[JaredL]

Watched Liverpool - Chelsea today. It was a good match and too bad the bad penalty was so decisive.

Both Torres and Babel looked excellent for Liverpool, although Torres fell off significantly in the second half when they went defensive.

In general I thought the style of both teams was better than last year. Both play too much long ball for my liking, but otherwise it was a nice match to watch. Obviously being tired was a factor today but both today and in the past Liverpool play such nicer football with Crouch out of the lineup. They seem to shift to more of a "send the long ball in the air to Crouchie" mode.

I have to say that for Chelsea if they had someone like Alves who can make run after run down the wing, they would be a much better side. Their attack is a bit like I described Liverpool's with Crouch, and they can be one dimensional. They have the defensive midfielders to give him cover as well.