The end is near

Being rooted at the bottom of the table in the Champion League group stages is indeed an unfamiliar position for Liverpool. But with two losses and a draw so far, they are at the bottom with one point and 3 more games to go. Of course, 3 more games equal to 9 points, considering they win all 3 remaining matches.

The lost against Besiktas last night couldn't come at a worst time. With a league game against a consistent Arsenal looming over the weekend, Liverpool looked out of sorts and short of ideas. Their long ball tactics were not really producing the goals, and their deployed wingers failed to make a big impact too. They were lucky to win last weekend against Everton, helped by two penalties converted by Dirk Kuyt.

That being said, Liverpool always have a good record in Europe in the past three years. On most occasion, going though the first stage of the group stages have always been a walk in the park for them. Last year, they went all the way to the finals while the year before, their campaign was cut short by Benfica in the quarter finals. And of course, the year before that was the historic win in Istanbul over AC Milan.

Still, they are doing quite well in the league, by their standard. A poor start has always derailed Liverpool's championship hope, but this year, they have done well to keep pace with the early pacesetters. Of course, the game against Arsenal this weekend is very important, firstly because it's a home game for Liverpool, and secondly because they need to stop Arsenal from being a runaway leader in the league.

Winning the league is the top priority for this season. Going far in the Champion League is a bonus, but looking at the ditch the are in at the moment, it might take a miracle for them to qualify for the next stage. They need to beat Marseille in the State Velodrome, and past records indicate that it might be a task too hard to achieve. But, they need to go all out from now on, because at least even if they finish third, they can still qualify for the EUFA Cup, a scant consolation, but it's better than nothing.

Now is the time for Rafa Benitez to rally his team and start building up towards a more consistent and convincing results. Being consistent is important, because in the long run, only the most consistent team will be challenging for the honours. Whether Liverpool is one of them, that is yet to be seen.