Cautious Benitez pays the price

THERE ARE moments when all football managers must speculate to accumulate – and not just in the transfer market. With Tottenham and Manchester City intensifying their pursuit of fourth place, the time had arrived for Rafael Benitez to go for broke yesterday. In driving parlance Liverpool were approaching a dangerous corner and their manager needed to demand that they daringly risk accelerating hard into it, thereby gaining the momentum to overtake a queue of Champions League rivals on the home straight.

The price of balking at such a gamble could be not just the loss of a disillusioned Fernando Torres, but a failure to find an investor willing to cough up the €111 million Liverpool desperately require if the Royal Bank of Scotland is to be pacified this summer.

The stakes could not have been higher yet the biggest indictment of Benitez is that he fudged the challenge. The Spaniard’s team-sheet at Old Trafford might have been printed on a white flag. Although technically extremely adroit, Liverpool looked a side configured to nick a draw; had this had been a Sunday afternoon drive, their players would have remained in light-footed, strict fuel-conservation mode.

True, Torres was supported by Steven Gerrard in a withdrawn striking role but, behind that pair, the central midfield double act of Javier Mascherano and Lucas seemed most unlikely to make many, if any, late dashes into United’s box. Out on the flanks, the industrious Dirk Kuyt – who started superbly – patrolled the right wing well enough but, on the left, Maxi Rodriguez was neat but not penetrative.

When Benitez finally introduced the elusive fluidity personified by Alberto Aquilani’s one- and two-touch game along with Yossi Benayoun’s improvisation and Ryan Babel’s pace, it was far too late. Their team-mates were exhausted by an afternoon spent assiduously chasing, harrying, tracking back and passing the ball neatly in front of United’s defence. When a chance arrived to equalise, Torres miskicked and Benayoun’s header was wastefully weak.

With Michael Carrick proving less than inspired and Darren Fletcher primarily about spiky scrapping, yesterday represented a wasted opportunity for Liverpool. Who knows what might have happened had Aquilani started.

Admittedly Sir Alex Ferguson deployed Wayne Rooney alone up front but the England striker’s game was augmented by two genuine wingers in Antonio Valencia and Nani as well as Park Ji-sung’s late darts from an advanced midfield position.

Gerrard played significantly better than of late and Torres started well, connecting with Kuyt’s fine counter-attacking cross and heading brilliantly beyond Edwin van der Sar. But, thereafter, things gradually went downhill. Booked – yet again – his game was studded by flashes of petulance and, despite on occasions demonstrating his power to unnerve Nemanja Vidic, he appeared to lose heart after being clattered by the Serb.

Early on it seemed Benitez threatened to outwit Ferguson but, for Liverpool fans, this proved a chimera and from the moment Rooney equalised Liverpool’s containment policy looked increasingly ill advised.

At half-time a Chinese youth on an exchange visit to Manchester took part in a penalty-taking competition. His attempt struck a post but, ignoring such narrow failure he whipped off a replica shirt and began bowing to all.

No one could blame the boy for a spot of self-delusion in front of 75,000 at Old Trafford but Benitez must realise that, for Liverpool now, hitting the post is not enough.

Guardian service

Title Run-in

MANCHESTER UTD

Bolton (a) Mar 27

Chelsea (h) Apr 3

Blackburn (a) Apr 11

Man City (a) Apr 17

Tottenham (h) Apr 25

Sunderland (a) May 1

Stoke (h) May 9

CHELSEA

Portsmouth (a) Mar 24

Aston Villa (h) Mar 27

Man Utd (a) Apr 3

Bolton (h) Apr 13

Tottenham (a) Apr 17

Stoke (h) April 25

Liverpool (a) May 1

Wigan (h) May 9

ARSENAL

Birmingham (a) Mar 27

Wolverhampton (h) Apr 3

Tottenham (a) Apr10

Wigan (a) Apr 18

Man City (h) Apr 24

Blackburn (a) May 1

Fulham (h) May 9