Europa League preview: Liverpool v Atletico Madrid (agg: 0-1)
It has been a Liverpool season that has seemed washed up on several occasions, but if a laundry man’s prediction comes true tonight, then it could still have a shiny, golden ending.
Rafael Benitez revealed yesterday how Graham McKinley, the man who washes the kits at Anfield, has told him how confident he is that tonight’s Europa League semi-final, second leg clash with Atlético Madrid would follow the same pattern as the Reds’ Champions League clash with Olympiakos in 2004, when Liverpool scored three times in the second half – capped by a stunning late Steven Gerrard strike – to clinch qualification against the odds.
Later that campaign, Benitez said he believed that his side deserved to be in the Istanbul final because his secretary – the late Sheila Walsh – was sitting level with the goal line at the Kop end and told him that Luís García’s effort against Chelsea in the semi-final had definitely gone in. The Liverpool manager regularly converses with the club’s staff, and he’ll hope that his soothsaying laundry man is proved correct tonight.
With Liverpool 1-0 down from the first leg, Gerrard might have to be the goalscoring hero again, as the Reds are shorn of two former Atlético men in Fernando Torres and the ineligible Maxi Rodriguez, while Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog both face late fitness tests on calf and hamstring injuries respectively. If neither make it, then Ryan Babel will be the only senior player left who even resembles a centre forward.
The Dutchman has had a mixed time at Anfield. An initial youthful energy and enthusiasm later gave way to petulance and arrogance, and most supporters were surprised that he lasted beyond the winter transfer window, especially after an outburst on Twitter following his omission from the squad to play Stoke City in January. Benitez ticked him off for that, but Babel seems to have emerged all the stronger for it, getting an increased playing time and weighing in with goals – the latest of which came at Burnley on Sunday.
Throughout his struggles, supporters’ frustrations with him largely lay with his failure to utilise his obvious talents. He is already such a gifted player – as opposed to, say, Ngog, who fans see as very much as a work in progress, albeit a very promising one.
If Babel is given the centre stage upon which to shine tonight, then there would be few better occasions on which to display those talents.
Should Kuyt and Ngog miss out, then a lack of alternatives could see Gerrard move to the right of midfield, with Alberto Aquilani – excellent in assisting three goals at Burnley – playing off Babel upfront.
Atlético have no such forward-thinking headaches, as the highly-rated Argentinian Sergio Aguero returns from suspension tonight to partner first leg goalscorer Diego Forlàn. Simão Sabrosa and José Antonio Reyes provide the threats from out wide.
Because of their precarious position, Liverpool can’t afford to go gung-ho straight from kick-off, not that Benitez will want them to.
Patience looks like being key, but in Gerrard, Babel and others, Liverpool do have to quality to turn around the tie and qualify for the final in Hamburg.
A win wouldn’t make this most turbulent of seasons squeaky clean, but on what is sure to be a raucous, passionate night at Anfield, the Reds are sure to come out fighting in a bid to reach the final.
Anything else simply wouldn’t wash.
Prediction: Liverpool 3 Atlético Madrid 1
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