Aurelio baffled by Liverpool’s collapse
LIVERPOOL defender Fabio Aurelio admits he is at a loss to explain how their season has unravelled so spectacularly.
The Reds crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday night after Fiorentina’s defeat of Lyon rendered their own win over Debrecen futile. It was the latest blow in a dire run of form, which has seen Liverpool win just two out of 11 and fall 13 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
And Aurelio said: “It is difficult to know where this campaign has gone wrong, but against Lyon we lost goals in the last minutes of both games and that has made the difference.
“Liverpool used to be more solid in defence, and we have only scored four goals in five games in the group matches, so we have to improve in all areas. We have been missing a lot of players through injury problems, so we have to think that things can only improve in that situation.”
The Merseyside derby on Saturday provides Liverpool with extra motivation to turn their performances around immediately. And despite fresh criticism of manager Rafael Benitez, Aurelio insists the squad alone must take responsibility.
“The players still have confidence and we know that it is only us who can change our situation by working hard to improve,” the Brazilian added.
“We know we can do better, certainly than we are doing at the moment. The team are now intent on winning at Everton on Sunday and starting to get more points right to the end of the season. Then we will see what position we are in, and what we are able to fight for.”