Liverpool’s Champions League dream came to an end on Tuesday night, with the Reds drawing 1-1 at home to FC Basel, which saw the Swiss side into the last-16 of the competition at the expense of Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Following the game, captain Steven Gerrard said his group of players got what they deserved, as they had been below-par all throughout the Champions League group stage.
“I don’t think we deserved better. We have not gone out because of this performance, we weren’t good enough away to Basel and we let in a silly goal away to Ludogorets. You qualify over six games and we have not been good enough,” he said.
Liverpool’s recent performance against Basel was synonymous of their European inferiority all through the campaign, and it appears the Reds are suffering from a tactical immaturity. FC Basel have earned impressive wins against a host of top Premier League sides in the past due to the way they set up to beat the elite clubs on the counter attack.
The perennial Swiss champions have beaten Liverpool, Chelsea (twice), Manchester United, while earning draws against Tottenham in European competition down the years. They looked far more organised than the Merseyside outfit, which was highlighted by their superior amount of chances created despite having considerably less possession.
Basel took little time getting the ball from defence to attack, and the speed of their breaks saw the Liverpool defence opened up on many occasions. This was a side vastly experienced in the Champions League, carrying out their instructions to a T. Liverpool looked like strangers on the pitch, and could barely string a passing move together without it breaking down.
Manager Brendan Rodgers finds himself under intense pressure, as Liverpool were perhaps fortunate to come away with a draw, given how many times Basel were through on goal or one pass away from a clear-cut chance. A free-kick scored late by Gerrard gave the Reds hope in the last few minutes, but they deserved little from the game to be so close to qualifying. Basel could and should have been out of sight long before Liverpool levelled the tie.
It shows how difficult the Champions League now is to navigate out of the groups, with sides operating on small budgets so well-drilled to get a result against a vastly superior opponents. The gulf in class was in contrast to the money Liverpool and Basel have spent in the last 18 months, and Rodgers couldn’t swing the game in his favour despite having a bench worth close to £100M.
Liverpool’s demise shows just how astute managers need to be in the Champions League to get a result against any side. They aren’t the only English side to struggle either, as Manchester City haven’t come close to replicating their league form into the Champions League group stage for the last three seasons, so the Reds can perhaps take some solace as Europe is a learning phase.
