Reds secure semi-final spot

14 April 2012

Liverpool forced a goalless draw against Italian giants Juventus to ensure Premier League representation in the Champions League final in Istanbul on May 25.

Somehow Rafael Benitez produced a game plan and a streak of sheer defiance in his erratic team to leave Juventus on their knees and out of Europe in front of their own disbelieving supporters.

The Reds now meet Chelsea in a two-legged semi-final on April 27 and May 3, with the second leg at Anfield.

The red heroes were all the unsung defenders; Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore and Steve Finnan, plus the toil of John Arne Riise and the clever, inventive play of Xabi Alonso.

Juventus should have been level on aggregate early on when Zlatan Ibrahimovic met a left-wing cross just six yards out but hoisted his effort over the crossbar.

Luis Garcia and Milan Baros both almost caught the home defence cold with interceptions, but there was little for the front pair to work with, so much were Liverpool on the defensive.

Liverpool should have been ahead early in the second half, a priceless moment that they had been praying for as they defended with their lives.

The ball that created the opening was a peach of a pass from Xabi Alonso to Baros in a couple of yards of space. He held off Paolo Montero as he forced his way into the area but his shot slipped inches wide of the far post.

Juve were now being whistled by their own fans, before Fabio Capello threw on Gianluca Pessotto and Stephen Appiah, searching for inspiration and fresh legs.

But Liverpool fought like tigers and erupted in joy at the final whistle, with an all-English semi-final to look forward to.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in