'I think the Kop shouted the ball in' - Huth on Garcia 'ghost goal'
Liverpool's 'ghost goal' against Chelsea in the Champions League 20 years ago "sparked the rivalry between the two clubs", says former Blues defender Robert Huth.It was a memorable moment - for better or for worse - for both sets of fans and two-decades on it is still argued if Luis Garcia's goal, that sent the Reds through to the final at Chelsea's expense, crossed the line.It proved to be a key moment on the way to Liverpool's comeback win over AC Milan in Istanbul.Part of the squad for that game, Huth explained to BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club how Blues boss Jose Mourinho reacted to that moment, stating: "He was fuming, off course he would be."When the goal went in, nobody really knew what was going on because it wasn't obvious to anyone. It didn't even look that close particularly."The lads were deflated, he was fuming, but what can you do? The game is done."Mourinho created a number of rivalries during his time at Chelsea, but the one between him and Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez came to be particularly fierce.Asked whether it was that game that kick-started it, Huth said: "They both gave as good as they got. They both had a lot to say for each other. But, that game definitely sparked the rivalry between the two clubs."This time Liverpool got the better of us, but then we beat them in the next quarter-final a year or two later."It is water under the bridge now but it was frustrating. I think The Kop shouted the ball in rather than the ball actually crossing the line."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Tottenham sue Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos
Tottenham Hotspur have taken High Court legal action against Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos. In a commercial listing under 'general commercial contracts and arrangements', Tottenham have lodged a claim against Ineos Automotive Limited, which is a subsidiary of the multinational Ineos company that co-owns Manchester United. Spurs and Ineos had announced a multi-million pound five-year deal in December 2022 to promote the Ineos Grenadier car as the club's 'official 4x4 vehicle partner'. However, talks have been ongoing since at least February over Ineos withdrawing two years before the expiry of the deal. Those negotiations appear to have failed to find an agreement, with the Tottenham claim lodged on June 12, less than a month after they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final to secure a place in the Champions League. Spurs and Ineos have been in partnership since 2020, when the petrochemicals company was named as the club's 'official hand sanitiser supplier' during the pandemic. Ineos, however, have been cutting ties with a number of leading sports organisations in recent months, notably Sir Ben Ainslie's sailing team and the All Blacks rugby union team. Telegraph Sport revealed in February that New Zealand Rugby was also taking legal action against Ineos for an alleged breach of contract after a six-year deal to 2027 ended early, although an agreement has since been reached. Ineos has said that it is being forced into cost-cutting by Europe's 'extreme' green carbon taxes and has issued warnings over what it called the 'deindustrialisation' of the continent. Ratcliffe also blamed energy prices and carbon taxes earlier this year for forcing the closure of Ineos's synthetic ethanol plant at Grangemouth in Scotland, resulting in the loss of 80 direct roles and an estimated 500 indirect jobs. Significant financial measures have already been introduced at Manchester United since Ratcliffe bought a 27.7 per cent minority stake in December 2023, including increased ticket prices and the loss of hundreds of staff. Upon the announcement of the Grenadier deal in 2022, Spurs had said: 'Our partnership with Ineos Grenadier represents the coming together of an innovative British brand with an iconic London football club – both of whom are committed to pushing boundaries and daring to do things differently, while staying true to authentic values and traditions.' In a statement, Ineos told Telegraph Sport that it had exercised 'a contractual right to terminate' its partnership with Tottenham last December. 'Ineos Automotive has been a partner of Tottenham Hotspur since 2022, taking on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020,' said a spokesperson. 'Like any business, we have to be diligent in how we operate and where we invest marketing budgets. It's completely normal for partnerships to be reviewed on a regular basis, and we've decided that the partnership wasn't working out for us. We have the right to terminate the partnership.'
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Did late-season slide hinder Forest's recruitment?
When I look at Nottingham Forest and the market that they were in at the beginning of this past season compared with the market they are potentially in now, I still think it would be the same whether they had qualified for the Champions League, Europa League or Conference they got into Europe's top-tier competition, I don't think they would have been able to attract anyone more high you could say it has hindered them as they may have to sell more high-profile players to fund signings, but from the perspective of players in the market, I don't think it is massively I think about player attraction, I feel, for example, if Newcastle ended up in the Europa League instead of the Champions League, they would have probably been able to draw a higher-profile player than Forest could have done if they had got in the Champions with Chelsea, if they didn't get that Champions League place, they still would have been able to draw a higher-profile player than Forest just because of the club and how much time has been spent in those European spots in recent the attraction would have been there of Champions League football, but I don't believe the market would be any different to what they would have looked at had they finished first to Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Starting to come good' - but Makelele says Blues still need Maignan and more
Former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele says Enzo Maresca needs to be left alone to work but needs several signings - including goalkeeper Mike Maignan - to emulate Paris St-Germain's success with a young Blues ended last season with the youngest average age among their starting XI of any team in Premier League history but qualified for the Champions League with a win at Nottingham Forest on the final also won the Conference League with a 4-1 win over Real Betis just three days later and now embark on a campaign in the newly expanded Club World Cup, which begins this asked about his view of Chelsea, having left the club under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership, Makelele, a former player and coach at Stamford Bridge, said: "I think Chelsea are doing well. They are starting at the beginning [of their project], very slowly."In the beginning, they changed a lot of players and managers. The new manager [Enzo Maresca] made sure Chelsea finished the season in a good way. They qualified for the Champions League and won a trophy. I think this new Chelsea can be successful now."We need to wait for Chelsea to win the Premier League again, and they are starting to build a strategy and some stability. But, for me, the most important thing is they need to leave Maresca working in a good way, like Paris St-Germain did with Luis Enrique."They need stability if they are to fight for a title. I am a Chelsea fan, and I was worried when I saw Chelsea struggling in the beginning [under new owners Clearlake-Boehly], but now they are on a positive path and can return to the Chelsea of the past, which was at a high level."The former defensive midfielder saw 'the Makelele role' named after him while playing under Jose Mourinho in west London. He joked that should now be known as "the Caicedo role".Makelele also praised the signing from Ipswich of striker Liam Delap, who will make his debut in the United States, adding: "The project is starting to come good. The future is bright. It takes a lot of young talent to try to make Chelsea successful."I like Nicolas Jackson. We can't criticise him. But of course, Chelsea need some better players if they are to win the Premier League, and they are also back in the Champions League."They needed a second striker [in Delap]. He is compatible with Jackson and adds competition. Jackson can't do it all alone. I appreciate him. He fought all season. "He did a good job, scored a lot of goals, and got some assists, but of course another striker is welcome."Makelele hopes the Blues will add a goalkeeper, after seeing France number one Mike Maignan strongly linked to a move to Chelsea. He added: "Maignan is one of the best in the world right now and I think Milan won't want their best goalkeeper gone."But if Chelsea can take him, it's better, because to win trophies you need a good goalkeeper. You look at PSG and they had a young squad but a great goalkeeper in Gianluigi Donnarumma."Chelsea need a goalkeeper, striker and maybe winger to fight for the Champions League and Premier League next season."
