Liverpool Need The Champions League As Much As Competition Needs Them

March 10th, 2009: Rafa Benitez's Liverpool, heavily involved in the race for the Premier League title, welcomed Real Madrid to Anfield following a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu. The Reds' swept aside the Spanish giants, storming to a 4-0 victory on the night as the deadly duo of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres tore apart Madrid's defence.

Five years on and Liverpool, without experiencing Europe's elite competition since the 2009/2010 season, are in pole position for that crucial 4th spot which would grant them access to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. I believe Brendan Rodgers' free-scoring, attacking Liverpool side will be a force to be reckoned with should they qualify for next season's Champions League, and Kopites around the globe will once again taste the glory of those famous Champions League nights at Anfield.

Liverpool have been unplayable in the Premier League this season, with the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal being trounced 5-0 and 5-1 respectively, and Manchester City being completely outplayed at home and narrowly winning thanks to a ridiculous disallowed Raheem Sterling goal. Rodgers' side have been dubbed this season's "great entertainers" in the Premier League and are amongst the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the scoring charts, without a game finishing 0-0.

The dynamic duo of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have been key to Liverpool's goalscoring success as the former currently leads the way in the race for the golden boot with 24 goals to his name, as well as assisting the joint most goals (10) in the league. Sturridge meanwhile, isn't far behind as the league's second top scorer has 18 goals so far. Add this to the likes of Coutinho, Gerrard, Sterling and Henderson creating and scoring frequently, and you can see why Liverpool currently find themselves sat 2nd in the table.

Brendan Rodgers' tactics strike fear into opposition defences and the Northern Irishman, in my opinion, is manager of the season so far, after turning last season's 7th place finishers into current title contenders. Wins against Manchester United and Spurs this month would all but secure that 4th spot for the 5-time European Champions, and provide a platform for the likes of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling to run riot against some of the greatest teams in world football.

Liverpool's history in the Champions League, in the Rafa Bentiez era especially, saw them dominate the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Juventus and this Liverpool side, with a few more additions in summer, looks capable of taking their league form into Europe and bringing back those famous nights to Anfield.


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