Liverpool out of the Champions League – Dagbladet.no

Liverpool Basel 1-1 (0-1)

(Dagbladet “How things develop this may be Steven Gerrards very last match of the Champions League,” wrote the Daily Mail’s football reporter Neil Ashton Twitter midway through a first half that was nitrist set of Liverpool eyes.

when the teams went to the locker room at Anfield had Basel created four chances and scored on one. Liverpool had not been dangerous in a single of their feeble attack attempts.

The beeping that followed the teams into the break, was to understand.

Two switches

Manager Brendan Rodgers must have known he pushed too after a disappointing fall. In Quarter before the second round started, he gave Rickie Lambert and Jose Enrique told to go in the shower, while Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno was asked to make themselves warm. Markovic – who showed himself well in 14 minutes and 45 seconds in the evening – came immediately to posts. The ball ended finally with Steven Gerrard in a situation we’ve seen before:

When the ball comes down to Liverpool’s captain in the arch in front of the 16-yard box, and the team needs shot his skills as most have 12 to 13 years of history shown us that it tends to sing.

This time hobbling shot well wide. It was as if we saw the final confirmation that a great career is no longer what it was. And Gerrard at its most athletic and dogged had made it to the race after 72 minutes as well, so that he had received the punishment he hunted. Instead slid Tomas Vaclic to get a glove on the ball, and referee Bjorn Kuipers chose to ignore the cries of the rolling captain.

Strictly rødkort

Same Kuipers helped to do the job extremely difficult for Liverpool when he saw strictly turned out Lazar Markovic for nesedasket he inflicted Basel Swede Behrang Safari right before 60 minutes were played.

– With the adversity Liverpool now have, it is not certain there will be more matches in the Champions League for Steven Gerrard. There are more than tough enough to be the top four in the Premier League, said Viasat commentator Roar Stokke during the second half.

It would have been plenty of highlights to retrieve Gerrards Champions League- cavalcade. 12 August 2004 it was he who sent away long shot which gave the necessary 3-1 goal against Olympiakos, so team got into the tournament. They ended up winning the whole thing nine months later, after having been written off 0-3 at half time. So reduced Gerrard 1-3 – and he got the punishment that made it 3-3.

Angle Shot

Towards Ludogorets earlier this fall, it was Gerrard who salvaged stumps. But when the experts tonight had concluded that there was an end to the great moments of the 34 year old, got Liverpool free kick.

81 minutes were played when the captain let the ball right. And pasted it in the angle as if he was referring to a stamp placed there beating meet.

Then woke finally the red. With ten men chased the winning goal that would secure them eighth Round. There they never got – despite Jordan Hendersons brilliant shot three minutes into overtime – and thus Liverpool finished Europe this time.

Perhaps it is some of their players we never get to see at this level again. But having seen it kick, it seems dangerous to write off Steven Gerrard.