Make or break time has arrived. In the next 13 days, Liverpool face a run of four highly-charged games which could define the club’s season.
For Brendan Rodgers, the spell offers a chance to turn the season round. No matter what has gone before, Liverpool’s manager knows positive results against Manchester United and Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League, and at Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup, would bring a different hue to the campaign.
But he is also aware that the events of tomorrow evening hold the key. If Liverpool beat Basle and qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, the atmosphere around the club will be transformed.
But that is a big ‘if’. The pressure on Liverpool to reach the last 16 is intense. So how will the squad cope with the expectancy of a baying Anfield crowd?
‘That’s what we will see,’ said Rodgers. ‘You look forward to these games. Our aim is to make sure we get through the qualification stage and we have a chance to do that. We only need one goal. That’s it. Then we have big games against United, Bournemouth and Arsenal.
‘It (beating Basle) would give you confidence. You could then put it (the Champions League) to bed for a couple of months. We have to stay calm and we have shown in these last four games we have the ability to do that.
‘We are harder to beat. Hopefully we can get a little bit more luck in the final third to get the goals.’
That last point shows why Rodgers cannot be entirely sure of what will happen. In corresponding games last season, Liverpool scored three unanswered goals at Old Trafford, blitzed Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield and had a comfortable 2-0 win at Bournemouth in the FA Cup.
‘We are still a little fragile,’ Kolo Toure admitted. ‘Last season we were amazing going forward and we are not at that level yet. But we are catching up slowly, we are becoming stronger.’
This, though, is a very different Liverpool team. Circumstances mean Rodgers is trying to find another way of winning but in a charmless 0-0 draw with Sunderland his side only began to look a threat once Steven Gerrard appeared from the bench.
In the 211 minutes in which Gerrard has not been on the pitch this season, Liverpool have failed to score a single goal. Only Raheem Sterling, with his dancing feet and dazzling runs, looks capable of easing the burden on his captain.
It is 10 years ago today since Gerrard dragged Liverpool into the Champions League knockout stages with an extraordinary goal against Olympiacos. Once again the responsibility will be placed on his 34-year-old shoulders to lead the way. Rodgers wants to rest his captain but, as his team laboured against Sunderland, he had to turn to him in the hope of pilfering three points.
‘He has real quality, the kind that lifted the game,’ said Rodgers. ‘He has a world-class talent. The legs may go a bit as you get older but you never lose the talent. His passing and his view of the game was phenomenal.’
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet had spent time before the game showing his players videos of what impact Gerrard has on Liverpool.
The sight of a teamsheet missing the midfielder’s name provided an unexpected bonus.
‘It shows how difficult it is for us (managers) to make decisions,’ said Poyet, whose side defended with diligence and deserved their share of the spoils. ‘It would be very easy for Brendan to play Gerrard 90 minutes every game but then lose him for a month with an injury. It is tough.
‘When you see he isn’t playing? Phew. It is good news. But when he came on, it wasn’t just the players who were affected. The crowd, the atmosphere, everything changed.
‘That is when we suffered. Liverpool were coming at us from everywhere. He is special. He is a player who, with his presence on a pitch, makes the whole place better.’
SUPER STAT: The draw helped Liverpool reach a small landmark. It was their 1500th point of the Premier League era. They are the fourth club to reach that figure.
LIVERPOOL (4-1-4-1): Mignolet 6.5; Johnson 7, Skrtel 6.5, Toure 7.5, Moreno 6: Lucas 7; Sterling 7.5, Henderson 6, Coutinho 5.5 (Markovic 77mins), Lallana 5.5 (Gerrard 65, 7); Lambert 6. Subs not used: Jones, Enrique, Lovren, Can, Allen. Booked: Lucas.
SUNDERLAND (4-1-4-1): Pantilimon 7; Vergini 6.5, O’Shea 7.5, Brown 7, Reveillere 7; Bridcutt 8; Johnson 5.5 (Buckley 79), Larsson 6 (Cattermole 70, 6), Gomez 7, Wickham 6.5; Altidore 6 (Alvarez 70, 5). Subs not used: Mannone, Rodwell, Fletcher, Robson. Booked: Vergini, Bridcutt, Buckley.
Man of the match: Liam Bridcutt.
Referee: N Swarbrick 7. – Daily Mail