Wednesday 19 December 2007 19:45 League / Carling Cup 5th Round
"Chelsea"	2 - 0	"Liverpool"
	(0-0)
GOAL
Lampard 58, Shevchenko 89
1  Petr Cech  35  Juliano Belletti  22  Tal Ben-Haim  18  Wayne Bridge   6  Ricardo Carvalho   5  Michael Essien   8  Frank Lampard (c)  12  John Mikel Obi  21  Salomon Kalou   7  Andriy Shevchenko  17  Scott Sinclair  Subs:  23  Carlo Cudicini  20  Paulo Ferreira  13  Michael Ballack  10  Joe Cole   9  Steve Sidwell		30  Charles Itandje  17  Alvaro Arbeloa  46  Jack Hobbs  23  Jamie Carragher (c)  12  Fabio Aurelio  14  Xabi Alonso  22  Mohamed Sissoko  19  Ryan Babel  21  Lucas Leiva  10  Andriy Voronin  15  Peter Crouch  Subs:  40  David Martin   4  Sami Hyypia   6  John Arne Riise  11  Yossi Benayoun  42  Nabil El Zhar
SUBSTITUTIONS
Sinclair (Cole 57)  Obi (Ballack 68)  Shevchenko (Sidwell 90)		Alonso (El Zhar 59)  Babel (Benayoun 73)
OFFICIALS & BOOKINGS
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Booked:		Booked: Alonso 26, Lucas 41, Sissoko 85  Sent Off: Crouch 59
VENUE		MANAGERS
Stamford Bridge (42,449) Attendance: 41,366		Avram Grant (Chelsea) Rafael Benitez (Liverpool)

  Price: J3,00

  CHELSEA 2-0 REDS: THE REPORT

  Liverpool's quest for an eighth League Cup is over for another year after a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in which Peter Crouch saw red.

  Frank Lampard's 58th minute strike - which took a wicked deflection from Jamie Carragher - and a late hit from Andriy Shevchenko gave Avram Grant's side victory in a thrilling quarter-final.

  The Reds had to play the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Crouch was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Mikel.

  The tie could have gone either way before that but Rafa Benitez's men will now have to focus their energies on the three competitions which, at the start of the year, every fan would have labelled the priorities.

  With Sunday's drab defeat to Manchester United still fresh in the memory, Liverpool at least set out to entertain the travelling Kop from the off.

  It took them just eight minutes to find their attacking stride, Lucas - playing in an advanced midfield role for the first time in a red shirt - crafting a chance for Peter Crouch. Unfortunately, the big man dragged his low drive well wide.

  The home side quickly countered with a dangerous strike from Solomon Kalou, who tested Charles Itandje after being put through by Shevchenko.

  Seconds later the ball was back in the Chelsea box when Ryan Babel wriggled past two or three men before failing to find Crouch in acres of space.

  An end to end start, then. The goalmouth action continued with a couple of threatening corners from Frank Lampard right in front of the away fans (who, happily, took no notice of Sol Campbell's plea for a little more respect).

  Xabi Alonso was next to have a pop, though it failed to trouble Petr Cech, with a trademark hit from the half-way line.

  The sell-out crowd hadn't had chance to draw breath when Lampard found himself through following some sloppy play by the otherwise impressive Jack Hobbs.

  Thankfully, the young centre-back had his blushes spared by a fantastic save from Itandje.

  Another trio of Liverpool chances came and went: Lucas should perhaps have scored after a lay off from Crouch; seconds later the big man shouted for a penalty following a barge from Tal Ben Haim; then Alonso came close with a low volley from outside the box. How was it still 0-0?

  Michael Essien, who'll soon be on his way to the African nations, came within inches of breaking the deadlock on 36 minutes with a great volley from distance. Just wide.

  The game had everything except a goal, even an extravagant flick from Momo Sissoko which, had his teammates been on the same wavelength, could have produced something special.

  It all made for a cracking atmosphere, despite the arctic conditions. The away fans were in particularly impressive form even without the scores who were forced to turn back due to an accident on the M40.

  The ones who did make it had their hearts in their mouths on 54 minutes when Essien looked to have opened the scoring from distance. It was that man Itandje - who's known as The Cat at Melwood - who came to the Reds' rescue with a save that did his nickname justice.

  The second half was picking up where the first left off, with the next chance falling to Crouch after a mistake from Ricardo Carvalho. The England striker tried to lob it over Cech but, ironically, he couldn't find enough height.

  Then came the opener thanks to a massive piece of luck, Lampard the beneficiary of a hefty deflection from Carragher which took his shot over the helpless Itandje.

  It went from bad to worse almost immediately for Rafa Benitez's side when Martin Atkinson, with 30 minutes remaining, flashed a straight red at Crouch for a two-footed challenge on Mikel. It was a wild attempt to get the ball, but Avram Grant's over-the-top protests were an unnecessary addition to proceedings.

  The game took a while to settle after the sending off, with the Reds failing to create another serious chance until substitute Nabil El Zhar hit a low shot wide on 77 minutes.

  There was plenty of huff and puff but it was always going to be difficult to overturn a deficit in an arena where the home side have now failed to lose in 51 games.

  Shevchenko doubled Chelsea's advantage on 89 minutes, hitting the ball past Itandje from a tight angle.

  The return of Alonso will provide some comfort ahead of a busy Christmas period, as will decent performances from Lucas, Hobbs, Itandje and Aurelio.

  Stay logged on to Liverpoolfc.tv on Thursday for highlights of the game.

  Teams

  Chelsea: Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Haim, Belletti, Sinclair, Lampard (c), Obi Mikel, Essien, Kalou, Schevchenko. Subs - Ballack, Cole, Cudicini, Ferreira, Sidwell.

  Liverpool: Itandje, Aurelio, Carragher (c), Hobbs, Arbeloa, Babel, Alonso, Leiva, Sissoko, Crouch, Voronin. Subs - Benayoun, El Zhar, Hyypia, Martin, Riise.

  Referee: CHELSEA 2-0 REDS: THE REPORT

Liverpool's quest for an eighth League Cup is over for another year after a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in which Peter Crouch saw red.

Frank Lampard's 58th minute strike - which took a wicked deflection from Jamie Carragher - and a late hit from Andriy Shevchenko gave Avram Grant's side victory in a thrilling quarter-final.

The Reds had to play the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Crouch was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Mikel.

The tie could have gone either way before that but Rafa Benitez's men will now have to focus their energies on the three competitions which, at the start of the year, every fan would have labelled the priorities.

With Sunday's drab defeat to Manchester United still fresh in the memory, Liverpool at least set out to entertain the travelling Kop from the off.

It took them just eight minutes to find their attacking stride, Lucas - playing in an advanced midfield role for the first time in a red shirt - crafting a chance for Peter Crouch. Unfortunately, the big man dragged his low drive well wide.

The home side quickly countered with a dangerous strike from Solomon Kalou, who tested Charles Itandje after being put through by Shevchenko.

Seconds later the ball was back in the Chelsea box when Ryan Babel wriggled past two or three men before failing to find Crouch in acres of space.

An end to end start, then. The goalmouth action continued with a couple of threatening corners from Frank Lampard right in front of the away fans (who, happily, took no notice of Sol Campbell's plea for a little more respect).

Xabi Alonso was next to have a pop, though it failed to trouble Petr Cech, with a trademark hit from the half-way line.

The sell-out crowd hadn't had chance to draw breath when Lampard found himself through following some sloppy play by the otherwise impressive Jack Hobbs.

Thankfully, the young centre-back had his blushes spared by a fantastic save from Itandje.

Another trio of Liverpool chances came and went: Lucas should perhaps have scored after a lay off from Crouch; seconds later the big man shouted for a penalty following a barge from Tal Ben Haim; then Alonso came close with a low volley from outside the box. How was it still 0-0?

Michael Essien, who'll soon be on his way to the African nations, came within inches of breaking the deadlock on 36 minutes with a great volley from distance. Just wide.

The game had everything except a goal, even an extravagant flick from Momo Sissoko which, had his teammates been on the same wavelength, could have produced something special.

It all made for a cracking atmosphere, despite the arctic conditions. The away fans were in particularly impressive form even without the scores who were forced to turn back due to an accident on the M40.

The ones who did make it had their hearts in their mouths on 54 minutes when Essien looked to have opened the scoring from distance. It was that man Itandje - who's known as The Cat at Melwood - who came to the Reds' rescue with a save that did his nickname justice.

The second half was picking up where the first left off, with the next chance falling to Crouch after a mistake from Ricardo Carvalho. The England striker tried to lob it over Cech but, ironically, he couldn't find enough height.

Then came the opener thanks to a massive piece of luck, Lampard the beneficiary of a hefty deflection from Carragher which took his shot over the helpless Itandje.

It went from bad to worse almost immediately for Rafa Benitez's side when Martin Atkinson, with 30 minutes remaining, flashed a straight red at Crouch for a two-footed challenge on Mikel. It was a wild attempt to get the ball, but Avram Grant's over-the-top protests were an unnecessary addition to proceedings.

The game took a while to settle after the sending off, with the Reds failing to create another serious chance until substitute Nabil El Zhar hit a low shot wide on 77 minutes.

There was plenty of huff and puff but it was always going to be difficult to overturn a deficit in an arena where the home side have now failed to lose in 51 games.

Shevchenko doubled Chelsea's advantage on 89 minutes, hitting the ball past Itandje from a tight angle.

The return of Alonso will provide some comfort ahead of a busy Christmas period, as will decent performances from Lucas, Hobbs, Itandje and Aurelio.

Stay logged on to Liverpoolfc.tv on Thursday for highlights of the game.

Teams

Chelsea: Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Haim, Belletti, Sinclair, Lampard (c), Obi Mikel, Essien, Kalou, Schevchenko. Subs - Ballack, Cole, Cudicini, Ferreira, Sidwell.

Liverpool: Itandje, Aurelio, Carragher (c), Hobbs, Arbeloa, Babel, Alonso, Leiva, Sissoko, Crouch, Voronin. Subs - Benayoun, El Zhar, Hyypia, Martin, Riise.

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Conditions: Unavailable

Attendance: Unavailable

Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Lucas

Breakdown

19:50 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Chelsea get the quarter final underway after a delay following an injury to the linesman
2 mins : Chelsea win the game's first corner as Arbeloa heads behind Belletti's cross
3 mins : Good punch from Itandje to clear the danger after the corner
5 mins : Shevchenko is fouled by Lucas giving Chelsea a free kick on the edge of the box
6 mins : Lampard's free kick is tame and hits the wall
8 mins : Lucas does well to win the ball for Crouch but the striker's effort is wild and well off target
11 mins : Itandje makes the game's first save as he palms away a Kalou shot for a corner
14 mins : Babel does well down the left but then lets himself down with a poor ball into the box with teammates waiting
21 mins : Kalou glances a header wide of the far post from a well flighted corner
25 mins : Best chance of the game as Lampard is clear on goal but Itandje makes a smart save to keep the scores level
27 mins : Lucas misses a great chance when he shoots at Cech from close range. Great chance gone for us
28 mins : First Booking: Xabi Alonso:
32 mins : Alonso drives a volley just wide as Liverpool start to really impose themselves on the match
36 mins : Essien smashes a volley wide but Kalou was in an offside position anyway
41 mins : First Booking: Lucas Leiva:
45 mins : Sissoko falls over in the area as a promising Liverpool move comes to an end. Voronin follows up with a shot wide
20:36 GMT : Half Time Reached

20:54 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : Liverpool get the second period underway
47 mins : Belletti's wild shot is deflected behind for a Chelsea corner
48 mins : Babel has a chance to launch an attack but the ball isn't good and Chelsea clear
52 mins : Lampard has loads of space outside the area but fails to test Itandje with a poor shot which flies well over the bar
53 mins : Essien drives a ball towards the far corner which Itandje turns away to safety
55 mins : A chance at the other end this time as Babel crosses from the left and Voronin controls before driving left footed over the goal
57 mins : Poor backheader from Carvalho gives Crouch a chance but he can't make the most of it as Chelsea clear
58 mins : Kalou tries to bend the ball into the far corner and just misses the target
59 mins : Substitution: Joe Cole for Scott Sinclair:
60 mins : GOAL! Frank Lampard: Lampard's shot takes a wicked deflection off Carragher before looping into the back of the net
60 mins : Sending Off: Peter Crouch: Wild tackle on Mikel
61 mins : Substitution: Nabil El Zhar for Xabi Alonso:
64 mins : Itandje is in the game again as he palms away another Lampard shot
67 mins : Substitution: Michael Ballack for John Obi Mikel:
73 mins : Substitution: Yossi Benayoun for Ryan Babel:
77 mins : El Zhar has a sight of goal but he fails to hit the target with a poor right footed shot
79 mins : Voronin has space down the right and in the absence of any support he goes for goal but fires well wide
83 mins : Cole gets in behind the Liverpool defence but his shot is awful
85 mins : First Booking: Momo Sissoko:
86 mins : Shevchenko goes close with a free kick which flies past the post
90 mins : GOAL! Andrei Schevchenko: Shevchenko smashes home at the near post to kill the game in Chelsea's favour
90 mins : Substitution: Steve Sidwell for Andrei Schevchenko:
21:42 GMT : Match Over

  Conditions: Unavailable

  Attendance: Unavailable

  Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Lucas

  Breakdown

19:50 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Chelsea get the quarter final underway after a delay following an injury to the linesman
2 mins : Chelsea win the game's first corner as Arbeloa heads behind Belletti's cross
3 mins : Good punch from Itandje to clear the danger after the corner
5 mins : Shevchenko is fouled by Lucas giving Chelsea a free kick on the edge of the box
6 mins : Lampard's free kick is tame and hits the wall
8 mins : Lucas does well to win the ball for Crouch but the striker's effort is wild and well off target
11 mins : Itandje makes the game's first save as he palms away a Kalou shot for a corner
14 mins : Babel does well down the left but then lets himself down with a poor ball into the box with teammates waiting
21 mins : Kalou glances a header wide of the far post from a well flighted corner
25 mins : Best chance of the game as Lampard is clear on goal but Itandje makes a smart save to keep the scores level
27 mins : Lucas misses a great chance when he shoots at Cech from close range. Great chance gone for us
28 mins : First Booking: Xabi Alonso:
32 mins : Alonso drives a volley just wide as Liverpool start to really impose themselves on the match
36 mins : Essien smashes a volley wide but Kalou was in an offside position anyway
41 mins : First Booking: Lucas Leiva:
45 mins : Sissoko falls over in the area as a promising Liverpool move comes to an end. Voronin follows up with a shot wide
20:36 GMT : Half Time Reached

20:54 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : Liverpool get the second period underway
47 mins : Belletti's wild shot is deflected behind for a Chelsea corner
48 mins : Babel has a chance to launch an attack but the ball isn't good and Chelsea clear
52 mins : Lampard has loads of space outside the area but fails to test Itandje with a poor shot which flies well over the bar
53 mins : Essien drives a ball towards the far corner which Itandje turns away to safety
55 mins : A chance at the other end this time as Babel crosses from the left and Voronin controls before driving left footed over the goal
57 mins : Poor backheader from Carvalho gives Crouch a chance but he can't make the most of it as Chelsea clear
58 mins : Kalou tries to bend the ball into the far corner and just misses the target
59 mins : Substitution: Joe Cole for Scott Sinclair:
60 mins : GOAL! Frank Lampard: Lampard's shot takes a wicked deflection off Carragher before looping into the back of the net
60 mins : Sending Off: Peter Crouch: Wild tackle on Mikel
61 mins : Substitution: Nabil El Zhar for Xabi Alonso:
64 mins : Itandje is in the game again as he palms away another Lampard shot
67 mins : Substitution: Michael Ballack for John Obi Mikel:
73 mins : Substitution: Yossi Benayoun for Ryan Babel:
77 mins : El Zhar has a sight of goal but he fails to hit the target with a poor right footed shot
79 mins : Voronin has space down the right and in the absence of any support he goes for goal but fires well wide
83 mins : Cole gets in behind the Liverpool defence but his shot is awful
85 mins : First Booking: Momo Sissoko:
86 mins : Shevchenko goes close with a free kick which flies past the post
90 mins : GOAL! Andrei Schevchenko: Shevchenko smashes home at the near post to kill the game in Chelsea's favour
90 mins : Substitution: Steve Sidwell for Andrei Schevchenko:
21:42 GMT : Match Over

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