Has Rafa managed his last European game at Anfield?

I was sat in the Kop last night, just one of 40,000 Liverpool fans giving it my all to try and spur the team on to another European Cup final.  When the final whistle did finally come, I like everybody else was extremely despondent and I could not help but wonder if Rafa Benitez had just overseen his last European game at the club.

When Rafa’s reign is looked back upon, it will be his success in the European competitions that will be seen as his underpinning achievements at the club.  The great European nights he has given us including two extraordinary semi-finals over Chelsea and those incredible nights against the likes of Juventus, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Barcelona will live long, long in the memory.

Last night’s game was not one of those great European nights.  The reds started the semi-final second leg well enough and played well in the opening 15 to 20 minutes but from that moment on I thought the performance was distinctively average and some of the players last night looked totally drained of morale.

This season has without doubt been a disaster. Even after his European success, something of which Rafa almost holds as a carrot infront of the Liverpool fans noses, to try and maintain their support has not been enough this campaign to prevent questions about the Spaniard’s long-term future at the club.  In his post-match interview he looked tired and fed-up and showed all the signs of a man whose future remains as uncertain as ever.

One thing I found extremely strange last night was the manager’s substitutions which came as something of a surprise not only to me but to most fans inside Anfield last night.  With the team 2-1 down and desperately seeking a goal in order to avoid elimination Rafa decided to bring on summer flop and defender Phillipp Degen for Javier Mascherano with just 10 minutes remaining.  Add to the fact that he had just 10 minutes earlier brought on another flop in the form of Nabil El Zhar who did at least manage to spark Liverpool to life in the closing moments.

There was no doubt who the home fans really wanted to see however and that man was 19 year-old Spanird Daniel Pacheco who had twice been called back from along the touchlines by Benitez only to be sent away twice by the manager before again being called back.  After some persuasion from the fans, the youngster was eventually brought on, even if it was 20 minutes too late.  The substitutions themselves prove that Liverpools strength-in-depth is extremely poor for a club whose ambitions are to be competing for the major prizes.

Atletcio left the Anfield exit in buoyant mood late last night, that may soon be an exit used by Benitez whose days at the club are looking more and more numbered with each day that goes by.