It wasn’t pretty, and in the end it wasn’t enough, as Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League today despite a 1-0 victory in Hungary against a VERY defensively-minded Debreceni side. Lyon had plenty of chances in Italy, but couldn’t quite find the equalizer against Fiorentina, and that meant Liverpool cannot mathematically make it now. Not even close, to be fair. In the end, David Ngog’s lone flicked goal gave us a better look in the table, but underlined exactly what has happened for us in the Champions League this season… we can’t seem to finish any team off when we dominate. And in truth, we haven’t been good enough to qualify. So the Europa League is almost just rewards for how we have played, performed, and finished.
David Ngog’s 5th goal of the season, but it wasn’t enough for us to qualify.
This is not a disaster, however, and nobody should look at it as the “end of the road” for us. It is just one blip, and now we can set our sights on bringing home the first ever Europa League title. We are surely supposed to be favorites, and perhaps this is what we need to kick into gear and rally around a cause that is not the typical cliche at the club. Trophies are trophies, and the Europa League could be that trophy we haven’t had in 3+ seasons.
As for the match, I have to admit I was pleased with our initial performance (like I was against Birmingham) but grew increasingly annoyed with our tactical approach after we grabbed our goal. In a match like this, Rafa should most definitely be picking either Lucas or Mascherano, not both… even if it means we play two strikers and if Gerrard is a central midfielder. Regardless, I don’t like both of them in at once in a match where we are stronger than our opponents. Not only were we lacking creativity, but we seemed to lack bodies going forward… which is completely ridiculous against a side like Debreceni who is on such a considerably smaller budget than us. We should have the confidence to pick them apart, even if they do throw 10 men behind the ball. I am not a manager, nor pretend to be, but I think everyone outside of the brain of Rafa is seeing the faults here with our central midfield. Like it or not, Rafa, Lucas is not the same as Alonso and the system has to change. In other words, though our lack of success is not Lucas’ fault, I would like to see someone else in his position. Aquilani is getting fit, Benni is fantastic in that role, and Gerrard has had a successful season or two in midfield!
After this exit from the Champions League, it will be fascinating viewing in the media over the next few weeks to see the fate of Rafa. Will he be given the time to turn it around, or will he be given his pink slip? The majority of us want him to turn things around, and I think until he has a fit side, this is exactly what will happen. With a fully fit Torres and Gerrard, not to mention Johnson, Benayoun and Agger, would we have been in this predicament in the first place? Probably not. So in some respects, firing Rafa would be far too harsh. But this start to the season has been unacceptable, and you’d understand it if the board got trigger happy.
I, for one, am pleading for patience, but I might have a different tune if we fail to win a trophy or fail to qualify for the Champions League or even, God forbid, the Europa League.
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