Manchester, October 21: On a disastrous night at Anfield Liverpool endured their worst sequence of defeats for 22 years and may lose their captain, Steven Gerrard, for Sunday’s encounter with Manchester United.
Gerrard, who had missed the weekend’s reverse at Sunderland with a groin injury, suffered a recurrence of the problem and limped off after 25 minutes of a 2-1 loss to Lyons, sealed by a last-minute goal from Cesar Delgado. Not since 1987 had the club lost four in a row.
The Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, who lost his £17m right-back, Glen Johnson, with a similar groin injury before kick-off, denied he had taken a risk starting his captain on a night which left their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League teetering on a precipice. Whether either player will be fit enough to face Manchester United will assessed later in the week.
–Agencies