Liverpool 1 – 1 Atlético Madrid: Steven Gerrard Heroically Embraces the Benefit of the Doubt

Here’s the Ryan Babel match report from today’s Liverpool-Atlético game (superfast and not analytical): Maxi Rodríguez scored a “cracking” (—B. Glendenning) goal 37 minutes in. Atlético then turned into a bathtub drain-plug and Liverpool, running hot, overflowed to no effect. Fernando Torres sat wrapped in feminine shadows and a pullover in the stands, looking limpid (according to the real definition of the word), clapping limpidly (according to the way the word “feels”). He’s a good boy, and full of respect.

Then, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Steven Gerrard won a weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak penalty decision and tied the game from the spot. So it goes. Liverpool had a severely good claim on a handball penalty denied in the first half, so by various subjunctive-mode-mauling “right result” metrics, things probably worked out fine.

Jamie Carragher almost scored from about 35 yards at one point. That was unusual.