In spite of this minor inconvenience we congratulated ourselves that it wasn't raining, as we were in what the ticket unconvincingly described as the "West Stand Lower Tier". I say unconvincing as there is only one tier in the stand, and that's uncovered. The scousers had taken the entire bottom tier of the East Stand opposite us, and the atmosphere was building. The teams jogged out to huge applause, and began going through their exercises. There were six changes to the Chelsea team that lost so poorly to Man U, and the following players took the field: De Goey; Melchiot, Desailly, Leboeuf, Babayaro; Di Matteo, Wise, Morris, Harley; Zola, Weah.

There has been talk that Vialli blamed Petrescu for one of Dwight Yorke's goals at Man U, and that was why he was substituted. Judging by the way Petrescu threw the toys out of his pram when he was taken off, it's safe to assume that he didn't agree. Much as I hate to say it, I think that Dan does tend to lack commitment at times. Although he's a great player who can turn a game in instant, a player who drifts in and out of a game like he does can be something of a liability, and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the transfer menu during the summer.

Us fans will have to stomach some unpleasant medicine as some of our favourites go on their merry way, but surely anything's better than having to put up with the sort of performances Chelsea have been turning in against clubs that we should be burying (Watford, Coventry, Derby, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, etc.)

This was my first sight of Mario Melchiot, and I liked what I saw; committment, hard tackling and intelligent running combined with consummate ball skills. He looked dangerous whenever he had the ball, and although nominally an attacking full back, I noticed that by the end Chelsea had Liverpool so contained that he was playing further up the pitch than Zola.

As soon as the game got started it was immediately clear that Chelsea were up for it. They chased and harried Liverpool with a hunger I haven't seen in the Premiership this season, and within two minutes they got their reward: Roberto Di Matteo pushed a perfect weighted pass through to George Weah, who had once again got in behind the defence. He waited for the ball, and calmly redirected it past the advancing Westerveld into the corner of the net. Deceptively easy looking, this was a brilliantly taken goal, and we in the West Stand went mental. Soon we were baiting the scousers with the usual chants ("Does the Social know you're here ?","You've wasted all your Giro", etc), and all was well with the world. There's nothing quite like going 1-0 up against Liverpool, apart from going 5-0 up against Man U, that is..

Within another few minutes we were 2-0 up, courtesy of Roberto Di Matteo, who got on the end of a delicate pass from Weah inside the six yard box, volleying into an empty net under pressure from a defender. This time we really celebrated as the sun and the scoreline went to our heads. Game over. The piffling little landmarks in your life are as nothing compared to the savage joy of seeing your team going two up in a big game. Sad, you may be thinking, but if that's the case you're not a true football fan, but probably somebody who is mature and has depth of character. You'll never understand..

For the rest of the half Chelsea pursued Liverpool all over the field, nullifying Owen and Heskey in defence, swamping them in midfield and constantly threatening in attack; a shot from Di Matteo and a header from Harley came closest, and as half time beckoned we were well happy with the way the first half had gone.

At half time there was time to look around at the crowd; we spotted a girl a few rows down from us who was sporting a skimpy white top that revealed most of an oversized black bra and a large and scary tattoo that covered her entire neck and shoulders. She was sitting with a bloke who can be best described as neanderthal, and was happily joining in with his tuneless, bigoted, racist and very loud chanting. Combined with the constant, cow-like chewing of gum that produced the occasional huge bubble, the effect was startling, to say the least.

For the rest of the game I found myself transfixed by this alarming woman, and had to be constantly dug in the ribs by Fintan "Semtex" O'Connor to remind me to pay attention to the match. He may believe that his ribald and importunate comments were appropriate, but I'm here to tell him that they were at best hypocritical, considering that he couldn't take his eyes of her either, and at worst downright inflammatory; that there wasn't a serious disturbance is testimony to my legendary good humour and patience.

The second half saw a brief fightback by Liverpool, but Chelsea contained them while producing some good breaks that almost resulted in more goals. I'm really please to say that Roberto Di Matteo had an absolute blinder. He has lost his way over the past couple of years, and serious injuries haven't helped, but on Saturday we were reminded just what a great player he is. Let's hope he keeps it up, as I'd be sorry to see him go.

The duel between Heskey and Desailly was entertaining to watch, especially as Desailly won it hands down, so much so that it ended up with Heskey taking dives to try and rile Desailly, who just kept sledging him quietly all the time. It inevitably came to a head, and Heskey should consider himself lucky not to have got his marching orders. Desailly was like a man posessed, dealing easily with balls nobody else would have got near, and constantly harrying Heskey when he got the ball. The Rock certainly lived up to his nickname, as Heskey discovered to his cost.

Other players who shone were Jody Morris, Dennis Wise and Jon Harley in midfield - they really won the game for Chelsea by snapping at the heels of the Liverpool playmakers, giving them no chance to construct anything for the forwards. Dennis Wise appears recently to have mastered his temper, and has become a better all round player for it. I noticed several Liverpool players, particularly Redknapp when he came on, giving Den the dirty treatment accompanied by nasty little verbals to try to get a reaction out of him that would get him booked or sent off, but he didn't bite. Frank Leboeuf made Owen look anonymous, and by the end he was confidently spraying 40 yard passes around the place with the outside of his boot. It was a pleasure to watch.

Celestine Babayaro was also confident on the ball and very fast, on several occasions racing dangerously past the Liverpool defenders, only for his final ball to disappoint. Fortunately he also combined his attacking bent with good defensive work. At the front, Franco Zola was his usual tireless self, combining pace with skill and vision. He worked well with George Weah.

As the half went on, Houllier became desperate to the point of sending on Fowler and Camara to join Owen and Heskey in attack. In spite of being up against four very talented strikers, Chelsea's defence never looked less than assured, to the point where I only counted one shot on target from Liverpool during the entire match. Don't get me wrong; Liverpool looked a much better side than I've seen for the past few years; it was just that Chelsea were so much better on the day.

Unfortunately some of the people in the crowd spoiled the fun for everyone by booing Chelsea for keeping the ball, culminating in a shameful episode where Dennis Wise was abused for passing the ball back to Ed De Goey with five minutes left on the clock. He felt obliged to march over to the West Stand and hold two fingers up, not in the timeless gesture of defiance, but to remind the crowd of the score. To anyone but a complete novice it's obvious that it's all about possession when cruising two nil up with a few minutes to go; the last thing you need is to give the ball away and lose a silly goal in a situation like that, and I just wish these stupid people would demonstrate their ignorance a bit less often.

All in all, it was one of the best afternoons I've had in ages. The superb weather, combined with a flawless performance from Chelsea and the antics of gum-chewing tattoed lady made it a memorable afternoon. Roll on a few more like it.

What do YOU think ? Want to add your point of view ? Here's your chance to send me some feedback. NB: Opposing fans: abuse will be laughed at and then ignored, so don't waste your time. Considered, intelligent argument, presented in the spirit of friendly rivalry guarantees a response.