Dumped

I remember vaguely the last time Barnsley beat Liverpool. It was years ago, and it wasn't in Anfield. Anfield used to be the stronghold for Liverpool Football Club. Walking out of the dressing room, the infamous 'This is Anfield' sign used to give butterflies to those players playing on that sacred ground. But I guess that was during the glory days, when Anfield was a mighty fortress. Plans for a new stadium has demolished Anfield status and aura indefinitely. Nowadays, playing in Anfield is the same as playing anywhere else.

Anyway, the last time Barnsley beat Liverpool, it didn't happened in Anfield. And it didn't happened in Oakwell Stadium either. Come to think of it, it didn't even happened on English soil. It happened in Championship Manager 3 (CM3) and I was the manager of Barnsley at that time. It was also a cup tie, and the scoreline was the same as last night. Having been managing the team for 3 seasons at that time, it was a sweet victory for me, beating Liverpool at that time to advance to the semifinals. I think I lost the semifinals to Arsenal at that time, but that besides the point.

In reality, Barnsley did beat Liverpool once before. It was 10 years ago, the one and only season Barnsley played in the Premier League. But yesterday, it knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup. Already being written off for the Premier League title, and knocked out of the League Cup, their only silverware now lies in the prestigious Champions League, which they are up against Inter Milan this week.

Maybe that's why Benitez rested Torres and benched Gerrard. It's only Barnsley anyway, and they have one of the worst record in their division playing away from home. But sometimes, magical stuffs happened in the FA Cup. And it definitely happened last night.

With the score tied at 1-1, with virtually the last kick of the game, Barnsley did the unthinkable. Captain Brian Howard dashed the Reds dream of FA glory and added mounted pressure on Benitez. Already been broiled in controversy, he must be wondering how much longer is he going to survive before getting the sack. The results haven't been on his side lately, and it's only a matter of time when a better candidate emerges as a successor to him.

Of course, this can only mean one thing. The game against Inter Milan will be crucial, as failure to advance to the next level could spell an end to Benitez's job. But Inter Milan must be thanking their luck to draw Liverpool, instead of the other English giants. Manchester United might be faltering a bit in the league, but they have a strong team, and Arsenal and Chelsea are very consistent. Out of the four teams, Liverpool is proven to be the weakest of them all.

At the end of the game last night, Rafa had no words to describe the lost. "We had a lot of chances but it was the same situation as in other games, we cannot take our chances to finish games. Today was the same," Rafa Benitez moaned.

I think it has been the same for a very long time now.

Could this be the end of Rafa-Torres partnership?