STAMFORD BRIDGE BREACHED!!

Stamford Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down...

Stamford Bridge is falling down..bla bla blabla..

Well, the title says it all i guess. 26th October 2008 was a day that many younger Liverpool fans like myself will cherish for a very very long time. We annihilated Chelsea at their home ground where they were unbeaten for 4 YEARS an 8 MONTHS!!(okay..okay, that was an exaggeration) So , Stamford Bridge is a fotress no more. :)

This match was perhaps the biggest match of the season so far as both teams were locked together on the top of the table, still unbeaten after 8 matches. I usually have my own pre-match ritual. Praying, sitting in a lucky spot in the hall of my house. All those kind of things.My hands tend to get cold during big matches but during this game, i was like a normal warm blooded mammal.Probbably due to the fact that my brother bought a Burger King Set meal just minutes before the kick off...so that sort of warmed me up.

Before the match, i watched the pre-match analysis where football pundits and so called football experts predicted the outcome of the match. It was very negative as each and every one of them said that Liverpool were not good enough, blablabla, didn't have Torres, lack strength in depth, balablabla. Alright, time to prove the doubters wrong.

Ok... Straight to the kickoff. I believe Liverpool started the better of the 2 teams, closing down the Chelsea players that got the ball really quickly. 10 minutes into the game, a lucky break for Liverpool. Xabi Alonso's shot somehow got deflected and beat Petr Cech in goal. YESSSS!!! I didn't really celebrate much when the ball went in. It was too early and Chelsea at home were almost unbeatable. After the goal, Liverpool were just defending for the rest of the 1st half. Chelsea rarely threatened Liverpool but they bossed Liverpool around in terms of ball possesion. My dad was starting to criticise Liverpool ( as he always does during matches) but I just turned a deaf ear at all his criticism.

(Liverpool players celebrating after the rather fortunate goal)

First half over, a great relieve for me. Only 45 minutes left but if Liverpool continued to play like they did at the end of the 1st half, it would be just a matter of time for Chelsea to score. Liverpool came out in the second half with more self believe. Whatever Benitez said to the team must have really worked. Gerrard was at the heart of all Liverpool's moves as usual. Kuyt's work rate was immence, Mascherano was awesome, shadowing all the Chelsea attackers and Carragher was the best of the lot... blocking and tackling. Did I mention, Liverpool didn't even have Fernando Torres for the game that day as he was out with a hamstring injury. Awesome stuff! Who says Liverpool are a 2 man team? Midway through the second half, Xabi Alonso came extremely close to doubling Liverpool's lead. arghhh!!! Hit the post!...great freekick anyway, Petr Cech was rooted to the spot.

With 10 minutes remaining, I was starting to feel nervous. I kept on praying so that Liverpool would hold on for a historic victory. Common!!! With 3 minutes to go, i was actually perspiring as if I was the one running on the field at Stamford Bridge. 1 minute to go, Liverpool were still hanging on to the lead. No mistakes pleaseeee!!

Common ref...blow the damn whistle!!

Preet preeeet preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!! (for those of u who don't know, the refree blows the whistle 3 times to signal the end of the game)YESS~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD!! Victory against Chelsea and at Stamford Bridge too.

Liverpool played really well and I can't remember Pepe Reina having a save to make during the game. Credit to Liverpool's strong defence. After the game, I kept on getting sms's from Liverpool fans and also Man U supporters. Historic moment indeed... CHELSEA'S 86 UNBEATEN STREAK AT HOME is OVER!!

Okay, this time I did upload some pictures of the game:).

So, with Liverpool top of the league after 10 games(still 28 games to play), all was well for the fans who have endured 19 long miserable years without the league title. Who knows, maybe after 19 years, Liverpool might win their 19th league title.

NEXT GAME... Totenham vs Liverpool

~You'll Never Walk Alone~