SOCCER/Uefa Champions League round of 16, second leg/Liverpool 0 Benfica 2 (Agg: 0-3): Liverpool have spent all season tearing after Chelsea, though pursuing the London side out of Europe was never their intention.
A proud defence of the European Cup petered out with a whimper last night, the holders jettisoned from a competition they hoped they had made their own by opponents they would normally have hoped to devour.
That they effectively succumbed here to a player who might have been their own added to the deflation. So hopeful had Liverpool been that Simao Sabrosa, whose magnificent first-half goal pushed this tie beyond the hosts, would move to Anfield last August that Rafael Benitez had suggested the player was sitting on a plane bound for Speke as the clock ticked down towards the transfer deadline. Benfica's subsequent hiking of the price wrecked that deal. Now Simao has cost Liverpool millions regardless.
Even with last season's mind-boggling exploits in mind, from Olympiakos to Istanbul, there was a tension to this occasion born of the precariousness of Liverpool's predicament. The slender deficit surrendered at the Estadio da Luz a fortnight ago would not normally have been the cause of great concern, such has been Liverpool's ability to whip up a frenzy in this arena against all comers, though the toils of their strikers this term had blunted the usual optimism.
The front pair selected here had mustered a solitary goal in over 29 hours of football before this game with all aware they could ill afford to maintain such gumminess. Even so, by the interval, the visitors' woodwork had been struck twice and, too often, familiar shortcomings had cost Liverpool dear. Worse still the visitors retired at the halfway point having extended their advantage.
The ferocity of Liverpool's initial assault had had the Portuguese panicking, Steven Gerrard tearing into befuddled opponents. Xabi Alonso prompted him at his side while Harry Kewell and Luis Garcia offered slick invention on either flank. Benfica should have been blown away yet they survived.
Twice Peter Crouch, the only striker from these parts to have managed a goal this year, should have eased the holders level in the tie only for fragile confidence to tell. Slipped free by Garcia's pass 11 minutes in, he had seen his drilled shot deflected on to the post by Anderson's challenge. If that was unfortunate, Crouch's attempt when sent clear by Gerrard's touch inside Luisao, prodded cagily at the sprawling Moretto, was that of a forward devoid of self-belief.
Not that he was alone. Garcia skied another chance into the Anfield Road stand. after exchanging passes with Alonso having earlier spun an overhead kick at Moretto from close-range. That effort was suffocated with Jamie Carragher prodding the rebound wide. The centre-half meandered forward again before the interval to thump Gerrard's corner against the post though, by then, Liverpool trailed.
The visitors' plunder had been gloriously squeezed from the home side's frantic pressure, though Liverpool had already been warned. Geovanni spat a blistering shot on the turn which rebounded from the bar with Jose Reina helpless, the Spaniard recovering sufficiently to catch Simao's follow-up header. Carragher might have hacked clear but was caught in possession, Simao collecting possession and cutting across the centre-halves to curl a stunning shot beyond the diving Reina and into the top corner.
In the circumstances, the loss of Sami Hyypia to a hamstring strain and John Arne Riise to a thigh complaint in the build-up was proving disconcerting.
After the break Moretto did well to tip over a swerving Alonso volley though each thwarted opportunity forced Liverpool closer to elimination. Against Olympiakos, they had reduced the arrears early after the restart before Gerrard's rasping finale dropped jaws. Benfica were less obliging, with the hosts' huff and puff lacking the focus to yield reward. The sight of Crouch thrusting out a limb but failing to make contact with Gerrard's vicious cross rather summed up the mood with the ear-splitting reception afforded Robbie Fowler's introduction a reflection of the desperation.
Substitute Fabrizio Miccoli's late second, speared on the turn from close range, confirmed the worst. Benfica's supporters hollered in approval though, for the locals, all that was left was defiance and, this morning, a numbing sense of what might have been.
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Traore, Warnock (Hamann 70), Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell (Cisse 63), Morientes (Fowler 70), Crouch. Subs Not Used: Dudek, Hyypia, Anderson, Barragan. Booked: Crouch, Alonso, Gerrard.
BENFICA: Moretto, Alcides, Luisao, Anderson, Leo, Robert (Ricardo Rocha 70), Beto, Manuel, Geovanni (Karagounis 60), Simao, Nuno Gomes (Miccoli 76). Subs Not Used: Quim, Karyaka, Marcel, Nelson. Booked: Robert, Nuno Gomes.
Referee: Massimo De Santis (Italy).
