Match Reports
Galatasaray 1-1 Liverpool Liverpool came back from a goal down for the second game in a row, to earn a well deserved point in Istanbul. Despite the hostile atmosphere of the Ali Sami Yen stadium, Liverpool looked settled very early in the game and it was just a couple of minutes in when the first chance arrived for them. Danny Murphy was recklessly brought down outside the area, but Didi Hamann's free kick was deflected away for a corner by a wall which was considerably short of 10 yards from the ball, when Hamann struck the shot. Both sides needed 3 points, and it was clear from early on in the match that both Gala and Liverpool were going to try and get forward as often as possible. Galatasaray almost struck the first goal though, when a shot by Arif was brilliantly tipped away by Kirkland, who was again deputising for the injured Dudek. By the quarter hour mark though, Liverpool could have taken the lead themselves. Riise charged down the left hand side and won a low cross was turned behind for a Liverpool corner, which Danny Murphy crossed in for Riise to head the ball goalwards, but Mondragon was down quickly to make a decent stop right on the goal line. A five minute spell of pressure from the home side followed though, and Liverpool were extremely lucky to see the score at nil-nil after a long range shot by Erkan had been parried by Kirkland, and despite reacting slowly to the follow up shot, Kirkland somehow got his hands to the ball and blocked the second shot to concede a corner. The next few minutes then brought the best chances of the game for each side. Firstly, after a good counter attack, Owen picked out Smicer who was making a run into the penalty area and had only the keeper to beat. Smicer tried to place a shot wide of the keeper and into the far corner, but hit a shot with little power and even though Mondragon made the block, the ball wouldnt have had enough pace to beat the recovering defender anyway. Galatasaray then went even closer at the other end. An attempted clearance by Carragher was sliced up into the air and behind him, forcing Kirkland into a brave challenge to clear the ball, but it was headed back towards goal, with Sami Hyypia required to block the attempt on goal, but again it landed at the feet of a Galatasaray forward, and Kirkland made a terrific one handed save to turn away an effort which was heading for the top corner. If there was ever any doubts on his ability to handle such big games with experience mainly of reserve team football, then he had done enough in the opening half an hour to disprove those doubts. A shot by Owen which curled just beyond the far post, after he had done well to create space for himself, and a wild long range shot from Galatasaray completed the action for the first half. Liverpool, and Michael Owen in particular, started the second half as the ended the first - with an attempt on the Galatasaray goal. Owen carried the ball into the area before unleashing a shot from a tight angle, which Mondragon was equal to as he produced a block with his feet. The game quietened down a little though, until the 70th minute when the home team went in front. A well placed cross found the head of Romanian forward, Niculescu, and he powered an accurate header past Kirkland. With Roma leading 2-0 against Barcelona, defeat for Liverpool would have left their Champions League ambitions in tatters, and it looked as though nothing was going right for Liverpool when Smicer missed a sitter just a minute after the Gala goal. A cross found Smicer just 5 yards from goal and the Czech international somehow failed to even hit the target as he attempted to place the ball in the corner. Smicer was immediately withdrawn fromt he action, and Jari Litmanen was given a rare appearance on the pitch and he didnt disappoint. Just minutes after making his entrance, Litmanen fed a short pass to Heskey in the area, and Heskey rifled a shot high into the goal, giving Mondragon no chance and grabbing the all important equaliser for Liverpool, which is how the game ended. It was a richly deserved point for Liverpool, and even though they remain bottom of the group, they have Barcelona to face next, and a win in the Nou Camp will see Liverpool leapfrog Barca in the table. Roma's 3-0 win over Barcelona leaves them in top spot in the group. View match pictures from this game!
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