Confidence to grow against Fergie

20th October Liverpool Vs Lyon (Europe)

Confidence is an essential quality in footballers, allowing them to perform to, and beyond, their abilities. It provides individuals with belief and endeavour, but can be lost quickly, due to a dip in form, poor performances or unfortunate results.

The manner with which Lyon snatched all 3 points on Tuesday was at best demoralizing. The confidence of the players is as low as it’s been under Rafa since the half-time whistle in the Ataturk stadium 4 years and 5 months ago.

Against a well organised French outfit, Liverpool were unable to react to Gonalons equaliser, while Delgado’s injury time winner rubbed salt into the wounds of already troubled individuals. Lyon fed off Liverpool haphazard display, growing in confidence and enjoying the majority of the play.

What’s frustrating about Tuesday’s game was that we looked genuinely dangerous for spells. The early departure of Gerrard was untimely, but Aurelio, who has his critics, gave a competent performance, making the telling cross for Benayoun’s calmly taken opener. Chances followed after the Israelian’s goals, with both Ngog and Aurelio unlucky to not extend the lead to 2 goals before the half-time oranges.

Solitary goal leads in Europe are precarious and as the game continued Lyon exert their dominance on proceedings, with their two second half substitutions scoring both goals. There’s been little appreciation of Puel’s tactical awareness, as the post match focus highlighted on the booing from the home fans that greeted Vorinin’s arrival, and ignored the astute substitutions that produced the second goals for Lyon.

Further calls for Rafa to do the honest thing in requesting his p45 and departing L4 are mentioned continually, but such claims would be detrimental to the club at a critical time of the season.

Benitez has previously shown he is the man to guide Liverpool through a crisis. Istanbul; the FA final; imperative Champions League group stage victories against Besiktas, Porto and Marseille; and late victories last season against Man City, Wigan and Everton to name but three, are shinning examples of Benitez capacity to remain calm under pressure, coherently rely instructions to his team and display a fighting mentality, which has enabled Liverpool Football Club to succeed in the face of adversity in the past.

As the first team squad are the midst of their worst record for 22 years, eyes turn to the arrival of a typically smug Manchester United and their red nosed leader, Mr Ferguson. Inflicting pain and heartbreak on their rivals at such an early time in the season will have had Fergie wringing his hands together in the style of Mr Burns from the Simpsons. I have the full confidence that Benitez will convey his messages to his players as he previously done for crunch games, and that the players will respond with a determined, resolute and victorious performance.