Despite Cissé's two goals, there had been speculation linking Liverpool with re-signing Michael Owen, who had left the club for Real Madrid a year earlier. Liverpool fans had even chanted Owen's name during the match, singing, "There's only one Michael Owen." Cissé underlined the importance of scoring twice with speculation rife: "It is clear scoring two goals in the Super Cup is important for me, because there has been a lot of speculation about me of late and about my position within the club." Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher stated the importance of the two goals for Cissé: "Cissé wanted to prove a point – he wanted to show everyone what he can do and great credit to him. We're the players – it's up to us to play and the management decides which players we have." Carragher confirmed that Liverpool missed their captain Gerrard, but was delighted to win the match despite this.