and in which Chelsea will try to extend their 100% record this season.

"We've played them five times now in the last year and we know what to expect," said Finnan.

"The fact that we were unhappy with a point against them in the Champions League shows how far we've come. Hopefully we can continue our form from that match on Sunday. They are a very good team but I think if we can take our European form into the Premiership then we can beat them - we have to think that way.

"We have shown you can play against them and you can get at them. But they did keep a clean sheet on Wednesday so that shows how hard it is against them. Despite that I think there were signs that there are weaknesses in their team - things that we can work on."

Finnan's assessment is accurate enough because Liverpool had the majority of possession on Wednesday, especially in the second half, and caused Chelsea more problems than most teams have so far this season.

But he believes Chelsea were only ever looking for a draw, and that could change tomorrow.

Finnan added: "Fair play to them, they came for a draw and that's what they got. I think over the whole game, especially the second half, we deserved three points, but there you go.

"We are European Champions and we want to retain it, so we wanted to win. I think we played well and they didn't create many problems. At the end of the game they were happy for a point and we were going for it, so that says a lot. It will be interesting to see if they play any differently this time.

"They know that we could have beaten them on Wednesday and that's good. I think Luis Garcia was held back at one stage and if he had gone down earlier we would probably have got a penalty. And there was another case with handball, so it was unfortunate. On Sunday we have to go one better."

Liverpool and Chelsea have played each other five times over the last year - with three wins for Chelsea, one for Liverpool and one draw. So it is not easy to predict the result tomorrow unless you side with the cynics who say another 0-0 is inevitable.

But with all those 'boring, boring' chants ringing in his ears, Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard says the goalless draw in midweek was down to the home team's tactics and not those of Jose Mourinho.

He said: "Even under pressure we limited them to very little and I think we played well in patches. But it wasn't a game to play fantastic football because Liverpool made it very difficult for us.

"We've gone to Anfield in the past and played some great stuff and they know that if we get it down then we can make it difficult for them. So they try to stop us playing and credit to them, they made a go of it for 90 minutes."

Mourinho was, as usual, frank in his assessment of the Champions League performance and in his predictions for tomorrow's game. "Good is winning, bad is losing. A draw is so-so," he said. "But in Champions League away from home a point is a positive point. You need nine points to go through, we now have four and we have two more matches at home.

"They are a very difficult opponent and it is very difficult to play against them. They hit the long ball, then they pressurise. And they have a strong midfield.

"But I was waiting for them to risk taking a midfield player and putting an extra man in attack, but they never did it. That says a lot.

"Tomorrow is different. In the Champions League if one team lost it didn't matter because two teams can still go through to the next stage. But in the Premiership we are in a very good situation and they aren't. If they lose on Sunday I think it is finished for them."

Mourinho's brutal assertion depends on the assumption that Liverpool were in the title race in the first place, which is quite possibly stretching a point too far.

And as defender William Gallas pointed out, Chelsea are so far ahead in the race to retain their Premiership trophy that there is a strong possibility of it all being over by Christmas.

Gallas said: "If we carry on in this rhythm we will practically be champions in January - which will give us a chance to concentrate more on the Champions League. Our aim is Europe, especially after getting knocked out in the semi-finals two years in a row - because the Premiership will be ours sooner or later.

"I still have a fresh memory of the semi-final defeat by Liverpool last year and for us any confrontation with Liverpool is more than a game. It is about revenge."