It was strange that the bookmakers were making Liverpool the favourites to win in Lille on Thursday night, considering how shabby the Reds looked when losing 1-0 at Wigan. Although they competed well enough in France, Rafael Benitez’s team were undone by Eden Hazard’s late free-kick which eluded everyone including goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Indeed, the home side could have doubled their lead at the death, although Liverpool must now overturn this 1-0 deficit in order to continue their participation in the Europa League and keep alive any dreams of winning silverware this season. Once again, the visitors lacked creativity, with Steven Gerrard having a quiet game and Ryan Babel at his frustrating worst.
It appears that there are plenty of grafters in the team, such as Dirk Kuyt and Javier Mascherano, although when it comes to the small issue of creating chances, the team are sorely lacking. No wonder that Fernando Torres started to show his frustration to the extent where the Spaniard incurred a booking in the second half.
It’s hard not to feel sorry for Liverpool supporters at the moment, especially with the club’s owners not looking to sell and Rafael Benitez seemingly unable to motivate an expensively-assembled squad that should be performing better than the team who won the Champions League in 2005.
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