Mostly the same old story–Liverpool were able to maintain possession for long periods of play, had some legitimate chances, and defended well for the majority of the match. The glaring difference today was the lack of stability in central midfield. With no Alonso and Gerrard, we were often on the receiving end of central midfield dominance, and Kompany and De Jong bossed it for nearly the entire second half. Mascherano didn’t have his best game, and Lucas didn’t make any huge mistakes but was anonymous and had zero positive influence. This game was as clear an example as any how important Alonso has been. Obviously we missed Gerrard, but Xabi consistently creates through the middle, and without him or Gerrard today our central midfield was a black hole.

As a result, we were pushed wide to find any sort of attacking threat. In fairness, this was one of the few games this year where I felt we looked competent wide, it’s just too bad that it was a result of being inept in the center. Arbeloa had a solid game getting forward, but Dossena was again out of his depth. City’s biggest breaks came when Dossena and Arbeloa were caught too far forward, leaving only Carragher and Skrtel at the back. Ireland had a great chance in the 30th minute after Robinho set him up, and luckily we weren’t punished.

We eventually were punished in the 49th, and of course it was Craig Bellamy who was the instigator. Like I mentioned in the live blog, I was glad he didn’t play it up, which seems out of character for him, but his shot deflected heavily off Arbeloa and flew past Reina. Our attack throughout the game came through Riera and Benayoun, who both looked dangerous in spurts, and Kuyt found himself on the flank more than a couple times. It was eventually Benayoun in the 78th who floated one in from the left to Torres, whose mis-hit fell to Kuyt, and the Ugly Dutchman poked it past Shay Given to pull even.

From that point on Liverpool attacked relentlessly and had more than a couple solid chances. Kuyt and Benayoun both hit piledrivers directly at Given, and it looked as though it would be another 3 points won late. Torres did well to get himself close to goal in the final minutes, but his cutback effort was cleared, and Aurelio’s volley was well wide. Soon enough it was another 2 points gone.

If this game was remarkable for anything, I think it was for the lack of urgency by Liverpool for the first 80 minutes. With plenty of pre-game talk about a “must-win,” we seemed disaffected for large spells. It was largely an average effort, particularly for most of the second half, when City had a 1-0 lead and the majority of possession. We were lucky not to concede a second, and again we relied on bit of good fortune to pull ourselves back into it. City’s defense did a good job containing Torres, who played well but often found himself the center of two defenders’ affections. One of the lone bright spots was the continued threat of Benayoun, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t play a role in Madrid on Wednesday. Speaking of which, there’s little time to hang our heads if we want something out of this season. With the Premier League title looking more and more unlikely, our efforts in Europe could be our saving grace.

Speaking of Blues, there’s another team just over the horizon. On April 22nd, Chelsea will once again make the trip to Anfield. The previous encounters between Chelsea and Liverpool have been somewhat–well, suicidally dull. I remember watching the 2nd leg of the semi-finals last year and at the end of the two added times and the penalty shootout, I felt drained, exhausted, dehydrated, and did not want to see another game for at least a month.

Call me crazy, but I think we’re in for a different show this time. Circumstances are different, the teams are different. Yes, the last time this season when Liverpool and Chelsea met, it was anything but exciting, but again, different circumstances. At that point, the Reds had not found their stride. Uncles Tom and George were making asses out of themselves, and Torres had not realized that all he had to do to put a ball in the back of the net was to walk by the goal.

In this first leg, we need a strong result. If we are not at least a goal up on them, we might be in trouble. Beating Chelsea at home would be very difficult. Then again, difficult does not mean impossible. The Blues could not advance last season when conditions were ideal for them. They had a happy roster and a “special” manager. Now, they have players that are vocally unhappy and holding out on signing contracts. There is also a problem developing in the keeper’s box.

My dream of a Roma/Liverpool final has been extinguished. I think it’s turning into a Man U/Liverpool nightmare. Out of the four, they’re the two clubs that have their shit together. Both are in good form and both are focused on conquering Europe. Will Man U be able to juggle winning the league with going to the Champions League final? Or, will Barcelona give up on chasing Real Madrid and focus on Europe. So many variables. I would hate to be a bookie making the odds.

And is just me, or does Avram Grant look like one of the Vogons from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?

First of all, we played like crap. That’s no secret. The defense wasn’t there and if Reina wasn’t an acrobat, it would have probably have been 6-0. Mascherano was given a second yellow and sent off when he asked why Torres had been booked. Ryan Babel has confirmed that is what happened as he overheard what Javier was saying to the ref. I’m sure with his thick Argentinean accent “Why was Torres booked?” came out as “That’s bullshit cocksucker!” It’s all in the regional dialect.

I’d bitch about him being sent off, actually I will because it was harsh. Then again, he shouldn’t have been talking to the ref in the first place and definitely not when he was already carrying a yellow. It’s still a crap call by the ref though. Now, I don’t think for a minute that the 10 man team is what lost the game, it looked like it was over before it began, but it’s quite a travesty for him to miss three games over that.

Big match tomorrow. We go to Old Trafford to be part of Super Sunday. With Ferdinand being a serious doubt for Utd tommorow and with Man Yoo’s current form, I would say that we have the advantage. However, we have to play at Old Trafford and that is never an advantage. I’m looking for a fairly evenly played match that ends in a draw.

But the biggest question on my mind right now…

* Liverpool may leave 96 empty seats in their new stadium as a memorial to the fans who died at Hillsborough.

* Did Yossi Benayoun just wake up yesterday and realize he was no longer playing for West Ham? Apparently so.

* Ian Rush calls for players, especially Chelsea players, to stop bitching and moaning to the ref every five seconds. We can only dream.

* Dirk Kuyt collided with Man U keep Edwin Van Der Sar in preparations for Holland’s friendly with Switzerland. Though no word as to whether Kuyt was okay, Van Der Sar required medical attention and it is unclear whether or not he’ll be available for the match. Cheers, gotta run.

* In literally breaking news, I can breathe a sigh of relief as a Premier League Board appointed panel voted against allowing Heinze to join our squad for Man U. Now we can either let Insua play more or go after someone better than Heinze, which in my opinion won’t be hard too do. Though why do I have the feeling that this might be appealed?

* Finally, if you’re looking to read about some of our players’ international ties coming up Wednesday, I found a great article about John Arne Riise and Norway facing Javier Mascherano and Argentina, as well as Agger and Denmark’s tie with Finnan and Ireland here. Also Kuyt and Babel were named to the Netherlands squad which will face the Swiss in Geneva. Babel was apparently the only U21 player to make the Dutch squad. Cheers.

* Steve McClown refuses to give up on trying to lure Carra back to the England squad and visited the Liverpool camp earlier this week to speak with him. I for one am hoping Carra stays adamant about retiring from international play, especially since he’ll probably only be used for the August 22nd Germany friendly anyhow. Sol Campbell wants to play and there’s always Wes Brown (ha ha ha), so McClown can go piss off.

* Rafa has warned agents not to interfere with his squad by telling their players that going elsewhere would benefit them more. If you want to read an interesting article about how much rubbish the reaction to Rafa’s rotation policy actually is, Paul Tomkins wrote an interesting article about it on the official site. He compares the rotating and tinkering of Benitez with Sir Alex and Mourinho and comes up with some surprising conclusions. Turns out, they do it just as much, but for some reason don’t get the same negative feedback from the press, pundits, and fans. I’m personally am no longer going to bash it especially since I enjoy seeing the variety of talent and ability that we have on our squad.

* Speaking of keeps, our part-time super model/goaltender, none other than Scott Carson, threw such a hissy fit about playing second fiddle to the world’s greatest keep, a.k.a. Pepe Reina, that Rafa has decided to send him elsewhere. It looks as though he might be headed out on loan to Villa, but just in case Sven was wondering, he’s for sale at £12M. That sounds about right, especially if you consider former Hearts gk Craig Gordon is apparently worth £9M. I still can’t get over Roy Boy buying a keep for £9M!!! He’s lost his frickin’ mind… for the umpteenth time. Anyhow, I’m sure everybody’s favorite human rights activist, Thaksin Shinawatra, won’t mind getting out the checkbook for England’s finest.

* Finally, if you’re wondering who to bet on for first LFC player to be sent off in a match, look no further than Xabi Alonso, who’s a 9/1 favorite. Some of the other odds are Alvaro Arbeloa and Momo Sissoko both at 12/1, Daniel Agger at 14/1, Jamie Carragher is 16/1, and finally the skipper is 20/1. Personally, my money would be on Javier Mascherano and/or Harry Kewell, who are at 20/1 and 40/1 respectively. Javi tends to be a bit reckless at times and Harry’s got a well-needed attitude so far this year.