Soccer English FA Premiership/Southampton 2 Liverpool 0: Rafael Benitez, the manager who treated the FA Cup with disdain last week, is now forced to view the League Cup as a competition of career-defining importance.
Another performance as listless as this in tomorrow's semi-final second leg at Watford and his position at Anfield will become the subject of heated conjecture.
This was more than just a Liverpool defeat - their third in a week. The abject nature of their surrender, described as the worst from the club in 14 years by Alan Hansen, hinted at a deeper and darker malaise than mere indifferent form.
After the club's FA Cup defeat at Burnley in midweek, when they fielded an under-strength team, there was an urgent requirement to strengthen their challenge for Everton's fourth position in the Premiership.
Instead, they produced a performance of such ineptitude that their watching old warrior Tommy Smith must have felt tempted to run on and lend them a hand. He could scarcely have done worse than Steven Gerrard.
The decision to play Gerrard was foolhardy. Palpably unfit at the start and hobbling by the start of the second half, he remained on the pitch for the duration, almost as if Benitez wanted to prove that the player had not been fit to play at Turf Moor.
Benitez's explanation sounded as lame as his star player. "He is a key player for us, an important player," he said. Why, then, risk further damage?
"A monster of a footballer," Harry Redknapp had described Gerrard before this game. But, on Saturday, he looked more like something out of Monsters Inc.
Liverpool's defence was even less impressive than their midfield, especially in the first half, when Southampton scored their goals. At its heart Mauricio Pellegrino looked awful and the injured and out-of-sorts Sami Hyypia limped off midway through the second half. The Finn had a scan on an injured hip yesterday and will miss tomorrow's match.
Southampton, though, were terrific, winning under Redknapp for the first time in the league at the seventh attempt. The injury to Kevin Phillips persuaded Redknapp to play Peter Crouch on his own up front, with five strung across midfield.
Crouch is not just tall. At 6ft 7in he's what's-the-weather-like-up-there? tall. Trying to stop him is a little like man-marking a lighthouse, but there is ability on the ground too.
He is clearly intent on making the most of his second opportunity to impress Redknapp.
"He took over at Portsmouth and Villa made a bid for me straight away," he said afterwards. "I didn't even play a game for him. That was disappointing, but now I have my chance and want to take it."
Crouch was outstanding, but David Prutton was even more so.
He scored the first in the fifth minute after Crouch's pass had exposed the frailty of Liverpool's defence and returned the compliment in the 21st, crossing from the right for Crouch to nod playfully home, hardly needing to jump off the ground.
Southampton are at home to Manchester United in their final game. But they should have the chance to kick clear from trouble in the three matches before that, against Portsmouth, Norwich and Crystal Palace.
On Saturday, though, Liverpool looked the side riddled with much more pressing problems. - Guardian Service
