Liverpool Special: Rafa & His Players Have Only Themselves To Blame As Europa League Calls

Tonight was never likely to be about whether Liverpool could beat Debrecen in Budapest. Jamie Carragher and Rafa Benitez conceded as much in their pre-match press conference. No sooner had the game in Hungary kicked off were anxious eyes being cast towards Florence, and events unfolding between Fiorentina and Lyon.

The Viola's 1-0 win rendered Liverpool's useless, and Benitez and his downcast side must now summon the energy for a tilt at the Europa League after Christmas. Only winning that trophy could even start to repair the damage done to the Reds by this Champions League campaign.

The financial implications will doubtless be dredged up, reported and inflated in the next few days. Liverpool stand to lose at least £15 million in revenue from their failure to reach the knockout stages. The Europa League's pot of gold is small fry in comparison, though the Reds' chief executive, Christian Purslow, was quick to dismiss talk of "financial disasters" after the final whistle.

Skipper Steven Gerrard, too, did his best to put a positive spin on a desperate night in the rain for his side, but the pain was etched deep into his face. Players like Gerrard do not expect to be playing on Thursday nights, against Europe's second best sides. The Liverpool fans are used to dining at the top table, not relying on takeaways.

For Benitez, the recriminations are likely to be greater. His side's inability to progress from a tricky but not terrifying group is a damning indictment, the manner of their exit - Debrecen have scored as many goals as Liverpool in Group E - equally so. 

All of the noises coming from within Anfield of late have had a common theme: that Benitez's position is not under threat.

Rightly so, too. The Spaniard has not become a bad manager, his players have not become poor players overnight. Benitez may have made some strange decisions - withdrawing Benayoun against Lyon, handing Aquilani 90 seconds tonight - but he can also point to some ill-fortune when dissecting the reasons for the Reds' exit.

But responsibility must be shouldered, questions need to be answered. Sunday's trip to Everton for the Merseyside derby means wounds cannot be licked for too long.

Benitez has good reason to lament the injury crisis which has denied him the services of Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Alberto Aquilani, Albert Riera and Glen Johnson at various stages of this doomed campaign, but the pedigree of player he has been able to field in each of Liverpool's five group matches so far is unquestionable. The performances those players have produced on the other hand are.

The themes range from the familiar - a lack of genuine class (aside from David Ngog, who did more than any to enhance his reputation) beyond Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun in attack - to the inexplicable - an alarming inability to defend with any sort of authority, even against Debrecen. In short, Benitez has issues at both ends of the pitch, as well as in midfield, where Lucas Leiva's improvement is promising, but still not enough. Alberto Aquilani has managed just two minutes of action in Europe this season.

Even their two victories, both against Debrecen, have been tinged with a sense of indifference. Both were single-goal successes, both were far from convincing.

Successive surrenders to Fiorentina and Lyon were what ultimately cost them - mathematically at least - but there is little doubt that, on the whole, Liverpool's collective displays have merited little more than they have received. Not even the most partisan member of the Kop could argue with their side's elimination.

Benitez's sights must now be set firmly on clawing back ground in the race for fourth place. Failure to qualify for next season's competition would have Purslow and his seniors revising their opinions surely.

Neil Jones