Liverpool were second best by a distance... they are not even fifth in a four-horse race

By Oliver Holt in Mirror Football Blog

Published 22:40 21/03/10

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There is a party going on in the Premier League but Liverpool are not invited.

Three of the big four are locked in the most gripping battle for the title in years.

Arsenal went top on Saturday, Manchester United went top yesterday afternoon, Chelsea dropped two points last night.

Liverpool aren’t involved. They’re not even fifth in a four-horse race any more.

Their 2-1 defeat to United and Manchester City’s win at Fulham dropped Liverpool to sixth. Their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season are beginning to look forlorn.

They didn’t come to Old Trafford yesterday as contenders. They were relegated to the role of a banana skin United didn’t want to slip on. They were a potential inconvenience, not a real threat, a hurdle to negotiate for United as they press on, not a rival for honours.

It’s a sad reflection of the season they have had but they have become the kind of side Sir Alex Ferguson likes to patronise as noisy neighbours.

Don’t be fooled by the narrow margin of victory or by Fernando Torres fluffing a great chance for a last-minute equaliser. ­Liverpool were second best by a distance at the home of the champions. Last season, when they humiliated United 4-1 here, seemed an awful long time ago.

They were a depressing sight. They lacked belief, purpose and, most damning of all, ambition.

Much of the blame for that must be laid at the door of Rafa Benitez, who picked a cautious team again yesterday as he has done for much of the season.

Liverpool have gone past the stage where caution will get them into the top four and yet Benitez persisted in the sterile pairing of Javier Mascherano and Lucas in the centre of midfield. Mascherano’s main contribution was to allow Antonio Valencia to slip past him and then drag him down to concede the penalty that gave United an equaliser.

The offence was committed outside the box but Mascherano was still lucky not to be sent off. At least it got him noticed. Lucas was anonymous throughout.

The same applied to Steven Gerrard, who was shoved up front to play off Torres. Gerrard is a sublime player but has never been at his best so far forward. Nothing changed yesterday. He was subdued. Liverpool’s performance was not without positives. Jamie Carragher was magnificent in the heart of defence and played Rooney as well as it is possible to play against an unstoppable force.

Benitez only shook things up in the last 17 minutes when he made three quick changes, bringing on Alberto Aquilani, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun.

It was too late. By then, United were in complete control and none of the substitutes was able to make an impact. Had they been on from the start, it might have been different.

It is hard to see quite what Benitez would have to lose because it is clear the Lucas-Mascherano axis is not working. Both are good players but, unless one of them has a hidden talent with a paint brush or a pen, neither has a creative bone in his body.

The continuing struggles of £20m Aquilani raise more awkward questions about the judgment of Benitez, too. After Dimitar Berbatov, he’s the most expensive ­substitute in the league.

The difference is United are top of the table and can afford to leave out Berbatov whereas at Liverpool, ­Aquilani’s struggles now he is finally fit just make Benitez look profligate.

The achievements of Benitez in his six years at Anfield command respect and demand he be allowed the luxury of one bad season without being hounded out. The fans have remained loyal to him but even among many of his most fervent admirers, alarm bells must be starting to ring.

His performances at press conferences have become more and more idiosyncratic. It got to the point after the game yesterday where he was so quirky, it started to feel as if he was playing it for laughs.

Like practically every other Premier League manager, Benitez sees enemies and conspiracies everywhere. He speaks about them in code, ­emphasising his points with knowing looks and sideways glances. It’s a real cabaret.

Yesterday, he got into ­character when he mulled over United’s penalty and Valencia’s tumble. “The way he fell is strange,” Benitez said.

Then there was Ferguson, the target of his rant last season. “We know the ­influence of Sir Alex in everything,” Benitez said.

All that is left for Liverpool is the pursuit of the meaningless Europa League and the increasingly desperate struggle for fourth place.

Tottenham, City and Aston Villa are all better placed than Liverpool and Benitez has stopped offering ­guarantees his side will finish in the top four.

For Liverpool this season, the party finished a long time ago but the hangover isn’t going away.

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