Rafa insisted Liverpool will reach Europa quarter-finals
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the reds will turn up one thursday??
They lost 1-0...
so means what?? Turn up to lose??
Liverpool really needs to shake things up ALOT...
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now i wonder what rafa will say again? we'll see real reds on sunday?
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this thread title mid-leading lar
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SAND HAZARD FOR RAGGED REDS
Lille 1 Liverpool 0
FELLED: Torres gets little change from LilleEDEN HAZARD piled on the misery for Liverpool on a terrible surface in this Europa League tie.
The promising winger saw his free-kick fly straight into the net past Jose Reina with only five minutes left as the Merseysiders struggled to find any rhythm on a sandy pitch.
Crucially, Lille take a lead to Anfield for the second leg and the hard-working French hopefuls denied the visitors any away goals with a solid defensive showing.
The home side started well in a frenetic opening spell with Yohan Cabaye testing Reina inside the very first minute.
Hazard showed what all the fuss is about regarding his potential with a great turn and dribble that led to a centre across the face of goal before Liverpool finally showed some threat when Fernando Torres almost released Ryan Babel.
Both sides were losing possession with alarming regularity but Babel should have scored when playing a one-two with Torres but firing against the legs of Mickael Landreau.
Although Lille had the majority of the play and Pierre-Alain Frau shot over on one occasion, the visitors carried the greater menace. Steven Gerrard fired just too high and then forced a smart stop out of Landreau, the keeper reacting even more impressively when Glen Johnson picked up the rebound and crossed for Torres to head goalwards.
Hazard displayed more neat tricks before aiming a tame shot at Reina and, when he did have the ball in the net soon after half-time, he was the victim of a marginal offside decision.
Lucas hooked wide from a Torres flick-on before both sides attempted to win penalties - Frau tumbling after a clash with Jamie Carragher and Johnson going flying at the other end. Referee Claus Bo Larsen was right to look the other way on both occasions.
After Babel's thumping effort was beaten out by Landreau, Liverpool's tempers began to flare. Emiliano Insua was booked for protesting about a tackle from behind on the slippery Hazard and Torres got involved in a flare-up with Ludovic Obraniak.
Torres, enduring the most frustrating of evenings, ended up being booked for dissent after one complaint too many.
Lille continued to press in search of a lead to take to Merseyside and Reina saw oner Frau shot rap off his knuckles and fly wide before Daniel Agger hacked away a Florent Balmont cross.
BLOCKED: Torres is shut out againCabaye managed the most eye-catching shot, however, clipping the bar with a thunderous strike that beat Reina all ends up.
Reina saved a Hazard shot with his face before the deadlock was finally broken with five minutes left.
Hazard's right-footed free-kick from the left wing went straight in with Reina stranded to bring the house down at the Stade Metropole.
A vital deflection off Agger diverted a shot from sub Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang onto the outside of a post but Liverpool had a couple of chances to rescue it at the death.
Torres and Lucas had shots blocked in a goalmouth scramble and Gerrard forced a diving save out of Landreau in stoppage time.
But Liverpool's season of woe continues and, if Lille get an away goal at Anfield, it'll need a Herculean effort from the Merseysiders to get through.
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i guess this is the real liverpool. losing 1-0 isnt that bad. gdluck for the rest of the season.
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so now the most importnt match changed again.
this guy is a joke.
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Liverpool is now a shelf.
Look ok outside and rotting inside.
The result show how strong they are now and whether the players are playing properly.
The manager need to be changed to increase the player formation and tactics.
They need to kick out some players also cos some of them are deadwood.
It is not shifting the blame around.
Liverpool need to resolve some basic issues to improve their standing.
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*points and laughs at rafa*
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I CARR-N'T BELIEVE IT ... Kop veteran Jamie Carragher reflects on first-leg defeat
LIVERPOOL crashed to a second shocking defeat in four days last night.
But boss Rafa Benitez insisted it was a huge improvement on Monday's loss at Wigan.
And he is sure his side can turn things round in next Thursday's second leg to make the Europa League's last eight.
Benitez said: "You must look at the positives. The attitude of the players here was fantastic.
"After Wigan, we were talking about our fans, saying we couldn't let them down again.
"And the effort and spirit were excellent this time."
An 85th-minute free-kick from Lille's Eden Hazard decided the outcome.
It sailed into the visitors' net with keeper Jose Reina rooted to his line.
Yet Benitez added: "This was a big improvement on the last game.
"The reaction from the players was very good and I'm disappointed for them to lose to a late goal, especially when we had a few chances of our own.
"When you are playing away from home, and you get two or three good chances, you have to score to make it more comfortable.
"It was against a good team on a difficult pitch.
"I think Lille started really well. We knew they had pace.
"You can watch videos but until you see them on the pitch you don't see the pace they have.
"It was difficult to stop them but little by little we had more control.
"I think the players worked very hard and, if we show the same mentality and continue to work that hard, then we can beat anyone.
"The fans will see the effort that the players put in. And with them behind us, we know that we can beat Lille at Anfield next week.
"Now we have to be ready for Portsmouth and then 90 more minutes in the Europa League."
Benitez singled out striker Fernando Torres for praise, claiming he was almost back to his best after his catalogue of injury problems.
He declared: "I think he was working particularly hard and you could see that his patience is coming back.
"He was performing at the level we expect from him and that is very good for the team as a whole."
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dun worry ..we at liverpool have this shitty thinking...our season starts when we win the next game,coz we need to turn many many corners first.we at liver POO also know our team is the most fuck up in epl,we liverpool ..a joke.we liver POO fans know our liver POO is shit,fuck up,stupid fat manager,a bastard captain..and the ultimate mother fuckers fans
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don't be a prick ya. you should go to the mirror and apply some acne cream.
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can someone plz remind rafa that after rolling off UCL, now Europa League, can't roll off anymore..
(just in case).
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will benitez act positive forever?
wait until the day he gets sacked then he can finally drop his act and start cursing pool non stop like that crazy forummer here.
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Lille 1 Liverpool 0: It goes from bad to worse for Rafa Benitez as Eden Hazard makes mincemeat of Reds in Europa League
Liverpool are facing a Europa League demise to go with their Champions League torment after a late winner from midfielder Eden Hazard left their hopes of a quarter-final place hanging by a thread here at the Metropole on Thursday night.
The lesser of UEFA’s club competitions is supposed to provide some compensation for those sides who narrowly fail to make it beyond the Champions League group stage, but there was no consoling Liverpool’s sorry-looking players as they dragged themselves off Lille’s heavy, churned-up pitch.
Just when Rafa Benitez felt his side’s fortunes could not plummet any lower — after a bedraggled, shapeless performance in losing to Wigan earlier in the week — they did, as their French hosts claimed a deserved advantage to take to Anfield on Thursday.
Benitez saw it differently, though, saying: ‘It is a pity we could not manage an away goal, but if we score early at Anfield we can manage the return leg. The players’ attitude was fantastic. They knew they could not let the fans down and they didn’t. I saw enough positives to believe we will win the tie.’
On target: Lille's Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the game
But there was very little positive about the performance of fit-again right back Glen Johnson, who struggled to cope whenever Emerson went on one of his attacking sorties. And Emiliano Insua fared little better on the other side. The Argentinian youngster was given a torrid time at Wigan and again looked ill-at-ease when put to the test by Hazard.
Lille’s right-sided star had such a success rate in one-on-ones with Insua that Florent Balmont increasingly drifted over from the centre to try his luck, both players reaching the by-line and whipping in crosses with alarming regularity.
There was a Hazard warning for Liverpool after only 40 seconds, as the Lille danger man unleashed a drive which flew straight into Pepe Reina’s midriff.
Striker Pierre-Alain Frau was a fraction away from applying a decisive touch to another right-flank delivery from Hazard in the 11th minute, before Liverpool finally showed signs of imposing themselves on a side with just one defeat — by Manchester United — in their last 16 home games in Europe.
Firing blanks: Fernando Torres (right) jousts with Lille's Franck Beria on another miserable night for Liverpool
MATCH FACTS
Lille (4-5-1): Landreau 6; Beria 6, Chedjou 6, Rami 7, Emerson 7; Hazard 8, Balmont 7, Mavuba 6, Cabaye 6 (Dumont 73min, 6), Obraniak 6 (Toure 83, 6); Frau 6 (Aubameyang 77, 6).
Booked: Aubameyang.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina 6; Johnson 6, Carragher 7, Agger 6, Insua 5; Mascherano 7, Lucas 5; Kuyt 5 (El Zhar 88), Gerrard 6, Babel 6 (Riera 73, 6); Torres 7.
Booked: Insua, Torres.
Man of the match: Eden Hazard.
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark).
Fernando Torres had already set up Ryan Babel for a chance that was ushered to safety by Adil Rami’s outstretched boot when the Spain striker combined with his team-mate in even more impressive style in the 26th minute.
The pace and accuracy of the passes exchanged between them belied the uneven surface and left Babel with a clear run on goal. The Holland forward has fallen short in several areas since his £12million move from Ajax, and finishing is one of them, especially when he has time to think through his options.
Here, he set himself on the edge of the area before firing a shot at keeper Mickael Landreau’s knees.
There were more encouraging signs as Steven Gerrard saw a 35-yard effort sail narrowly over, then applied even more pressure on the Lille goal in the 42nd minute. A fierce drive by the Liverpool skipper was parried by Landreau, who then had to react sharply to keep out Torres’s header.
Watch this space: Belgian wonderkid Eden Hazard (left) tormented Emiliano Insua
Liverpool were starting to sense a first-leg lead might be theirs for the taking. Torres certainly did in the 59th minute when, after being fouled midway inside the Lille half, he gave no thought to eating up a few valuable seconds and, instead, rolled a quick free-kick to Gerrard.
The ball was switched to Dirk Kuyt, then nudged into the path of Johnson, whose charge into the area was halted by what looked — but not to referee Claus Bo Larsen — like an unfair challenge.
Babel forced a diving save with a ferocious drive on the hour, but it was a measure of Liverpool’s lingering frustration that Torres talked his way into Larsen’s book with his protests about not being awarded a free-kick in the 67th minute.
Final anguish: Captain Steven Gerrard bursts into the area, but sees his late chance to grab a draw saved by Lille keeper Mickael Landreau
Reina would at least have had grounds for complaint had Stephane Dumont’s 76th-minute shot found a way past him. The keeper was about to gather it up when the ball bobbled off a divot and hit him flush in the face.
The pitch could hardly be blamed for Lille’s 84th-minute breakthrough, though. Hazard’s free-kick sailed towards the six-yard box, evading attackers and defenders alike and nestling in the far corner of the net, with Reina rooted.
It could have been worse — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hitting the post soon after — but not much. This was another dispiriting result and display to match from a side desperately low on confidence.
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expected result............whenever Rafa talks big, they'll crash.............
now hope Portsmouth would hammer another nail in Rafa's coffin..................
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Actually I think this isn't a big deal... Yeah of course losing isn't great but I am sure they can turn the result around at Anfield without too much problem...
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wow
A 19yrs old can already beat Liverpool in first lead
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Benitez: 'We will go through'
Defiant Rafa Benitez insisted last night Liverpool will reach the Europa League quarter-finals, despite another disastrous defeat here in France.
The English side slumped to their second loss in four days thanks to a goal from the appropriately named Lille forward, Eden Hazard.
It was a cruel blow because the midfielder scored direct from a free-kick that deceived everyone and sneaked in at the far post, and it leaves the Reds facing the very real prospect of their second humiliating European exit this season.
But Benitez remained positive after the game, insisting that his side had shown a massive improvement in attitude on Monday night's defeat at Wigan.
And he insisted there are signs that Fernando Torres is returning to his peak form, which will give Liverpool a massive edge in the return leg next week.
"I am confident we will progress, I am really pleased with the reaction of the players in terms of effort and I am confident we can beat anyone at Anfield with the fans behind us," Benitez said.
"I would be worried if the effort wasn't there, but we put it in, and if we repeat that next week then we will go through.
"They are a good team, but we are confident now we will beat them on what we have seen. This was a big improvement from the last game, and so we are disappointed by the result because the players' reaction was positive, and we can take that into the next leg."
Liverpool had their chances in France, but again they spurned the opportunities to make the tie safe, and Benitez recognises it is a big problem for his side.
But he believes that with Torres now back from injury and getting fitter by the game, his side can turn this tie around in the return leg.
"You need to be clinical when you play away in Europe. When you have chances you have to score, because away goals are so important, and we had two or three great chances, and really, we have to start taking them," he said.
"It is clear in any competition you have to score and in this, especially, because you need to score away, and so yes, it's frustrating that we didn't score because we had the chances.
"But I'm pleased there are some signs Fernando is coming back, and that will make a big difference. You could see that he is getting to the level we expect, and there were signs about his pace. He is looking sharp.
"The second leg will depend on how we start. If we score early we can manage the game, and I believe that we can win if we play like this."
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Watch how the freak goal went in...
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turn another corner.
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we'll win the league cup next season!
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I think can lah, Lille isn't a strong side and the goal they got was kind of lucky... I doubt they can survive Anfield...
Pool are playing poorly again but in 9 days time they will be playing United... The freaking thing here is, wait they are able to motivate themselves and end up winning against United again... wth... lol.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
I think can lah, Lille isn't a strong side and the goal they got was kind of lucky... I doubt they can survive Anfield...
Pool are playing poorly again but in 9 days time they will be playing United... The freaking thing here is, wait they are able to motivate themselves and end up winning against United again... wth... lol.
You see what lyon did to real madrid.Similar scenerio.
1st leg 1-0 at france.
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Originally posted by gunner77:
turn another corner.
Turning around too many corners could mean you are going around in circles.