++ [ originally posted by Andy
] ++
The first half of play was truely a disaster, however we came out on the pitch in the second half and were ready to play. The passing and forward play was 10 times better in the second half than the first, and that was due to Capello changing his tactics at halftime. In the second 45 Capello gave Nedved more freedom to roam, and most importantly of all he brought on Pessotto for Blasi.
We went into this match at Anfield cold and perhaps too confident, and it showed because we were not ready to play tonight. In the first half we were disorganized and ball watching, seemingly not with it. Liverpool, as expected, gave us problems with their quick play, however they could not keep that quick play up and we took over in the second half.
In Turin next week we cannot let Liverpool take the game to us and have their way in midfield. We did not win the midfield battle tonight and we must take control next week in Turin. I think 2-1 is not that good of a result for us, however our performances at the Delle Alpi in the CL have been very good, so I think we should be able to progress to the Semifinals. If we play like we did tonight, though, and concede the midfield to Pool, we'll be finished.
Buffon was solid for most of the match, however for the two goals he should have done better on one of them at least.
Zebina was extremely poor tonight and was at fault for the first goal. He gets caught ball-watching regulary, and tonight we finally conceded a goal because of his mistakes.
Thuram was poor through parts of the match, not being one of his best games. He made mistakes under lots of Pool pressure in the first half.
Cannavaro was good on the night, more solid than his partners in defense. Fabio saved us by rising to meet Zambrotta's cross, and his header was too strong for Carson.
Zambrotta made some very good runs down the left flank tonight, and he seemed to be more involved in the match than usual. He caused the Reds lots of trouble on the left and should have won us a penalty for the shirt pulls he received.
Camoranesi had an average match, although he did create some good chances in both halves. In the second half he started to come to life and made some nice runs past Red defenders.
Emerson was in trouble right from the start of the match as he looked to have pulled a muscle stretching for Del Piero's harsh backpass. He obviously was not himself tonight and did not look with it, however he stayed on the pitch and gave a good performance.
Blasi was just plain horrible in the first half, giving the ball away too much, missing tackles, and making too many fouls. Again, I show you Exhibit 10 why Blasi is not good enough for Juventus.
Nedved had a quiet first half but came more to life in the second. I think Capello gave Pavel more freedom to roam in the second 45 and it payed off. Not a bad first match back for our great Czech.
Ibrahimovic had a poor match and squandered a lot of chances. He did make a few nice moves, including hitting the post on one occasion. He still has a lot of learning to do, though.
Del Piero had a poor match as well, however he scored what should have been a VALID goal. Alex was clearly onside when the ball was played, and the goal should have stood.
Trezeguet might not have even touched the ball in this match, just showing how poor our passing was tonight.
Pessotto was Man of the Match, no question. When he came on at Halftime we looked like a completely different team, and he gave a class performance compared to Blasi in the first half. Pessotto was able to control the ball when he received it, make the right passes, and not make stupid fouls like Blasi. One of the top matches I have seen him play in recent years.
"Referee" Bleeckere and his staff were terrible on the night.