5) Kuyt saves our bacon! 1-0 win over Standard Liege.
In the past few seasons, Liverpool have had to qualify for the Champions League via the qualification stages. Often times, we have breezed through these matches with relative ease, buffing the statistics of Gerrard, Kuyt, Cisse, Crouch, etc. In 2008-2009, however, a completely different scenario had unfolded. With a 0-0 score from the first leg, which was only possible due to a Reina penalty save, we had finished regular time 0-0 in the second leg at Anfield. 28 minutes of horrific extra time later, and the situation was no different. It was looking like penalties, and perhaps even the UEFA Cup. Up stepped Dirk Kuyt, smacking in a great cross from Babel in the 119th minute. CLASS. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF CLASS! Atta boy, Kuyt!
“DIRK KUYT HAPPY!”
4) Late League Drama parts 1,2, 3, 4, 5 and… 9.
With the amount of late goals we scored, it would be a challenge to rank them in order. These late goals weren’t just goals, though. They were late WINNERS, and usually after extra time began. In the league, this all kicked off with Fernando Torres at Sunderland in the season opener, scoring in the 83rd minute. The trend continued when down 1-0 with 85 mintues gone at home to lowly Boro, Carragher’s “goal” and Gerrard’s beautiful curler gave us victory. This did not end here. 3-2 at Man City, 3-2 to Wigan (both after being down), 3-2 over Portsmouth, 2-1 over Manchester United, 2-0 over Chelsea at home, 1-0 over Fulham… it just never seemed to end! Each of those moments were there to savor, as they all happened after 80 minutes, but the one that made me react the strongest for whatever reason was the Portsmouth match. We had been playing horrifically, and up stepped Kuyt and Torres. I cried. Honestly, I did. We needed it so bad, and apparently so did I! LOVELY stuff.
3) Stuffing Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield.
Though we did not progress past Chelsea in the Champions League this season, giving Real Madrid a real hiding at Anfield was an incredibly memorable moment. Taking a 1-0 lead into this second leg (thank you, Yossi!), Liverpool only needed to grab another goal to make things very difficult for Real. This happened quite early, as it turned out, with Kuyt’s hard work leading to an easy Torres tap-in. Moments later, and it was Steven Gerrard’s turn, after a debatable penalty went in our favor. 2-0. Seconds after halftime, and a beautiful play by Ryan Babel and an even better finish by Gerrard gave us a THREE-NIL scoreline. Andrea Dossena’s strike made it four, and we all of a sudden had just thrashed a side who had won 11 straight in Spain… WOW.
2) Sami Hyypia’s Farewell
The word “legend” gets tossed around a lot these days. (Dossena’s goal at United? LEGEND!) But in the case of Sami Hyypia, legend is the most fitting word available in the ol’ lexicon. Not only was Hyypia a colossus of a player, striding around as if he could conquer any pathetic striker that came his way, but he was also our captain for several years and a damn good person off of the pitch. He was a wonderful spokesman, a class act, and was always reliable in the big matches. He seemed to come alive when it mattered most, particularly in Europe. Sami Hyypia’s farewell 5-8 minutes at home to Tottenham was not only heart-warming, but it was also celebrated wonderfully by the entire stadium. Even the Tottenham supporters could do nothing but give the man a standing ovation. He was a brilliant player for the Premiership, but especially for Liverpool. I will miss Sami incredibly, and am privileged to have watched him play. Absolute legend.
We will miss you, Sami!!!
1) The 4-1 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford.
This is an easy one. In past seasons without a trophy, a 1-0 win over United could grab this award, but in 2008-2009, Liverpool not only beat them twice, but DEMOLISHED them in their own backyard. With the title only alive with a win, Liverpool did their part and put together a breathtaking performance of guts and grit, as well as some nice goals. It wasn’t all Liverpool, but 4-1 says enough! The equalizer from Torres was quite splendid, the go-ahead penalty from Gerrard was memorable, Dossena’s lob at the death was icing on the cake, but my personal favorite from that match was Fabio Aurelio’s freekick after Vidic’s red card. There is a God after all!!!
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