The Liverpool Daily Post match report

Shocks to the system have revived Liverpool so many times this season Steven Gerrard must be sharing the engine room with a defibrillator.

Whether requiring three second half goals to edge out Olympiakos in the group phase or facing Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen, twice, on the back of damaging and demoralising domestic defeats, Rafael Benitez's team have encouraged the last rites on their Champions League campaign throughout their march to the semi-finals.

True to form they have delivered again. And now, after responding to the lamest loss of the lot at Crystal Palace on Saturday by keeping champions-elect Chelsea at bay last night, Anfield's heart is quickening at the prospect of a sixth European Cup final appearance.

Their place in Istanbul is far from the foregone conclusion many of their jubilant supporters and players think it is, judging by their immediate reaction to this goalless but absorbing first leg draw.

But the tie is perfectly poised for Liverpool to finally inflict a first defeat in five attempts on Jose Mourinho's side next week, when they will have the 12th man of Anfield, a rich European pedigree and the onus to attack to guide them.

That final demand is easier said than done against a dangerous Chelsea team and must be achieved without Xabi Alonso, who collected a harsh 87th-minute booking that keeps him out of the second leg.

But, just like every preceding league defeat, the loss of key players has only served to inspire Liverpool in Europe this term and past experience, as well as this result, lends an air of confidence to their preparations.

Last night they repeated the defensive heroics of Turin and achieved an identical result. In the second leg they need to rediscover the attacking verve that destroyed Juventus inside 25 minutes, when Alonso was also on the sidelines and expectations stifled the visitors.

They know they can do it against a Chelsea side that has lost its last three away games in the Champions League.

Despite the pre-match odds against them this was never a damage limitation exercise for Liverpool, more a question of providing the foundation for what promises to be an extraordinary night even by Anfield's European standards next Tuesday. Mission accomplished.

A stubborn Liverpool performance, never veering from shape and pressing relentlessly from the off, managed to frustrate their illustrious hosts in a fascinating contest.

They could have been rewarded with a priceless away goal too but for the outstanding Petr Cech as Benitez's side added a touch more craft to the resilience displayed in Italy.

Chelsea may have enjoyed the greater number of chances as their numerous attacking options combined superbly around the visiting area, yet it was their last line of defence who was the busiest goalkeeper on show as Jerzy Dudek never had a serious save to make all night.

John Arne Riise prompted the first save of the game when he waltzed onto Alonso's pass in the 18th minute and inside two Chelsea defenders. Minus the aid of an accurate right boot, however, he could only shoot straight at goal to present Cech with a more comfortable stop than the opening demanded.

With Gerrard providing only distant support as he lent his talents to the growing battle in mid-field Milan Baros was often an isolated figure in attack. The pair did combine with telling effect seven minutes before the break though, when the skipper's fine cross from the right was met by the faintest of flicks from Baros and Cech, at full stretch, tipped what seemed a certain goal wide with his finger-tips. Czech mate.

While Baros's compatriot lived up to his reputation to preserve Chelsea's clean sheet, the failure of his colleagues to follow suit was the main reason for Liverpool's at half-time.

Didier Drogba, at £24million Chelsea's most expensive weakness, scuffed the first chance of the night well wide of Dudek's goal following a kind bounce from a corner and Eidur Gudjohnsen just failed to spare his blushes at the far post.

But the best chance of the night arrived in the 22nd minute for Frank Lampard, who belied his

16 goals this season with a dreadful shot high over the crossbar after Joe Cole's far-post header landed at his feet just six yards out.

Liverpool - denied a good penalty claim when Jamie Carragher was pulled to the floor at a Gerrard free-kick and a lame one when Luis Garcia tumbled under a Glen Johnson challenge - were also indebted to Djimi Traore for two outstanding tackles on Cole as he raced onto Lampard through balls.

Cole, foiled by Sami Hyypia at the start of the second half, was booked for taking out his frustration on the commanding Traore as the home side faced a growing dilemma.

Chelsea dominated after the interval and with Arjen Robben entering the fray in the 59th minute had even more inspiration in their ranks to find the breakthrough.

But they did not come close, not once, and the disciplined defensive display that served Liverpool so well in Turin again came to the fore as their opponents ran out of ideas.

Indeed, the closest they came to a goal came when Dudek almost allowed a deflected back-pass to spin into his own goal and with Chelsea looking increasingly disheartened, just like Juventus at the Stadio Delle Alpi, Liverpool ended up cruising through the closing stages.

The only black spot arrived three minutes from time when Alonso was booked for impeding Gudjohnsen's run, a tackle that the recently substituted Igor Biscan could have made and means the Spanish playmaker misses the second leg.

Alonso lashed out in under-standable annoyance the second he stepped into the safety of the tunnel while his team-mates punched the air in satisfaction at a job well done. Chelsea's reaction to the final whistle was equally revealing, their anguish reflecting the fact their chance to establish a foothold on this tie had gone.

Half-time, but the incentive is firmly with Liverpool now.

The winners of their three previous all-English ties have all gone on to win the competition, Leeds United in the 1971 Fairs Cup, Liverpool themselves after defeating Tottenham in the 1973 UEFA Cup semi-final and 1979 European champions Nottingham Forest.

Given the glut of chances PSV created at the San Siro on Tuesday, Liverpool will fancy their chances at making that four even against the might of AC Milan and the clinical brilliance of Andriy Shevchenko.

Benitez, no doubt mindful of the fact Chelsea drew their home leg with Arsenal in last season's quarter-final before triumphing at Highbury, will insist such portents are too far ahead of his team.

However, keeping expectations on hold could be his most demanding task now that Liverpool can almost taste Turkish delight in 28 days' time.

They have the first leg platform they wanted and, crucially, they also have a 44,500 stadium somehow up their sleeve. While Stamford Bridge managed to raise its sound level last night it was more akin to a key Premier-ship encounter than a European spectacle.

Chelsea are in for a rude awakening in six days' time.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Tiago (Robben 59), Makelele, Lampard; Cole (Kezman 78), Drogba, Gudjohnsen. Subs: Cudicini, Smertin, Geremi, Forssell, Huth.
BOOKINGS: Cole, Kezman (fouls)

LIVERPOOL (4-4-1-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Garcia (Smicer 90), Alonso, Biscan (Kewell 86), Riise; Gerrard; Baros (Cisse 65). Subs: Carson, Le Tallec, Nunez, Warnock.
BOOKINGS: Biscan, Alonso (fouls)

REFEREE: Alain Sars (France)

ATTENDANCE: 40,497

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