A bad week at Anfield was almost made worse on Sunday but for a last-minute equalizer from Fernando Torres against Tottenham. Earlier in the week, Liverpool fell 1-0 at home to Marseille in the Champions League; the Reds were on their way to another Anfield loss before $54 million man Torres headed home in the 92nd minute.
The draw was Liverpool’s third in four Premier League matches, in which Rafael Benitez’s men have looked decidedly sub-par. They’ve been similarly poor in the Champions League, having taken just one point from six in their first two games. Benitez has been outspoken in his criticism of his players’ performances in recent matches, calling the Champions League defeat to Marseille “unacceptable.” Critics, meanwhile, have started to question the Spaniard’s controversial rotation system.
Even captain Steven Gerrard agreed the Reds have “lost their sparkle,” saying, “We are going through a dip in form which all top teams do at some stage and we just have to make sure we play our way through it. We are not performing to the standards we can do, but that will change.” Both Gerrard and coach Benitez dismissed talk of a crisis, with Gerrard conceding that the international break, which starts today, has come at a good time for the Anfield club.