Liverpool blown away by Marseille
By Henry Winter
Last Updated: 12:53am BST 04/10/2007
Liverpool (0) Marseille (0) 1
A mistral blew in across the Mersey last night and caught Liverpool cold. Marseille were superior to Liverpool in all aspects of the game, out-muscling and out-passing them, and deservedly becoming the first French team to experience victory at Anfield.
The last time Liverpool lost a Champions League group-stage game in front of a frustrated Kop, Rafael Benitez proved their nemesis, overseeing Valencia's successful visit in 2002. Now Liverpool's manager, Benitez must shake up his team or their European dream will dissolve.
Benitez's players were not at the races from the first whistle, and it was little surprise when they fell behind to a brilliant 77th-minute strike from Mathieu Valbuena, comfortably the man of the match, although impressive shifts were also put in by the tireless Karim Ziani and Mamadou Niang.
Valbuena, short of stature but long on danger, proved the real star turn, causing endless mischief between Liverpool's midfield and defence. Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia did not know whether to stick or twist, whether to focus on Niang or push out to quell the fires of Marseille attacks started by Valbuena. Steven Gerrard and Momo Sissoko were also guilty of not dropping back and clamping down on Marseille's playmaker.
Valbuena sounds like a ski resort and he certainly left Liverpool on a slippery slope, exploiting some lax work in possession by Sissoko, a persistent malaise for Liverpool, before curling in a sensational 20-yarder off the bar. He disappeared under his team-mates, before emerging to blow kisses to an exultant band of supporters.
As the men from Provence got their party started, Liverpool departed to a brief flurry of boos and face an uncertain future in Group A for Ambush. They now travel to their beloved Istanbul, this time to meet Beşiktaş in their rickety but atmospheric shack of a stadium by the Bosphorus on Oct 24.
Benitez's men need to claim a point at least at Beşiktaş, and then win their November home games against the Turks and Porto to be confident of progressing from Group A. Liverpool do not want to be travelling to the Stade Velodrome on Dec 11 looking for a victory. English dreams have died in Provence before. Ask Newcastle United. Ask Liverpool themselves.
A more settled side might help. Liverpool need to build relationships all over the team, not rely on good players clicking automatically when Benitez announces another much-altered side. The Spaniard had rung the changes again, making five alterations, including the surprise inclusion of Sebastian Leto on the left of midfield. Few devotees of fantasyrafa.com, the website dedicated to Benitez's controversial rotation policy, would have predicted a start for the callow Argentine ahead of the talented Dutch youngster, Ryan Babel, or the reliable John Arne Riise.
Leto endured a poor 51 minutes until Benitez put him out of his misery, sending on Riise. The only thing predictable about Benitez is his unpredictability: he has now used 20 players in four Champions League games this season. At least Liverpool's attack had been widely anticipated, with Peter Crouch partnering Fernando Torres.
Both strikers swiftly learned that Marseille's defenders were no soft touches, with Julien Rodriguez testing the stitching of Liverpool shirts and the mettle of those within. Marseille's physical centre-half twice bowled over Crouch and was spoken to only after another poleaxing of the England bean-pole.
Languishing in the French league, rumoured to be riven with internal tensions, Marseille had seemed ripe for the taking. No chance. The players had only just met their new coach, Eric Gerets, yet they immediately seemed in tune with the Belgian's tactical 4-4-1-1 instructions.
Heading endlessly straight for goal, Marseille began in lively fashion, following Rodriguez's combative example with a relish for gaining possession which they then used rapidly, particularly through Valbuena and Ziani.
Liverpool fans rapidly sensed the danger in Marseille's ranks, even in a formation containing only one forward, the lively Niang, while Djibril Cisse began on the bench. Resplendent in red boots and still the proud owner of assorted Liverpool tattoos, Cisse was given a tumultuous reception when he left the dug-out to warm up 20 minutes in.
Sprinting along the touchline, Cisse captured the French mood of running towards the Kop end. Out on the pitch, Ziani and Valbuena worked tirelessly to create chances for Niang. Catching the dithering Aurelio in possession, Ziani released Niang down the inside-right channel, where he outpaced Carragher and demanded a good save from Pepe Reina.
The waves of light blue continued to roll after the break. Again Carragher and Hyypia were caught out as Marseille came calling. Bolo Zenden, hardly the tallest, flicked a header on for the ever-alert Niang, whose shot was stopped by Reina. "What's going on here Reds?" screamed an exasperated fan, voicing the concerns of every Liverpool supporter.
Marseille's fans were loving it, leaping up and down, chanting incessantly. Gerrard tried to silence them, collecting a loose ball after good work by Torres, and flashing a low drive just wide.
Still Marseille threatened, Valbuena to the fore. Finally the French broke through, seizing on another piece of bad control by Sissoko, who was having a shocking night. After swapping passes with Zenden, Valbuena's finish was magnificent, the ball curled in over Reina.
In a frantic climax, Hyypia, Yossi Benayoun, Gerrard and Torres almost equalised but Liverpool had stirred too late, and Marseille deservedly left the field to warm applause, particularly Cisse, who threw his shorts into the crowd. His erstwhile Liverpool team-mates were the ones left most exposed last night.
un bien bel article ...
aux supps
, on entendait qu'eux, c'était tout simplement INCROYABLE vu leur faible nombre relatif aux supps locaux... 
