Atletico Madrid 1 Liverpool 1

Two points lost! That's according to Rafa. However, equal on 7 points with Atletico and standing top of the table leave Liverpool rather comfortable to qualify by the next game against Atletico at Anfield. A draw away from home against one of the dark horses of this competition and join favourites with Liverpool to qualify from this group is not at all a bad result.

Before the start, Rafa made a surprise by leaving on-form Kuyt on the bench. I guess it was a decision made with the consideration of the massive top-table clash on the coming weekend against Chelsea. Without Torres, Keane and Kuyt are crucial in helping Liverpool sustain their unbeaten run.

Playing in the Calderon, it was noisy! The fans were truly as vocal as they have been portrayed. In the first half, Liverpool dominated the game. They passed around well and challenged for the ball constantly. Atletico found it hard to keep the ball. However, they still managed to get some chances up front. For Liverpool, they too have their chances in front of goal. In the 14th minute, Keane was put through by Gerrard and he coolly slot the ball pass the onrushing 'keeper to score the opener. It is his second goal in the Champions League but he has yet to score for Liverpool in the league. Replay suggested that Keane was slightly offside but that's football. Some decisions go your way and some just don't.

"Keane opens the scoring!"

Minutes later, Keane could have doubled his tally. Again, Gerrard was the creator. He received the ball on the right wing and saw the opportunity to cross in low in between the defenders and 'keeper. Keane reacted to it and should have connected with the ball with a simple side foot to put the ball into the net. However, he chose to be a little bit fanciful with it and wasted the chance by missing the ball completely. If that have gone in, the game would have been pretty much settled. It could have won the game for Liverpool.

Liverpool lost their way a little in the second half with the introduction of Sergio Aguero for Atletico. Liverpool were further hit after 7 minutes with an injury to Keane. With some tired legs and knocks, Gerrard and Alonso were also substituted out earlier than the usual time Rafa would make a substitution. Again, this decision was probably made in precaution for the Chelsea game. I am sure Rafa wants as many fit players as possible facing Chelsea.

"Benayoun with Kuyt's work ethics on the night!"

In the 49th minute, Benayoun was put through by Keane and he turned to score. However, he was judged to be offside. This decision was debatable as replays showed he was actually marginally onside. Such dubious decision worked in the way for Liverpool later as Maniche looked to have scored for Atletico but was judged offside. Like I said earlier, such is football where decisions may not always be right but work both way for and against you. On the night we got to see various bad offside calls. The only positive was probably the spot on referee who caught the divers. It was a shame though we saw players going down looking for a foul from both sides!

With a resurgent Altetico in the second half, Liverpool managed to hang on to their lead. However, that ended in the 83rd minute when Simao scored from a mistake by Carragher. With that, the game ended with a point each. Based on the chances Atletico got in the second period, Liverpool would be considered lucky to come away with that one point. However, for Rafa, to concede after leading for a majority of the game was two points lost. On the night, it was probably fair that the points are shared. With Aguero not really fit and Torres out of this game, the tie probably did not produce as much excitement up front as people expected. In the return match at Anfield, both players should feature and maybe we will get to see a more exciting match especially and hopefully for Liverpool!


"You'll Never Walk Alone"