Footy Speak

Liverpool fans love the number five. It’s what sets them apart. It’s what makes them believe. Five times they’ve lifted the European Cup and they never let anyone forget it.

But now, they’re facing an altogether different number five. An unprecedented fifth successive defeat, against their arch rivals Manchester United on Sunday, would leave a season that was so hyped, so bullish, so promising…. in tatters. In October. Five has become a hugely frightening number indeed.

And it might not stop there. This morning Rafa Benitez’s side lick their wounds that could easily be reopened time and time again in the next fortnight as, after the champions come to town, there are two more crunch clashes with Arsenal and Lyon again.

Liverpool’s 2-1 home defeat to the French league leaders has left them with a uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League second round; failure to do so would be a catastrophic malfunction, both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

What has happened to the swash-buckling, steam-rollering, free-scoring, never-say-die Liverpool from last spring? Jamie Carragher cut the most forlorn figure you are ever likely to see as the final whistle went last night; close to tears in his post-match interview. This is Jamie Carragher – the embodiment of all that it stands for to be a Liverpool player – and there he was looking like a totally broken man.

These are worrying times for Rafael Benitez. Manchester United will head to Merseyside on Sunday smelling blood, envisioning a huge Street Fighteresque ‘Finish Him’ mirage above the Anfield pitch – and if they head back down the East Lancs with a ten-point lead over Liverpool, Benitez – and his team’s 2009/10 season – may well indeed be finished.