Liverpool v Fiorentina

Well this has to be the ideal moment for Liverpool to really show the fans just what they are capable of. And I sincerely hope that Rafa does nothing other than allow the players to go out and express themselves in a game that has absolutley no meaning for us. We are already guaranteed a place in the Europa league so nothing to win or lose other than a little more respect from fans around Europe. I persoanally think that Fiorentina are best team in our group and after a slow start in the first match they lost their fear and realised that for the first 20 minutes had been paying us too much respect. They then proceeded to tear us apart with some fast pass and move football and we were lucky not to lose by more than we did. So a chance to pay them back if Rafa takes the reins off, stops playing with 2 defensive midfielders, starts with Aquilani who must be raring to go and show the fans what he can do.

For the Violas though this match will decide if they finish top of their group or not so I expect a very disciplined perfomance from them. We though, can and should get at them from the first whistle. These type of matches with no pressure for us against top opposition who need to win don't come along too often. So come on Rafa and let the fans have a feast of footbal to enjoy.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6763208/Liverpool-v-Fiorentina-match-preview.html

Well that's it we are now officially out of the Champions League, we hope only until next season.

On a rainy windswept night at Anfield that resembled nothing that I have ever associated with a CL match atmosphere we suffered
from the defensive frailties of experimental defensive selections. It would be unkind and infair to blame solely Derby for a moment of indecision
that allowed Fiorentina to steal the match in the dying moments. It was good to see the likes of Derby and Pacheco being given a chance to show what they can do
in the first team. And lets face it if you can't expirement in a match that means nothing when can you? That makes the selection of Dossena all the more strange though? I can only imagine he was selected for one of two reasons. Either to put him in the Italian shop window for January or as someone who could communicate with Aquilani in his own language just his left in midfield? Personally I would have preferred to have seen someone else given a chance in this match.

As to Aquilani? This was an accomplished and polished performance from him on his home debut. At last we have a midfield player whose body shape and natural instincts are to move the ball forward rather than sideways or backwards. And not only move it forward but quickly. A good first touch and excellent awareness of those players around him. He looked a little nervy at times but this has to be expected on his first start at Anfield. I can only imagine that it is a massive relief for him to get this match out of the way, and the ovation he recieved from the Anfield crowd will have done his confidence no harm either. Now it is vitally important that Rafa continues to select him as a starter as to do otherwise would only dmage his fragile confidence after being kept on the bench for so long. It was also conforting to see Mascherno playing in his usual role without the confusion that arises by pairing him alongside Lucas who must surely now revert to the bench.

On a more worrying note the last time I saw so many empty seats at Anfield for a competitive match the manager was sacked at the end of the season. These supporters are not the fans that are jamming phone lines on Radio Mersey screaming for Rafa to be sacked nor are they the vociferous Kopites who sing Rafa' name and shout down any criticism of Rafa. This is a group of fans voting with their feet by not turning up and for me this is far more worrying. As i said any time I have witnessed this at Anfield in the 40 years I have been supporting the team their absence is usually followed by that of the curent encombent of the managers post. And the other worrying sign was Rafa' post match live TV interview. The interviewer fired a number of quickfire and searching questions about the future for our team, without really putting Rafa under too much pressure. In fact the interview could have been a lot tougher. I say worryingly because Rafa was like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an onrushing car. He virtually froze! His responses at times had nothing to do with the questions he was being asked. When the man at the helm of the ship shows a complete lack of confidence it cannot be interpreted as anything other than extremely worrying.

Oh well, Europa Leugue here we come and we are not even worthy of being seeded. How far we have fallen. I personally don't think we can win this competition. Lets face it we have gone out of the CL not to the greats such as Real,Barca, the Milan sides but to the also rans of Europe in Fiorentina and Lyon. There some seriously good sides in the Europa L. Still we have to do our best to replace the lost income from the CL whilst pressing our far more important goal of getting in the top 4 of the Prem. Notably last season Harry Redknapp and Martin O'neil effectively fielded reserve sides in the EL in favour of attempting to qualify for the CL.

I would not be surprised if Rafa did the same.

ANFIELD’S illustrious European history is littered with firsts and last night it witnessed another entry – such a shame it was the one that was wanted least of all.

Had the situation gone as Rafa Benitez and his players anticipated, Fiorentina’s first visit to this fabled stadium could, in theory, have ranked alongside those spine-tingling occasions that were Olympiakos and Chelsea, Auxerre, St Etienne and Inter Milan.

It was, of course, supposed to be the evening when their Champions League hopes were salvaged with a high-energy, ultra-committed display that would have had supporters screaming themselves hoarse and shaking in giddy disbelief at the unfolding drama.

Instead, the 40,863 who braved the December cold watched the least significant game Liverpool have ever played on home soil in European combat, one were the goals scored and bookings accrued were of use only to statisticians.

Exits from this competition are not supposed to be so humdrum; the glitz and glamour associated with the Champions League demands drama, the kind that was apparent when Liverpool eventually fell last season in the quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge.

Frustratingly the tumble they have taken this time has been anything but heroic or dramatic and the funereal manner in which ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was sung by The Kop summed up Liverpool’s efforts against La Viola, Lyon and Debrecen.

No wonder. Watching Fiorentina go through the motions here, barely causing a much-changed Liverpool any real concerns for most of an instantly forgettable encounter, merely hammered home the feeling that a golden opportunity has been squandered.

Nothing should ever be taken for granted in football but the stark truth is Liverpool should have progressed from Group E without turning a hair and that’s why the shock that Europa League is on the agenda come the New Year has yet to subside.

A statement made with the aid of Red-tinted glasses, particularly given this latest result? No chance.

Look at things another way – do you envisage either Lyon or Fiorentina reaching the semi-finals, never mind actually getting to the Madrid final? Exactly.

Quite simply, Liverpool have only themselves to blame, the collapse in Matchday 3 against Lyon and that last-gasp leveller conceded in Stade Gerland are the incidents which Benitez and Company have been left to rue.

Defeat here, courtesy of second half goals from Martin Jorgensen and Alberto Gilardino, may have triggered more negative headlines and brought a six-game unbeaten run crashing to the ground, but it should never have happened.

Liverpool have played far worse in the past two months than they did against Fiorentina and the reason the Italians pilfered a last-gasp win was down to a wretched lack of concentration from a makeshift defence; predictably it proved oh so costly

Only when the draw for the Europa League’s round of 32 is made will Liverpool – who are unseeded – discover how complicated their route to Hamburg will be, the fear now being they will be pitted against one of the more high profile teams in the competition.

Were they to fall at that particular hurdle, it would really be the biggest ignominy in this bitterly frustrating campaign but now is not the time for ultra negative thoughts – the situation must be salvaged, as quickly as possible.

It feels like an exceptionally long time since Liverpool supporters left a ground beaming ear to ear – even winning at Goodison Park last month was accompanied with complaints about the performance – and the gloom must be lifted.

Still, every cloud must have a silver lining and if one could be taken from this dead rubber then it has to be the industrious first start of Alberto Aquilani, hitherto a peripheral figure, in a Red shirt. Benitez was at pains in the build up to point out that snap judgements should not be formed on Aquilani, given the length of the lay-off he has endured and how he will need time to adapt to the rhythm of Liverpool’s play.

If the manager was trying to temper enthusiasm, the player did his best to fire it; quick thinking and slick passing, Aquilani exuded elegance and showed – touch wood – how the Reds will be so much the richer for his prolonged presence in the starting line-up.

All subtle flicks and sharp forward balls, it didn’t take long for the crowd to feed off his energy, Aquilani’s eagerness to please helped lift the tempo a couple of notches and gave the Reds a dimension they have sorely lacked.

There will, undoubtedly, be bigger challenges for Il Principino in the future but you only have to watch the way he carries himself on a field and the ease with which he uses possession to see he’s class performer – keeping him fit might prove the biggest challenge.

That, though, is something to be worried about at a later date, for now it is best to just enjoy the fact he has belatedly launched his career on Merseyside and hope he will play a part in transforming the club’s fortunes.

What really frustrates today is Liverpool should have been going into Sunday’s collision with Arsenal on the back of a win, as they created several clear chances – and how often have you been able to say that recently?

Yossi Benayoun’s glancing header, from Gerrard’s precise free-kick, gave them a deserved interval lead, while both Daniel Agger and the impressive Andrea Dossena came close to extending that advantage after the break.

Yet, ultimately, they were masters of their own fall once again, they switched off to allow Jorgensen the space to hammer home an equaliser, then leaving Gilardino in acres of space to score in injury time to give Fiorentina top spot.

A depressing end, then, to a depressing adventure; the challenge now is to ensure the depression does not stretch all the way through until May – making sure they can play Champions League football next season is the priority.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Cavalieri; Darby, Agger, Skrtel, Insua; Mascherano (Aurelio 86), Aquilani (Pacheco 76); Benayoun, Gerrard, Dossena; Kuyt (Torres 65).

FIORENTINA (4-4-2): Frey; Comotto, Natali, Kroldrup, Pasqual; De Silvestre (Castillo 83), Donadel, Montolivo, Jorgensen (Vargas 72); Santana (Marchionni 72), Gilardino.

Attendance: 40,863.

Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)