I have been waiting many weeks to reveal this stat. Fernando Torres has scored 4 goals this season at an average of 0.16 goals per match. Martin Skrtel has scored 7 goals this season at an average of 0.21 goals per match. Our central defender is a better striker than our former forward this season. In fact Skrtel has scored more goals than Demba Ba as well this term, with Samual Eto’o having scored only two goals more than our Slovakian defender.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to Sunderland in their last match, bringing an end to the Whinging One's proud undefeated home record. To make that result even more enjoyable for me, that winning goal was scored by a Liverpool player, Fabio Borini. Perhaps the most important goal for us this season.
But this season is not done yet. We took a comfortable lead against Norwich in our match, only for what I view as complacency, to almost cost us the three points. We cannot allow ourselves to become over confident. Over cocky. This league title is not won yet. We have scrapped through our last two matches but we need to be more solid against Mourinho’s men.
Chelsea have played to a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening, but lost Terry and Cech to injuries during that match. Mourinho has since come out and implied that he plans to field a weaker team against Liverpool with his focus being on the return Champions League tie. But we know better than to believe anything Mourinho says.
So how do we beat them?
“It is there to remind the players who they’re playing for and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against.”
These are the words of the legendary Bill Shankly talking about the famous “This is Anfield” sign. Chelsea’s visit to Anfield is perhaps one of the most important matches in the history of Liverpool Football Club.
Without a doubt, the most important match in the last 24 years. We are so close to the league title, that we can smell it around the corner. Our last home match was against Manchester City and I have never, in my entire life, heard an Anfield crowd as loud as they were in that game. I felt as if I could have stood outside my home in Johannesburg, and still hear the voices of the Kop washing over African shores, like a Red Tide.
BUT THAT IS NOT LOUD ENOUGH THIS WEEK.
The moment that Chelsea bus arrives on Merseyside, they need to know where they are. They need to be reminded who they are playing against. The scouse voice, both local and international must be deafening. It must make the lungs of their players reverberate so hard, that they will struggle to breath. This is how we beat Chelski.
My fellow Reds, we have walked on through the wind of the last 24 years. We have walked on through the rain of trophies that have gone to Man United, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea. We can not deny the fact that our dreams have been tossed and blown. But we continued to walk on with hope in our heart. We walked on from Merseyside to Malaysia, we walked on from the Kop Stand in Anfield to the SpionKop Hill in Kwazulu-Natal. We have walked on from Liverpool to Lima, Peru.
And against Chelsea on Sunday, we need to remind those eleven men on the field wearing that famous red shirt, that we are still walking with them. That they are not fighting alone. That our voice are louder than Abramovich’s cheque book opening. Let them all hear us. Let Real Madrid hear our war cry. Let Bayern Munich hear it. Let Barcalona, Juventus, PSG, AC Milan and all the rest of the Champions League teams hear our voices. Let them hear our warning - that next year, we are coming for them.
But for this week, let us use our voices to remind our players who they’re playing for and remind Chelsea who they are playing against. To remind Mourinho and his boys where they stand. THIS IS ANFIELD!
And our competitors…
Man City face a difficult task on Sunday when they visit Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace are on a run of 5 straight wins, and Pellegrini’s men would be foolish to believe that this match is a ‘gimme’. Palace have beaten Everton and Chelsea in their last five matches, with the win against Chelsea coming at home. Palace have the capability of causing an upset in this match, however, I am concerned by the scenes at the end of their last match. The players looked as if they were celebrating the end of their season. This makes me question whether or not they will be up for the match. If Palace can beat Man City and we beat Chelsea, we will be only one point away from securing the league title. The stakes could not be higher.