Footy Speak

Step forward one of the world’s most annoying Germans….and that’s some accolade considering the competition…. Jens Lehmann

It’s been a busy week for goalkeepers in the Champions League – but at the other end of the pitch. Following Hans Jorg Butt’s swaggering spot-kick that sent the world’s most expensive goalie the wrong way, another keeper has been in the goals – but this time in good-old fashioned last-minute desperation drama.

Standard Liege were rooted to the bottom of the Champions League group table with seconds remaining in their home encounter with the team just above them, AZ Alkmaar. The Belgians trailed 1-0 and needed a goal to lift themselves above the Dutch champions to secure Europa League qualification with a 3rd-place finish.

One last throw of the dice…. seconds remaining…. a free-kick is swung to the back post and rising to the occasion above everyone else is Standard’s Turkish goalkeeper Sinan Bolat to bullet home a header that Sandor Kocsis and John Toshack would have been proud of.

Cue epic celebrations. We’re not Rafael Benitez is this chuffed to be in the Europa League…. but it’s time to embrace it, Liverpool fans.

Team of the Week:

Carrasso (Bordeaux), Caceres (Juventus), Planus (Bordeaux), Cesar (Rubin), Vargas (Fiorentina), Fabregas (Arsenal), Misimovic (Wolfsburg), Dzagoev (CSKA), Arshavin (Arsenal), Niang (Marseille), Drogba (Chelsea).

Liverpool will almost certainly be featuring on Channel Five this season after their Champions League campaign, that promised fireworks two months ago, went up in smoke in France.

The Reds, who were dubbed one of the competition’s favourites, have picked up just four points from four games and qualification is now out of their hands. With numerous permutations, most of them ugly, the likelihood is that Liverpool need to beat Debrecen and hammer Fiorentina to have any hope of progressing – but if Lyon lose in Florence in three weeks time, Liverpool are out no matter what.

Rafa Benitez, despite missing the likes of Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Albert Riera and Martin Skrtel, still managed to submit a strong outfit for his side’s must-win fixture in Lyon tonight and for the large part, Liverpool looked comfortable and deserved their 1-0 lead courtesy of an 83rd-minute rocket from sub Ryan Babel. But Benitez and his side are being punished left, right and centre for their mistakes at present and it was the Greek defender Kyrgiakos who, rather than stand his ground and muscle his man away, decided to dive in when off balance, allowing Lisandro Lopez to run clear and finish high past Pepe Reina.

The talk of Benitez losing his job is premature; he has no money to spend so neither does an incumbent, and it’s clear the players and most fans are behind him. But at any club, one win in eight matches simply isn’t good enough. No league titles in twenty years simply isn’t good enough.