Carragher excelling in settled role

“Cut him in half and he will bleed pure red,” gushed Sky’s commentator Ian Darke about Jamie Carragher, before Andy Gray pointed out to him that the same could be said for the rest of us.

We knew what he meant though. In a world where mercenaries rule and money talks, it is refreshing to see someone like Carragher for whom the most important thing is playing his heart out for the club that has been his life.

Liverpool’s reliance on Carragher’s fighting qualities was palpable in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final with Chelsea, and the weight of expectation will be even heavier on his shoulders for tomorrow’s second leg.

What has been remarkable about Carragher’s career is that he has had to wait until he is 27 before being given the chance to play in his preferred role at centre-half. Credit to Rafael Benitez for spotting that potential, and discredit to his predecessors for ignoring the talents of a man who may have saved their jobs.

Steven Gerrard is in no doubt where Carragher is at his best. “When he was younger, Carra had to play in two or three different positions but for me, he’s a centre-half,” said Gerrard after the 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.

“I think managers have always had faith in him but, sometimes, versatility can hold you back. The reason he didn’t play centre-half was because of Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz creating a partnership which everyone was saying was the best in England.

“But now he’s made that position his own and I’m sure it will be for the next five or six years. He was tremendous out there.

“He’s added so much to his game this year and I think his progress has been because he’s been able to play in his preferred role on a consistent basis.”

Like the best stand-up comedians, Carragher is blessed with near-perfect timing – illustrated best by a crunching interception on Mateja Kezman – and Benitez can bank on him being utterly reliable in the return leg.

However, Liverpool do have a major problem in that Xabi Alonso will be suspended – “a massive blow“, as Gerrard admitted.

It may have seemed as though the Basque had an unremarkable game in the first leg but there is another school of thought that he was Liverpool’s key player, that the longer the game went on, the more secure was his grip on midfield.

Dietmar Hamann should be fit to take on his role but the onus will fall on Gerrard to be much more influential than he managed on Wednesday night – and indeed in recent weeks.

With Liverpool now needing to win to make it to the final, Benitez will also need to provide more firepower up front and on the evidence of the first leg he could do worse than handing Djibril Cisse the baton from the start and letting the Frenchman provide a physical presence in the way Didier Drogba does for Chelsea.

It would be a huge mistake for Liverpool to think they are now in the box seat but nor should they be daunted, they did enough at Stamford Bridge to show their improbable dream is still alive.

In fact the tie remains thrillingly poised and the second leg should be another fascinating tactical contest between Benitez and Jose Mourinho, whose previous clubs both ended last season with a European trophy and domestic league title double.

Mourinho is adamant Liverpool will find it difficult against his Blues but he must also be worried that Chelsea are beginning to look jaded, and hardly surprising after chasing glory on both Barclays Premiership and European fronts with injuries beginning to take their toll.

Frank Lampard should certainly have scored but there must be concern for Mourinho that his players did not manage a single noteworthy effort on target during the home leg, and it is indisputable they sorely miss Damien Duff and Arjen Robben’s marauding flank play.

It will be difficult, however, for Mourinho to dispense with Joe Cole, who looked Chelsea’s most effective attacker at Stamford Bridge and who afterwards displayed some bravado in looking ahead to Anfield.

Cole said: “We’re not going to panic and will go to Anfield full of confidence. It’ll be a difficult game but they have to come at us as they’re playing at home. That could work in our favour as they’re under pressure but we’ll go out to win the game as we normally do.

“There’s no way that Liverpool are favourites and we’re every bit as much in this game as them.”

Whoever wins, the big danger is that the intensity of this all-England semi-final will adversely affect the victors when it comes to the final – and it looks ominously certain that AC Milan will be waiting in Istanbul.

The major difference between Milan compared to Liverpool and Chelsea was the Italian side’s clinical finishing despite PSV Eindhoven having matched them in the first leg.

What Liverpool and Chelsea would give for an Andriy Shevchenko and, perhaps more to the point, what will Chelsea offer for him in the summer?