Humiliated in a shock FA Cup result, out of the Capital One Cup and scrapping for fourth place in the Premier League; Liverpool must take the Europa League with the utmost seriousness. It is the only trophy that the rather recent Kings of Europe still have a realistic chance of winning this season. Rodgers’ men haven’t been handed an easy route to the last 16 either, coming up against the Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg in the last 32. As a seeded team, the Reds will start with an away leg at the 2008 UEFA Cup winners, coming up this Thursday. With a number of prestigious names still in the competition, Liverpool would do well to advance as far as they can to prove they are still very much on the European scene.
While it lacks the glamour and status of the Champions League, the Europa League is still a widely respected competition. With the anomaly of the FA Cup tie at Oldham, Liverpool’s recent form continues to impress. Although the painful reality remains that they still haven’t beaten a side in the top half of the Premier League this season (a win vs West Brom would however, erase this stat), Liverpool have emerged from two testing away contests unbeaten, with arguably their two best performances of the season and should have won both. It is clear that Rodgers is beginning to mould a team capable of competing with the Premier League’s elite. They have Champions League qualification in their sights and this is why the Europa League holds much importance.
If – and that is a very big “if” – Rodgers manages to secure fourth place this season, progressing in this years Europa League will stand the club in a much stronger position for the 2013/14 season. Even if they don’t manage the heights of the top four this season, a decent run in Europa League would aid Liverpool’s transfer situation enormously. FSG’s hesitation in the transfer market would be alleviated while players would surely be more attracted to a club competing with top teams in Europe and on the up. Not to mention the fact that if we were to win the competition it may well cement the scintillating Luis Suarez’s claims that he wants to continue to keep playing for “the club of his dreams”.
It is certainly not impossible for Liverpool to win the Europa League, however, having qualified via the Champions League before Christmas, Zenit St Petersburg lie ahead. Zenit currently lie third in the league table with 38 points from 19 matches, five behind leaders CSKA Moscow. They must not be undermined. They secured a famous victory at the San Siro in the final game of their Champions League campaign to secure Europa League qualification with the ever artful Danny curling the ball past Abbiati, the AC Milan goalkeeper, brilliantly to put Spalletti’s men in command. Hulk will almost definitely be involved and although the former Chelsea target has had a turbulent first half of the season scoring just three goals in 11 league matches for Zenit, he is a constant danger and Liverpool’s often shaky defence must cut out the costly mistakes in order to keep the Brazilian at bay. Axel Witsel – one of Zenit’s huge summer signings along with Hulk – is their most influential midfielder. The Belgian is a certain goal threat and Liverpool’s trio of midfielders need to be wary. Zenit may well play with a deep backline which can prove frustrating for opponents – as AC Milan found when they began to shoot desperately from range. Rodgers will be aware of this but Liverpool are beginning to show the signs of a sleek attacking unit and with Suarez’s mesmeric form, they will be able to cope. Sturridge and Coutinho are both ineligible so Raheem Sterling will surely have a role to play. Although he has not been at his best recently, this is a good chance for him and adding his pace to his repertoire of step-overs and shimmies, along with Downing’s resurgence, the Liverpool front three have the potential to exploit the Zenit back four.
A draw in Russia would be seen as a very good result. Anfield is no stranger to all-important European games at home and February 21st could see the return of the famous atmosphere from the Kop. Of course it is a tough task, but if Liverpool can overcome the Russians, they can overcome anyone else in the competition and if Liverpool are in a strong position when at home in the second leg, there should be no problems for a team only growing in confidence. Unfortunately, going away to Zenit St Petersburg may be hard for some Liverpool players for non-footballing reasons. A Zenit supporters’ group called for all non-white players to be excluded from the team saying that black players are “forced down their throat”. It is quite amazing that this goes on, however it should hopefully give Rodgers’ men more of an incentive to go and beat the hostility they may come up against.
Brendan Rodgers certainly didn’t come into a club on the march, but he is beginning to stamp his authority on the Anfield outfit and it is clearly showing. By progressing in the Europa League, it will only help him and Liverpool send out a meaningful message to the rest of Europe. A clash with Chelsea remains a possibility in further rounds and we all know what that means when it comes to European ties – huge rivalry and a fantastic two legs, something that Liverpool have missed and should look forward to because Rodgers’ new dimension is becoming a threat. It remains a period of transition for Liverpool but setting their sights on an elusive run in the Europa League is a must.
Originally posted by Frank Sale on ‘The Bib Theorists’
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