Night two in the Champions League as Keane breaks his duck, Gerrard breaks the 100 mark and Drogba almost breaks his knee.
Here’s the notes…
Liverpool 3 PSV 1
Rafa made just one change to the side that took the field against Everton – Aurellio promoted from the subs bench to take the left back spot with Dossena dropped to the bench. Mascherano was fit to return but also found himself on the bench alongside Benayoun and Babel.
A night of celebration at Anfield, as Gerrard scored his 100th goal for the club, while Keane grabbed his belated first goal to calm the doubters somewhat.
Kuyt got the scoring underway firing home after Torres saw his shot saved. Torres later turned provider again with the assist for Keane’s strike. Gerrard then came onto the scene, stepping up at a free-kick, tapped to him by Aurellio, to smash home his century goal.
Big relief for Keane then – we’ll see if that goal will lift his performances and fantasy output, with Rafa surely unlikely to rest him at City, despite the temptation to shore things up with five in midfield against their attacking threat.
Riera looked strong tonight – he appears to have settled well and will surely relish a return to his former club this weekend. Torres meanwhile, is clearly sharpening up rather nicely – he failed to get on the scoresheet but notched a pair of assists and threatened throughout. He looks a strong prospect for those Ronaldo non-believers who want to keep the funds tied up in a single player elsewhere in their squads – just in case.
Lineup
Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Aurelio, Kuyt, Gerrard (Babel 81), Alonso, Riera (Benayoun 68), Torres, Keane (Leiva Lucas 75)
Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Mascherano.
CFR Cluj 0 Chelsea 0
Scolari made one change from the side against Stoke – Bridge coming in for Ashley Cole who missed the game with lower back trouble apparently. Joe Cole failed to make it – he is still struggling with a hip/thigh injury.
A frustrating night for the blues in Transylvania then, capped by a serious injury to Drogba. The Romanian’s defended deep and Chelsea struggled to create chances. Anelka’s introduction and a shift to 4-4-2 improved things, but just minutes later, Chelsea lost Drogba – an injury which clearly had an influence on the game which just petered out from that point on.
Lampard was the stand out performer for Chelsea again, as he continues to impress under Scolari. That’s nothing new of course but the impact of Drogba’s injury could offer some new potential for fantasy managers in the form of Ballack. He was pushed up just behind Anelka once Drogba had departed and with Deco absent for this weekend at least, it will be interesting to see if the German midfielder is given more attacking licence against Villa.
Anelka is surely a certain starter for that game. Joe Cole could make a return – he is due to return to training tomorrow when we should hear more on Drogba’s situation.
Lineup
Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Bridge, Mikel, Kalou (Anelka 46), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda (Di Santo 74), Drogba (Belletti 57).
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Ivanovic, Ferreira, Stoch.
Injuries and Bans
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now – Chelsea lost Didier Drogba early in the first half to what has been confirmed as a knee ligament injury. The club will assess the injury further on Thursday but right now an absence of around two months is expected.
