LIVERPOOL IN DANGER OF MAKING AN EARLY EXIT

The Telegraph 25 October 2007

In the city that once stirred such hope in their hearts, Liverpool walked into a storm last night.
In the city where they lifted the European Cup in 2005, Liverpool were pushed close to European oblivion by a Turkish side who were better organised in defence, midfield and attack.

"The Kop is History" read one of the many banners held aloft by the all-standing, all-shouting Besiktas fans. Such a statement may be slightly premature, as three wins should guarantee Liverpool safe passage through to the knockout stages, but Rafa Benitez's side were touching the void last night.

In the immediate inquest deep in the basement of the Inonu, far from the crowing Turks above, the quixotic Benitez switched between defying the odds and defying belief. "We knew before the game that it was clear we had to win," the Spaniard said. "Now it's even more clear that we have to win all the games. I'm really pleased with the performance; we had 28 attempts on goal. If we create 28 chances in the next game, we'll score more than one goal."

As in the 2005 final, Steven Gerrard scored with a header, allowing Liverpool fans to dream briefly of another famous comeback, but it was too little, too late. Besiktas were already over the horizon through Sami Hyypia's early own goal and a neat finish by the tireless Brazilian, Bobo.

It was still bizarre that Benitez did not bring Peter Crouch on until after Bobo's 82nd-minute strike. Liverpool were crying out for some variety in attack, for a centre-forward who would disturb Gokhan Zan and Ibrahim Toraman, centre-halves who embodied the intelligence, athleticism and determination contained in Besiktas' defence.

"The strikers Dirk Kuyt and Andrei Voronin] were doing well," countered Benitez. Yossi Benayoun and Lucas Leiva, who arrived before Crouch, hardly resembled the cavalry.

On a night littered with negatives, there were a few positives for Liverpool to cling to. Marseille's draw with Porto means the French have not pulled away in Group A. Ryan Babel's constant raids down the left showed why Benitez paid £11.5 million for the Dutch international.

And there was a wonderful sporting exchange between the rival supporters at the end, with Besiktas chanting Liverpool's name and the small contingent of Kopites repaying the compliment.

Otherwise, Liverpool took only empty hearts and ringing ears back home with them. Benitez's side dropped more than three points here. They lost the chance to inject some belief back in to red veins. And how they need Fernando Torres, their best finisher, fit for the visit of a vibrant Arsenal on Sunday.

How they need Daniel Agger back from his broken metatarsal when they limp back into Europe with home ties next month against Besiktas and Porto. If they win those, Liverpool will have seven points, but are still likely to require victory at Marseille in their final Group A outing. Stade Velodrome may even generate as much noise as the Inonu last night.

Just before kick-off here, a lone bugler arrived to play the Last Post as Besiktas fans paid homage to the Turkish soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels last week. This pre-match moment of solemnity proved the only quiet passage of an astonishing, deafening evening.

The Inonu is proud of its record of football's loudest ever decibel level - 132. After 13 minutes, Besiktas supporters must have been within a strained larynx of setting a new mark.

The fanatical disciples of the Black Eagles religion were racing through the vocal gears as Bobo sped through Liverpool's defence. The danger seemed to have passed when Jamie Carragher put in a marvellous sliding tackle, ending Bobo's 40-yard surge deep into Liverpool's box. Unfortunately for the visitors, misfortune arrived on the scene.

Stranded on the ground, Carragher needed to clear quickly, but his attempt struck Steve Finnan. Mishaps abounded. As the Liverpool fans behind Pepe Reina's goal looked on aghast, the ball fell to the unmarked Serdar Ozkan. With Liverpool's defence in disarray, Ozkan met the ball strongly. It clipped Hyypia and flew into the net, giving the wrong-footed Reina no chance.

The Inonu dissolved into raucous celebration. Not only was this Besiktas' first goal in 192 Group A minutes but Liverpool were patently confused by the Turks' 4-3-2-1 formation, and particularly the swift breaks by Ozkan and the Argentine, Matias Delgado, towards and beyond Bobo.

Besiktas were able to exploit vast acres of space in midfield because Liverpool needed to attack. After only one point against Porto and Marseille, they had to take risks. Sometimes they fanned out in a 2-4-4 configuration with the full-backs, Finnan and John Arne Riise, pushed up, leaving Carragher and Hyypia exposed.

Staring into European oblivion after Besiktas' goal, Liverpool sought to rally. Hakan Arikan, Besiktas' excellent keeper, tipped over a typically meaty Riise drive. Then Gerrard sparked into life, working a good move with Andrei Voronin and Dirk Kuyt, making promising ground into Besiktas' box. This was more like the Gerrard of 2005, charging across Turkish soil. He connected well enough with the ball but Arikan advanced rapidly to block the shot.

Jermaine Pennant, Gerrard twice and Babel all went close, but Besiktas were happy to soak up the pressure and then hit on the break, devastatingly through Bobo late on when he calmly slid the ball between Reina's legs.

Gerrard's header gave brief hope but Liverpool discovered to their cost that lightning does not strike twice in Istanbul.

GERRARD: TRUST US, WE'LL GET THINGS RIGHT

Paul Eaton 08 October 2007

Steven Gerrard has urged Liverpool fans not to panic after two more Barclays Premier League points slipped away at Anfield yesterday.

The Reds' skipper is aware of the mood of disappointment among supporters after the Reds dropped points at home for the third time this season, but he insists there's no reason to feel despondent with the team still unbeaten in the league and sitting in the top four of the table.

"We haven't been ourselves of late, that's true," Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.tv at the opening of Jamie Carragher's Cafe Sports England in the city centre last night. "The results haven't been good and the performances could have been better.

"We're going through a dip in form which all top teams do at some stage and we just have to make sure we play our way through it. We're not performing to the standards we can do but that will change.

"I'm asking the fans to trust me when I say there's no crisis here. We have fantastic players and a world class manager and we will get things right again, there's no doubt about that.

"We've got an international break now which will give Rafa the chance to look at things and work with the players who are staying behind. For those of us going away, we have to get the jobs done with our countries and then come back ready for a massive match at Everton.

"If we can turn in a performance in the derby and win the game then things will be looking better again. That's what we'll be aiming for."

RAFA: TIME TO SHOW OUR QUALITY

Paul Hassall 04 October 2007
Rafael Benitez has called upon his players to stand up and be counted following last night's Champions League defeat to Marseille.

The Reds boss was disappointed with his side's performance throughout the Group A contest and now wants to see his team give a positive response in the forthcoming fixtures against Tottenham, Everton and Besiktas.

"We must improve, we must show our character now," said Benitez.

"We know we have to do better. We showed character to get a draw against Porto when we did not play well, and we showed character to win at Wigan last weekend in a hard match.

"Now we must show character against Tottenham. That is our first priority after the Marseille result."

The Spaniard was questioned over his team selection following the Reds' first defeat of the season but refused to blame individual players for a disappointing display.

"It is not the changes, it is big players not playing well," insisted Rafa.

"I chose Leto because he had been training well and he had played well in the Carling Cup on the left with Fabio Aurelio.

"I wanted to give him his chance because he had shown he was a player who could beat opponents with pace.

"But for me it is not right to talk about only one player, the whole team played badly.

"It is difficult to explain how a team of talented players like ours could give the ball away so much.

"Marseille played well, they pressed us hard and worked well. But we should have been able to create chances behind teams who attack and press like that.

"But we did not create any clear chances. We did have the options, but just failed to take advantage and you do not win if you do not create openings."

With just one point from their opening two Group A fixtures the Reds boss admits his side face an uphill task to qualify for the Knockout stages of the Champions League and believes a win on their travels is now a necessity if they are to maintain any hope of reaching a third European final in just four seasons.

"We are now going to have to win an away game, certainly the next away game with Besiktas," continued Benitez.

"We need points quickly. There has been talk of us needing 10 or 12 points to qualify. Forget all this, we must concentrate first on winning the next group match.

"That is the situation, not what may happen later in the group."

FINNAN: WE OWE THE FANS A PERFORMANCE

Steve Finnan today insisted the Liverpool players are determined to put a smile back on the faces of their fans this weekend following Wednesday's Champions League defeat to Marseille.

RAFA: IT WAS BAD, EVERYTHING WAS WRONG

RAFA BENITEZ accepted that last night's dire 1-0 Champions League defeat to Marseille was the worst home European performance of his managerial reign.

MATCH PREVIEW: REDS V MARSEILLE

Paul Hassall 03 October 2007

When Liverpool face French opposition in Europe it inevitably conjures up images of the epic triumph that was St Etienne.
It was a pivotal 90 minutes of football that set us on the road to becoming European champions for the very first time and is the game that immortalised David Fairclough in Reds folklore.

Since then we have endured mixed fortunes against our Gallic counterparts with wins over Monaco and Auxerre countered by defeats against Strasbourg and Paris St Germain.

This season we have already come up against a side from across The Channel, in Toulouse, but Benitez will be expecting much more of a test when his team take on Olympique Marseille in Match Day Two of Group A.

The French side recently replaced coach Albert Emon with Belgian Eric Gerets after they endured a miserable start to Ligue 1.

A run of one win in nine league matches led the Stade Velodrome outfit to move for the former Galatasaray coach, who arrives with a proven track record having led the Istanbul side to the Turkish championship last season.

It may have been a frustrating start on the domestic scene but in the Champions League it has been a different story and they got their Group A campaign underway in superb style as they secured a 2-0 win at home to Besiktas.

Former Reds striker Djibril Cisse got on the scoresheet and will no doubt be relishing the opportunity to play at Anfield once again, as will veteran Dutch star Bolo Zenden.

In fact the link does not end there as the visitors also boast midfielder Benoit Cheyrou, brother of one-time Reds player Bruno.

The last and only time the two sides met was in the 2003/04 campaign when a Didier Drogba inspired Marseille knocked Gerard Houllier's side out of the UEFA Cup.

A 1-1 draw at Anfield was followed by a 2-1 defeat in France, when the Reds let a 1-0 lead slip after Igor Biscan was sent-off for a professional foul.