Goal furore fails to hide Liverpool’s limitations

WHILE Alex Ferguson produced his customary criticism of a referee to deflect attention away from a poor performance against Sunderland, Rafael Benitez did not need to resort to similar mind games. A red beach ball did the job for him.

The furore surrounding Darren Bent’s winning goal, which was deflected in off the offending inflatable, dominated the post-match inquest.

But deflate the ball debate and you are left with the harsh reality for Benitez, who should be wondering what he can do to revive an already disintegrating season after losing further ground in the Premier League title race.

At least he must feel a season’s supply of bad luck was used up when Bent’s bizarre goal went past Pepe Reina and sparked a Merseyside backlash against the youngster who threw the ball on the pitch.

Had the poorly hit effort of Bent, the in- form Sunderland striker, destined for Reina’s palms deflected off one of the Liverpool defenders the Football Association could have called in the Dubious Goals Committee.

Instead it was a beach ball that wrong-footed the Liverpool goalkeeper and gifted Bent his eighth goal in nine league starts following his summer move to Wearside.

“We can’t complain about it, it was unfortunate,’’ said Jamie Carragher, who has since learned the goal should not have stood. “It was not Sunderland’s fault, whatever. It sums up that things are not happening for us at the moment.

“We played well at Chelsea two weeks ago and lost there and now we concede that type of goal. It is not about how unlucky we were but it was a bit of a freak goal. It is the way it is going at the moment but we just have to try to overcome it.”

A toothless Liverpool, fielding a midfield consisting of Fabio Aurelio, Lucas and Jay Spearing that never looked like coming to terms with a determined and driven Sunderland display, had to wait until injury-time before seriously testing Craig Gordon.

Benitez cut a frustrated figure in his technical area at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland not only held onto their advantage but came close to finishing at least three goals to the good, with Bent missing two glorious opportunities after rounding Reina.

Bent’s beach ball goal should have been ruled out by referee Mike Jones, but there was a sense that Liverpool could have played all weekend without Torres and Gerrard and they would have struggled to score.

Mr Jones even gave Liverpool an extra seven minutes of added time but, after some frantic defending and animated gestures from an anxious Steve Bruce, Benitez was condemned to a fourth Premier League defeat from nine games.

Torres and Gerrard could be back in contention for tomorrow night’s Champions League clash with Lyon, but their Premier League cause already looks a distant dream for yet another season.

Liverpool have now been overtaken in the standings by Sunderland and they sit seven points adrift of leaders Manchester United.

“There is a long way to go yet but we have given ourselves a mountain to climb,” said Carragher, who knows it is essential for Liverpool to defeat United at Anfield next Sunday.

“Right now we have to restore our confidence, I am sure there will be a lot of stick flying around before the Lyon game, that is part of playing for a big club, but I am sure against Lyon the supporters will rally round.”

Benitez continues to claim Liverpool have the strength in depth to deal without Torres and Gerrard.

He said: “I’m not saying we would be able to win 12 games in a row without Stevie or Fernando but to win games, we have enough quality.”

In truth it took a rampant Sunderland just 45 minutes to illustrate why Liverpool are in desperate need of reinforcements. Co-owner George Gillett may have been in talks with Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia centred on the possibility of investment, but regardless of the outcome Benitez has what he has until January 1 at the earliest.

Sunderland, with their Albanian skipper Lorik Cana epitomising the new die-hard spirit Bruce has instilled, look a slicker, more threatening outfit this season and a push for Europe could be on the cards. They have now won their last five matches at the Stadium of Light, where they attracted a sell-out crowd for the first time in almost a year.

“The pleasing thing for me is that we’ve gone above Liverpool with a quarter of a season gone,” Bruce reflected.

“The signs are that we’re getting there, that we’re trying.”

Bent is the epitome of their renaissance, and the luck he enjoyed here provided a neat contrast to his desperate spell with Tottenham, where everything that could go wrong did.

“Little things are going in my favour – hitting one off the top of a balloon and it goes in the corner – but I will take it,” Bent said.

“As a frontman, you will always take what you are given and Saturday was no exception.

“But at the same time, the team played fantastically and to be fair from a neutral point of view, no-one would say it was unjustified.”

Even Benitez was not about to argue with that.

REFEREE: Mike Jones (Chester) 6: The row over whether the winner should have been disallowed will rumble on. He got it wrong, but at least the decision ensured the right team won.

MATCH RATING: **** It can be classed as unforgettable if only because of the incredible goal that decided it, but there was plenty of passion and inventive football – most of it from Sunderland.