THE memories of recent past may remain fresh in the mind, but it’s the future that will be the only concern to Liverpool when they return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
A bitterly disappointing evening in April saw Rafael Benitez’s side denied a third Champions League final appearance in four years by a 3-2 win for Chelsea after extra-time.
The teams cross swords for the first time since on Sunday in a meeting of the early Premier League pace-setters.
And while the immediate stakes may not be quite as high this time around, the fixture represents an opportunity for either side to post a significant marker in the championship race.
“What happened against Chelsea last season won’t have an influence on this game, I am sure of that,” says Xabi Alonso, who will be expected to pull the strings in midfield for Liverpool on Sunday.
“This is a different season, there are different players on both sides, a different manager at Chelsea and we can only focus on what happens during this game.
“We won’t prepare for this game thinking about the Champions League semi-final or by using that for extra motivation.
“I don’t think you can compare this game with what happened at Stamford Bridge last season. This is a new season and both teams have new targets to concentrate on and because of that, anything can happen on Sunday.”
Both teams are looking to protect an unbeaten start to the season with Liverpool having lost only four of their last 47 league games.
“We won’t be going to Stamford Bridge with any fear,” says Alonso. “We respect them as a very good side but we are confident in our own ability and we believe we can win.
“They have shown great form in recent weeks and we expect a tough game, but we go into every game expecting to win now and Sunday will be no different.”
Four of Liverpool’s six league wins have come after the Anfield outfit had fallen behind, but Alonso admits Benitez’s side cannot afford a similarly slow start on Sunday.
“What we cannot afford to do against Chelsea though is start as slowly as we have done in some games,” he says. “We need to concentrate fully for 90 minutes because the quality of their players means they can punish you at any time.
“Fernando Torres will be a big loss against Chelsea but we know we can manage the situation, we have to, and we have more strength in depth and more confidence now than we have had before.
“After the results we have had this season we are right to be confident.”
Liverpool edged a step nearer qualification from the group stages of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Robbie Keane’s early opener had looked set to earn the visitors victory until Anfield manager Benitez, with one eye on Sunday’s assignment, substituted Keane, Alonso and skipper Steven Gerrard and Atletico grabbed a late equaliser through Simao.
“We had a good 60 minutes against Atletico and we can take a lot of confidence from going to a difficult place like that and playing so well, but in the latter part of the game we did have a lot more problems,” says Alonso. “We were very pleased with how the first half had gone at half-time, we had managed the situation, we were in control of the game and we scored a good goal through Robbie.
“In the end we are disappointed with the draw but to be honest that was probably a fair result.”
Liverpool welcome Atletico on Tuesday week before entertaining Marseille, with two victories ensuring them top place with a game to spare.
But despite their strong position at the top of Group D – particularly given they had taken one point from nine at this stage of the competition last season – Keane reckons the Anfield outfit cannot rest on their laurels.
“We’ve got to be happy with where we are in the group because we’ve played three games, two of which have been away from home, and we’ve taken seven points,” says the Republic of Ireland international.
“We knew that Madrid would be a tough place to come to because Atletico are a good side, but we’ve managed to take a point which is definitely a good result.
“But there’s still work to be done. We know that and we have to focus now on the next game and not start thinking too far ahead.”
Keane’s goal was his second in successive Champions League games and, with Fernando Torres injured, the Irishman is expected to lead the line at Chelsea this weekend.
“It’s always nice to score, but it would have been even nicer if we’d managed to take the three points,” says the striker.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be, but all in all we’ve got to be happy with a point because I suppose it could have gone either way. We had the better of things in the first half but they were always going to come out and have a go at us in the second, especially with their home crowd behind them, so I think a draw was a fair result.
“This is a great competition to be involved in and hopefully there’s still a lot more games to come for us.
“We can’t allow ourselves to become complacent or get too carried away. But, at the same time, we can be confident that we will go on to qualify.”
A bitterly disappointing evening in April saw Rafael Benitez’s side denied a third Champions League final appearance in four years by a 3-2 win for Chelsea after extra-time.
The teams cross swords for the first time since on Sunday in a meeting of the early Premier League pace-setters.
And while the immediate stakes may not be quite as high this time around, the fixture represents an opportunity for either side to post a significant marker in the championship race.
“What happened against Chelsea last season won’t have an influence on this game, I am sure of that,” says Xabi Alonso, who will be expected to pull the strings in midfield for Liverpool on Sunday.
“This is a different season, there are different players on both sides, a different manager at Chelsea and we can only focus on what happens during this game.
“We won’t prepare for this game thinking about the Champions League semi-final or by using that for extra motivation.
“I don’t think you can compare this game with what happened at Stamford Bridge last season. This is a new season and both teams have new targets to concentrate on and because of that, anything can happen on Sunday.”
Both teams are looking to protect an unbeaten start to the season with Liverpool having lost only four of their last 47 league games.
“We won’t be going to Stamford Bridge with any fear,” says Alonso. “We respect them as a very good side but we are confident in our own ability and we believe we can win.
“They have shown great form in recent weeks and we expect a tough game, but we go into every game expecting to win now and Sunday will be no different.”
Four of Liverpool’s six league wins have come after the Anfield outfit had fallen behind, but Alonso admits Benitez’s side cannot afford a similarly slow start on Sunday.
“What we cannot afford to do against Chelsea though is start as slowly as we have done in some games,” he says. “We need to concentrate fully for 90 minutes because the quality of their players means they can punish you at any time.
“Fernando Torres will be a big loss against Chelsea but we know we can manage the situation, we have to, and we have more strength in depth and more confidence now than we have had before.
“After the results we have had this season we are right to be confident.”
Liverpool edged a step nearer qualification from the group stages of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Robbie Keane’s early opener had looked set to earn the visitors victory until Anfield manager Benitez, with one eye on Sunday’s assignment, substituted Keane, Alonso and skipper Steven Gerrard and Atletico grabbed a late equaliser through Simao.
“We had a good 60 minutes against Atletico and we can take a lot of confidence from going to a difficult place like that and playing so well, but in the latter part of the game we did have a lot more problems,” says Alonso. “We were very pleased with how the first half had gone at half-time, we had managed the situation, we were in control of the game and we scored a good goal through Robbie.
“In the end we are disappointed with the draw but to be honest that was probably a fair result.”
Liverpool welcome Atletico on Tuesday week before entertaining Marseille, with two victories ensuring them top place with a game to spare.
But despite their strong position at the top of Group D – particularly given they had taken one point from nine at this stage of the competition last season – Keane reckons the Anfield outfit cannot rest on their laurels.
“We’ve got to be happy with where we are in the group because we’ve played three games, two of which have been away from home, and we’ve taken seven points,” says the Republic of Ireland international.
“We knew that Madrid would be a tough place to come to because Atletico are a good side, but we’ve managed to take a point which is definitely a good result.
“But there’s still work to be done. We know that and we have to focus now on the next game and not start thinking too far ahead.”
Keane’s goal was his second in successive Champions League games and, with Fernando Torres injured, the Irishman is expected to lead the line at Chelsea this weekend.
“It’s always nice to score, but it would have been even nicer if we’d managed to take the three points,” says the striker.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be, but all in all we’ve got to be happy with a point because I suppose it could have gone either way. We had the better of things in the first half but they were always going to come out and have a go at us in the second, especially with their home crowd behind them, so I think a draw was a fair result.
“This is a great competition to be involved in and hopefully there’s still a lot more games to come for us.
“We can’t allow ourselves to become complacent or get too carried away. But, at the same time, we can be confident that we will go on to qualify.”
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