No tonic for sickly Liverpool

The malaise at Liverpool was laid bare today when they conceded a last-minute equaliser at Stoke City to complete a miserable week for the Anfield club.

After losing at home to Championship (second division) Reading in the FA Cup on Wednesday, Robert Huth's tap-in to earn Stoke a 1-1 draw prevented a rare shot in the arm for a proud club clearly in poor health both on and off the pitch.

Clinging on to the 58th-minute lead granted by Greek defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos would have at least vindicated under-pressure manager Rafael Benitez's conservative team selection but two more dropped points will keep the spotlight burning on the Spaniard.

Stoke, who had managed just 18 league goals this season prior to the visit of Liverpool and lost their long-throw weapon Rory Delap early on, took 75 minutes to get an effort on target.

They were there for the taking but Benitez's side lacked the quality and ambition to push home their advantage.

With captain Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, Liverpool's only world class attacking players, both absent with injuries, Benitez opted against starting with 20 million pound ($32.68 million) Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani, leaving him on the bench with Maxi Rodriguez, who was signed in midweek from Atletico Madrid.

SAFETY FIRST

Enigmatic Dutch winger Ryan Babel, who vented his frustration with life on Merseyside on his Twitter site on Friday, was not even in the squad as Benitez sent out a side seemingly designed not to lose rather than go for victory.

Six defenders made his starting lineup with Fabio Aurelio and Phillip Degen pushed into midfield alongside the gritty Javier Mascherano and Brazilian Lucas. It was hardly a quartet to intimidate a rugged outfit such as Stoke.

Benitez apologised on Friday to the club's fans who have watched their team lurch out of the the League Cup, Champions League and FA Cup and who are closer to the bottom of the league than the top in terms of points.

Last season Liverpool dropped just 28 points all season as they pushed hard for the title.

This season, with virtually the same squad minus Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, they have already surrendered 29 and with Torres having undergone knee surgery and precious little money funds for new signings there appears no immediate sign of improvement.

Benitez insisted on Friday that Liverpool would still finish in the top four but the sides immediately above them, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, look far better bets. At present Liverpool look mid-table material.

Fortune also appears to have deserted them. On Saturday they had what looked like a blatant penalty turned down after Lucas was harshly yellow-carded when he was sent flying by a Danny Higginbotham tackle while the hard-working Dirk Kuyt watched his stoppage time header hit the inside of the post.

"It feels like a defeat," Dutchman Kuyt, a willing front runner but lacking the quality that Liverpool's fans have been used to down the years, told Sky Sports. "To concede in the last minute was unbelievable.

"We're not playing the greatest football at the minute, but we fought so hard for that game. We're just angry that we gave a goal away and didn't win. It's really disappointing. Confidence isn't very high as you can guess, but we must work hard and come out of this as soon as possible."

Liverpool are at home to Tottenham on Wednesday knowing that only victory will keep them in the hunt for a Champions League berth.

Failure to win, with the crippling financial implications involved, would leave Liverpool in danger of becoming also-rans not just in Europe, but also in the Premier League.

TODAY'S RESULTS

Chelsea 7 Sunderland 2
Manchester United 3 Burnley 0
Stoke City 1 Liverpool 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Hull City 0