After watching all four EPL teams in Champions League action mid week, the question on my mind is, will the real Rafael Benitez stand up? The paradox of Liverpool’s fortunes have reached astounding proportions, so much that their obituaries are rendered irrelevant as fast as tributes are being written.
Losing to Barnsley in the FA Cup and then defeating Inter Milan, the current leader of Serie A (tasting defeat for only the second time this season) in the Champions League; and in so doing, makes all the EPL top guns look second-rate.
Manchester United survived a scare, thanks to a late strike from substitute forward Carlos Tevez. In the 87th minute, after Nani’s cross took a deflection off Lyon striker Fred, the Argentine made it good from close range, to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Arsenal was ready to punish AC Milan after their humiliating 4-0 defeat to Manchester United but Milan survived the onslaught with their disciplined game. The Gunners constantly misfired in this high-tempo match, especially Emmanuel Adebayor who wasted the best chance for a winner when he hit the crossbar. As for Chelsea, they were held to a boring but valuable draw by Olympiakos at Athens.
Winning 2-0, Liverpool looked the most solid bet to progress into the quarter finals. Once again, the Champions League was the saving grace of Benitez’s reign at Anfield. Fierce debate ensued over his ability to lift the club to a new plateau but in Europe, pundits ate their words as Inter Milan joined the ranks of elite clubs which were slain by the wounded Reds.
Overall, Liverpool enjoyed a good first half of dominance but few clear cut opportunities. The game was made easier when Materazzi committed two soft fouls which elicited bookings and resulted in his 30th-minute dismissal. The Belgian referee, either incompetent or biased, was the 13th player on the field for Liverpool with his generous gifts.
Materazzi’s reputation as a scumbag doesn’t help and when Torres lent his acting skills by hitting the ground, Inter’s fate was sealed. Iván Córdoba also suffered a knee injury which will deprive Inter for the next two months and reduced their options in the return match.
Before this victory (and even after), there was a shift in sentiment towards Benitez among the fans, a marked difference to the staunch support several months ago. Judging by the vandalism at the training ground, Benitez’s rotation policy and Liverpool’s continued domestic mediocrity were grating on their patience.
Graffiti adorned the walls, calling on Benítez to quit and to sell players who are not contributing but still retain some financial value. Kuyt, Kewell and Risse were targeted. The slogan, “Pick Your Best Team For F**** Sake,” which is pretty much self explanatory even for the uninitiated, was also scrawled.
While the fans are displeased, I doubt if there will be any sustained effort to oust Benitez.
The malaise in quality is not helped by Rafa’s transfer dealings. So far, after spending millions, Liverpool have only four world-class players in Gerrard, Torres, Carragher and Mascherano. The others are either approaching greatness or are destined for obscurity.
These four players should be starting every game, unless they are injured or suspended. And when they do start, they need a full match. It is becoming an irritating habit of Benitez that once a player shows fine form, he is immediately taken off, as if he believes the brilliance needs to be conserved and prevented from burning out.
At the end of the season, Benitez should examine if Kuyt is suitable in leading the attack for Liverpool. He is a hardworking lad but he is just that, nothing more. Other aspects of his game, like dribbling, holding the ball, positioning and first touch are still raw. For a striker, his statistics are embarrassing.
If not for the deflected goal which came in the last few minutes, his presence on the pitch will once again be questioned. The way it was scored was a fluke, what began as a shot was mistaken as an innocuous pass, and it was delivered straight at the defender who was probably too surprised to react and it ended up a goal.
Frank Lampard will of course argue that deflected goals are as good as any but it will not vindicate Benitez’s tactics and persistence in fielding Kuyt. Ryan Babel, with close ball control, looks likely to develop into a more complete player than Kuyt and in terms of pecking order, he should be given the responsibility of breaching defenses, unless Kuyt improves dramatically.
A 2-0 result is probably enough to see them through, but Liverpool have hardly turned the corner. In defeat, I do not blame Benitez but I think that it is not right to give him sole credit for the victory too. If Benitez is brilliant, we might as well believe that Barnsley should be playing in the Champions League and be able to defeat Inter Milan handily. Liverpool’s progress thus far in the CL seems to be a matter of luck rather than skills.
For me, the key player who should take credit was Javier Mascherano who put his heart and soul into every tackles and distribute the ball intelligently. That display spurred other heavyweights like Fernando Torres and Gerrard to show their worth and take responsibility to drive the team onwards.
If the American owners had been following Mascherano’s performances, I wonder why they took so long to confirm him as a permanent signing, but of course, I am getting ahead of myself by assuming they understand soccer or even watch the game at all. They are in it, only for the money, and the Champions League is lucrative enough.
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