Wednesday started well for Rafa Benitez as he bolstered his squad with the signing of the Argentine international winger Maxi Rodriguez from Athletico Madrid. However, the night ended in misery for the Liverpool manager. Being knocked out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 home defeat to Championship side Reading was a bitter blow.
But perhaps more damaging, given the season's revised goal of qualifying for the Champions League, were the injuries to Benitez's star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Striker Torres limped off in the first half with a torn knee cartilage that requires surgery and will be out for six weeks while Gerrard was replaced at half-time with a torn hamstring. He is out for a fortnight. Midfielder Yossi Benayoun has also fractured a rib and faces a month on the sidelines.
The trio will be unavailable for the next two games - away to Stoke tomorrow and at home to Tottenham - while Torres and Benayoun will miss the Merseyside derby against Everton, a trip to Arsenal and maybe even the visit to Manchester City. Gerrard and Torres have already missed significant portions of the season because of groin injuries. Gerrard was out of action for six weeks, while Torres has missed five league games and has admitted to playing through the pain barrier.
Those injuries place an extra significance on the arrival of Rodriguez, who can occupy wide berths on either flank or play as a second striker. Benitez was thrilled with his newcomer. "He is good at getting into the box and is a good finisher," said the Spaniard. "Every year he gets five to 15 goals from midfield. I think he will adapt to English football because he is a clever player and takes up good positions on the pitch."
An experienced international colleague of Liverpool's midfield enforcer Javier Mascherano, Rodriguez was paraded to the Kop ahead of the Liverpool's FA Cup third-round replay against the Championship strugglers. In watching his new employers crash to a side who sit only two points clear of the relegation places and have amassed a measly three points from their last five league games, Rodriguez must have wondered if he had made a mistake.
As defeats go, this represented perhaps Liverpool's worst of the season - the lowest point in a term already plagued by inadequacy and under-achievement. It also fuelled speculation that Benitez, who only weeks ago prioritised the FA Cup as his club's best chance to end three silverware-less seasons, teeters on the brink of the Anfield exit door. It is something the former Valencia manager refuses to contemplate.
"Everybody has been talking about me but I'll keep working hard with my team," said Benitez after the shock loss. "From the beginning of the season we have been a little bit frustrated but we have to carry on. "We are not in the competition any more so we have to think about the future but it depends on your point of view - there were too many things I did not like. If the critics are fair, then it's OK but it's been the same for three months."
But results have showed no sign of improvement and worryingly for Benitez, with the team's confidence in ruins, he appears to have lost dressing room support. The Spaniard has vowed to battle on, saying: "This has not been our best season. There have been good situations and bad situations. The only way to improve is to be confident and to continue to work hard." @Email:emegson@thenational.ae
