The Kop was entitled to celebrate the victory, but the cheers had been far louder, and less inhibited, at half-time, before Fabio Cannavaro’s header past the young, and chastened, Scott Carson. That precious away goal means that a 1-0 victory will be enough for Juventus and Fabio Capello will not expect his players to be so slow to the challenge as they were in falling two goals behind in an exhilarating first half.
Still, victory was more than most had expected from Rafael Benítez and his players. The previous time these teams had played each other, the Liverpool squad had been forced to contrive a sporting contest amid the carnage of Heysel. Fears that, 20 years on, their successors might be inhibited by all the ceremony could not have been more misplaced.
From the first blow of the Belgian referee’s whistle, Benítez’s men set about treating this tie as 90 minutes to enjoy rather than endure. Their boldness at kick-off was all the more startling when one saw the teamsheet. In the Juventus XI was Gianluigi Buffon, widely regarded as the world’s best goalkeeper and, at £32 million, certainly the most expensive. His opposite number, Carson, 19, had started only two Barclays Premiership matches since his £750,000 transfer from Leeds United. Carson’s inexperience was to show in the end, but not before Juventus had been given a fright.
The half-time scoreline was even more extraordinary when setting Liverpool’s attack, in which Anthony Le Tallec was an unexpected starter, against a Juventus defence that had conceded as many goals by half-time as in eight previous matches in Europe’s premier club competition.
Up front, Milan Baros was living up to his promise to atone for his recent sending-off against Everton as he buzzed around Lilian Thuram and Cannavaro. In midfield, Liverpool were eager and tenacious. That much could be expected of Gerrard, but when Luis García dumped Gianluca Zambrotta, a tank of a left back, on the floor with a full stop of a tackle, Anfield could be sure that every player was giving his all.
García’s challenge was notable, but not nearly as spectacular as his goal. Sami Hyypia had put Liverpool ahead in the tenth minute, when Gerrard’s corner was flicked to the far post. The central defender kept his composure to score with his left foot.
In the 25th minute, García added the second with a wonderful left-foot volley that arced over Buffon from 25 yards. As Anfield admired its beauty, Chelsea supporters may have been wondering why their club had so doggedly pursued Emerson. The Brazil captain made no attempt to close down García, in keeping with a strangely subdued performance.
Capello blamed the cancellation of the weekend’s fixtures — a mark of respect to Pope John Paul II — for his team’s sluggishness. Against a side with class acts such as Pavel Nedved and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, players capable of turning matches in an instant, it was not going to be an easy lead to protect. Within a minute of García’s perfect parabola, Ibrahimovic had struck the foot of Carson’s right-hand post with a shot on the turn.
The retaliation continued with a one-two between Nedved and Alessandro Del Piero. Carson came out to block, but his hopes of keeping his place when Jerzy Dudek recovers from a groin strain may have evaporated with his contribution to the Juventus goal. Undecided over the best means of dealing with Cannavaro’s downward header, the teenager dropped to the ground too slowly and then waved weakly as the bouncing ball beat him.
Benítez would have wanted the match to end there and then. His withdrawal of the now-anonymous Baros was a symbol of Liverpool’s second-half travails as they attempted to fend off the combined attacking threat of Nedved, Ibrahimovic and David Trezeguet, a replacement for the disappointing Del Piero. The mounting pressure was a taste of what is to come.