All Things Football #8

Posted by Frankie Lally on October 26, 2009 | 1 Comment

So Liverpool’s season is not over and Rafael Benitez has yet again delivered in a high pressure game. Just when it looked as if Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United would deliver the final blow to a fragile Liverpool side, they answered all their critics – and in some style.

Bringing El Niño to Merseyside was the best piece of business Rafael Benítez is ever likely to conduct. Not that the joy is ever shown on the managers face. After Torres had beaten Ferdinand for speed and strength to breach Edwin van der Sar’s goal in the 65th minute, Benítez merely flicked his hand to convey a tactical signal to another Liverpool player and then glanced at his watch, perhaps to make sure he had turned it back an hour. This dispassionate response concealed how important the goal was after four straight defeats for Liverpool.

My man of the match yesterday was without doubt, Lucas. Will everyone start laying off him now? Probably not. Yes, we all know he’s not Pele or even Xabi, but he cost less than half the price of Nani and Carrick, and on yesterday’s display, looks twice as good.

Wayne Rooney had a very poor game yesterday and didn’t live up to expectation. Rooney was the complete opposite to the sublime Torres, instead of concentrating on football he seemed more interested in man-marking the referee, pressing him all over the pitch and getting in his face all afternoon. Of course this sacrifice prevented him from playing any football or contributing anything to Manchester United’s attack which wont have pleased the several thousand travelling United fans.

To me though, this looks like the same old story with Liverpool. They desperately need to keep in some sort of touching distance with the leagues’ better teams. One good win and suddenly the fact that their squad is nowhere near the standard required to win the title is forgotten. In a way this defeat works against them as it merely papers over the cracks.

There is no way Liverpool will win the league this season. Although yesterday’s performance was a joy to behold, Liverpool cannot simply compete with the strength and depth of Manchester United and Chelsea. So in a way, good as he is, Torres at Liverpool is like a Ferrari parked on a council estate. They cannot rely on Gerrard and Torres all season and if that has not already been proven, it certainly will be in the weeks to come.

What do you think? Comments below please.

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