Where’s that ‘guarantee’, Rafa?

ACCORDING to the old saying, it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

It is better to go out fighting and to go down swinging. It is better to aim high and fail rather than aim low and succeed.

Clearly, all those sentiments have never been relayed to Liverpool’s squad as their Champions League hopes ended with a whimper and not a bang in a frustrating Anfield afternoon against Fulham.

The visitors, inspired by goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, held on for a goalless draw to effectively end Liverpool’s aims of finishing in the top four this term. A calculator may well indicate that they may still have a chance but if ever there was a case of something being correct in theory but not in practice then this is certainly it.

Back in December, Rafa Benitez said he could “guarantee” that Liverpool would finish in fourth place but those words never looked more hollow than they did after this poor encounter, which underlined just how impotent Liverpool are when Fernando Torres is missing, as was the case here.

He has aggravated a knee injury and will see a specialist today to see if his term is over, a move that would bang another nail into the coffin of a Liverpool season that has been unravelling at an ever quicker pace right from day one.

“He has a problem with his knee and he has gone to see a specialist and we are waiting for the news,” Benitez said.

“We don’t know how bad it is yet, it depends on what the specialist says tomorrow. I’m disappointed because we had plenty of possession and some good chances and we could have won 1-0 or 2-0 but we couldn’t score,” the Liverpool manager went on to add, before outlining what everybody had already guessed for themselves.

“The next question will be about fourth place and it will be very difficult. It is not in our hands, it will depend on the other teams. The difference is a bit too much now maybe. I think it will be very, very difficult so we have to be realistic. As a manager you have to believe and support your team.”

Torres had scored nine goals in his last seven matches for Liverpool and the extent they missed him here was frightening although Mark Schwarzer deserves great praise for his afternoon’s work.

In the first half he clawed away a Javier Mascherano long-range blast and also bravely denied Maxi Rodriguez before following that up after the break, blocking further good efforts from Alberto Aquliani and Ryan Babel.

It was all one-way traffic, highlighted by the fact Fulham’s first real shot on goal did not arrive until the 92nd minute, courtesy of Damien Duff.

But the visitors showed bucket loads of resilience, led by their goalkeeper, and Roy Hodgson was keen to point that out afterwards, claiming that Schwarzer still has many years ahead of him as a top-flight goalkeeper despite being 37.

“Schwarzer did a fantastic job for us today,” Hodgson grinned. “I think he was underrated at Middlesbrough but since he came to Fulham, I wouldn’t say he was underrated, I would say he has had quite a lot of recognition for his performances.

“Some of our other top goalkeepers in the past have gone on passed 40 haven’t they? I won’t test your memories but people like Peter Shilton and David Seaman and David James so there are plenty of them.

“Ray Clemence and Pat Jennings were quite old, you don’t have to wrack your brains to find top-class goalkeepers who played well into their 30s.”

MATCH RATING: * – One shot on goal from the visitors and no Torres for Liverpool. Need I say more?

REFEREE: Andre Mariner (W Midlands) 6 – Should perhaps have sent Jonathan Greening off in the first half but otherwise did little of note. He let the game flow when it could and was generally anonymous.