THERE was something rather ironic about the choice of music that greeted the players as they returned to the Anfield pitch for the second half of last night's Merseyside derby.
An instrumental version of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' of which the opening words seem to be reminiscent of the predicament Liverpool's title challenge is in danger of falling into. "Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted, one moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?" It was a poor attempt by the powers that be at Anfield to fire up the fans for the second half after an atmosphere in the first that reflected the performance on the pitch; lacking in confidence, muted and frustrated by an Everton side who were the complete opposite.
Last night's game resembled a similar meeting between the sides five years earlier where Everton's Nigel Martyn, a veteran of the game, gave a stellar performance in goal which ensured it was honours even with a goalless draw. This despite Liverpool winning the meeting at Goodison earlier that season with a 3-0 victory and after a fairly comprehensive win at the home of their local rivals in September last year, history seems to be repeating itself as the Reds' domestic season appears to be on the brink of collapse.
Despite enjoying their best term since 1996/97, cracks are appearing in the side with the tactically stubborn Benitez unsure of his strongest team for specific matches. Several players were badly out of sorts and their replacements were no better. Liverpool's defence was threatened on more than one occasion by the visitors, in particular Victor Anichebe who outpaced veteran centre back Sami Hyypia time and again. Whilst the Finn has been a consistent and loyal servant to the club for over a decade, his performance last night will have lowered him slightly in the estimation of some supporters as he was outpaced time and again by the 20-year-old Nigerian. Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel and Fabio Aurelio also struggled with Bootle-born Carragher especially looking out of his depth - a rarity for such veteran of both Liverpool Football Club and Merseyside derbies respectively. Heroics from Pepe Reina did nothing but delay the inevitable until the 87th minute as Liverpool's defence crumbled.
There were very few positives to come out of the game, save for Steven Gerrard's brilliantly taken goal. The captain's goal was the only shining light in the game for the Reds as their performance mirrored the apathy of the goalless draws with Fulham and West Ham United in late November. The workrate of Dirk Kuyt was astounding if not commendable. The Dutchman seems to thrive on his position as a winger however he would have been best utilised last night in partnership with Fernando Torres. For the £19 million Liverpool paid for him, Robbie Keane is doing very little to return the faith shown in him by Rafael Benitez. He was constantly outwitted by Everton's Phil Jagielka time and again whilst his strike partner was forced to do all the running. No surprise then that the exhausted Torres was substituted in the second half, bizarrely for Yossi Benayoun. The Israeli gave away the foul which led to the free kick that led to Tim Cahill's equaliser after Lucas Leiva had earlier needlessly gifted the visitors another free kick deep in Liverpool's half. The decision to take off Torres sent out a signal to Everton that the home side were happy to consolidate a 1-0 win which gave them a much-needed boost.
The decision to introduce Lucas and Benayoun were dubious to the home supporters and it would seem that the same could be said about Benitez's determination to win the Premier League. Speaking after the match the Spaniard admitted what some of his detractors have been saying since early November. "We can play better," he confessed. "Some players are coming back from injury and they will improve."
The reaction of Everton's supporters after the equaliser and indeed the final whistle may have seemed as if they had what their Anfield counterparts would class as their cup final but they were completely within their rights to do so. Their side gave a good account of themselves in what was a fairly poor game from a neutral perspective. Based on their performance it would be foolish to bet against the visitors causing an upset when the sides meet again in Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie.
Whilst Liverpool are not completely out of the running for the title, they are slipping further and further away from it with each game that passes. Six wins and five draws at home speaks volumes for a team that are desperate to end a 19-year wait for domestic supremacy. Benitez has no ground to complain about transfer dealings after he has been backed in market in every deal apart from his attempts to sign Aston Villa's Gareth Barry. This was because the club's American owners came to the conclusion that paying a ludicrous amount of money for a 28-year-old holding midfielder was not a sensible business move with the presence of Xabi Alonso at Anfield and in addition to them relinquishing £19 million for Benitez to buy a striker of a similar age who, unbeknown to them at the time, would fail to hit the ground running. Whilst it could be argued that Benitez has been astute in his dealings - namely Reina, Alonso, Mascherano and Torres - his insistence on recruiting sub-par mercenaries has been part and parcel of the standard tenure for a Liverpool manager post-Dalglish.
The ever-modest Benitez recently underwent a personality transplant by issuing brash comments about Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United's chief executive David Gill. The approach the Spaniard took in attacking the employees of Liverpool's most hated rivals was inaccurate and ill-timed. The verbal assault on Ferguson may have been viewed upon by an outsider as fair comment but Benitez made himself look very foolish by accusing Gill of double standards in his position at the FA. His comments came 48 hours after his Liverpool side had failed to extend their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League and 24 hours after United had edged closer to usurping the Anfield club at the top of the table.
Tactical stubbornness, the inability to capitalise on a winning position and public slanging matches appear to be forming the new legacy of Rafael Benitez as Liverpool manager. It has taken four years from that 2005 Champions League victory for the Reds to maintain a serious title bid. When one considers that in that time Manchester United have taken their title tally to 17 crowns, just one away from equalling Liverpool's record, the urgency to keep one step ahead of the Old Trafford club is adding to the supporters' expectations and it appears that Benitez's team are on the verge of repeating the feat of their predecessors in 1996/97. Perhaps the Spaniard would do well to heed the words of Marshall Mathers in order to prevent this, "You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime."
