liverpool-benfica, na imprensa

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É GOLO, É GOLO, YES, YES
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O NOSSO BLOG, PUBLICA
UMA VISTA DE OLHOS PELA IMPREBSA ESTRANGEIRA,
SOBRE O REFLEXO DO ÊXITO DO BENFICA.
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No SKY SPORTS UK
Liverpool surrendered their UEFA Champions League crown with a shot-shy effort at Anfield, but Arsenal saw off Real Madrid. Have your say on the action.


I must confess that whilst watching last night's game I found it very frustrating watching Liverpool go down to a very average Benfica team. Just like Chelsea fans I am sitting here thinking what if? Rafa is a great manager and I'm sure that he is just as frustrated as we are but surely below the surface he must be seething on how certain members of his strike force performed last night. Yes maybe he has to stand up and be counted but when it comes down to it we need a goalscorer and the sooner the better!

No SPORTING LIFE UK

.Ten months of fantasy were left in ruins at Anfield as Liverpool had their fifth European Cup wrenched from their grasp.

But their failure to finish off chances - despite Jamie Carragher and Peter Crouch hitting the post - was again the Achilles heel which left Rafael Benitez's men distraught.

Benfica brought a narrow lead from the first leg, but ultimately deserved to go into the quarter-finals.

Simao Sabrosa, the player Benitez has tried to bring to Anfield, struck with a superb shot in the first half, and despite constant Liverpool pressure, substitute Fabrizio Miccoli grabbed a killer second a minute from time to finish off the holders.

The home side failed to get the early goal they needed and were forever worried about Benfica's ability to hit them on the break - and in the end they did not have enough class and creative flair to prise open the Portuguese side's defence.

Liverpool had defensive problems before the start, with Sami Hyypia only risked on the bench with a hamstring problem and John Arne Riise ruled out for three weeks with a late training injury.

IBenfica had Brazilian star Geovanni back after missing the first leg a fortnight ago in Lisbon with a torn thigh muscle.

Laurent Robert - never known for his tackling at Newcastle and Portsmouth - was booked on 48 seconds for a foul on Warnock.

But with Benfica's quick, skilled attackers, Liverpool needed to be careful of being caught on the break, and Steve Finnan's dithering almost proved costly when Geovanni nipped in - but the hosts got the benefit of a marginal offside decision.

The dangers Benfica could produce were underlined when Geovanni hit the bar and Simao headed the rebound at a grateful Jose Reina.

Little was going Liverpool's way and Crouch was booked for diving after colliding with Leo.

no SPORT 24 (França)



Benfica sort le tenant du titre !
Au cours d’un match tendu, Benfica est passé grâce à la réussite de son gardien et au talent de son capitaine, Simao (0-2). Liverpool, incapable de marquer le moindre but en 180 minutes, perd son titre de champion d’Europe.

D’entrée de jeu, Liverpool imposait sa marque dans une ambiance surchauffée. Anfield avait en effet fait le plein pour cette rencontre et le public mettait rapidement les deux équipes dans le match. Koeman choisissait d’aligner une équipe très offensive, avec Nuno Gomes, Robert, Geovanni et Simao en attaque, un dispositif audacieux qui allait se révéler payant. Dominateurs, les Reds se procuraient logiquement les meilleures occasions. C’était tout d’abord Morientes qui récupérait un bon ballon dos au but à 20 mètres, et qui croisait un peu trop sa frappe (5e).

Simao crucifie les Reds !
De son côté, Benfica jouait ses contres à fond et aurait même pu se procurer plus d’occasions si Robert n’avait pas été mal inspiré sur la plupart des ballons qu’il avait reçus. Sur une longue touche, Simao effectuait un contrôle dos au but et frappait en pivot des 20 mètres, sa frappe trouvant la barre d’un Reina archi battu (30e). Cinq minutes plus tard, Simao retentait sa chance de 25 mètres et trouvait une lucarne splendide (0-1, 36e). Benfica ouvrait le score, contre le cours du jeu, mais avait au moins eu le mérite de ne jamais fermer la partie et de jouer toutes ses occasions à fond. Les Reds encaissaient au passage leur 100e but en coupe d’Europe
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No GUARDIAN
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Simao provides killer blow as Liverpool surrender their title

Liverpool 0 - 2 Benfica (Agg 0 - 3)
Simao 36, Miccoli 89

Dominic Fifield at Anfield
Thursday March 9, 2006
The Guardian


In the end, the European Cup was yielded last night with little more than a whimper. Liverpool's proud defence of the trophy petered out, the holders jettisoned by opponents they would normally have hoped to devour, to leave the Kop offering only wailed defiance and appreciative applause for the Portuguese where once there was vehement belief. All that remains this morning is a numbing sense of what might have been.
That they effectively succumbed here at the hands of a player who might have been one of their own merely added to the deflation engulfing this arena long before the end. So hopeful had Liverpool been that the Portugal winger Simao Sabrosa would move to Merseyside last August that the chief executive Rick Parry had even mischievously suggested the player had been sitting on a plane bound for John Lennon Airport when Benfica suddenly hiked the price and wrecked the proposed £8m deal. In scoring a glorious opening goal here to push this tie away from the hosts, Simao cost Liverpool millions regardless