Miracle in Stade Velodrome

Not that many people gave Liverpool a chance after the finished the first round of the Champions League group stage with only 1 point. Staring at elimination, they bounced back and trounced Besiktas 8-0 and trashed Porto 4-1, before ending the group by demolishing Marseille 4-0. Coupled with a bit of luck on the other results, Liverpool managed to secure their passage to the knockout phases, albeit finishing second in the group.

That means they are looking at the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, AC or Inter Milan as their next opponent. Fernando Torres preferred to play his old adversaries Real Madrid for the next game. Torres told the clubs website: "I hope that we draw Real Madrid, that would be a great tie. We have a chance to play a team from Spain or Italy, but playing Madrid would be really good".

The built up for the game against Marseille was tensed. With Benitez at loggerheads with the club owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, plenty of wild rumours were flying around. Failure to progress to the next stage would have definitely added fire to the rumours. Benitez's future remains uncertain despite an apparent thaw in his relationship with the co-owners following a disagreement over transfer policy. Even the weekend game against Reading was played half-heartedly, with everyone’s mind on the big game. Needless to say, Liverpool lost tamely 1-3 and Gerrard, Carragher and Torres were substituted early to ensure that they are fresh for the next game.

The game against Marseille started perfectly with Liverpool scoring two early goals, one being a gem by Torres with his superb finishing, and another one from Gerarrd. Another two goals by Kuyt and Babel stamped Liverpool's dominance over the home team. No other English team has came to Stade Velodrome and won before previously, with Marseille holding a 6-0 record against them. But records are meant to be broken, and Liverpool did just that with a flourish.

Now that qualification is out of the picture, Liverpool will be looking forward to the next game this weekend against Manchester United. If the game against Marseille was to determine their fate in the Champions League, then this weekend game will see if they can be considered as the real contender for the elusive league title.

Let's hope for the best.