Debrecen VS Liverpool - It's going to be a long, hard winter
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Predictions anyone?
and anyone watching..?
i am going to watch through how liverpool gonna win and not qualify cos florentina draw with lyon..
liverpool all the way...
on the other hand, rafa must go. -
nanana, nanana, hey hey goodbye... nanana nanana hey hey good bye~
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LFC is having a meeting now and fans are allowed to join in.
Click on and have your say.....
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don't worry there is still fa cup
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na na na na
na na na na
ra-fa
goodbye
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So long, Liverpool.
They got themselves into this stupid position of not being in full control of their own destiny.
In the end, Fiorentina won and got through, and Liverpool only have themselves to blame.
I seriously hope that I won't hear any Liverpool die-hards try to pin the blame on Lyon for this debacle....
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liverpool has no consistency whatsoever. last season finish runner up and qfs of CL. this season already out of league title and out of CL by November. doing well in one season and doing so badly the next season.
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RAFA BENITEZ had predicted a miracle escape in the city where Harry Houdini was born. But Liverpool tied themselves up in so many knots before reaching Hungary that victory over Debrecen could not save them from Champions League elimination.
The Reds had to win in the Ferenc Puskas Stadium to have any chance of going through to the knockout phases. And, while they duly obliged against their limited opponents, events 456 miles away in Florence sealed their fate.
Steven Gerrard stared anxiously at the TV after this match finished, praying for a late Lyon equaliser at Fiorentina which would have kept the dream alive.
OK, Liverpool would have had to beat Fiorentina 3-0 in their final match, but where there was life there was hope.
However, a win for the Italians means Liverpool will be playing in Europe's second division, the Europa League, after Christmas.
Centre-back Jamie Carragher claimed before this game that would be no disaster but it felt like one.
Slugging it out with football's also-rans is not what Liverpool are about. They have been crowned European champions on five occasions and are used to dining at the top table.
It is not very good for the finances either. Their exit could cost the club up to £30million. But they have only themselves to blame. Liverpool caved into Lyon at Anfield after leading and conceded a last-gasp equaliser against the French in their away game.
Benitez had pointed to his side coming back from the abyss in 2005 and 2007 as evidence of why it could happen again. Pessimists argued he had used up all his luck and even Rafa admitted that if Liverpool did pull it off it would equal anything he had ever achieved in Europe, including the sensational comeback in Istanbul.
The Reds made sure they did all they could do by scoring inside four minutes thanks to 20-year-old David Ngog. The Frenchman is deputising for the injured Fernando Torres and, while he is not in the Spaniard's class, the youngster is doing his level best to make up for the £22m man's absence.
Ngog bagged his fifth goal of the season when he prodded a shot in off the right-hand post after Fabio Aurelio's cross was nodded down by Carragher. It seemed Liverpool would get a hatful as they created a string of chances.
Dirk Kuyt failed to connect with a diving header which surely would have produced a second goal had he got anything on it. And Ngog was denied by keeper Vukasin Poleksic after digging the ball out from under his foot and powering in a 20-yard shot.
Over in Florence, though, Liverpool were already living on the edge as Fiorentina twice hit the post in the space of 30 seconds.
Then, on 28 minutes, came the dagger through the heart as the Italians took the lead against Lyon from the penalty spot. Debrecen could have made things worse had striker Gergely Rudolf got a free header on target but he was well wide and furious with himself.
Gerrard responded by laying the ball off to the lively Ngog, whose 20-yard strike was again saved by the leaping Poleksic.
Rudolf, hoping to go down in history like his reindeer namesake, was not having the best of nights in front of goal. In fact, he looked like Santa on the sherry as he swung at a cross on the edge of the area and completely miskicked.
Right at the death Pepe Reina made a brilliant save which ensured Liverpool's win - although it made little difference in the overall scheme of things.
Every season since arriving in 2004, Benitez has had the Champions League to bail him out, even if Liverpool were not challenging for the title.
Now all the focus will be on his domestic results, and they are not a pretty sight. It's going to be a long, hard winter.