Liverpool on the verge of elimination

Liverpool 1 Lyon 2:LIVERPOOL ARE on the verge of elimination from the Champions League. The vibrant conclusion, for once, came to the visitors at this ground when the substitute Cesar Delgado turned home a perfect low ball from Sidney Govou in the 90th minute.

Liverpool have been beaten in four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since 1987.

Rafael Benitez’s side, with three points, face a severe task since only one home fixture remains, against Fiorentina, in the group. Nonetheless their endeavour here was impressive in grim circumstances.

The Champions League is supposed to be a test, but this match was also a torment. With Fernando Torres already missing, Steven Gerrard’s adductor muscle problem flared up again here and the captain has to be replaced by Fabio Aurelio after 25 minutes. Glen Johnson had also been ruled out by a groin strain.

A task of almost ridiculous severity had been set for Benitez.

It was if the fates were resolved to foist defeat on him. With Philipp Degen not included, the 19-year-old Martin Kelly made his first start, having appeared before for a mere eight minutes as a substitute against PSV Eindhoven last December.

The Liverpool manager was determined to limit disruption elsewhere. Despite the injury to Torres, Dirk Kuyt was kept in his now customary wide role, with the 20-year-old David Ngog at centre-forward.

There was every cause for the side to be disjointed and the visitors might well have deepened the misgivings by taking the lead.

The left-back Aly Cissokho broke on the left and picked out Lisandro Lopez. The Argentine has sparkled since leaving Porto for €18.6 million million in the summer, but his header was straight at Pepe Reina.

In the early stages, Liverpool were preoccupied simply by turning themselves into a team of sorts. That was a test, too, of nerve, particularly when Gerrard departed.

There have, with sound cause, been reservations about a Liverpool squad already beaten four times in the Premier League. but the spirit, at any rate, was undiminished.

With Fiorentina scoring freely in Hungary, that resolve was needed to sustain Anfield hopes in this tournament.

Liverpool did occupy territory and went on to make use of that foothold. Aurelio knuckled down and achieved prominence before the interval. It was his thrust from the left that led to Yossi Benayoun firing home in the 41st minute after the ball had deflected off the centre-half Cristiano Cris.

Almost immediately, Aurelio might have extended that lead, but his header from a Kelly delivery was tipped over by the Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

The French side must have been nonplussed. Opponents of modest reputation were making their presence felt as pride and resolve compensated for any technical deficiencies.

The seemingly superior accomplishment of Lyon, on the other hand, was not registering. The injured Cris had to be taken off, but Lyon had few handicaps.

The visitors’ manager Claude Puel must have spent the interval trying to remind his men that they were the settled side who still had key personnel on the pitch.

There was a little more calmness when the action resumed, but Liverpool did not necessarily have to drive themselves into a frenzy.

It did no harm for them to be composed when, for instance, Kuyt looked up and measured a cross that picked out Benayoun, but the midfielder’s shot was off-target.

Ngog might have demoralised Puel’s men after taking a ball from the poised Kelly on his chest, but he fired off-target. Lloris was soon occupied in turning a Kuyt header over the bar.

This was not an onslaught from Liverpool, but they were effective in stopping Lyon from achieving any flow.

Kelly had to cover staunchly as Lyon inevitably showed more urgency.

Worse still, they had begun to disrupt the Liverpool back four and the 72nd-minute equaliser was merited.

Reina blocked efforts by Jeremy Tolulalan and Govou, but could not stop a header from the substitute Bafetimbi Gomis.

Amid the mayhem, Kelly also collided with a post and had to make way for Martin Skrtel.

“It’s a massive disappointment, a bad result which leaves us a lot to do,” skipper Jamie Carragher admitted afterwards.

“We’re going through a tough patch but we’ve been through them before, we will come through no doubt.

“We have great fight and character. We had a lot of young lads out there tonight, if we could have hung on (for a draw) it would have been a good result.”

LIVERPOOL: Reina, Kelly (Skrtel 74), Carragher, Agger, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Gerrard (Aurelio 25), Benayoun (Voronin 84), Ngog. Subs not used: Cavalieri, Babel, Spearing, Plessis. Booked: Ngog.

OLYMPIQUE LYON: Lloris, Reveillere, Cris (Gonalons 42), Toulalan, Cissokho, Pjanic, Makoun, Kallstrom, Govou, Lopez (Delgado 86), Ederson (Gomis 61). Subs not used: Vercoutre, Clerc, Michel Bastos, Belfodil. Booked: Cris, Govou, Reveillere.

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain).