A REAL MESS
Say what you like about Liverpool this season – and Football Daily gets the distinct feeling there have been a few rumblings – but their ability to repeatedly locate new depths to plumb with sonar-like precision has been second to none. They lost at Old Trafford to a Manchester United team who had just been gubbed 4-0 at Brentford. They were defeated by a random rabble cosplaying as Nottingham Forest, all of whom had only just met each other 15 minutes before kick-off. They were also beaten by Brentford, for the first time since 1938. They’ve been routed by Brighton and Wolves, lost at home to Jesse Marsch’s Leeds, and arguably worst of all, were unable to beat an Everton team set up by Frank Lampard. Oh Jürgen! How has it come to this?
Yet all that pales into insignificance after last night’s fiasco against Real Madrid at Anfield. It was a strange game, in so much as Liverpool were excellent for 15 minutes and little short of appalling for the other 75, and extremely fortunate that the visitors, of whom they were supposedly peers, declared at five with a quarter of the match still to play. Had the European champions kept up the rate at which they were ripping through what served as the home defence during the second half, the final score would have been 2-8. So, small mercies: at least Liverpool avoided a humiliation of Bayern-Barça proportions, and still hold the record for this season’s biggest Big Cup away win, that 7-1 rout of Rangers at Ibrox. Yes, Liverpool’s season has been really weird, hasn’t it.
If last night’s capitulation wasn’t embarrassing enough, footage emerged on the internet of Phil Babb in a television studio somewhere, criticising Liverpool’s setup ahead of Éder Militão’s goal. Schooled in the art of defending by Phil Babb! Truly we are now through the looking-glass, and while it’s too early to claim that, finally, Liverpool really have hit rock bottom – there’s still the second leg at the Bernabéu to go, and they’re not pulling off an incredible 4-0 comeback against La Liga opposition this time – it’s almost certainly the point at which this incarnation of Liverpool must be officially declared over. Kaput. Done.
Nothing lasts for ever. They’re not finishing fourth either, so admit the jig is up and start again, with some new defenders, midfielders and attackers the priority. No biggie, then, so good luck with all that. Especially as it might now prove even harder to convince Jude Bellingham to pick them over a certain Spanish suitor who right now look like holding on to Big Cup for ever more.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“He is getting all the talent out of his players. You see Sancho, Rashford, the Portuguese guy. And look how Fred is playing” – sensational mind games from Xavi, after the Barcelona manager falls at the feet of Fred and seemingly forgets the name of Bruno Fernandes before the Europa League playoff second leg at Manchester United on Thursday.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Football Weekly siren! Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Sid Lowe, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Jonathan Fadugba dissect Liverpool’s Big Cup humiliation and get their Gareth Ainsworth chat on.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“All this discussion about sightings of famous players off the pitch – well at least one of the 1,057 subscribers here is pretty famous. If I’m not mistaken [you’re not, verified by Football Daily lawyers – Football Daily Ed], one of yesterday’s Football Daily letters contributors was from Sir Paul Preston CBE, eminent historian, author, academic, specialist in the Spanish Civil War and a true Blueblood Evertonian, with whom I had the pleasure of sharing many a pithy forum exchange way back in the earlier days of that interweb thingy. I wonder how many other Football Daily readers have a significant claim to fame?” – Steve Malone (and no others).
“With the topic of off-field sightings of footballers now apparently being exhausted and the discussion having moved on to non-sightings of footballers (Tuesday’s Football Daily letters), I wonder if there might be pent-up appetite among the Football Daily readership for anecdotes about non-sightings of non-footballers?” – Tony Crooks.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Tony Crooks (just).
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