The £5m Midfielder Who Can Help End Liverpool’s Title Drought

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An Unsung Hero

Champions League: Liverpool Win In Spain

When the full time whistle blew at Anfield on Saturday it brought to an end a gruelling two week period for Burnley. The Premier League newcomers were beaten by Chelsea at the end of August and then had an international break to mull over their defeat at the Bridge before their visit to Liverpool two weeks later.

By the time the Clarets had been out passed and outplayed by the Reds Owen Coyle’s side were beginning to see how brutal life in the Premier League really could be. In the other corner, Liverpool had firmly kick started their campaign thanks to an inspired performance from Yossi Benayoun.

The Israel International scored three times as he continued to float between Burnley’s defence and midfield causing the visitors trouble all afternoon. Liverpool could even afford Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to have a quiet day on the goal scoring front due to the form of Benayoun.

At a club where many observers believe there are only two match winners capable of taking Liverpool from challengers to champions, in the form of the previously mentioned Torres and Gerrard, Benayoun gets overlooked when his form suggests he should be part of this elite group.

This may seem like a bit of an overreaction to a hat-trick against, with no disrespect, poor opposition but it was against clubs in the lower parts of the league that Liverpool struggled to overcome last season. After complaining of a lack of first team football midway through the last campaign Benayoun has since shown the form Rafa Benitez has been looking for from the fringe members of his squad.

In the Bernabeu he popped up with a vital winner and away at Fulham he came off the bench to score a late goal that sent the travelling Kop into a chorus of, “we’re going to win the league!”. From then on he has gone from a useful substitute to a vital first team member and someone who has become Liverpool’s third match winner in a season when they will all be vital to the cause.

More Stories Fernando Torres rafa benitez Steven Gerrard Yossi Benayoun