i think Benayoun will help keep possession, which is what we need a lot of, imo. bringing on Babel for the final 30 mins or so also maximizes Babel's strengths. Brahma is white beer, right? its pretty good stuff!
well, if we're gonna field Torres & Crouch upfront w/ Gerrard & Kuyt in support, then that leaves Babel to come in after the hour mark... where he's most effective.
anyone know what Finnan's status is? hope he's fit & ready to go for the 2nd leg b/c we'll need him at right-back w/ Arbeloa possibly sliding over to left-back w/ Aurelio possibly out through injury & Riise locked away in a dungeon somewhere.
since we'll have to attack from the outset, i can see Rafa deploy Crouch (at least i hope so!) in the 2nd leg. this will free up Torres, who had a tough time coping w/ Terry & Carvalho today. if we ATTACK & keep possession like we did for large parts of the 2nd half today, then we have a great chance. not sure i would start Babel... best to bring him on at the hour mark.
even before the throw-in, we should have punted the ball up field, Carragher-style... but instead, we were trying to weave the passes in our half w/ just a minute to play... this led to the throw-in, etc...