The tidal wave of frustration continued to flow from the stands tonight as Liverpool once again failed to match expectations with a scrappy 1-0 win over Marseille.
Several key players who had underperformed against Fulham on Saturday continued to spiral into decline. Xabi Alonso’s passing and Javier Mascherano’s tackling were called into question on more than one occasion and rightly so.
Alonso, supposedly Liverpool’s most in-form player this season, struggled to maintain the passing that has seen him return from the Anfield exit door to lead the line in central midfield.
Mascherano appeared to be still suffering from the hangover he showed against Fulham following his debut at captain of Argentina. Despite showing signs of improvement on Saturday’s effort, he ran around and tackled like a man possessed – frantic and frustrated. This was not the Mascherano that Rafael Benitez paid over £15million for in the January transfer window.
However the midfield pairing were not the strongest culprits in what was a frustrating night for the home supporters.
Even the return of Steven Gerrard, who scored the goal that booked Liverpool into the Champions League knockout stages, seemed to add very little to the team’s performance.
That said, Gerrard did not have the best of games but was the sole candidate for the Man of the Match award in a game where Liverpool almost gave away their slender advantage on numerous occasions.
Marseille threatened on several occasions and everyone sensed that it was only a matter of time before they would take advantage of the space Liverpool allowed them – the Liverpool fans knew it, the Liverpool players knew it, even the elderly nuns who pray outside the ground whilst the game is going on knew it. Yet Liverpool failed to learn from their mistakes.
Fortunately for the Liverpool defence they were unable to convert their chances and that, combined with Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher’s repeated rescue acts, saved the blushes of Daniel Agger and Andrea Dossena after failing to contain attacks from the French side.
Agger has lost confidence following his injury lay-off which had made him more error prone. Despite this he has proved that he can bounce back from his mistakes as he proved by following up the stray pass that led to Wigan’s equaliser at Anfield last month with an assist for Albert Riera less than a minute later.
Dossena, however, has come in for a sizeable amount of criticism since his summer move from Udinese. At £7million he is Liverpool’s most expensive defender and the honeymoon period has long passed.
Liverpool’s long ball tactic wore painfully thin in the latter stages of the second half as Fernando Torres was expected to chase every stray ball fired up field.
The striker, still to recapture his form since suffering an injury on international duty in October, was visibly frustrated as balls were hit aimlessly into the visitors’ half.
The introduction of Yossi Benayoun offered very little and questions were asked as to Benitez’s motivation for winning the game.
It appears that the Spaniard is keeping one eye on Europe in the hope that it will serve as an appeasing alternative should his side’s title bid fall prematurely short.
Liverpool supporters have been indebted to Benitez since the 2005 Champions League win in Istanbul, however that one night in May three years ago seems to have split opinion amongst Liverpool supporters of the manager as the club goes in search of their first league title in 18 years.
Benitez is seen by some as a man who can do no wrong as a modern day Bill Shankly based on his achievements in his time thus far at the managerial helm, with the miracle of Istanbul seen as the pinnacle of his Anfield tenure.
The signings of Torres, Mascherano, Reina and Alonso, combined with three finals in his first three years and a Champions League semi final exit last season are seen as part of the 'In Rafa We Trust' philosophy.
Even during his turbulent period with George Gillett and Tom Hicks - the club's co-owners - the supporters stood by him, even marching en masse to attempt to safeguard his job amidst strong rumours that behind the scenes the Americans were preparing to wield the managerial axe upon him.
Others believe that Benitez is on borrowed time with cup success papering over the cracks of domestic inferiority which has seen rivals Manchester United step closer to equalling Liverpool's 18 league titles.
Last season’s civil war with the Americans saw him exempt from criticism as Liverpool slumped back into the all too familiar fourth place despite an impressive start to the season.
This season he had experienced a far superior run with a defeat at Spurs and draws against Fulham and Stoke City serving as the only blemishes on an otherwise impressive win record.
After supporters vented their frustrations at his team for two consecutive home games, Benitez does not have any genuine excuses to hide behind should Liverpool fail to better their previous achievements during his Anfield reign.
