LIVERPOOL FC 1 LYON 2

It seemed we reached new depths last night, particularly after a second half performance which was up with the worst we've seen at Anfield for a long time.
With Lyon on nine points, Fiorentina on six, it seems that victories at home to the Italians and a victory away in France are the only results that will see us qualify for the next stage of the Champions League.
It was always going to be tough without Torres, it was going to be doubly tough when Gerrard trudged off after around half an hour.
As we saw against Sunderland, we are a pale shadow minus our two leading lights, with internationals seemingly unable to pick up the baton.

Where to start?
Only Martin Kelly, Benayoun and Pepe Riena played to anything like their potential.
Everywhere else were disaster areas.
The midfield never got a grip on proceedings and Mascherano and Lucas didn't boss the game as we hoped they would.
The Brazilian might have improved earlier this season, and produced good showings against Hull, Stoke and Burnely.
But against the likes of Fiorentina, Chelsea and Lyon, it's a different kettle of fish.
Lucas doesn't have the ability to take charge of a game in the middle of the field. It's not the lad's fault, as he tries his best, and is harddly going to refuse to pull on the red shirt.
But is he the sort of player our scouts/coaching staff should have earmarked as a potential engine room star?

Aurelio pretty much had a night to forget. The Brazilian seems to avoid any prolonged criticizm by virtue of the fact that he's injured a lot.
So, any stick is couched by the words ' well, when he's fit....'
There comes a time when you have to look at what a player's produced and decide if it's good enough.
The headed chance he had would have put the game out of Lyon's reach.
Just yards out, whole goal to aim at, a superb cross from Martin Kelly, and he nodded it straight down the keeper's throat.
It was a poor miss. And it cost us.
Other than one piledriver that just cleared the bar, Aurelio's influence was peripheral.

Up front, it seems harsh to go to town on Ngog.
But, truth be told, he had a shocker.
Saying that, he was hardly helped by aimless chipped balls being floated up to him, around his throat.
Even with Agger back, our distribution, particularly second half, was chronic. Surely Carragher can do more with a ball at his feet.
Ngog was left to plough a lone furrow, and he couldn't do it. Pure and simple.
He had a nightmare in the second half, but it was hardly fair asking a young lad to carry the fight alone, up front.
He only cost £1.5m, so what do we expect from this lad? Again, it says a lot for our squad depth, and the lack of striking options, that we have to perservere ith the Frenchman.
Looking at the forward exits in previous years - Crouch, Bellamy, Morientes, Keane - who all rightly left for not quite being good enough - I'd take any of them back now in a flash.
We thought ghetting rid of them was on the presumption that better talent was coming in. Hardly.
The key debate here is whether Rafa has frittered away big sums of money on players who aren't worth their salt.
Or, Rafa is hamstrung by owners who refuse to give him enough backing in the financial stakes.
A lot of our supporters are split down the middle over that debate.

Yossi was one of the few bright lights, showing class and ability, and a nice finish for the goal.
So the decision to haul him off was bizarre.
I could understand Benitez wanting to go with two up front - even keeping on the struggling Ngog as we needed strikers on the pitch to score goals.
But taking off our most talented and dangerous player was baffling.
Kuyt tried hard, but again can't handle deliver genuine quality in the absence of his mates Gerrard and Torres.
Coupled to this, our defence is getting leakier by the game.
The first Lyon goal was a strange one. Reina's punch wasn't great, and left him slightly out of position when the first shot came in.
His second save was impressive, but the lack of defenders wanting to snaffle away the rebound was a worry.
As for their winner, the ball was robbed from Ngog, they paraded far too easily up the right hand side (the tricky Govou was a clear Man of the Match) and Carra was guilty of ball watching at the far post when the finish was rolled in.

So, where to go from here?
Perhaps the Manchester United game has come at the right time. Big crowd at Anfield, snarling atmosphere, encourage the players to dig in and produce a wholehearted and gritty performance that might grab the three points.
For what its worth, if Torres and Gerrard are missing, I'd play two up front - Kuyt and Voronin, play Riera on the left, Benayoun on the right, with the two South Americans in the middle.
After that game, it's got to be Lucas on the bench. We can't be having a passenger in the centre of the field any more.
Big intakes of breath. Let's get behind the team.