Source: Daily_Mail
Martin Samuel: Strife for Riley as one wrong red tips scales
John Terry had strong words with referee Mike Riley after Chelsea's defeat at Anfield[LNB] John Terry, the Chelsea[LNB]captain, indulged in football's favourite exercise in futility on the final whistle, remonstrating with a referee over a decision long gone.[LNB] [LNB]Mike Riley, tiring of the argument, waved him away with no little irritation. What was Terry saying? No doubt, echoing the voice of many neutrals, he was pointing out that the sending-off of Frank Lampard was erroneous and had decided the game.[LNB]We have been here before, more than once. The problem is that when two teams meet who are as evenly matched as Liverpool[LNB]and Chelsea have been in recent seasons, the margins of separation are so minute that only random factors decide the event: a ghost goal, an own goal, a red card wrongly brandished.[LNB]The referee is quite frequently the most influential figure in the game and so it proved again.[LNB]Lampard did not deserve to be sent off for his challenge on Xabi Alonso in the 60th minute; Jose Bosingwa did when he raised a leg to kick Yossi Benayoun into touch with a minute remaining and even Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, admitted this.[LNB] Yet on such haphazard moments, fortune turns. Liverpool were the better team on Sunday, before Lampard was dismissed and afterwards, but whether they would have won had Chelsea kept 11 on the field is another matter.[LNB] Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0: All the action as it happened[LNB]Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0: Torres at the double to put Merseysiders two points behind leaders as Lampard sees red[LNB]Graham Poll: Riley in the wrong - Lampard red card must be rescinded and Bosingwa should be charged[LNB]You just cost us the title: Chelsea boss Scolari's fury at Lampard red card[LNB]CHELSEA FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB]LIVERPOOL FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB][LNB]Until Lampard went, Liverpool had forced one proper save from Petr Cech; with Chelsea numerically challenged, however, the home team ran riot and could have won by more.[LNB] [LNB]It has been asked in recent weeks why Howard Webb seems to referee all the biggest matches these days and here was the answer. Oh brother, Riley, at it again.[LNB]Often accused of being susceptible to home influence, by devaluing Liverpool's victory, in spirit at least, he did the club a disservice.[LNB]They were better than Chelsea throughout and may have got a win under their own steam in the final 30 minutes: instead it was handed to them by a hasty overreaction.[LNB] Frank Lampard was controversially sent off at Anfield[LNB] There is a history between Lampard and Alonso, as all would be aware, and when the pair went toe to toe in a challenge on the hour, it was clearly going to be with no quarter given.[LNB]Lampard arrived studs up, Alonso not entirely on time. It could easily have been a booking, or a foul, either way, depending on the angle or interpretation.[LNB]What it certainly was not was a straight red card. Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, acknowledged that.[LNB]Considering when Bosingwa planted the sole of his boot in Benayoun's back and toe-ended him off the pitch, Riley did not even award a free -kick to Liverpool, it makes one wonder whether referees can distinguish between the crass and the callous these days.[LNB] [LNB]Reduced, all Chelsea's frailties were exposed. No one will know what the result would have been, 11 against 11, but a verdict can still be passed on the performance and it was not good.[LNB]Chelsea did not threaten Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal all game and if the hope at Stamford Bridge is that a rejuvenated Didier Drogba will appear in the latter half of the season, chastened and ready to give his all for the team, this would have made dispiriting viewing.[LNB] [LNB]Drogba arrived in the 69th minute, when Scolari clearly needed a striker who would selflessly occupy Liverpool, put himself about and be of nuisance value as Chelsea mounted a rearguard action.[LNB] Fernando Torres scored twice late on to give Liverpool a deserved win[LNB]He got a pouting, flouncing lightweight, a poseur, just at a time when Liverpool's top performers were offering substance.[LNB]Fernando Torres finished the game and quite possibly Chelsea's serious contribution to the title race, brilliantly, while Steven Gerrard upped the tempo at the flick of a switch, just as Lampard, his England teammate, suggested he would.[LNB] [LNB]Nicolas Anelka was largely anonymous for Chelsea[LNB] Shorn of Lampard, who was having a tough time with Javier Mascherano as it was, Chelsea have no performers in that class right now.[LNB]Nicolas Anelka was largely anonymous, while Michael Ballack let another big game pass him by. Deco showed sparks of brilliance as a substitute, but illuminated only briefly.[LNB]The transfer window will close without improvement to Scolari's squad, so this is what Chelsea are left with and it is not enough.[LNB]It is also not beyond the realms of imagination that they, alone will be the English team needing to pre-qualify for next season's revamped Champions League, if Aston Villa can slip into third place.[LNB]At the moment the teams are tied on points and Scolari may need to make swatting Martin O'Neill's wasps a priority, rather then going after big game in the form of Manchester United.[LNB]Sir Alex Ferguson now has five points on Chelsea with a game in hand and, if Fulham lose at Old Trafford on February 18, the gap at the top would be ominous.[LNB]Liverpool celebrated as if this was a result of great significance, but it is still United's title to lose and all that is altering is the size of the chasing pack.[LNB]Ferguson will not be unduly worried by events at Anfield, just as many will not be unduly surprised to hear of a key decision to the home team, awarded by one of his favourite referees.[LNB] Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0: All the action as it happened[LNB]Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0: Torres at the double to put Merseysiders two points behind leaders as Lampard sees red[LNB]Graham Poll: Riley in the wrong - Lampard red card must be rescinded and Bosingwa should be charged[LNB]You just cost us the title: Chelsea boss Scolari's fury at Lampard red card[LNB]CHELSEA FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB]LIVERPOOL FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB]
