From the agonies of the Riverside follows the joys of Sunderland, Madrid and the seventy seven minute game at Old Trafford (if you were a home supporter) and, for once, I've come to praise Rafa, not to bury him.
You know you're doing something right when two four goal salvos are followed by the 'why can't they do that every week?' question? Is that all you have to ask, Mr Shreeves/Keys/Gray? To find a negative from the last two performances shows a tired agenda of criticism. Noticeably, the night after Madrid praised the progress of the four English clubs as we were a party of four rather than a nation of one. I don't care about media criticism as no one can moan about Liverpool more than I (I have medals) and one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a Red is finding which dark place the nay-sayers are hiding after an impressive victory or which straw is being clung to. Remember Jose after the 2006 Old Trafford semi? We played them off the park with a sublime performance from one Harold Kewell. As we edged our way into the M6 traffic my mates and I speculated on the manner of his excuse, as we knew there'd be no praise for us or criticism about his own side. We cheered when the answer came - "We were the better team?" Curiously, Ferguson said a similar thing on Saturday despite three of his back four making Dawn French sized errors. Well, let's get back to him later and begin with Madrid.
The Spanish papers and quotes bore the hallmarks of ignorance. It's okay to talk of 'We know that it's Anfield but this is Madrid' if they've actually scored against us in their history. Come Tuesday night one fact shone out. Andrea Dossena has scored more goals against Real Madrid than Real Madrid have ever scored against Liverpool. Impressive stuff. By the weekend he's also scored more goals against Man United than Rooney, the controversial Red hater(!), had scored against Liverpool this season. Okay, I'm clutching at straws with that one.
Madrid came with empty promises and little to brag about. Robben is a gifted player despite his loathsome reputation and to see him squirm on our pitch again was well worth the admission money while Raul was merely a name on the back of a shirt. Only Casillas stood out as being worthy of his club's name. It's not often that a keeper who has conceded four goals is applauded without sarcasm. Speaking of applause, The Kop's ovation when Madrid took to the field was a bygone of a previous era. We've never played them before in a tie and that applause was a nod to their record. I loved that. Sometimes, Anfield gets it very, very right indeed.
It's hard to find the ultimate moment at the United game. The shake up beforehand thanks to Alf's injury, Sami's performance, Torres slide to the corner, Gerrard's re-make of Rodin's 'The Kiss', Rooney's Lip Reading Made Easy Course (I feel the same way about you) or the silence that followed Fabio's goal could all be winners but for me it would be the second Andrea Dossena 'what do I do now?' celebration in a week - a simple reminder that football is agony and joyous and occasionally very, very funny.
This is the strangest season I can remember. For every Madrid, Chelsea, United and Newcastle game we've had there's been a Wigan, Stoke, Fulham and West Ham to match it. I suppose there's a karma to it all somewhere. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, the happiness now is part of the pain then.
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