STADIUM announcers are not renowned for making statements of great resonance but the man whose duty it was warm the crowd up here last night did just that
“The UEFA Champions League gives us the opportunity to see the best teams in Europe,” he proclaimed, shortly before the teams from Lyon and Liverpool marched out on to Stade de Gerland.
Though there was nothing revelatory about those words, they should strike a chord with those Liverpudlians who are trying to search for positives after this tumultuous campaign took another dramatic twist.
We should have been chronicling on these pages today how ironic it was that in the city which is home to the headquarters of Interpol, Liverpool launched the first part of what they hoped would culminate in another great escape.
Instead their presence in the Champions League is in the gravest danger after another Lyon late show left them on the brink of elimination.
Should Fiorentina beat Lyon on match-day five, nothing Liverpool do in Budapest against Debrecen will be good enough to save them and that, gallingly, will consign them to the Europa League in the New Year.
It just goes to show progress in this prestigious, lucrative tournament can never be taken for granted; some may have become blasé about playing the likes of Real Madrid and Inter but this impending calamity will jolt them into life.
But it should have been so different. Having taken a gamble on Fernando Torres’ fitness, Rafa Benitez deserved better than to see his patched-up, diligent squad get floored in such dramatic circumstances.
From the first whistle it was clear to see Torres was severely restricted, every sudden sprint or move left him rubbing his side, while there were occasions when it was palpably obvious that even trying to control the ball was a huge effort.
Yet the problem – if you can call it that – of having Torres in your squad is you simply want him to play whenever and wherever; few possess his sumptuous ability and even with one leg, he offers a threat which many strikers can only dream.
Typical, then, Liverpool’s first clear opportunity fell to him, a shot from 12 yards that had Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris on red alert; it was the kind of chance a fully fit Torres might well have snaffled.
No matter. It might not have provided the goal every Red craved but the shot did at least spark some belief and, from that point in proceedings, Liverpool bossed the first half, both in terms of opportunities and possession.
Dirk Kuyt’s improvisation caused a moment of great anxiety for Lloris, his lob had the Frenchman scurrying backwards to prevent Liverpool taking the lead, while Andriy Voronin squandered a golden opening following good work by Lucas.
Mind you, that was no surprise. Voronin, after all, is not what you would describe as prolific and his biggest critics would argue that even if this hirsute Ukrainian threw his comb at the floor he would still miss.
Other than the odd breakaway, Lyon were causing Liverpool no trouble at all but that, bizarrely, actually made this situation all the more perplexing – in top form and at full strength, Benitez would surely have seen his men cruise past their Gallic hosts.
A statement borne of bias? No. Cast your mind back to the first meeting between the sides at Anfield last month and you will remember that for 75 minutes, it was a question of how many a spirited Liverpool would win by.
In control after Yossi Benayoun’s strike, Fabio Aurelio, Kuyt and David Ngog were all presented with the opportunities to get the European campaign back on track but all fluffed their lines.
Only when anxiety and tiredness took over did Lyon start to exert themselves; it was Liverpool’s bad fortune that the one-time perennial Ligue 1 champions had the wherewithal to take maximum advantage.
Some will say that is excuse making and that is there prerogative but recent history shows Liverpool have flattened sides with far greater quality than Lyon; if they don’t make it out of Group E, they will know how good a chance has been missed.
Reputation, you see, counts for so much in football and while there is no disputing Liverpool have played poorly frequently since the middle of August, they still cause opposition teams to think twice?
How else do you explain Lyon, normally a side that plays with such verve on home soil and score freely, being so inhibited last night, relying primarily on counterattacks rather than trying to impose themselves.
Lyon improved marginally after the break yet Liverpool still looked the more likely of the two to break the deadlock and that should have been the case when Lucas found himself with only Lloris to beat from eight yards.
Fortunately it was not a moment Lucas – the star performer in this disciplined display – lived to regret as Babel produced the moment of outrageous quality of which his biggest fans have always insisted he is capable.
Nothing seemed on when he picked up possession 25 yards from goal but a shuffle and a shimmy later, Babel had worked some space for himself and smashed an unstoppable drive past Lloris. In fitting with the way things are going, though, the giddy high was followed by a heartbreaking low as Lisandro took advantage of a mix-up in Liverpool’s penalty area to snatch victory away from them.
Even at the best of times, conceding such a late equaliser would have been hard to stomach but in these demanding circumstances, it was almost impossible to stomach, a point confirmed by the expressions Benitez and his players sported at the final whistle.
Only time will tell whether this proves to be a fatal blow to ambitions and many will be quick to write them off now that fate is out of their hands; but while there is time, there is still hope – and Benitez, for one, will not be throwing in the towel just yet.
LYON (4-1-4-1): Lloris; Reveillere (Gassama 18), Toulalan, Cris, Cissokho; Makoun; Bastos, Pjanic (Ederson 40), Kallstrom, Lisandro; Gomis (Govou 73).
LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Reina; Carragher, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Insua; Lucas, Mascherano; Kuyt, Voronin (Babel 68), Benayoun; Torres (Ngog 87).
Goals – Babel (83), Lisandro (90)
Bookings – Agger (33), Lisandro (34)
Referee – Franck De Berserk (Belgium)
Attendance – 39,180
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