As the final goal went in, with two minutes remaining, Dave, the Liverpool steward who stands next to my seat at Anfield with a steady supply of old jokes and dry observations, held his head in his hands. Four goals up against Real Madrid and not happy, Dave? There really is no pleasing some people.
At which point Dave revealed the reason for his anguish. Five quid on Liverpool to win 3-0, five quid Fernando Torres to score the first goal and a five quid double Liverpool to win 3-0 and Torres first goalscorer. Anticipated winnings at 87 minutes: £900. Winnings following the intervention of Andrea Dossena, a 27-year-old reserve left-back of uncertain pedigree: about a score. Dave had backed his team to defeat Real Madrid by a ludicrous margin and, with bitter irony, it turned out he underestimated. “If I fell into a vat-load of tits, I’d come out sucking my thumb,” he grizzled.
They drive you mad, Liverpool, was his weary conclusion, and few would argue. Even when Dave stood to collect his holiday money, they were still annoying him, considering Real Madrid were being taken apart in a manner that had eluded Rafael Benitez’s players in Premier League matches at home to Stoke City, Fulham, West Ham United, Hull City, Everton and Manchester City this season, each ending in a draw.
Benitez, the manager, claims he does not receive sufficient respect for Liverpool’s performances in Europe, and he has a point. To win the Champions League final with an ordinary team in 2005, and return in 2007, is a fine achievement and Tuesday night’s win was one of the greatest performances by any Liverpool team, in any era: and that is some standard.
Yet, on Saturday, a match will take place at Old Trafford that should have the nation on the edge of its seats and, instead, it is pretty much meaningless. Liverpool should be pushing Manchester United hard for the Premier League finishing line right now; indeed, considering United’s mid-season distractions in Japan and what we saw of Liverpool against Madrid, they might even be leading them. As it is, United could lose 5-0 and would still be significantly ahead on points, marginally ahead on goals and with a game in hand.
Liverpool’s squad is no match for United’s, but it is better than six drawn home games against inferior opposition, too, and better than another domestic campaign that ends with talk of having a proper go at it next season. When that time arrives, Benitez has to be more positive. What made the win over Real Madrid special was its risky energy. From the start, Liverpool tore it up with a bravado and freedom they rarely display in the league.
Benitez sometimes changes tack in big matches. Liverpool could easily charge at Manchester United and get something from the game this weekend, then perform conservatively at Fulham at the start of April and fail. A certain caution is understandable because Liverpool cannot play the same starting XI every week and United’s reserve options are greater but, from here, even if Benitez fields a weakened team it has to go out with the same ambition demonstrated at Anfield against Madrid. That is when Liverpool are at their best. Ask Dave.
Martin Samuel is the chief sports writer of the Daily Mail, where his column appears on Monday and Wednesday.