Comments on: Unbelievable tension at Anfield will never be forgotten

By: Kevin Fylan

Kevin Fylan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:35:08 +0000

Hi Lee. I remember blogging about this when I was back in Spain over Christmas. The amount of interest in the Premier League at that time blew me away. It was obviously partly to do with the fact that there’s a break in Spain at that time, but it was clear enough that the Spanish media were getting hooked on the Premier League, which they looked down on from a great height when I lived there from 1998 to 2004.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:49:34 +0000

You should read what the Spanish press have been saying about it. Aside from the fact that they think it was just about the best match that they have ever seen, they seem just about ready to ship the rest of the best players in Spain over to the premiership if it gets them playing ith the kind of passion and commitment on show last night. “The recipe for success at the euros” is how one paper has covered it, demanding that the Spanish premiership based players take over the coaching of the national team in June. Just think - in his current form, Fernando Torres could guide Spain as far as the semis instead of the quarter finals for a change.

By: Luc

Luc — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:45:12 +0000

There’s a temptation to exaggerate things but this really was a great match and I can’t imagine a better advert for the premier league. best tie since maybe deportivo coruna’s incredible comeback against milan in 2004. that was when the spanish league was tops. not so any more.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:35:12 +0000

I found the two key referreing decisions in the tie quite refreshing.

In the first leg Kuyt clearly pulled back Hleb. However Hleb proceeded to perform the modern day professionals oft used trick of collapsing his legs and pirouetting. My guess is that the ref was looking at the players legs rather than torso’s so missed the pull back and as there was no leg contact could not give the penalty.

Babel, on the other hand, is not a seasoned pro. It is clear that the Arsenal defender (Toure?) ran through the back of Babel. A Seasoned pro would try to exaggerate the contact, collapse his legs, pirouette and fall over. Babel tried to continue and ended falling down rather like Bambi on ice.

By: Joe RYAN

Joe RYAN — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:40:12 +0000

Not a bad game at all. I’m not a big football fan, but I watched through to the end. Arsenal can be upset by the penalty decision, but Babel should never have got that close to the penalty area in the first place.

By: Jon Bramley

Jon Bramley — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:11:40 +0000

Surely time to introduce video playbacks so referees don’t make these kind of mistakes (Babbel penalty). Three minutes to get a decision right which can define a club’s entire season? C’mon - it’s a no-brainer now, isn’t it?