Source: Telegraph
Month of misery could cost Liverpool Premier League title
Rafael Benitez will be glad to see the back of January. The problems off the pitch, the public spats with Sir Alex Ferguson and his board, his captain's court appearance and his own contract problems have transferred on to it. The only team Liverpool have beaten this year are Preston, in the FA Cup. [LNB]Were it not for one moment of sheer lunacy from Brazilian midfielder Lucas, it would all have been very different. Ahead through Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool looked on course to wake oday level on points with Manchester United. At such moments are titles won and lost. [LNB]Where he should have stood his ground and shepherded Jason Koumas to the byline, Lucas stuck a leg out in the box. Phil Dowd blew his whistle, Mido duly converted the penalty. Two more points dropped, more ground lost, third in the league. A month ago, Liverpool had never been closer to their first championship for 19 years. Now it is as far away as ever. [LNB]Between now and Sunday, Benitez will hope to iron out as many of his problems as possible. Tom Hicks flies in to sort out the contract, Robbie Keane, restored to the bench but only allowed to play for eight minutes, will have stayed or gone. Then Chelsea, now ahead of Benitez's side on goal difference and recovering their shattered confidence, visit Anfield. It never rains but it pours, and it is starting to show. [LNB]'It was a crazy game in the second half,' said Benitez. 'We controlled the game in the first half and could have scored two or three –goals, but the second half we lost control and it was crazy. But I cannot control that craziness, so I am calm. It might be crazy against Chelsea on Sunday, I do not know. Maybe it will be crazy for years.' [LNB]Asked if he was referring to his players, Benitez insisted they were fine. He did not wish to comment on Wigan or the performance of referee Dowd. An oblique reference to Ferguson – 'he has been here 22 years and you can see how things are' – suggests Rafa has either been watching the box set of Lost or was suggesting the nefarious hand of the Manchester United manager as explanation for his team's shortcomings. [LNB]What craziness he meant is unclear, but Liverpool will need to get to the heart of the mystery before Chelsea arrive. [LNB]There is a lingering suspicion among the Anfield faithful that this will be a season of what ifs. What if Benitez had not launched his attack on Ferguson? What if his contract had been sorted out? What if Liverpool had one more goal threat? [LNB]Add to that a few more from the JJB. What if Benitez had replaced Fernando Torres, with 25 minutes to play, with Keane and not Albert Riera? What if he had brought him on for Benayoun? What if he had left Steven Gerrard on and introduced the Irishman when Wigan equalised? What if Liverpool did not look so nervous? [LNB]Nerves or not, they did enough to win this game. Wigan, decimated by injuries to Antonio Valencia, Chris Kirkland and Titus Bramble, as well as the sales of Emile Heskey and Wilson Palacios, offered little. But the mark of champions is not winning when playing badly but finishing teams off. Liverpool do not, yet, have it in them. [LNB]The early signs were positive. Torres flicked a header against a post from Gerrard's left-wing cross, and Benayoun would have tapped in had he not been too busy celebrating. From a Jamie Carragher long ball, Torres held off Paul Scharner, swivelled and sent a volley just wide. Only a last-ditch Mario Melchiot lunge stopped Torres converting Benayoun's cut back. Ryan Babel fired straight at Mike Pollitt. [LNB]They got their reward through Benayoun, slipped through by a clever through ball from Javier Mascherano and rounding Pollitt to finish from the acutest of angles. Benayoun is not exactly a fans' favourite at Anfield, but he has something which Riera, Dirk Kuyt and Babel sometimes lack: ideas. [LNB]That was exactly what Liverpool ran out of in the second half, one mazy run from Benayoun smothered by Pollitt apart. Wigan sensed their visitors' nerves, their aimlessness, and they pounced. First, Lucas tripped Koumas and Mido drew the hosts level from 12 yards. Then substitute Hugo Rodallega rattled the bar with a 30-yard free kick. [LNB]'We had a right good go, like we always do,' said Bruce. 'It's been a difficult January, but that's what happens at Wigan. We buy players like Hugo who dream of using this club as a platform to come and be a success in the Premier League like the other lads. But then the big boys come and nick your players. It happens. You have to be realistic.' [LNB]Bruce, though, did offer one crumb of comfort to his strained opposite number. 'Titles aren't won in January,' he added. Very true. But Benitez may find they can be lost then.[LNB]
